Dan Buettner

“The brutal reality about aging is that it has only an accelerator pedal. We have yet to discover whether a brake exists for people.”

“I think we live in a culture that relentlessly pursues comfort. Ease is related to disease. We shouldn't always be fleeing hardship. Hardship also brings people together. We should welcome it.”

“Have fun, be active. Ride a bike instead of driving, for example.”

“Kids in a home with grandparents are healthier.”

“Gratitude always comes into play; research shows that people are happier if they are grateful for the positive things in their lives, rather than worrying about what might be missing.”

“I have always followed exactly what interests me and never really worried about the money. And when you think about it, to be able to travel the world... on an expense account and do exactly what interests you, it just doesn't get much better than that.”

“The people you surround yourself with influence your behaviors, so choose friends who have healthy habits.”

“Walking is the only way proven to stave off cognitive decline - it works.”

“Exercise, from a public health perspective, is an unmitigated failure. The world's longest-lived people live in environments that nudge them into more movement. They don't use power tools, they do their own yard work, they grow a garden.”

“One of the big things I've learned is that there's an advantage to regular low-intensity activity.”

“We often think about happiness as trying to increase our joy, but it's also about decreasing our worry. So what you get for paying those high taxes is, if you're a parent thinking about putting your child through school, you don't have to worry about it, because all education through college is free.”

“The name of the game is to keep from pushing the accelerator pedal so hard that we speed up the aging process. The average American, however, by living a fast and furious lifestyle, pushes that accelerator too hard and too much.”

“None of the longest-lived people ran marathons or pumped iron. They live exactly as their grandparents before them - surrounded by family and friends.”

“Of course, Minneapolis, we think, 'Oh well, it's cold there, lethally cold.' But the reality is you adapt to weather... Humans are consummately adaptable creatures.”

“Select your friendships carefully. Gather people around you who will reinforce your lifestyle.”