Thank you. Very excited. Were gonna go talk to people about happiness. Oh, oh, beautiful. You guys are going to like it. Are we gonna find some happiness here . Of course. Yeah . I can feel it. Ok. Trust me. [chuckles] [horns honking] if the point of this journey is to find happiness, i need to force myself out of my comfort zone. So im visiting one of the statistically most optimistic countries on earth. This place is an avalanche of smiles and cheeriness. Iwell, i cant get past the feeling that all this positivity is gonna be the end of me. [nicky blitz blast off] getting too close, better pull on back what if i travel the world, what if i travel the world, explain what makes some places happier than others . Im looking at the ways that where we are effect who we are. It has been said that [inaudible] is the chief force of unhappiness. Well, that is okay. Im already unhappy, so i have nothing left to lose. Holman le pen heres something you dont see every day. Beans, everywhere. I found cases. I am baffled by ghanas capital city. If we take the annual rankings at face value, ghana is not a very happy place. 2022, it rained a 111th in the World Happiness report. Amongst the bottom third in the international scale. Sleeping here, theres a lot of challenges. Support its too stressful. Its not easy. But theres something remarkable happening at this west african nation of 82 million. The happiness report fast boats to protect their happiness in the coming years, the metric known as future life evaluation, a crowd was amongst the next on earth. Earth. So ive come to ghana to find out how much of our happiness is a matter of perspective. [laughter] to get started, here i am hailing a random taxi. Hi, how are you doing . Im good. How are you . Fine. Until you notice that my driver is already micd up before ive even gotten in, so clearly, this was planned. Are you comfortable in here . Im very comfortable. Leg room . Yes, this is beautiful. So my name is esenam. Esenam. And ill be your driver for the day. Wonderful. Today, my driver is esenam nyador, otherwise known as miss taxi. She might just be the most delightfully charming revolutionary ive ever met. You see, miss taxi was denied entrance by all of the maledominated taxi unions in ghana because parts of the country still operate as a patriarchy. So she said, to hell with all of you, and started her own allfemale transportation service. [upbeat music] ok, so this is accra. To our righthand side, thats the bank of ghana. Bank of ghana, ok. You do know that if we are short on cash ok. You know were gonna rob that . I didnt say rob. Well, you kind of hinted rob. You kind of were like but if youre caught, i dont know you, honestly. I have documentation that you actually do know me. Its on camera. [laughs] im gonna make a little documentary on my phone. Freedom and justice, 1957. Exactly. For me, this space is very, very important. Its the majestic space of independence. Such a breath of fresh air. Hey, how are you . Youre selling sunglasses. Whoa. Thats a rap star. Too elton john. [laughs] you know elton john . This looks a bit feminine. What do you think about this one . Im ok with the divine feminine. I like to express my femininity. Oh, i like it. All right. Here we go. Oh, what do we got here . Oh oh, beautiful. Ill take one of those. Thank you. Keep the change. Medaase. Medaase. [laughs] thank you. Tell me about your life as a female taxi driver. For me, being a taxi driver was my statement of gender deviancy. The taxi unions i spoke to wouldnt let me in as a female taxi driver. But i stood my ground. It motivated me to give other women the opportunity to be trained in the Transport Industry in ghana. So how does your family feel about this struggle that youve undertaken . Ill tell you something. What my sons see me doing today actually informs their perception about life as they grow. My sons see a Gender Fight Being fought here. Right, right. And this space says it all. The black star, its actually the star and guidance for africas freedom and unity. Mm. For 150 years, ghana was the center of the british slave trade, with millions sent across the atlantic from these shores. From timber to gold to cocoa, ghanas rich soil led to centuries of that wonderfully european arrangement in which the colonial power pillages all the resources from a place and gives nothing in return. But in 1957, ghanaians banded together and kicked out the brits. Ghana is free forever making them the first subsaharan nation to gain independence from colonial rule. Ghana has maintained a stable democracy since 1992. And today, miss taxi is the cheerful symbol of the incredible progress being made around here. I would say ghanaians take their joy from helping others. Yeah. Seeing my fellow women have a space to explore their talent and not be limited by who they are for the sake of gender, for me, thats bliss. Study after study tells us that investment in something bigger than ourselves is crucial to a happier life. The root of miss taxis happiness is the meaning she derives from helping others. Have i been going about this journey all wrong . Perhaps i should be looking for something bigger than myself, chasing meaning, not happiness. For answers, im going somewhere to get my ass kicked. Are you a new at t customer looking to upgrade your phone . Youre trapped locked into your contract for three years. Introducing the easy unlock. Bring your at t locked phone and tmobile will pay it off and give you one of the latest 5g smart phones free free your phone now at tmobile Chevy Silverado has what it takes to do it all. With up to 13 camera views. And the z71 offroad package. You ok . Yeah. Any truck can help you make a living. This one helps you build a life. Chevy