--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When people ask me, 'Are you happy?' I…" description: "\"When people ask me, 'Are you happy?' I respond with, 'You've asked the wrong question.' There is a deep kind of satisfaction you get from building a co..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/david-ulevitch-30975_ask_when-people-ask-me-are-you-happy-i-respo_1003320.jpg" --- # When people ask me, 'Are you happy?' I respond with… ![“When people ask me, 'Are you happy?' I respond with, 'You've asked the wrong question.' There is a deep kind of satisfaction you get from building a company. This kind of satisfaction transcends happy, sad, hard, or easy. I seek satisfaction. I want to be positively disruptive.” quote by David Ulevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/david-ulevitch-30975_ask_when-people-ask-me-are-you-happy-i-respo_1003320.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/david-ulevitch-30975_ask_when-people-ask-me-are-you-happy-i-respo_1003320.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/david-ulevitch-30975_ask_when-people-ask-me-are-you-happy-i-respo_1003320.jpg) > “When people ask me, 'Are you happy?' I respond with, 'You've asked the wrong question.' There is a deep kind of satisfaction you get from building a company. This kind of satisfaction transcends happy, sad, hard, or easy. I seek satisfaction. I want to be positively disruptive.” [David Ulevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ulevitch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True fulfillment comes from purpose‑driven work, not fleeting emotions; building something meaningful yields a deeper, lasting satisfaction. **In simple terms:** Purposeful work gives lasting satisfaction. Key Takeaway Focus on purpose, not happiness. Themes purpose entrepreneurship fulatisfaction disruption Mood determined inspired Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - starting a startup - leading a team - creating a product - navigating challenges Key Concepts meaning fulfillment positive impact Questions to Reflect On - What does purpose mean to you? - How can you measure fulfillment beyond happiness? A Different Perspective Satisfaction may coexist with stress and uncertainty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/company/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/) [Satisfaction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/satisfaction/) ## Related quotes > [There is a great satisfaction in building good tools for other people to use.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/there-is-a-great-satisfaction-in-building-good-tools-for-other-people/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [I made my choice to be in Ferrari. It is not easy because it is important for a man to have satisfaction. And for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-alesi/i-made-my-choice-to-be-in-ferrari-it-is-not-easy-because-it-is/) [Jean Alesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-alesi/) > [“Don’t focus on outward means of satisfaction if you want to be happy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trebor-healey/don-t-focus-on-outward-means-of-satisfaction-if-you-want-to-be-happy/) [Trebor Healey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trebor-healey/) > [“Whenever you name something in creation as the thing that will satisfy you, you are asking that thing to be your personal savior. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/whenever-you-name-something-in-creation-as-the-thing-that-will/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [One interesting thing about greed is that although the underlying motive is to seek satisfaction, the irony is that even after obtaining the object…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/one-interesting-thing-about-greed-is-that-although-the-underlying/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Desire happiness, aspire to gratitude, long for health, crave compassion, seek satisfaction, lust after God, however & whatever you perceive God to be, want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-mcwilliams/desire-happiness-aspire-to-gratitude-long-for-health-crave-compassion/) [Peter McWilliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-mcwilliams/) > [“There is a deep and natural craving in the human heart that can be satisfied nowhere except in God. Our being in this world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sundar-singh/there-is-a-deep-and-natural-craving-in-the-human-heart-that-can-be/) Sundar Singh > [The heart which finds life in material wealth is usually certain to go farther and seek for more in the satisfaction of base and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-a-smith/the-heart-which-finds-life-in-material-wealth-is-usually-certain-to/) [George A. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-a-smith/) > [“The more we seek satisfaction in material goods, the less we find them there’ says Richard Ryan, professor of psychology at the University of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-jelbert/the-more-we-seek-satisfaction-in-material-goods-the-less-we-find-them/) [Will Jelbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-jelbert/) > [The only true satisfaction we can seek is the satisfaction of being obedient to the Lord.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysa-terkeurst/the-only-true-satisfaction-we-can-seek-is-the-satisfaction-of-being/) [Lysa TerKeurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysa-terkeurst/) > [I believe happiness is a chemical imbalance - it's a silly thing to strife for. But satisfaction - if you seek satisfaction, you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/i-believe-happiness-is-a-chemical-imbalance-it-s-a-silly-thing-to/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [Figure out what questions you'd ask to see if you were happy with your life. Then wake up every day and live intentionally, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendon-burchard/figure-out-what-questions-you-d-ask-to-see-if-you-were-happy-with/) [Brendon Burchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendon-burchard/) > [“People fucking love their own opinions and are all too happy to throw ’em at you, whether you ask or not. