Original subtitles

- So are you ready?

- Yes, sir.

- How are you today?

- Doing OK, thanks.

[engine turning over]

I've never been a glass half full kind of guy.

[light music]

* *

I'm more of a glass half empty...

[baby screaming]

- But then I accidentally drop the glass,

and it shatters, and now I'm just left

holding a bunch of broken shards kind of guy.

[baby screaming]

* *

- Thank you.

- Very excited.

We're 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 I'm visiting one of the statistically most

optimistic countries on Earth.

This place is an avalanche of smiles and cheeriness.

I--well, I can't 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,

exploring what makes some places happier than others?

- * Need a one-two... *

- I'm looking at the ways that where we are...

- * Yeah, I'm a-comin', I'm a-comin' *

- Affect who we are.

- * Whoo, I'm a-comin' *

* I'm a-comin', yeah... *

- It's been said that the search for happiness

is the chief source of unhappiness.

- * I'm a-comin', I'm a-comin'... *

- Well, that's okay.

I'm already unhappy, so I've got nothing to lose.

- * Let's go *

* Let's all blast off *

[car horn blaring]

[horns honking]

- Hey.

- There's something you don't see every day,

beans everywhere and iPhone cases.

[light music]

I am baffled by Ghana's capital city of Accra.

If we take the annual rankings at face value,

Ghana is not a very happy place.

In 2022, it ranked 111th on the World Happiness Report,

amongst the bottom third on the international scale.

[fast percussive music]

* *

- But there's something remarkable happening

in this West African nation of 32 million.

When the Happiness Report asked folks

to predict their happiness in the coming years,

a metric known as future life evaluation,

Accra was amongst the most optimistic places on Earth.

Even if Ghana isn't currently a happy place,

people here overwhelmingly believe

good things are to come.

So I've 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? - I'm good.

How are you? - Fine.

- Until you notice that my driver is already mic'd up

before I've even gotten in, so clearly, this was planned.

- Are you comfortable in here? - I'm very comfortable.

- Leg room? - Yes, this is beautiful.

- So my name is Esenam. - Esenam.

- And I'll be your driver for the day.

- Wonderful.

- We're gonna do something. - Mm-hmm.

- Can you stretch out your palm?

- Yeah. - Just like this.

- OK, mm-hmm. - Good.

Can you put it together? [claps]

- Yeah.

- So now can I see you sliding those hand down your pocket?

Can you do it? - OK.

- Do it, do it, do it. - All right.

- Do you know what you've just done?

- What's that? - Ha-ha.

You folded your country and tucked it into your pocket.

So now we're going to start on a very clean slate.

[laughs] - I put my country away.

- Very important. - Ready to start with a clean--

- I want--

- Mind, an open mind, and a new experience.

Today, my driver is Esenam Nyador,

otherwise known as Miss Taxi.

She might just be the most delightfully charming

revolutionary I've ever met.

You see, Miss Taxi was denied entrance

by all of the male-dominated 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 all-female transportation service.

[upbeat music]

OK, so this is Accra.

- To our right-hand side, that's the Bank of Ghana.

- Bank of Ghana, OK.

- You do know that if we are short on cash--

- OK. - You know--

- We're gonna rob that?

- I didn't say rob.

- Well, you kind of hinted rob.

You kind of were like--

- But if you're caught, I don't know you, honestly.

- I have documentation that you actually do know me.

It's on camera. - [laughs]

* *

- I'm gonna make a little documentary on my phone.

Freedom and Justice, 1957.

- Exactly.

For me, this space is very, very important.

It's the majestic space of independence.

* *

Such a breath of fresh air.

* *

- Hey, how are you?

You're selling sunglasses.

- Whoa.

That's a rap star.

- Too Elton John. - [laughs]

- You know Elton John? - This looks a bit feminine.

- What do you think about this one?

I'm 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. I'll 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 wouldn't 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 you've undertaken?

- I'll 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, it's actually the star and guidance

for Africa's 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,

Ghana's 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 sub-Saharan 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, that's bliss.

- Study after study tells us that investment in something

bigger than ourselves is crucial to a happier life.

