20180424

Can money buy you happiness?

Many have mixed feelings about money. On the one hand many think that if they only had money, they would be happy. Then they could buy that house, go on that extraordinary vacation or start their own company. On the other hand we see so many examples of rich, unhappy people.

  • Rich celebrities going in and out of rehab
  • Rich CEOs spending so much time at work they don't have time left to enjoy their money
  • Some lottery winners ending up broke just a few months or years after they win lots of money

So maybe money cannot buy happiness after all?  At the same time, it is easy to agree with Francoise Sagan when she says:
“Money may not buy happiness, but I'd rather cry in a Jaguar than on a bus.”



Another paradox is that most of us want to make a lot of money, but at the same time we hesitate. 

  • Should I really want more money than I need?
  • If I want a lot of money, does that make me a superficial and materialistic person? 
  • Will a lot of money turn me into a rich, egocentric person who is unpleasant to others?


I had the privilege to attend the Tony Robbins event Unleash the power within recently. Tony expressed it this way:

"Money will enlarge whatever you already are. If you want to do good in the world, money will help you do even more of that. If you are an asshole [his choice of words], you can do a lot of damage with it."

I agree. Money will not change you, it will enhance you.

On one of the nights of the event, we had a bonus gift. Pitbull showed up! In addition to performing hits like Fire ball and Give me everything he answered the question I ask in this blog post.

"Money can buy happiness. If you give it away."

Go ahead and make money with integrity and without hesitation. Then use it to make the world an even better place.




20180417

The Beauty of Art part 16 - the answers

The name of the sculpture in Beauty of Art part 16 is Single Form.
It is a bronze sculpture by Barbara Hepworth. The version I showed in the previous post is the big version of this piece of art, the one displayed at the Headquarters of the United Nations.

There are also smaller versions displayed elsewhere, for instance this one in Battersea park


Picture by QuentinUK at English Wikipedia

The connection to the known Swede I mentioned, is that this work was commissioned as a memorial for Dag Hammarskjöld. Dag would have liked this, since he was a collector of Hepworth's work. 

Barbara was working on a sculpture when she found out about Dag's death. She named it after the month when she got the news: September. It was made in Walnut and clearly inspired the Single Form that was later put outside of the United Naion's headquarters. 


Single Form (September) Barbara Hepworth Museum, St Ives


Barbara Hepworth was a British sculptor who was also skilled in others art forms like music, painting and lithography. She became known and appreciated during her life time. She won prizes and was able to make a living as an artist.

Barbara was married and divorced twice, both husbands were fellow artists. She was the mother of four children and had to endure the death of her son in an air crash. She created Madonna and child as a memorial for him.



Like so many artists, Barbara spent time with other artists in Paris, but she spent most of her time in St Ives where she was a leading figure in the colony of artists who resided there during the Second World War.

Even though her work is based on form and abstraction, Hepworth's art was about relationships. Between forms, between humans and landscapes and between individuals.


Thank you Elena for introducing me to this artist I had not heard about before! 

20180410

The Beauty of Art part 16

I know that sculptures are harder for most of you - but I persist and I will give some hints to make this Beauty of Art somewhat easier.

The questions are as usual:

  • How does this piece of art make you feel?
  • What is it called?
  • Who is the artist?


And here are some clues:

This piece of art is intended as a memorial to a well known Swede who worked for an important organization - and this sculpture is put outside of this organization's headquarter. Smaller versions of this sculpture can be seen in other places.

Please let me know what you think about it. The answers will come in a future blog post!