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-scott/people-fucking-love-their-own-opinions-and-are-all-too-happy-to-throw/) [Kylie Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-scott/) > [Ask yourself whether you are happy and you cease to be so. The only chance is to treat not happiness, but some end external…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/ask-yourself-whether-you-are-happy-and-you-cease-to-be-so-the-only/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [Humanity does not ask to be happy.It merely asks us to be brilliant on its behalf. Survival first, and then happiness as we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/humanity-does-not-ask-to-be-happy-it-merely-asks-us-to-be-brilliant/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## More by David Ulevitch > [I think anything which promotes heterogeneity on the Internet promotes stability. Diversity in services, service providers, and separating the layers of the networking stack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ulevitch/i-think-anything-which-promotes-heterogeneity-on-the-internet/) [David Ulevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ulevitch/) > [I've always enjoyed real work more than schoolwork. My mother will attest to that - she was always concerned about me academically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ulevitch/i-ve-always-enjoyed-real-work-more-than-schoolwork-my-mother-will/) [David Ulevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ulevitch/) > [My mother still sends a cake to the office for my birthday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ulevitch/my-mother-still-sends-a-cake-to-the-office-for-my-birthday/) [David Ulevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ulevitch/) > [With DNS, it's possible to control key components of Internet navigation. Google already controls search, they are quickly gaining market share to control the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ulevitch/with-dns-it-s-possible-to-control-key-components-of-internet/) [David Ulevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ulevitch/) > [If people use Chrome, we make less money on our service and that's fine by us because that is fair competition. I wouldn't put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ulevitch/if-people-use-chrome-we-make-less-money-on-our-service-and-that-s/) [David Ulevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ulevitch/) > [Google has helped raise the importance of DNS above the network engineering community, which has been really good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ulevitch/google-has-helped-raise-the-importance-of-dns-above-the-network/) [David Ulevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ulevitch/) > [People often ask whether I consider myself successful. I don't yet, because there's so much more I want to accomplish. I put more pressure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ulevitch/people-often-ask-whether-i-consider-myself-successful-i-don-t-yet/) [David Ulevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ulevitch/) > [I grew up in Del Mar, Calif., north of San Diego. I got my first job the summer after eighth grade at a small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ulevitch/i-grew-up-in-del-mar-calif-north-of-san-diego-i-got-my-first-job-the/) [David Ulevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ulevitch/) > [One of my bosses happened to be one of the early architects of some of the ways Internet providers work. He taught me how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ulevitch/one-of-my-bosses-happened-to-be-one-of-the-early-architects-of-some/) [David Ulevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ulevitch/) > [Occasionally, I make waffles for breakfast for any employee who wants to talk to me. I make them around 8 A.M. as an incentive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ulevitch/occasionally-i-make-waffles-for-breakfast-for-any-employee-who-wants/) [David Ulevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ulevitch/) > [DNS is kind of the hamster under the hood that drives the Internet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ulevitch/dns-is-kind-of-the-hamster-under-the-hood-that-drives-the-internet/) [David Ulevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ulevitch/) > [Running a successful, growing company in Silicon Valley can create an ironic sort of depression and delusion. The better you're doing, the higher the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ulevitch/running-a-successful-growing-company-in-silicon-valley-can-create-an/) [David Ulevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ulevitch/) > [There's only one thing that regularly keeps me up at night. 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When one party controls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ulevitch/i-like-the-idea-of-separation-of-services-isps-provide-a-pipe-other/) [David Ulevitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ulevitch/) [Explore all 17 David Ulevitch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ulevitch/) ## More Ask quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. 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It was bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-pain/i-used-to-sit-in-front-of-mcdonald-s-and-ask-people-for-dollars-to/) [T-Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-pain/) > [If you ask why I do what I do - I want to make a difference. I don't just want to maintain the status…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-broad/if-you-ask-why-i-do-what-i-do-i-want-to-make-a-difference-i-don-t/) [Eli Broad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-broad/) > [Every morning when I pick up the newspaper and read about an earthquake in Japan or problems in European financial institutions, the first question…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-schapiro/every-morning-when-i-pick-up-the-newspaper-and-read-about-an/) [Mary Schapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-schapiro/) > [I follow a simple formula when I compose. I ask myself, 'What would the audience want to hear?' and 'Why would they buy my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/i-follow-a-simple-formula-when-i-compose-i-ask-myself-what-would-the/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [If you ask an actor what he'd prefer to act on, he'd probably say a tangible, real set, or even better, a real location…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/if-you-ask-an-actor-what-he-d-prefer-to-act-on-he-d-probably-say-a/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [It turns out that this part of the brain is one of the first areas that's attacked by Alzheimer's disease. So we can now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-keefe/it-turns-out-that-this-part-of-the-brain-is-one-of-the-first-areas/) [John O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-keefe/) > [I prefer department stores. In boutiques, they come up and ask you if you need help. I can't get lost in the experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-netrebko/i-prefer-department-stores-in-boutiques-they-come-up-and-ask-you-if/) [Anna Netrebko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-netrebko/) > [A lot of people ask: 'Will you play a psycho to really change your image and prove you can act?' But that's not what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zac-efron/a-lot-of-people-ask-will-you-play-a-psycho-to-really-change-your/) [Zac Efron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zac-efron/) > [I'm not in the movie business anymore, and hardly any 70 year olds are. 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