How To Be (Wealthy) Happy

My group’s overall question is: What determines happiness and what are its effects? Simple enough. My hypothesis is that when a person is happy, he will be more successful than someone who is generally unhappy. This is something I want to research because of a documentary, called 180 Degrees South, about the pursuit of happiness and how it can lead to a successful life. I want to see if people should focus on being happy before they focus on getting money. Also, if a person is happy, will it make them more successful?

http://www.180south.com/

Questions:

1. Does a person’s background affect her ability to make money and be happy?
2. Does the variety of the definition of “success” affect how people feel how successful they are?
3. How can someone become successful without having money to begin with?
4. Do you have to sacrifice one (happiness vs. success) for the other?