What 8 Decades of Research Reveals About Living The ‘Good Life’ (Hint: It’s Not More Money)

Written By: Brad Pedersen

Recently, I picked up The Good Life, a book that unpacks the findings from Harvard’s 80+ year study on happiness. As an avid reader and life-long learner, I love mining new resources for usable insights. But this book caught me off guard: I found myself being deeply challenged by seemingly the simplest of truths.

Over eight decades, across multiple generations, through wars, recessions, recoveries, and revolutions, the researchers kept asking the same core question: What does it take to live a good life?

The answer? One factor stood head and shoulders above the rest: Healthy Relationships.

As I read this, I found myself wondering, “Could it really be that simple?” And yet as I read on and to my surprise, it was. More than career choice, financial success, or personal achievement this single factor stood head and shoulders above them all. 

When it comes to predicting not just the quality of our lives, but also their length, one truth rises above the rest: nothing is more impactful than having deep, meaningful, and soul-nourishing relationships. The research is clear—these connections aren’t just emotionally fulfilling; they are biologically life-giving.

From Superficial to Substantive

It’s one thing to know this in theory. It’s another to realize how easy it is to neglect it in practice. Sure, most of us say we value relationships and that we have lots of ‘friends’ via our social media feeds. People with whom we “like” posts, fire off a few emojis, and send the occasional birthday message. The simple truth is that while we are communicating more than ever, what we lack is real meaningful connections. 

If we’re honest, most of our relational interactions take place in the shallow end of the pool. While communicating in this way provides quick spikes of dopamine, it does not give us what we really need to thrive in relationships. 

It’s like reaching for junk food when you’re hungry—filling up on empty calories when what your body is actually craving is real, whole nourishment. In the same way, real connection can’t be satisfied with a comment thread or a quick emoji; It requires presence. It takes time and a willingness to go deeper—through transparency, vulnerability, and the courage to truly be seen.

We Default to What’s Easy to Measure

Peter Drucker once said, “What gets measured gets managed.” And for most of us, the easiest things to measure are tied to our careers and accomplishments. We can track the dollars, count the followers, tally up our titles and trophies. It’s easy to let those metrics become the scoreboard for how we think we’re doing in life.

But if we know—deep down—that meaningful relationships are the truest marker of a good and fulfilling life, how do we measure progress there? That’s the challenge. There’s no dashboard to show the health of your marriage. No app to track the depth of your friendships. No spreadsheet that captures the trust your kids feel with you.

And that’s exactly why it’s so easy to drift; to focus on the obvious and urgent while quietly neglecting what’s invisible and essential.

The Investment We Miss

Real relationships—the kind that define what it means to live a good life—don’t happen by accident. They happen by an investment of time. Here’s the truth: you will never drift into depth—you can only choose to create it.  And the fastest way to audit the health of your relationships is to look at where your time went.

But time alone isn’t enough. The deeper nuance is this: real connection also requires your attention and presence. How many of us have been physically present with a spouse or child, only to mentally wander off into the headlines or highlight reels on our phones?

Depth only grows when we focus. When we show up with curiosity, ask real questions, and purposefully create meaningful moments together. That’s where true connection lives—not in the time we spend, but in the presence we invest into the time we are together.

A Sober Tale Worth Considering

Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart, reportedly said "I blew it" on his deathbed.  What exactly had he blown?  It wasn’t a failed investment.  It wasn’t a missed expansion opportunity. It wasn’t some scandal buried beneath the surface. No—what Sam Walton, one of the richest men in the world, admitted in his final days was far more sobering than any of that.

He blew it… with his family.

Despite building one of the most iconic business empires in the world, Walton confessed that he barely knew his youngest son and his relationships with his grandchildren were distant. 

Here was a man who had achieved what so many strive for: massive success, untouchable wealth, legacy brands, cultural impact. And yet, in the quiet moments near the end… what surfaced wasn’t pride. It was regret.

So, Where Are You Right Now?

What the Harvard study has revealed is that a good life doesn’t come from focusing on more financial wins, accomplishments or the accumulation of stuff. It comes from more substance. And that substance is found in cultivating deep meaningful relationships where we can be seen, known, and loved without having to earn it.

If we want to move from performance to presence, from metrics to meaning, from hustle to wholeness—start with focusing on our relationships.  Not our follower count. Not our contacts list. Rather it is a focus on developing our real relationships.

And this isn’t about shaming us for the success we have achieved as we have built and scaled businesses. It’s about first becoming aware of where we might be falling short that if not kept in check will lead to a place of regret. Then it is about redefining what real success actually is and starting to invest the time and attention needed to ensure we are creating value in the right places.

Because if the people closest to us feel farthest from us… if the ones we love most know us least… as Sam Walton learned all too late, no financial metric in the world can make up for that.

And that begins by asking the harder question—not “What am I building?” but rather: “At what cost am I building it?”

As you consider where you are at in looking to live a good life; look at your calendar, your most important relationships, your commitments—and ask yourself:

•   Am I investing in what matters—or focusing on what I can easily measure?
•   Am I prioritizing the right people?
•   Am I drifting—or am I deepening with where I invest my time?

Want to Go Deeper?

We created Full Spectrum because we’re convinced that the good life is one where work and relationships are integrated, not traded; Where what you’re building professionally doesn’t come at the cost of what you’re cultivating personally.  

If you’re an accomplished leader sensing that it’s time to reconnect with what really matters, we invite you to join us.

Our next Full Spectrum immersive workshop takes place on April 10th, and it’s designed to help leaders like you build wealth that goes beyond money—anchored in More Meaning, Greater Impact, and Deeper Connections.

🔗 Click HERE to learn more and reserve your spot.