silverado. Sleepovers just arent what they used to be. This one helps you a house full of screens . Basically no hiccups . You guys have no idea how good youve got it. How old are you . Like, 80 . Back in my day, it was scary stories and flashlights. We dont get scared. Oh, really . Mom can see your search history. Thats what i thought. Introducing the next generation 10g network. Only from xfinity. Goli, taste your goals. Percussive music] goli, taste your goals. Pulsing across every city block in ghana, theres momentum. [all singing] its as if everyone here knows that the full potential of an entire nation is about to be realized. Hello. Hi. And nowhere in accra is this more apparent than in the teenytiny neighborhood of bukom. [upbeat music] this village is no bigger than a few football fields, yet it has somehow produced more World Champion boxers than anywhere else on earth. From Joshua Clottey to the professor azumah nelson. Hes down the fight is over bukom is boxings mecca. Ok, were gonna do some training. Im meeting with legendary trainer carl lokko, who promises to introduce me to a ruthless upandcoming fighter who just might teach me a thing or two about optimism. Youreyoure the boxer . Yeah. Uh, ok, hi. Hi. Im rainn. Dont let her pint size fool you. Carls 13yearold daughter najat is a decorated boxer with a brutal left hook. A left hook im about to put my face in front of, apparently. Just hit the ac there, carl . Thatd be great. Ok. What made you want to box . How did you know that najat was talented . I can see clear that shes fond of doing everything with some kind of different energy. What is this . Ah, thats like a running man. Thats a dance. [laughs] now youre going to come try the workout, right . Thats it. Yes. What are you laughing at . [laughs] come on now. Im pretty badass. You gotta admit it. [groans] push it. Push it down. Uhhuh. I have a big melon. [laughs] [bell dinging] go on, go on. Ok. What if i just go like that . She cant hit me. Oh yes. Get close. Oh, she got me. Get close, go. Get close, go. Im already exhausted. No. No, go on, go on. Can i throw up in this helmet . Well, i guess it will come. Go on. Right out the bottom. How is this . What are you gonna do about this, huh . Thats it. Im gonna pull that down over your eyes. Good, najat, good. Im gonna pull that over your eyes. [grunts] uhhuh, nice one. Her left is so fast, ah [laughs] stop. [bell dinging] ok, ok, i give up. Ding, ding. Yes. [laughs] oh, my gosh. All right, all right. Oh. [grunts] whew. Wow. So that was intense. Im ready to pass out. I dont even see a drop of sweat on her. [laughs] youre an amazing athlete. Whats special about the ghanaian boxers . They always believe that they can be somebody. They are making ghana proud by winning world titles for ghana. Najat now is going to fight for ghana. And where do you hope to go . What do you hope to achieve . Ok, so you want to do it for ghana, not for yourself, not for your dad . Jab, jab, right. Najats dream isnt wearing a medal around her neck. Its having the whole Country Rally behind her. Good. The National Pride here is so inspiring. No wonder everyone feels so optimistic about the future. Yeah, keep it up. Youre doing good. But what does all this positivity even get you . I feel exhausted. No. Can i get a smoothie . Well, ok, fine, a lot. It gets you a lot. The Gold Standard for measuring optimism is known as the life orientation test. It asks people how strongly they agree or disagree with a series of statements like, if something can go wrong for me, it will, or, in uncertain times, i usually expect the best. Researchers from harvard tracked female nurses over the span of four decades and found that those who reported an optimistic outlook had a 30 reduced risk of mortality versus the pessimists. The optimists were less likely to die from everything from cancer to heart failure. Fortunately, optimism is proven to be contagious. And nowhere is that more apparent than in ghana. Hello hello. You must be deijha. I am. Meet deijha gordon. Deijhas family is from jamaica, where countless ghanaians were sent during the slave trade. So after moving here in 2019, she started a food truck serving jamaican delicacies to return a piece of Ghanaian Culture to its people. And she hasnt looked back. So tell me your story. Youre from brooklyn. Yes. Im from brooklyn, new york. And i used to work for the post office. Uhhuh. And i visited for the first time in 2015. And i was sold right away. I had a vision that i started a restaurant. It was so profound for me that i felt like i had to follow that calling. And it brought you here. Yes. Deijha packed up her life, moved to accra on her own. [car horns honking] and made her vision a reality. Do you know what it takes to move across the world, get a food truck built, start a business . Hey, come to my food truck. But the love is real here in ghana. Youre here, baby. So what was the difference you felt coming from the United States to ghana . So i didnt realize the pressure that i had as a black woman living in america, right, until i came here, and my skin color wasnt a thing for me. Im able to create my own identity and be my true, authentic self, and not have to worry what anyone thinks of me. And then also, a lot of ghanaians love the fact that i gave up my western world to come to their country. They welcome me here. People from All Over The World are flocking to ghana as the country capitalizes on its year of return campaign. 