The root of Miss Taxi's 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, I'm going somewhere

to get my ass kicked.

[upbeat music]

* *

- Looking for stuff to buy.

These are very nice.

These yours? - Yes.

- That's--this is a man's one?

* *

What do you think?

I feel more masculine.

Look at that.

This market is one of the most incredible places

I've ever seen.

They say money can't buy happiness,

but let's see what it can buy.

Can I buy a cheese grater?

This is a nice cheese grater.

Wonder if these would fit me.

Is this a fan for like this, keep you cool?

Here, I want this big-- this big pink one right there.

OK, I'll take that.

What are these fish?

- Stew? I don't eat it right like this?

[fast percussive music]

Pulsing across every city block in Ghana,

there's momentum.

[all singing]

- It's 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 teeny-tiny 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...

- He's down! The fight is over!

- Bukom is boxing's Mecca.

OK, we're gonna do some training.

I'm meeting with legendary trainer Carl Lokko,

who promises to introduce me

to a ruthless up-and-coming fighter

who just might teach me a thing or two about optimism.

You're--you're the boxer?

- Yeah.

- Uh, OK, hi.

- Hi. - I'm Rainn.

- Don't let her pint size fool you.

Carl's 13-year-old daughter Najat is a decorated boxer

with a brutal left hook...

* *

A left hook I'm about to put

my face in front of, apparently.

Just hit the AC there, Carl?

That'd be great.

- OK.

What made you want to box?

- How did you know that Najat was talented?

- I can see clear that she's fond of doing everything

with some kind of different energy.

- What is this?

Ah, that's like a running man.

That's a dance.

- [laughs]

- Now you're going to come try the workout, right?

That's it.

* *

- Yes.

- What are you laughing at?

- [laughs]

- Come on now.

I'm pretty badass.

You gotta admit it.

[groans] - Push it.

Push it down.

Uh-huh. - I have a big melon.

- [laughs] [bell dinging]

- Go on, go on. - OK.

What if I just go like that?

She can't hit me. Oh!

- Yes. Get close.

- Oh, she got me. - Get close, go.

Get close, go.

- I'm 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?

- That's it.

- I'm gonna pull that down over your eyes.

- Good, Najat, good.

- I'm gonna pull that over your eyes.

[grunts] - Uh-huh, 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.

I'm ready to pass out.

I don't even see a drop of sweat on her.

- [laughs]

- You're an amazing athlete.

What's 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.

All of us who sit at one place, that is where you see

Ghanians showing their love.

- 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?

- I love this image of Ghanaians

eating from the same bowl.

Back home, I squirm if someone stands to close

to me in line at the coffee shop.

Jab, jab, right.

Najat's dream isn't wearing a medal around her neck.

It's 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. You're 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.

Deijha's 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 hasn't looked back.

So tell me your story. You're from Brooklyn.

- Yes. I'm from Brooklyn, New York.

And I used to work for the post office.

- Uh-huh.

- 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.

- You're here, baby.

- So what was the difference you felt

coming from the United States to Ghana?

- So I didn't realize the pressure that I had

as a Black woman living in America, right,

until I came here, and my skin color

wasn't a thing for me.

I'm 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, they're living in their homeland,

and they get stripped of their identity,

and there's no return.

But I returned.

So for me, that was so powerful to pay

that respect to my ancestors.

And I think they'll be pretty proud of me.

* *

- All right, thank you. I'll bring it back later.

[upbeat music]

There's 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,

there's 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.

You're 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 world's biggest news agencies.

But his devotion to this place drew him

back home in 2017 because for him,

returning here wasn't 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, I've lived in about six different states.

I don't have the same reverence

for any one spot like Anny does with Prampram.

But Anny is not alone.

The time-honored fishing community

which keeps Prampram afloat,

it's comprised of hundreds of others

who share the same determination

of doing what it takes to help this place thrive.

- OK.

I don't think I would make much of a fisherman.

- [laughs]

- But we're 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 aquatic-based activity that has me terrified.

But this time, if I'm going to drown,

at least I'll look good doing it.

