The daily activity that contributes most to happiness is having dinner with friends. The daily activity that detracts most from happiness is commuting. Eat more. Commute less. David Brooks More Quotes by David Brooks More Quotes From David Brooks If there is a series of attacks like that or, God forbid, if ISIS is really sending soldiers across Europe and maybe across the world for a barrage of these things, then the political climate is revolutionized here. And maybe the [Donald] Trump speech will look like a precursor to a climate that we're all about to walk into. David Brooks isis political europe It is especially painful when narcissists suffer memory loss because they are losing parts of the person they love most. David Brooks suffering loss memories The roots of great innovation are never just in the technology itself. They are always in the wider historical context. They require new ways of seeing. As Einstein put it, 'The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.' David Brooks technology roots thinking There is a virtue in shamelessness. David Brooks virtue Donald Trump has a pre-modern monarchic family structure. His business is a monarchy with family members all around. His administration is a monarchy with family members all around. David Brooks modern administration structure I think the voters who voted for Donald Trump certainly are willing to tolerate a lot of ugliness, but maybe, if you're in desperate circumstances, or you think America is deeply in trouble, you're willing to tolerate that without necessarily liking it. David Brooks voters america thinking The effectiveness of a group of people is not determined by their IQ but by how well they communicate. David Brooks effectiveness groups people Stairway to Wisdom”) David Brooks detailed the needed ingredients to gaining a deep understanding of a social problem, beginning with the data and moving on to first-hand accounts. The highest rung on his stairway, though, went beyond those: “Empathy opens you up to absorb the good and the bad. Love impels you not just to observe but to seek union—to think as another thinks and feel as another feels. David Brooks hands moving thinking We shouldn't just allow gay marriage. We should insist on gay marriage. We should regard it as scandalous that two people could claim to love each other and not want to sanctify their love with marriage and fidelity. David Brooks gay two people I think Barack Obama's foreign policy will be regarded more failure than success. David Brooks foreign-policy policy thinking It’s worth noting that you can devote your life to community service and be a total schmuck. You can spend your life on Wall Street and be a hero David Brooks wall community hero Highly educated young people are tutored, taught and monitored in all aspects of their lives, except the most important, which is character building. When it comes to this, most universities leave them alone. David Brooks leave-me-alone character people Donald Trump didn't emerge from the orthodoxy of the Republican Party. And so there's going to be bigger differences than normal. David Brooks orthodoxy differences party The politics is broken up and down. And Trump may emerge from a reality TV world that is much more powerful than we think. And there is the prospect that this is where we are, which is an horrific thought. David Brooks powerful reality thinking Donald Trump is so egregious in the way he talks about women, the way he allegedly treated women. David Brooks treated trump way [Betsy DeVos] is quite a smart person, capable, pretty sophisticated in subtle thought. And so to me, that puts her in the realm of policy. But we're in a climate where, as today, she tries to visit a school, and she can't even do that because protesters are blocking that. David Brooks smart block school I think Trump's attention span is super low. I don't think he has the expertise to actually run a foreign policy. David Brooks running attention thinking Marital happiness is far more important than anything else in determining personal well-being. David Brooks well-being marriage important To explain the unknown by the known is a logical procedure; to explain the known by the unknown is a form of theological lunacy. David Brooks atheism atheist religion The key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not a divine spark. It's not I.Q., a generally bad predictor of success, even in realms like chess. Instead, it's deliberate practice. Top performers spend more hours (many more hours) rigorously practicing their craft. David Brooks crafts keys practice