Chapter 1: The Happiness Survey

Every 10 years, a nationwide survey gets conducted to find the happiest city in the country. The surveyors travelled from city to city interviewing middle-aged residents. Rather than asking residents how happy they felt, the surveyors asked them to tell the stories of their lives. They reasoned that a happy life would surely make for a happy story.

Decade after decade, MetroCity was declared the happiest in the country. The results were not that surprising. MetroCity had a community of tight-knit families with very successful people: lawyers, doctors, engineers everywhere. It also had one of the highest median household income in the country.

Chapter 2: A Promising Young Man

A baby boy was born into a middle-class family in MetroCity. He grew up surrounded by successful people. His parents worked hard to give him a good education, and he did his best to make them proud.

He graduated from a good university, and found a high-paying job. On his 30th birthday, he came home to share some good news. He announced: “I’m a millionaire now!” The father looked at him and said: “So, what? Look around. All your friends are millionaires. Go back to work. We will celebrate when you are a billionaire.”

The son went back to work. He realized that his father was right. How hard could it be to become a billionaire and make his father proud again? His father had, after all, always been proud of him as a child.

Chapter 3: Humble Beginnings

Another decade passed. The young man left his job and started a company. The business flourished, grew rapidly, and was eventually acquired for a great deal of money. By forty, he was wealthier than he had ever imagined. He owned a beautiful house, had a loving family, and no longer needed to work for a living.

But he was not a billionaire. Two of his childhood friends had also started successful companies. Neither of them was a billionaire either. One evening, he visited his father and said: “It is not my fault after all. Look around, do you see any billionaires. I went to only a public school, after all. Kids who grow up to become billionaires are born in richer households and go to private schools”.

The father initially did not agree. But anyway, he tried floating this story among his friends about how his son only turned out to be a millionaire and how people like him who are not born into riches cannot dream anything bigger and how the odds are stacked against them. One by one, his friends agreed. With every repetition, the story seemed more convincing. The father slowly came to terms with reality and accepted to his son: “You’re right! Considering where you started, you’ve done remarkably well.”

Chapter 4: Family Story

Over time, “the rags to riches” story became a favorite at family gatherings. The father enjoyed telling it, and the son enjoyed hearing it. With each retelling, their humble beginnings seemed a little humbler, and the son’s achievements a little more remarkable.

Meanwhile, the son had become a father himself. He was determined to give the best possible life to his son.

The boy grew up in a happy, successful family. He loved listening to his grandfather’s stories about how his father had risen above his humble beginnings through determination and hard work. He hoped that one day he too would make his father just as proud.

Chapter 5: Another Promising Young Man

Years passed, and the boy grew into a successful young man. He joined a prestigious company, rose quickly through its ranks, and eventually became its CEO. By the age of thirty, he had accumulated a fortune of a hundred million dollars.

With all the excitement in his eyes, the boy came to see his father. He said: “Father! I’ve become the CEO of one of the biggest companies in MetroCity. And I’m worth a hundred million dollars!”. The father said: “So what? I sent you to a private school that has produced billionaires. We will celebrate when you are a billionaire.”

Chapter 6: Another Happiness Survey

Outside the house was a young reporter conducting the happiness survey. The father stepped out and told him his story. How he was born in a humble middle class family. How he was a millionaire when he was 30. How had created multiple startups. How he is a proud father of a son who is now a CEO of the biggest company in the city. And how he had achieved so much despite his humble beginnings from a middle class, public school childhood.

The reporter was impressed. It was a remarkable story of a man who had risen above his humble beginnings, made his father proud, and raised a successful son of his own.

Little did he know that this story of triumph had once been a story of disappointment. What was now the story of a remarkable achievement had once been considered not good enough. Over the years, the father and son had come to see the same life differently. Whether the father, long dead now, had learnt to appreciate his son’s achievements or had simply learnt to tell a happier story that his friends and family would agree, we cannot say for sure.

The survey was wrapped up. For the tenth consecutive decade, MetroCity was declared the happiest city in the country.