It's like sexy traffic clown.

* *

Safety meeting.

* *

How are you gonna-- how am I doing this?

One, two, three.

- OK. - OK.

OK.

- Hey-o.

- OK, I know.

OK.

- Some rough seas, huh?

- [shouting]

- This is absolutely nuts.

- Hmm, that's not good.

- [speaking Akan]

- Ah, OK.

[laughs]

* *

- Then, just like that, everything changes.

A collective calm.

* *

- All right.

Whoo!

It's dinner.

[thunder cracking]

A storm is on the horizon, so we head back to land.

* *

But before I go, there's 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.

* *

- It's absolutely just terrifying

and heart-wrenching to think about all of those families

being kept here.

* *

- Anny's 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, I've 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.

Nor'boa, togetherness,

based on past, based on present,

and based on future.

[rooster crowing]

- Hi, goat.

Hi, I'm new here.

- [laughs]

- I wonder, is it possible to become more optimistic?

Hello. Hi.

As it turns out, optimism is partly genetic,

up to 36% according to one study.

Beyond that, our worldview is an active choice we make,

which means, doing some quick math,

64% of me is choosing to worry

about every stupid little thing.

And who's this guy? Hey, buddy.

Hi, sweetie.

Does he have a name? - Sunipa.

- Sunipa? - Yeah.

- Sunipa. - Sunipa.

- Sunipa. - Yeah, Sunipa.

- [laughs] - Fear human being.

- Fear human.

- Sunipa means fear human?

- Yes. - Hmm, OK.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about that.

But how do we become more optimistic?

[both singing]

- I need inspiration from someone who, like me,

hasn't always had such a rosy outlook.

That's amazing. Wow.

So I've traveled several hours northwest

to the town of Kofi Pare to meet Doris Korkor Nyame...

I can't wait to see your farm.

Thank you for having us here.

A cocoa farmer who only later in life

found her true calling.

Do you grow any beets?

[chuckling]

This is really gorgeous here.

What are these?

- They're cocoa beans. - These are cocoa beans?

- Yeah. - Wow.

Watch this.

Look at this, America.

[grunting]

Hey, I did it.

Ooh, it's covered in ants.

And the ants are all over my hand.

And that is part of the job of a cocoa bean farmer.

Doris, you move so fast.

- [chuckles]

- I'm gonna put the humidity at about 98% right now.

- Can you carry it?

- Yes. - OK, so can I help you?

- On my head? - Yes.

- Not like this? OK, here we go.

[grunts]

All right.

I think I'm pretty good at this.

Don't you think I'm pretty good?

- Yes. - Would you hire me?

- No.

[laughter]

- OK, I'm not gonna be able to do this.

I'm sorry.

I really don't--I don't want to cut my fingers off.

- [laughs] - Hi, OK.

Yeah, you help me out with that.

OK, this guy is good. Is he the best?

- The best. - He's the best, right?

- I'm best farmer, best farmer.

- You're the best farmer? [laughs]

OK. What's your name, my friend?

- Emmanuel. - Emmanuel.

- You can eat.

- It's so gooey.

I can eat this? - Yeah.

- Hey, that's pretty good. - Yeah.

- It's sour.

[laughter]

I've never had a cocoa bean before.

Delicious.

Now, did you grow up being a cocoa bean farmer?

- For most of Doris' life, she felt stuck.

But that's when she found the thing

that truly makes her happy.

And now everything's coming up Doris.

Recently, you ran for assemblywoman of the area.

What prompted that?

- What has that transformation been like for you

over the years?

- So much of what you do is about giving.

And I've noticed this so much with the Ghanaian people.

It's giving back to the land.

You give to your family, help support your family.

You're giving to your community.

[metal crashing]

- Emmanuel, we're trying to make a movie!

- I'm sorry! - Oh, man!

[laughter]

- [indistinct]

- Research tells us that if you want

to become happier, more optimistic,

then find your purpose.

Here we go. One, two, three.

Ready? Look here.

Think long and hard about your personal gifts,

and ask yourself if you're making the most of them.

