--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many people think that happiness comes…" description: "\"Many people think that happiness comes from having more power or more money.\" — François Lelord" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/fran-ois-lelord-15255_happiness_many-people-think-that-happiness-comes-f_1311648.png" --- # Many people think that happiness comes from having more… ![“Many people think that happiness comes from having more power or more money.” quote by François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/fran-ois-lelord-15255_happiness_many-people-think-that-happiness-comes-f_1311648.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/fran-ois-lelord-15255_happiness_many-people-think-that-happiness-comes-f_1311648.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/fran-ois-lelord-15255_happiness_many-people-think-that-happiness-comes-f_1311648.png) > “Many people think that happiness comes from having more power or more money.” [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True happiness stems from internal fulfillment, not external power or wealth. **In simple terms:** Happiness is internal, not material. Key Takeaway Cultivate inner well‑being. Themes happiness values materialism Mood reflective optimistic Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - daily gratitude - mindfulness practice - value clarification - financial planning Key Concepts psychology well‑being intrinsic motivation Questions to Reflect On - What non‑material sources bring you joy? - How can you shift focus from acquisition to appreciation? A Different Perspective Money can provide comfort but not lasting joy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [Most people think happiness comes from experiences in the world. The fulfillment of desire causes a type of happiness. But as soon as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/most-people-think-happiness-comes-from-experiences-in-the-world-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [“I don't think happiness is something that comes or doesn't; I think it's something you have a control over”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabine-durant/i-don-t-think-happiness-is-something-that-comes-or-doesn-t-i-think-it/) Sabine Durant > [I'm not defined by what people think of me. My happiness comes from within.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-shalvis/i-m-not-defined-by-what-people-think-of-me-my-happiness-comes-from/) [Jill Shalvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-shalvis/) > [The problem with the world is that, people think happiness comes from someone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/the-problem-with-the-world-is-that-people-think-happiness-comes-from/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [Economists typically think that your happiness goes up as you get more money, but the more you have, the less each additional dollar matters.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-oster/economists-typically-think-that-your-happiness-goes-up-as-you-get/) [Emily Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-oster/) > [The basic mistake people make is to think that happiness is the goal!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/the-basic-mistake-people-make-is-to-think-that-happiness-is-the-goal/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [People always think that happiness is a faraway thing … something complicated and hard to get. Yet, what little things can make it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/people-always-think-that-happiness-is-a-faraway-thing-something/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [Happiness often comes when least expected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/happiness-often-comes-when-least-expected/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [The only point of having power it seems to me is to empower others. The only point of leadership is to inspire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-only-point-of-having-power-it-seems-to-me-is-to-empower-others/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [I think a lot of times people look at me and say, 'Well, we can't possibly hand a show over to her to run.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/i-think-a-lot-of-times-people-look-at-me-and-say-well-we-can-t/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [I don't want to say that having power is overrated, but powerlessness can give rise to a different kind of authority, and that's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/i-don-t-want-to-say-that-having-power-is-overrated-but-powerlessness/) [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) > [Those people who know you like them but don't like you back and who just enjoy having that power over you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/those-people-who-know-you-like-them-but-don-t-like-you-back-and-who/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Nobody that I know really likes the feeling of having no power and not being able to influence people. But most of us aren't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/nobody-that-i-know-really-likes-the-feeling-of-having-no-power-and/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [“What is the point of having all this power if you can’t force people to do what you want?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-gregoire/what-is-the-point-of-having-all-this-power-if-you-can-t-force-people/) Ian Gregoire > [Having power and being in a position of power can really blur your judgement, and it's not always that clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/having-power-and-being-in-a-position-of-power-can-really-blur-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by François Lelord > [“And since he was seeing more and more people who were unhappy for no apparent reason, he was becoming more and more tired, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/and-since-he-was-seeing-more-and-more-people-who-were-unhappy-for-no/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [“Exciting happiness is joy, celebration, travelling, being in bed with a woman you desire.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/exciting-happiness-is-joy-celebration-travelling-being-in-bed-with-a/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [Many people see happiness only in their future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/many-people-see-happiness-only-in-their-future/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [“He had realised that it was Clara he loved, and that he loved her in many different ways. (Because there are even more ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/he-had-realised-that-it-was-clara-he-loved-and-that-he-loved-her-in/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [The basic mistake people make is to think that happiness is the goal!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/the-basic-mistake-people-make-is-to-think-that-happiness-is-the-goal/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [Happiness. We're tearing our hair out to try to find a definition of it, for heaven's sake. Is it joy? People will tell you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/happiness-we-re-tearing-our-hair-out-to-try-to-find-a-definition-of/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [“(Be very wary of people who declare that they’re going to create heaven on earth, they almost invariably create hell.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/be-very-wary-of-people-who-declare-that-they-re-going-to-create/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [People fall in love more easily when they are already troubled by another emotion because we know that any intense emotional state greatly increases…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/people-fall-in-love-more-easily-when-they-are-already-troubled-by/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [I didn't intend 'Hector' to be a self-help book when I first started writing. I wrote it as a little tale about a psychiatrist,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/i-didn-t-intend-hector-to-be-a-self-help-book-when-i-first-started/) [Francois Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [“The only shadow on my happiness is when I tell myself sometimes that as it's all going well, it can't last, that one day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/the-only-shadow-on-my-happiness-is-when-i-tell-myself-sometimes-that/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [“Happiness is feeling useful to others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/happiness-is-feeling-useful-to-others/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [“Adeline was really rather charming, she always had a man in her life, but it never worked out: either they were nice but she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/adeline-was-really-rather-charming-she-always-had-a-man-in-her-life/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [He who spends too long regretting his ruined crop will be neglect to plant next year's harvest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/he-who-spends-too-long-regretting-his-ruined-crop-will-be-neglect-to/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [Sometimes happiness is not knowing the whole story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/sometimes-happiness-is-not-knowing-the-whole-story/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) > [It's one thing thinking something and another thing knowing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/it-s-one-thing-thinking-something-and-another-thing-knowing-it/) [François Lelord](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) [Explore all 43 François Lelord quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/) ## More Happiness quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [Sometimes we wish for the feel but we never understand that we have to give a lot to get the feel !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reynolds/sometimes-we-wish-for-the-feel-but-we-never-understand-that-we-have/) [Robert Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reynolds/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [The happy have whole days,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colley-cibber/the-happy-have-whole-days/) [Colley Cibber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colley-cibber/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [I've got nothing to do today but smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-ve-got-nothing-to-do-today-but-smile/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/positive-thinking-evokes-more-energy-more-initiative-more-happiness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Many people think that happiness comes from having more power or more money.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "François Lelord" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/many-people-think-that-happiness-comes-from-having-more-power-or-more/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/many-people-think-that-happiness-comes-from-having-more-power-or-more/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/fran-ois-lelord-15255_happiness_many-people-think-that-happiness-comes-f_1311648.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/fran-ois-lelord-15255_happiness_many-people-think-that-happiness-comes-f_1311648.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/614/fran-ois-lelord-15255_happiness_many-people-think-that-happiness-comes-f_1311648.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Many people think that happiness comes from having more power or more money.” — François Lelord", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "François Lelord", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-ois-lelord/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Many people think that happiness comes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/many-people-think-that-happiness-comes-from-having-more-power-or-more/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-ois-lelord/many-people-think-that-happiness-comes-from-having-more-power-or-more/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```