2019 marked 400 years since the first documented slave ship landed in virginia. Over the past year, the country marked the anniversary by hosting cultural events. In 2019, over a Million People visited ghana during the year of the return, an effort by the nation to unify members of its diaspora. Your ancestors, how do you feel a connection to them . What would they be saying to you right now . Whew, you are my wildest dream, for sure. I just imagine what it was like for them. You know, theyre living in their homeland, and they get stripped of their identity, and theres no return. But i returned. So for me, that was so powerful to pay that respect to my ancestors. And i think theyll be pretty proud of me. dad we got our Subaru Forester wilderness to discover all of the places that make us feel something more. vo subaru is the National Park foundations largest corporate donor, helping expand access for all. When my doctor gave me breztri for my copd things changed for me. Breztri gave me better breathing, symptom improvement, and reduced flareups. Breztri wont replace a Rescue Inhaler for sudden breathing problems. It is not for asthma. Tell your doctor if you have a Heart Condition or high Blood Pressure before taking it. Dont take breztri more than prescribed. Breztri may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. Call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. Ask your doctor about breztri. Im saving with liberty mutual, mom. They customize your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need. You could save 700 dollars just by switching. Ooooh, let me put a reminder on my phone. On the top of the pile oh. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Sweet pillows of softness only pay for what you need. This is soft holy charmin oh excuse me roll it back, everybody charmin ultra soft is so cushiony soft, youll want more but its so absorbent, you can use less. Enjoy the go with charmin. Wayfair has nice prices, so you can have nice things. Um kelly . We have champagne taste. On a hard seltzer budget. Wayfairs got just what you need what. Yall this is nice. Salad plates . Kelly clarkson . Im fancy now i have always wanted statement lighting. Get nice things at nice prices at wayfair wayfair, youve got just what i need all right, thank you. Ill bring it back later. [upbeat music] theres no mystery to why ghana ranks low on the happiness scale. A quarter of the country lives in poverty. Only a third has access to clean water. And yet people here have an uncanny ability to focus on the good. The goats are adorable. [goat bleating] and i want to figure out where it all comes from. [goat bleating] a little over an hour outside of accra, just beyond the shadow of its modern skyscrapers, theres a whole other ghana, prampram, a small Fishing Village and home to an absolute legend in these parts. I heard someone refer to you as like the mayor. Youre the unofficial mayor of this place, is that right . Yeah, kind of. Anny osabutey is a writer who was born and raised in prampram. He won an award as an african journalist of the year, attended the prestigious Columbia School of journalism, and has since been recruited by the worlds biggest news agencies. But his devotion to this place drew him back home in 2017 because for him, returning here wasnt a choice. It was his duty. Now, you have an amazing story. You could be working anywhere in the world. Why did you move back here . Yeah. In my life, ive lived in about six different states. I dont have the same reverence for any one spot like anny does with prampram. But anny is not alone. The timehonored Fishing Community which keeps prampram afloat, its comprised of hundreds of others who share the same determination of doing what it takes to help this place thrive. Ok. I dont think i would make much of a fisherman. [laughs] but were going to find out. Anny explains that we must first pay our respects to the tribal chief, a widespread practice in much of west africa. Ah, wonderful. Thank you. Go ahead and take a seat. Amee. Amee. Now, whatever that we are here to do in the town should be very, very successful. [speaking akan] [soft music] for the second time on my International Quest for happiness, i find myself involved in an aquaticbased activity that has me terrified. But this time, if im going to drown, at least ill look good doing it. Its like sexy traffic clown. Safety meeting. How are you gonna how am i doing this . One, two, three. Ok. Ok. Ok. Heyo. Ok, i know. Ok. Some rough seas, huh . [shouting] this is absolutely nuts. Hmm, thats not good. Then, just like that, everything changes. A collective calm. All right. Whoo its dinner. [thunder cracking] a storm is on the horizon, so we head back to land. But before i go, theres something anny wants to show me. Fort vernon, built here in the 18th century by the royal african company. Hell on earth fashioned from stone and swish. Countless ghanaians were sold into slavery from forts like this, shipped across the atlantic, never to return home. Yeah. And this would be the path that they would walk. Its absolutely just terrifying and heartwrenching to think about all of those families being kept here. Annys traveled the world, found success, and yet prampram called him back. Thank you so much for welcoming us here. Absolutely. Thank you, thank you. Like most americans, ive always viewed The Pursuit Of Happiness as an individual quest. But ghana has opened my eyes. I saw it with miss taxi, with carl and najat, and now with anny and prampram. Happiness is utterly intertwined with other people. Norboa, togetherness, based on past, based on present, and based on future. At pnc bank, you can find us in big cities and small towns across the us, where our focus is to always support the people who live and work there. Because you call these communities home, and we do too. Pnc bank. My most important kitchen tool . 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Birds flyin high, you know how i feel. Breeze driftin on. [coughing]. By, you know how i