Too late, James realized that it had been a terrible mistake to do what he thought a lottery winner ought to do, instead of heeding his own heart. “I traded in my friends and a job I loved and moved to a neighborhood where people keep to themselves in their giant houses. It’s lonely.” James’s experience was an example of how what we seem to value most in modern society—status, wealth, achievement, and fame—doesn’t guarantee happiness. With more money, we can purchase more privacy, we can live on secluded estates, we can even travel exclusively on our own boat or plane. While all of these
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