Doris questioned whether or not

she was living the life she wanted.

And when she found the answer was no,

she searched for greater purpose.

That's intense.

And it makes me wonder, have I failed

to discover my own full potential?

- [laughs]

- Do you need a campaign manager?

- Yes. - Yes?

- Yes. - OK.

- Yes, I want--

- We're gonna start with yard signs.

"Doris now." "Think Doris."

"Join the chorus. Vote for Doris."

- [laughs]

- Boom, there it is.

But I think we could go even bigger.

I'm thinking television ads, OK?

We start on a cocoa bean.

We pull back.

It transforms into the world.

And then that transforms into your head.

I don't know.

I'm just--tons of ways we could go with it.

[chickens clucking]

- We got a little push-up contest, OK?

Let's see how this goes. Let's go.

Come on. Here we go.

Ooh. OK.

Ready?

Let's hit it. Come on.

Go ahead and show off.

Just go ahead.

[upbeat music]

I'm now a few days into my time in Ghana,

and it's clear that this place has a gentle way

of getting you to let down your guard.

[laughter]

Cut.

Everyone else feels so chipper and easygoing.

Why shouldn't I feel the same?

- We Ghanaians, everybody's family.

- It is a nation that we love--we love people.

- And Ghanaians are known to be very hospitable.

And they know how to treat people well.

- We are selfless, and we are free spirits.

- But amidst all this Ghanaian feel-goodery,

I want to see how optimism persists

even in the face of unthinkable struggles.

- Whoo!

- Two.

- Ay!

[cheers and applause]

- That's amazing.

Tonight, I'm invited to join a local theater troupe

for one of their weekly hangouts.

- One.

- I think I saw the kids playing this.

- Two. - What's it called?

- Ampe? Someone teach me.

- And then do I want to try and mirror your leg?

- OK, so--

Yeah. - Hey.

Yes!

I feel like I've been transported

back in time to the happiest era of my life.

In high school, I'd stay up half the night

with my fellow acting geeks in someone's basement,

playing theater games and doing Monty Python routines.

OK, OK, I can do it.

[cheering]

Oh, my God. - Something like that.

- All right, I'm out, I'm out.

[laughter]

- Whoo!

- Tell me about Drama Queens. What is Drama Queens?

- Drama Queens is a youth-led organization

that uses arts for social change,

particularly in the lenses of feminism,

LGBT rights, pan-Africanism, and environmental activism.

- Mm-hmm.

- This squad of brave actors

has performed together since 2016,

tackling subjects that are taboo

in many parts of Ghana.

- Who's the best actor?

- Actually-- - I think myself.

- [laughs]

You volunteered yourself for that?

- Yes, please.

- OK. [laughter]

- But these days, the Drama Queens are forced

to conduct their meetings in secrecy,

changing locations every week for the sake

of their own safety.

How important is it to create a safe space,

and what are you up against?

- For the most part, the notions

in the Ghanaian community is that it's either

queer people do not exist or are in hidden spaces

and should stay in hidden spaces.

We always have to be very, very conscious about,

how are we prioritizing the safety of people

that we are going to invite to this space?

There's been cases where queer people just meet up,

and they've been arrested for--

- Arrested? - Arrested, exactly, then--

- So is it against the law in Ghana?

- It's not, but-- - It's complicated.

- It is complicated because all of this was crowned

by the introduction of the anti-LGBT bill,

the Proper Ghanaian Family Values Bill.

It's an anti-LGBT bill that targets people

who identify as homosexuals.

- Members of the LGBTQ community in Ghana

say their lives will become a nightmare if a new bill

is passed into law.

- Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights

and Ghanaian Family Values Bill, that's the name of it.

- It coerces LGBTQ Ghanaians to choose between jail time

and so-called conversion therapy.

- It even goes further to say that if a person supports

or shows sympathy to a queer person,

you would be penalized for five to ten years.

- So what you're doing right here, right now is dangerous.

- It's dangerous.

[soft music]

- These are extraordinarily difficult circumstances

to play games under.

- [laughs]

- For lots of queer people in Ghana,

they come into their self, their sense of self,

in solitude.

