Fame ruined me, but faith saved me: Office Hours meets The Office, with special guest Rainn Wilson

What can faith teach us about happiness that science alone cannot? In this episode of Office Hours, I sit down with my friend, the actor and writer Rainn Wilson. Best known as Dwight Schrute on The Office, Rainn is also a writer and thinker who explores spirituality in his book Soul Boom and on his podcast of the same name. Together, we explore the Baháʼí faith and the lessons it offers for living a more meaningful life.

Rainn shares his journey from growing up in the faith to losing his way during the height of fame, to rediscovering purpose through recovery and spiritual practice. 

In this episode, we explore:

• A case for studying religions beyond your own 

• A brief history of the Baha’i faith and the core tenets that continue to guide millions of followers

• How worship in the Baha’i faith goes far beyond prayer, reaching into art, service, and more

• Why you should learn to surrender to something bigger than yourself

• How fame left Rainn emptier than ever

• Why trying to avoid suffering is a big mistake

• What is the wisest path to happiness

• And more! 

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Referenced:

• Leadership and Happiness course

• How to Build a Life

• The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life

• Religion in Everyday Life

• Cultivating Leadership and Happiness | Arthur Brooks and His Holiness the Dalai Lama

• Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution

• Kung Fu

• Star Trek

• What Rainn Wilson Knows About God

• Arthur Brooks, is Happiness a Science? | Soul Boom | Ep 6

• Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh

• Zoroastrianism

• Parsis

• Five Baha’i Lessons for a Happier Life

• Pharisees

• Short Obligatory Prayer

• Conformity To God's Will aka Uniformity With God’s Will

• Zen and the Art of Archery

• Abduʼl-Bahá

• Trust the lord with all your heart: The role of education the relationship between trust in God and well-being in later life

• Paris Talks: Addresses Given by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá

• Well-being after trauma: A review of posttraumatic growth among refugees

• Great Power of Positive Thinking When Applied Correctly

• Pursuing Pleasure or Virtue: The Differential and Overlapping Well-Being Benefits of Hedonic and Eudaimonic Motives

• O thou maid-servant of God

• Happiness comes from trying to make others feel good, rather than oneself

• Aristotle

• Thomas Aquinas

• Identity in young adulthood: Links with mental health and risky behavior

• Code 3