You might not make it to the top, but if you are doing what you love, there is much more happiness there than being rich or famous.
Interpretation
Pursuing what you love brings more joy than wealth or fame.
Tony Hawk emphasizes that the true essence of happiness lies not in achieving wealth or fame, but in engaging in activities and passions that one genuinely loves. He suggests that the fulfillment and joy derived from doing what you love far outweigh the superficial benefits of popularity or fortune.
In practice
In a motivational speech about pursuing your dreams.
The pro skaters I know are responsible members of society. Many of them are fathers, homeowners, world travelers and successful entrepreneurs. Their hairdos and tattoos are simply part of our culture, even when they raise eyebrows during PTA meetings.
I believe that people should take pride in what they do, even if it is scorned or misunderstood by the public at large.
If I can stand up when I'm 80, I'll be happy to cruise around on a skateboard. If I feel like my skills are fading, I just won't do it publicly.
When I started skating, it was such a small community. You didn't aspire to be rich or famous or make a career out of it because that wasn't something anyone had done yet.
I consider skateboarding an art form, a lifestyle and a sport. 'Action sport' would be the least offensive categorization.
My definition of success is doing what you love. I feel many people do things because they feel they have to, and are hesitant to risk following their passion.
I felt emotions of gentleness and pleasure, that had long appeared dead, revive within me. Half surprised by the novelty of these sensations, I allowed myself to be borne away by them, and forgetting my solitude and deformity, dared to be happy.
Happiness is the result of inner maturity. It depends on us alone, and requires patient work, carried out from day to day. Happiness must be built, and this requires time and effort. In the long term, happiness and unhappiness are therefore a way of being, or a life skill.
Each of us deserves the freedom to pursue our own version of happiness. No one deserves to be bullied.
Waiting to be happy limits our brain's potential for success, whereas cultivating positive brains makes us more motivated, efficient, resilient, creative, and productive, which drives performance upward.
All happiness comes from awareness. The more we are conscious the deeper the joy. Acceptance of pain, non-resistance, courage and endurance - these open deep and perennial sources of real happiness, true bliss.
I'm happy about working; I'm happy about gracing the stage and coming out and making people laugh. I never treat it like a job or feel that way. It's the best thing ever to me, and I feel like a kid in a candy store.
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