And so the work we do lets them know

that they're really not alone and that there's more

than just sadness and darkness.

* *

- One of our themes this year is joyful resistance,

which is like, be intentional with joy.

Let's let the spaces that we are creating be more fun,

be more celebrated for ourselves.

The world will provide you millions of things

to be sad about, to be depressed about.

But in the darkness, will you allow yourself

to find any glimmer of light?

- Mm. That's so beautifully sad.

* *

This, of course, pisses me off.

Whether it was theater,

or my love of Dungeons & Dragons,

or playing the bassoon, I've been labeled an oddball

and a misfit my entire life.

I discovered myself in those years,

goofing off with the so-called outcasts

in classrooms and study halls after school.

In their company, I found my voice,

my artistic curiosity, and my passion.

I felt most at home with them, and I still do to this day.

For Raku, Michaela, and the rest of the Drama Queens,

the simple act of being in each other's company

may soon be criminal.

Yet even in the face of blood-boiling injustice,

there persists an undeniable hopefulness in this group...

- Ah!

- More powerful than anything I've witnessed

on my journey so far.

A yo-yo. - Yes!

- Spinning a yo-yo. [laughs]

Do you guys ever play the game Zip Zap Zop?

Do you know that one? - Oh, yeah.

- You have to say it in this order, zip, zap, zop.

The Drama Queens maintain a genuine conviction

that as long as they're in each other's company,

they are strong, they are determined,

and they are worthy.

* *

I head back to my cushy hotel, a world away from everything

I just witnessed, but I can't sleep.

And I'm still trying to make sense of it all.

I'm just so incredibly moved

by what I saw tonight.

And that phrase stuck out to me so much,

joyful resistance.

Joyful resistance.

That's really what we need, isn't it?

We need a joy rebellion.

I've met so many people here in Ghana

that are on that mission, that bring joy,

feel joy, share joy.

And it's remarkable.

It's a remarkable place.

- I think this is it.

Ghana is shaking me to my core.

It's incredible how a place with so many real concerns

today maintains a cheery outlook for tomorrow.

Hello. - Hello.

- The Ghanaian people put a positive spin

on literally everything, even the thing that,

frankly, scares me the most.

I'm not very handy. - Oh, OK.

You can try this.

- This way? - No, that way.

- OK.

How's that?

- But you make sure it's stable.

The plane is stable. Uh-huh.

- I think they're laughing at me.

[laughter]

So I could be a coffin maker.

- It's gonna be a while.

[laughter]

- Wow.

Eric Adjetey Anang is an artisan creating

the rare kind of art that you can take with you

even after you're gone.

- My granddad, he was the one who started the whole idea

of designed coffins.

- Designed coffins.

- I know some people would say fantasy coffin,

but I wouldn't say fantasy coffin because--

- The fantasy-- it trivializes it,

makes it too funny, too light.

What are some of the designs you've made over the years?

- Oh, so many.

I mean, like the seahorse, Kalashnikov.

I mean, you know-- - A machine gun coffin?

- A machine gun, yeah, yeah, yeah.

The thing is, we do everything.

You just bring a picture.

- And you'll make it. - We'll make it, yeah.

- Yeah, I'm really afraid

that guy is gonna slice his finger off.

- No, he's been doing that for forever.

- That is a crazy technique. I've never seen that before.

- [laughing]

[metal clanging]

- Eric runs a 70-year-old family business designing

coffins in the shapes of lions, and fish,

and airplanes, and a different kind of fish,

and a box of condoms, and a rooster,

and a BIC ballpoint pen, and a Twix wrapper,

and a third variety of fish, and pretty much anything else

you can imagine being buried inside of.

It's all part of Ga tradition to spend eternity

in a coffin modeled after your profession here on Earth

or reflecting your aspirations for the next world.

What's going on here?

Looks like it's gonna be a race car.

Did this man pass away? - Yeah.

- And this was his car? - This was his car.

- And he really loved his car? - Yes.

So he's a taxi driver, so they can make...

- Oh, wow. - A taxi for him, yeah.

