Jake Pearson  00:00

Are you trying to figure out the secret to happiness? We're here at What Makes You Happy with Jake Pearson. We want to make that happiness more accessible for you in your life. So stick around as we interview everyday people, inspirational leaders and your favorite celebrities on what makes them happy.

Welcome back to the podcast where we ask the question, what makes you happy?

My name is Jake Pearson and today we have with us the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center Richard Blank from Costa Rica, formally living in Philadelphia. Richard, how are you? 

Jake Pearson  00:41

Beautiful. Well, let's get straight into it. Richard, what does make you happy?

Richard Blank  00:41

I'm doing great, Jake. So happy to be here tonight, I got a ton of things to share that make me very happy.

Richard Blank  00:51

First is better weather. When I moved away from Philadelphia, I didn't have to worry about snow anymore. 

And secondly, I believe that living a true life will make you happy. Money and jewels and gold, they lose their luster. And if you have essence, if you have balance and center, then you can live a very fulfilled life and I chose to be a linguist at the University of Arizona, I was a Spanish communication major, and I tripled down on my own skills and moved to Costa Rica 27 years old, to work at a friend's call center eventually I built my own, fell in love and marry Costa Rican. And here we are today. And putting business aside, Jake it is really about once again, following through on what makes you the most happy, you can earn a living so many different ways. And I decided to not live somebody else's life, but do my own. And naturally being a giver and not a receiver I was able to teach English as a second language, stability, balance, delivery, strategy and diplomacy. And since English is their second language, I increase their vocabulary with a thesaurus. And I believe in beautiful speech. Because today, a lot of people are just chatting and using emails. 

For me, I believe that the best relationships are built when people can communicate. So there's no miscommunications, people can properly express themselves, given luxury of time, they can take a step back, readjust themselves, be able to retain relationships and maybe represent yourself in the best light. And so the older that I get, I cut fat focus on the meat and realize my priorities in life. And a lot of them my good friend is spending time with family and those that you care about. It's really about your health. Because if you don't feel good every day, you can't be happy. But I indulge there are certain past times that I really enjoy that I like to reward myself, I'm an avid collector of pinball machines, and jukebox. I love to drive in my convertible that makes me exceptionally happy. Working out in the gym so I can get those sort of endorphins and feel good. 

And you know, if I'm able to enjoy some amazing seafood and exotic fruit, and some delicious drinks, these are the sort of physiological things that make me exceptionally happy. 

The last thing that really makes me happy is a ton of money. Because if you don't have money and you're not happy, then that's not a real life. There's so many different things you can do in this world that can make you happy. And one of them right now is spending time with you and your amazing audience, and sharing these ideas that if you can get past your parents guilt, you can work through the naysayers and the gray believers and those that say you can. If you can still be responsible financially and with your family, then by all means, I think you should take a chance. And I should think you should drink life and see where it can take you. And so for me, I'm really just trying to share with you that I've been very true. And I can stand tall and look at myself in the mirror. And I believe that those are the sorts of things my friends that make an exceptionally happy life.

Jake Pearson  04:01

Beautifully said and I do appreciate you sharing what makes you happy in your life. What would you say-- Well, actually, it's very interesting, because what you said right there in that last few sentences probably ties into what you would say to our listeners and our audience with what they could do for their own happiness. What would you say?

Richard Blank  04:20

It's very easy. Fortune favors the brave. We've all read the stories, you need to leave a castle to slay a dragon. And if you get that dragon, then you can save a princess and eventually you become a birth. It's the sort of circle that you have to have there. You're sitting back and waiting for these things to arrive at your doorstep. It may but most the time now you need to have some sort of incentive. You don't need to step on people's backs to get somewhere but you need to have some sort of initiative you need to be bold and have some grit. Especially in Australia, I love hearing those stories. You guys are very strong out there, you're very strong witted and you're survivalist. And I believe that you make the life that you want. If it's brick by brick, then it may take a while. Things happen a little bit faster than so be it. But in your mind, you must prepare yourself for forced march [phonetic 05:19]  or as a dreamer Jake, you might have to walk alone, might have to be the only one that believes in your dream. And maybe it's almost like the philosophy of the candle in the darkness. Focus on the light. Don't focus on the stuff that's around you. Because if you're thinking about that, you'll get wrapped up in some sort of spider's web and then you won't be able to get out. Then it becomes too late. 

So I think the best thing that somebody should do is their due diligence [phonetic 05:49]. Take deep breaths and meditate and ponder. And then you might be able to put your best.

Jake Pearson  05:57

Beautifully said, I really, really enjoyed that insight there. Richard, thank you so much for coming on the podcast to share all things that make you happy. We really appreciate it. Yeah, not just for me, but it's big audiences behalf as well. And if you'd love to connect with Richard, you can do so just by going to the podcast episode description below as usual. And clicking the few links there. Richard, it's been an absolute pleasure to have you on the podcast. Thank you so much. 

Thanks for listening to the podcast. We hope it gives you something to think about on your quest to discover what makes you happy. Make sure to check out whatmakesyouhappypodcast.com to connect with today's guest and follow us on all our social media platforms, and to stay up to date on what's happening next and what makes you happy. Don't forget to share this episode with a friend and we'll see you next time!