by Emily Kunz

inspired by Stefan Sagmeister

I asked everybody I knew
and everybody I met
what made them happy.
Turns out, happiness is simple.
And so is this book.
As I am very aware how boring it is to hear
about other people being happy, I say only
this: I get up every morning at 5 a.m. simply
because its more exciting to start working
than to turn around and sleep some more. I do
seem to have a lot of energy. After enjoying a
giant pot of cofee and a medium-sized cigar
for breakfast, I start my daily schedule of little
experiments. This is coming along very well.
- Stefan Sagmeister
1
I had gotten my rst Walkman. This is 1983.
My brother had this great Yamaha motorcycle
that he was willing to borrow to me freely.
And The Polices Synchronicity cassette had
just been released and there was no helmet
law in my hometown of Bregenz. So you could
drive up into the mountains freely blasting
The Police on the new Sony Walkman. And I
remember it as a true moment of happiness.
- Stefan Sagmeister
3
Money does not make me happy.
- Stefan Sagmeister
7
Falling in love makes me happiest.
- Stefan Sagmeister
9
I am usually rather bored by denitions.
Happiness, however, is just such a big subject
that it might be worth a try to pin it down. Its
the one thing we all want but never seem to be
able to get for very long. Some people reach it
when they are oating about in a boat on a lake,
other people experience it when their baby
utters 'mum' for the rst time; others encounter
it during that rst bite into a nought trufe.
- Stefan Sagmeister
11
There is short term happiness like bliss, joy
and ecstasy, medium term happiness like
satisfaction and well-being and long term
happiness like nding what you are put on
this earth for.
- Stefan Sagmeister
15