- You'd think he was in a taxi his whole life,

he'd want to be buried in, like, a boat or an airplane.

- Actually, he worked all his life to--

doing that to take care of the children.

- An homage to him and the work that he has done.

[upbeat music]

* *

- This is a beer bottle. - Yes.

- So you know how that person died.

This is for someone who really liked corn?

- A corn farmer.

- A corn farmer. - Yeah.

- OK. - Yeah.

And then we have this shoe over there.

This could be, you know-- - A cobbler.

- Not really. A gentleman.

- A gentleman with nice shoes? - Yeah.

- But it could be for, like, Daniel Day-Lewis.

- [laughs]

One thing I also tell people is,

this is the thing you have to get for yourself

when you're alive because that is the only thing

you get to go with.

- So your coffin would be shaped,

perhaps, like a coffin.

- Yeah, I actually built one for myself.

- You did? - Yeah, I did.

But I made it in a cabinet form so I could--

my TV was on top of it.

There were some drawers and stuff where I could put stuff.

- That's a good idea,

coffins that double as TV stands.

- As TV stands. - Until you die...

- [laughs] - And then boom.

This might be something you take onto "Shark Tank."

- [laughs]

- Yeah.

In different cultures around the world,

death and the rituals

of funerals are very different.

And in the United States, it's very solemn.

You're supposed to have a very nice casket.

It's very sad.

But it seems to be a little bit different here in Ghana.

- Yeah, people mourn, but we try to put in more

of a fashion, and celebration, and stuff too,

right, than just crying.

[upbeat music]

- Oftentimes, Ghanaian funerals are epic celebrations

filled with pots of jollof and waakye,

drinking, live music.

And it's unlike anything I've witnessed back home.

* *

My father passed away about two years ago,

and he was a painter.

And I'm thinking now,

we had a very plain wooden coffin for him.

- Mm-hmm.

- But it would have been great to have

maybe some of his students paint some of his paintings

on the coffin itself.

That would have been a really nice testimony to him.

I've struggled since my father's death.

I was a toddler when my mom left,

and he pretty much raised me.

He shared with me his love of storytelling.

He wrote science fiction novels,

like this one about an android sent to Earth

to redeem humanity and fight giant bats.

* *

There's something absurdly wise

about the Ghanaian relationship with death,

and it brings me joy imagining the giant, bat-themed coffin

my father might have been buried in had he met Eric.

Embracing death, the reality of death,

the naturalness of death, the celebration

of a life well-lived is an important part

to finding meaning in someone's life.

- Yes, whenever a family shows up here,

I spend between an hour and two with them.

And it's all about stories, I mean, like,

what a person was doing, how life was.

And they don't go out crying, but they go out smiling.

- Grief is hard work, no matter how you choose

to experience it.

I'm realizing now that we have Ghana figured out all wrong.

We use the words interchangeably,

but positive psychology makes a distinction

between optimism and hope.

Optimism is the belief that everything

will work itself out in the end.

Hope, on the other hand, is the belief

that through our own unique actions,

we can make things better.

Ghanaians aren't optimistic.

They're hopeful.

They're actively fighting to make this a better place.

- I'm someone who loves to help others.

And in a country like Ghana with so many problems,

that always motivates me.

That makes me feel like this is the right place

I'm supposed to be.

- Everyone helps me here.

Everyone's welcoming me here.

And that's happiness for me in Ghana, yes.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, a little bit, yeah.

I think the biggest piece I'm taking with me from Ghana

is how connected our happiness is to other people...

Our family, and our neighbors, and taxi drivers,

and yes, even our coworkers.

[soft music]

* *

My visit here has been a much-needed reminder

of just how much choice I have in all of this,

in how I choose to view the world

and how I choose to make my days worthwhile.

Our happiness, or the lack thereof,

is never a foregone conclusion.

We just need to fight for it.

* *

The deeper down the rabbit hole I go in search of bliss,

the more things become complicated.

Happy places, sad places, places that seem happy

despite having plenty of reasons to be sad.

It's all a bit overwhelming.

[laughter]