Name: Why You’re Exhausted From Chasing Happiness: Ann Lesley Smith’s Creative Journey
Uploaded: 2026-06-11T19:49:30.000Z
Description: In this profound episode of Bay Area Innovators, our guest Ann Lesley Smith challenges the modern obsession with “chasing happiness.”

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“Bay Area Innovators” tackles the compelling, life-changing, fearless, and compassionate stories from the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, providing a platform for discussion and discovery. We bring to our program the legends, the innovators, and the hardworking people who are shaping the future of the Bay Area in a positive way by finding solutions and improving people’s lives.

Steve Ispas is an investigative journalist with The Epoch Times and the host of Epoch TV’s “Bay Area Innovators” program. Steve grew up in Eastern Europe, and lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for 35 years. He worked in the tech industry for 15 years at LSI Logic and Rambus, and has been with The Epoch Times in various positions since 2003. His recent coverage includes an in-depth exclusive investigation of the secret Chinese biolab discovered in Reedley, Calif., in 2022.

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“Happiness depends on happenings, and when the happenings dissolve, where are you?”

In this profound episode of Bay Area Innovators, our guest Ann Lesley Smith challenges the modern obsession with “chasing happiness.”

From her early days as a dental hygienist to the glamorous world of professional modeling and radio host, Smith discovered that even when life looks “perfect” behind closed doors, external success is a fragile foundation.

Smith walks us through the “different rooms” of her life and shares the raw reality of seeing her dreams “come crashing down” and how that collapse led her to a realization that changed everything: Success isn’t about being happy; it’s about being content.

Whether you are navigating a career change, a personal loss, or simply feeling exhausted by the pursuit of more, Smith’s story is a masterclass in finding a stability that the world cannot take away.

<em>Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and guests, and do not necessarily reflect the views of NTD.</em>

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