For me, happiness comes from Effective Altruism, which comes from increasing the quality of life for as many people as possible, which is only possible with adequate amount of finances.
So get paid >> money >> help other people >> makes me happy.
Of course, if you aren't self-reliant, the above doesn't mean anything.
p.s. pleasing people also makes you happy, because you develop better relationships.
I disagree with your causation. By people pleasing you develop relationships that are inauthentic, which creates a fiction of good within your relationships. People pleasing and expecting those "better relationships" to be real is just perpetuating your own fiction.
I was reading up on some things about that, and the ideas of infinite ethics. Combined with your comments here, seems like the philosophy of Effective Altruism still has a long way to go.
If you are practicing what you believe in, though, I salute you.
"p.s. pleasing people also makes you happy, because you develop better relationships."
I'm not so sure about that. Having worked with people who have deep-seated emotional issues, people-pleasing like that creates a fragile edifice. The greater the effort in fulfilling the want without addressing the need, the more fragile the whole situation becomes.