Chad Richard is a leading expert in consumer understanding having spent over 20 years launching, managing, and helping build world-leading brands for companies such as Procter & Gamble, ADT Security Services, Sunbeam, Oster, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and others.

A key part of his role was understanding PEOPLE, their LIVES, and their PROBLEMS so that he and his teams could develop solutions to best meet their needs. 

As his children approached middle school, Chad began wondering if he was doing what he should to prepare them for life on their own. He came to understand that all of life’s big topics are inextricably connected to one another – that is, our choices in one area produce unavoidable consequences, or benefits, in other areas. 

Little did he know at the time this question would mark the beginning of five-years of research & development ultimately culminating in a passion for helping others that prompted him to trade-in his career in business to work full-time to help people.

After searching and searching for a solution that taught all of the critical life skills in one program, he found out that no such thing existed. So, Chad formed a leadership team of fathers & subject matter experts to create a nonprofit organization solely dedicated to developing programs to help people understand & navigate the 10 most important topics in life and named the program Trailmap for Life. 

This research summary is broken into sections, each highlighting a different key finding identified in the research as being among the most impactful in determining happiness in life as well as expert tips on how to capture happiness in that area.