--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They say a person needs just three things…" description: "\"They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.\" — Tom Bodett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/tom-bodett-20459_happiness_they-say-a-person-needs-just-three-thing_1208286.png" --- # They say a person needs just three things to be truly… ![“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.” quote by Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/tom-bodett-20459_happiness_they-say-a-person-needs-just-three-thing_1208286.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/tom-bodett-20459_happiness_they-say-a-person-needs-just-three-thing_1208286.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/tom-bodett-20459_happiness_they-say-a-person-needs-just-three-thing_1208286.png) > “They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.” [Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) ## 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 love, purpose, and hope, forming a balanced emotional life. **In simple terms:** Love, purpose, hope create happiness. Key Takeaway Cultivate relationships, find meaningful work, nurture hope. Themes love purpose hope wellbeing Mood reflective optimistic Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - career - personal projects - future planning Key Concepts psychology human needs positive outlook Questions to Reflect On - Which of these three is missing in your life? - How can you strengthen the others? A Different Perspective Neglecting any element can lead to emptiness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy/) [Happy World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happy-world/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Person Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-needs/) [Things Truly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-truly-716103/) [Three things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three-things/) [Truly happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truly-happy/) ## Related quotes > [A person needs three things to be happy in the world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-person-needs-three-things-to-be-happy-in-the-world-someone-to-love/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To be truly happy in this world is a revolutionary act...It is a radical change of view that liberates us so that we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/to-be-truly-happy-in-this-world-is-a-revolutionary-act-it-is-a/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) > [If each one of us could make just one other happy, the whole world would know happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-simenon/if-each-one-of-us-could-make-just-one-other-happy-the-whole-world/) [Georges Simenon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-simenon/) > [That money is not the secret to happiness has been well documented. 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It's like how a fire breaks your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rza/knowledge-is-like-fire-cause-it-breaks-down-things-so-you-can-see/) [RZA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rza/) > [All the things that truly matter beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace arise from beyond the mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/all-the-things-that-truly-matter-beauty-love-creativity-joy-inner/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Though everything else may appear shallow and repulsive, even the smallest task in music is so absorbing, and carries us so far away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-mendelssohn/though-everything-else-may-appear-shallow-and-repulsive-even-the/) [Felix Mendelssohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-mendelssohn/) > [ “\[T\]he more man accepts his limitations, the better is he enabled to know things truly.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-rushdoony/t-he-more-man-accepts-his-limitations-the-better-is-he-enabled-to/) [R.J. Rushdoony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-rushdoony/) ## More by Tom Bodett > [Kids in Alaska don't know they're growing up on the Last Frontier. It's just what they see on the license plates, and it's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/kids-in-alaska-don-t-know-they-re-growing-up-on-the-last-frontier-it/) [Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) > [Did you ever notice that nobody you see on television looks like anyone you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/did-you-ever-notice-that-nobody-you-see-on-television-looks-like/) [Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) > [It's not like Alaska isn't wilderness - it mostly is. But most Alaskans don't live in the wild. 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But it isn't going to be the laugh-a-minute kind of thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/my-work-is-still-very-much-light-hearted-positive-outlook-laugh-at/) [Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) > [Americans are generally very self-sufficient and I think generally averse to pretension, just as I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/americans-are-generally-very-self-sufficient-and-i-think-generally/) [Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) > [I'm real. I believe what I'm saying. 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An optimist laughs to forget, but a pessimist forgets to laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/the-difference-between-an-optimist-and-a-pessimist-an-optimist-laughs/) [Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) > [I know how to make adults laugh pretty well. I don't know if kids think I'm that funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/i-know-how-to-make-adults-laugh-pretty-well-i-don-t-know-if-kids/) [Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) > [Professor Al Drake encouraged me to just write the way I talk. I decided if that's what I needed to do, I didn't need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/professor-al-drake-encouraged-me-to-just-write-the-way-i-talk-i/) [Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) > [I went to Alaska as a young man just looking for adventure. And like so many of us in the '70s, we found it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/i-went-to-alaska-as-a-young-man-just-looking-for-adventure-and-like/) [Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) > [For some people, you know, Garrison Keillor, Rush Limbaugh, really the stars, they've got a passion. They eat, drink and breathe radio, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/for-some-people-you-know-garrison-keillor-rush-limbaugh-really-the/) [Tom Bodett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) [Explore all 31 Tom Bodett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pancho-barnes/) [Browse all 40,288 Happiness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Bodett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/they-say-a-person-needs-just-three-things-to-be-truly-happy-in-this/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Happiness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/they-say-a-person-needs-just-three-things-to-be-truly-happy-in-this/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/tom-bodett-20459_happiness_they-say-a-person-needs-just-three-thing_1208286.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/tom-bodett-20459_happiness_they-say-a-person-needs-just-three-thing_1208286.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99b/tom-bodett-20459_happiness_they-say-a-person-needs-just-three-thing_1208286.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do…” — Tom Bodett", "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": "Tom Bodett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-bodett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "They say a person needs just...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/they-say-a-person-needs-just-three-things-to-be-truly-happy-in-this/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-bodett/they-say-a-person-needs-just-three-things-to-be-truly-happy-in-this/#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 } } ] } ```