Top 30 Arthur C. Brooks Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “Happiness isn’t found in some finite checklist of goals that we can diligently complete and then coast. It’s how we live our lives in the process. That’s why the four pillars of happiness are faith, family, community and meaningful work. Those are priorities we have to keep investing in.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

2. “The truth is that relative income is not directly related to happiness. Nonpartisan social-survey data clearly show that the big driver of happiness is earned success: a person’s belief that he has created value in his life or the life of others.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

3. “The key to happiness is not being rich; it’s doing something arduous and creating something of value and then being able to reflect on the fruits of your labor.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

4. “The more control you have over your life, the more responsible you feel for your own success – or failure.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

5. “Your satisfaction is what you have, divided by what you want.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

6. “Satisfaction comes not from chasing bigger and bigger things, but paying attention to smaller and smaller things.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

7. “Franklin Roosevelt had warned in his 1935 State of the Union address that “continued dependence” on government support “induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

8. “Meaningful progress toward social justice cannot be made in sclerotic education systems that put adults’ job security before children’s civil rights.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

9. “We will have bigger bureaucracies, bigger labor unions, and bigger state-run corporations. It will be harder to be an entrepreneur because of punitive taxes and regulations. The rewards of success will be expropriated for the sake of attaining greater income equality.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

10. “This is just an example of the age-old debate over two kinds of happiness that scholars refer to as hedonia and eudaimonia. Hedonia is about feeling good; eudaimonia is about living a purpose-filled life. In truth, we need both. Hedonia without eudaimonia devolves into empty pleasure; eudaimonia without hedonia can become dry.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

11. “No one sighs regretfully on his deathbed and says, “I can’t believe I wasted all that time with my wife and kids,” “volunteering at the soup kitchen,” or “growing in my spirituality.” No one ever says, “I should have spent more time watching TV and playing Angry Birds on my phone.” In my own life, nothing has given my life more meaning and satisfaction than my Catholic faith and the love of my.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

12. “If you think spreading money around by force seems like an odd definition of fairness, you’re not alone.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

13. “Whether we look at capitalism, taxes, business, or government, the data show a clear and consistent pattern: 70 percent of Americans support the free enterprise system and are unsupportive of big government.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

14. “The battle is on, and nothing less than the soul of America is at stake.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

15. “When I call for a standard of love, I am asking us all to listen to our hearts, of course. But also to think clearly, look at the facts, and do difficult things when necessary, so that we can truly lift people up and bring them together.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

16. “The system that enables the most people to earn the most success is free enterprise, by matching up people’s skills, interests, and abilities. In contrast, redistribution simply spreads money around. Even worse, it attenuates the ability to earn success by perverting economic incentives.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

17. “There’s a general intuition around the nonprofit world these days that younger generations are less likely to join. But I have found in my research that that’s quite wrong.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

18. “Yes, free markets tend to produce unequal incomes. We should not be ashamed of that. On the contrary, our system is the envy of the world and should be a source of pride.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

19. “As a political independent, I would gladly vote for any political party dedicated to limited government and entrepreneurship.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

20. “Free enterprise is essentially a formula not just for wealth creation, but for life satisfaction.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

21. “There is nothing inherently fair about equalizing incomes. If the government penalizes you for working harder than somebody else, that is unfair. If you save your money but retire with the same pension as a free-spending neighbor, that is also unfair.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

22. “What the United States needs is for a unifying, positive, aspirational force to sweep through our national community. American conservatives have a generational opportunity to become precisely this kind of force. We have a shot, if we take it, to help every single American build a better life, and unite our nation in the process.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

23. “There is a lot to be mad about in America today, but we must never forget that our cause is a joyous one. Conservatives should be optimists who believe in people. We champion hope and opportunity. Fighting for people, helping those who need us, and saving the country – this is, and should be, happy work.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

24. “Conservatives have the most effective solutions for human flourishing in our intellectual DNA. Our ideas have lifted up people all over the world. But the American people do not trust us to put those principles into practice to help those who need help right here.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

25. “He possessed an unflinching belief that all people – the poor, children, the elderly – were human assets, waiting to be developed so they could earn their success.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

26. “Liberals are more likely to see people as victims of circumstance and oppression, and doubt whether individuals can climb without governmental help. My own analysis using 2005 survey data from Syracuse University shows that about 90 percent of conservatives agree that “While people may begin with different opportunities, hard work and perseverance can usually overcome those disadvantages.” Liberals – even upper-income liberals – are a third less likely to say this.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

27. “But at the same time, a bloated welfare state that nudges middle-class citizens away from the labor force is moving our society away from the dignity of earned success.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

28. “The ideals of free enterprise and global leadership, central to American conservatism, are responsible for the greatest reduction in human misery since mankind began its long climb from the swamp to the stars.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

29. “Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

30. “Devote the back half of your life to serving others with your wisdom. Get old sharing the things you believe are most important. Excellence is always its own reward, and this is how you can be most excellent as you age.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

31. “As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote in his joyful essay “Friendship,” I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new. Shall I not call God the Beautiful, who daily showeth himself so to me in his gifts? I chide society, I embrace solitude, and yet I am not so ungrateful as not to see the wise, the lovely, and the noble-minded, as from time to time they pass my gate. Who hears me, who understands me, becomes mine – a possession for all time. An.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

32. “Get old sharing the things you believe are most important. Excellence is always its own reward, and this is how you can be most excellent as you age.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

33. “Wealth is like sea-water; the more we drink, the thirstier we become, and the same is true of fame” – that’s philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, writing in 1851, more than a century and half before social media was invented and made the whole problem ten times worse.”

— Arthur C. Brooks

34. “Do you dream about being remembered for your professional successes?”

— Arthur C. Brooks