In this episode of the My First Million podcast, host Sam Parr and guest (Speaker B) discuss the underappreciated power of enthusiasm and positive psychology for entrepreneurs and teams. The guest recounts studying psychology at Harvard, working in Dan Gilbert’s happiness lab, and learning from professors Shawn Achor, Tal Ben‑Shahar, and Philip Stone. They highlight research showing that people often make decisions that don’t actually increase happiness, and that sustained happiness and a positive attitude improve long‑term performance. The conversation extends to how enthusiasm is rare among high‑achieving professionals, often perceived as low‑status, yet can be a decisive super‑power for building teams, attracting talent, and out‑performing competitors. Sam Parr reflects on his own “contagious energy” and occasional grumpiness, illustrating how enthusiasm can coexist with a tough leadership role. The episode concludes with practical advice: cultivate a good attitude, focus on small sources of joy, and treat positivity as a skill anyone can develop to gain a strategic edge in business and life.
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enthusiasm is such a superpower that most people could tap into and totally don't for whatever reason.
So I graduated undergrad and then I dropped out of Harvard Business School.
Okay. Gotcha. And you said you studied happiness. Like, is that like one class? Like I took a class called Getting Rich and, but you know, that wasn't like my major. It was just one class.
Is that really a class?
Yeah, so I actually, I studied psychology. I started in a track called Mind, Brain, Behavior and then ended up in psychology. And specifically, there was a happiness lab that Dan Gilbert was running where we focused on like how people make decisions, what makes us happy. And basically the headline of the whole, you know, my whole experience was we're really bad about making decisions that make us happy. We do things that we think will make us happy, but in fact, like getting the fancy car doesn't make you happy because then you have to clean the car, or getting a bigger home out of the city doesn't necessarily make you happy because then you commute farther to your work. So it was just really, really, I think, a good perspective of it's the little things that really make us happy.
I love that. You know, this is very on topic. So, so I remember back in the day, there's a guy who was, I think, a professor at Harvard named Shawn Achor. Is that somebody who was?
Yeah, that was— he was one of my teachers, Shawn Achor. Yeah, he's wonderful. And actually, his core professor, Tal Ben-Shahar and Philip Stone, were my thesis advisors.
So he gave this TED Talk. That's pretty great. I still remember it. And I watched this thing like 10 years ago. That's kind of, you know, some talks just stick with you. And it was called, I think, The Happiness Advantage or the sort of something like that. And if I remember correctly, the thesis was being happy is actually an advantage to getting great results. Some people think about it the other way, like, if a great thing happens, then I'll be happy. And his advice, if I— what I remember from 10 years ago, was if I am happy, I'll have better results. Is that a good— is that— am I accurate, or am I just totally misremembering?
So the short term is that, um, in— under extreme duress, and extreme stress, you can outperform in the short term. If you're actually very happy and relaxed and fulfilled, you outperform in the long call. So when you're building teams for long-term success, so, you know, I have Inspired Capital, it's a venture fund. We have a really unique group of people that have come together to build this firm. And we're trying to build a long-term fund. And so I'm very focused on let's make sure we have long-term happiness. Because you outperform in the long run. And so, and the other thing is, I think one of the things I learned from Sean and Tal, my professors, is positive energy and attitude are actually an undervalued resource. People are very naturally drawn to people that are positive. If you're super negative over and over, people don't want to be around you. They don't want to work with you. They don't want to show up for you. And so I think, again, you know, one thing people always ask me is, what would I tell high schoolers? And I'm like, have a good attitude. It goes really far. And it's part of that point of happiness is an advantage. So is positivity.
I always talk about this. Enthusiasm is sort of in complete undersupply amongst successful people. So, you know, when you're trying to compete and you're trying to be successful—
You're talking to the wrong person. I'm like the stupidest, most enthusiastic.
Well, obviously you bought in on this. What I'm saying is that for most people or most of the environments I've been around, whether it's like, you know, entrepreneurs, investors, Right now I'm at a bigger company 'cause my company got acquired. It's like the execs at this company. In some ways, enthusiasm, I think people see it as like a low status thing to do. It's like, oh, you know, sort of being reserved is somehow more, I don't know, prestigious or powerful in some way. And I've gone the complete opposite direction where I'm overly enthusiastic and I'm like, dude, I have 1/10 of the skills of all the people that have been around me. But I've been able to go so far because I think enthusiasm is such a superpower that most people could tap into and totally don't for whatever reason.
I mean, I totally agree with you. And beyond— not only do I totally agree with you, I also think it's worth saying that it is a skill that we can all adopt, right? Like, just trying to have a positive outlook is something— you know, I can't grow taller or I can't get better at you know, a certain trait that I just don't have. Trying to be positive and trying to be joyful, I think actually it's something we can all put on. It may not be easy for everybody to do it, but it is possible.
Sam, are you an enthusiastic guy?
I think I am. I think that's why people like this podcast. So we have a very loyal audience, and I think it's because people feel as though Sean and I have a little bit of a contagious energy. And yeah, it is, it is positivity, or it's very positive. But I think some of my coworkers will say that I'm kind of grumpy because I've got to be the bad guy, unfortunately, a lot of times.
I think you have like an angry enthusiasm. Your switch flips from like extreme enthusiasm, and it's super infectious, to like quickly very angry or grumpy about something. And then you switch back sort of effortlessly, but for the people around you, they're probably just getting rocked by it.
Yeah, I, uh, like, maybe you were like this, uh, but like, I will fight with my like executives at my company, but then I can— we can just hug it, we're good, we're good. But I'm definitely like that.
