7 years ago when Sutter was a lost, over-entertained, safety-seeking 20 something, staying in a Hut in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village, he stumbled upon a book called Happiness by Matthieu Ricard, and his views on happiness being a skill, one in which we can actually develop. Ricard wrote “One is not born wise; one becomes it,” and Sutter wondered if we become happy the same way we become wise. In this talk Sutter shares how he stumbled upon Happiness in the hut, and then dived deeper into why he wasn’t happier, and if and how he could be.

This talk was recorded Live at Happiness and Its Causes 2020. Sutter speaks about his new book The Awake Journal, the Four Foundations for Happiness - Exploration - Know Yourself - Meaning - Presence - and shares many practical skills to boost our happiness.

Sutter blends the wisdom of many great thinkers including Epictetus, Aristotle, Thich Nhat Hanh, The Dalai Lama and William James with his own unique experiences and anecdotes.

Sutter asks the big question: is being hopeful and positive the best way to live a life? He sets out to answer it in his own unique style and engaging commentary, cleverly picking apart his own experiences and the wisdom of great thinkers like Thich Nhat Hanh and Daniel Gottlieb, to create an antidote for fear and anxiety.

Is there a better way than being hopeful? Can we change our stories? Is optimism preventing us from living a good life? Should we bother dreaming about something better? Is hopelessness that bad? Sutter dissects these ideas in a fun and thought provoking way, making his listeners contemplate if there is a better way to create joy in their own lives.

Sutter finishes with a guided meditation and practice.

Happiness is overused, over defined, over commercialized and productized, and thus it has lost its power and impact. But, Sutter uses the wisdom of philosophers to reimagine our view of happiness and how it can make our lives better. Gone is the boring, generic and mundane happiness, instead it is robust, gritty and cool. Sutter dissects the many, many ideas about happiness that have flooded our lives and creates clarity and, most importantly, a way to implement it into our lives to truly rejoice in it.

Thought provoking, smart and engaging, Sutter does a stellar job in bringing together vast ideas into a compelling and concise case for living happier.

The talk includes a guided meditation, tips to implement, and a bonus practice at the end.

Sutter explores the adventures that lie within each of us as we navigate what to many is a closed off, COVID affected, planet. He sells us on a new vision for an extraordinary type of travel, one in which we don't have to wait for the borders to open.

Using the wisdom from Pinker, Epictetus, Von Goethe, Proust and his own adventures and experiences in 60+ countries, Sutter cleanly and concisely shows us that there is clarity, peace and joy to be found, even in the most unpredictable of worlds.

20 minutes of engaging discussion that is sure to provoke thought and discussion (and maybe a little controversy).

Sutter follows up with a guided meditation.

In this episode Sutter compassionately tackles the concept of entropy, the falling apart of things, and the inevitability of suffering. Using powerful insights from great thinkers like Thich Nhat Hanh, Carl Jung, John O'Donohue and Bernie Siegel to highlight how we can all use the absurdity of life (Camus) to bring peace, joy and fulfillment to our lives.

Sutter dissects his own recent experiences and tragedies to formulate a strong case for softening our egos and preconceived ideas and builds a foundation for shifting perspectives, for resets, and for creativity and playfulness.

Raw and accessible, Sutter packs a lot of unique ideas into a short and highly engaging talk.

He follows the talk up with a short guided meditation.