Book Review

Thrive

The book that started the “happy” talk.

Not long after Thrive hit the bookshelves naming San Luis Obispo one of the happiest places on Earth, we received a call from someone on the city council in Whitefish, Montana. He was thinking about coming out for a visit, so he bought a subscription to our magazine to learn more about the area. Then, a couple of months later, Oprah Winfrey featured the book and its findings on her television show. We decided that we really should know what was in this thing, so we read it ourselves and here’s what we found…

On the heels of his first best seller about healthy aging (Blue Zones – Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who’ve Lived the Longest), Dan Buettner collaborates again with his publisher, National Geographic, this time to discover the secrets of the people in the world’s happiest places. In his book, Buettner profiles four places that landed at the top of the recent Gallup World Poll and seeks to find similarities and differences between them. Those four places are: San Luis Obispo; Singapore; Monterrey, Mexico; and Denmark.

The book itself is a relatively quick, entertaining read at 245 pages. Despite the interesting findings about happiness, the most intriguing components are found in Buettner’s interaction with the people of the places he is visiting. These vignettes read like a first-person travel journal and are as refreshing as they are revealing. Below is an excerpt, in which the author describes his first SLO Farmer’s Market experience:

Another telling interaction comes when Buettner checks into Petit Soleil after arriving in SLO for the first time. After a long, late night drive up from L.A., he found that the front desk had closed but there was a key taped on the door with his name on it attached to a note that read: “See you in the morning!” So, Buettner woke the next day and went to the office to pay his bill and inquire about where to find a place to rent a bicycle. The inn keeper, John Conner, then walked him around front, unlocked one of two house bikes, “a sturdy chrome cruiser painted candy-apple red,” and handed it to him. Buettner then tried to give Conner his credit card to which he says: “Oh, let’s do it later… it’s easier on my brain that way.” To which Buettner asked, “But what if I just pedal off with your sweet bike and don’t come back?” Conner then beamed, “I trust you.” Buettner goes on to interview some other locals around SLO. A sampling includes: Leslie Mead, who lives in the Edna Valley and works as a wine maker in Arroyo Grande. She tells a familiar story about how she took a pay cut to move here, but decided the lifestyle tradeoff was well worth it. Next up is Russell Brown, pastor at the Old Mission. Brown shares his story about his deliberate decision to change his course in life. Then, Pierre Rademaker, talks about his experience moving to SLO 25 years ago and how it impacted his life and now those of his employees (the office closes at noon on Fridays). And, an extensive conversation with former mayor Kenneth Schwartz, who cites the building of Mission Plaza as the starting point for San Luis Obispo’s renaissance. According to Schwartz: “It was that Mission Plaza that changed everything. Businesspeople opposed it hugely, but it turned out to be a bonanza for them.”

Buettner then wraps up his Chapter Five called, “San Luis Obispo: A Real American Dream,” with a section called “Lessons from SLO” in which he shares with the reader his findings summarized below:

And it wasn’t just the diversity of the food that was on display: On one remarkable stretch of curb, the booth to the gay-lesbian alliance sat next to the libertarian booth, which was next to a population control booth, “ which was next to the California Highway Patrol booth (with two CHiPs standing out front in full khaki uniforms, complete with Ray-Ban aviators), which was next to the Nation of Islam booth across the street from a dream interpretation tent. Smoke from a barbecued rib joint wafted over a vegan stand, and every time I walked by the Asian barbecue area they stopped chopping whatever they were chopping, smiled, and waved. Tolerant people appeared to be happy people. ”

A Civic Project Can Galvanize a Population “One small project that rallies a community to make a difference can send a lasting message that citizens can have a voice in government.” Anti-smoking Policies Can Make People Happier “SLO was the first city to enact anti-smoking legislation in bars and in outdoor public places.” Minimize Signs “... both Rademaker and Schwartz agree that ‘signs beget more signs,’ so the city strictly limits their use.” Prohibit Drive-through Restaurants “Originally written to tamp down traffic in the 80’s this ordinance makes it much more difficult to indulge a hunger pang with a cheeseburger.” Build a Greenbelt “One of the biggest casualties of sprawl is recreation. A gym just can’t replace convenient access to parks, hiking trails, and wildlife preserves – beautiful areas to enjoy and to get the body moving.” Support the Arts “Happy people have access to art - painting, film, sculpture, orchestra, opera, and rock and roll - and live in homes and communities that are themselves attractive to the eye.”

Favor the Pedestrian “... making walking and bicycling easy, convenient, and safe as this too facilitates happiness.” Make it Easy to Work for Yourself “The more autonomy and control you have over your job, the more likely you’ll be satisfied with your work.”

Build a Town Square “… the people of San Luis Obispo refocused their town’s resources inward to a Mission Plaza to give people a place to meet socially, to provide a venue for the arts, and to serve as an icon of civic pride.”

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