Solve for Happy

Engineer Your Path to Joy

By: Mo Gawdat

Narrated by: Mo Gawdat

Mo Gawdat is a remarkable thinker and the Chief Business Officer at Google's [X], an elite team of engineers that comprise Google's futuristic "dream factory." Applying his superior skills of logic and problem solving to the issue of happiness, he proposes an algorithm based on an understanding of how the brain takes in and processes joy and sadness. Then he solves for happy.

In 2001 Mo Gawdat realized that despite his incredible success, he was desperately unhappy. A lifelong learner, he attacked the problem as an engineer would: examining all the provable facts and scrupulously applying logic. Eventually, his countless hours of research and science proved successful, and he discovered the equation for permanent happiness.

Thirteen years later, Mo's algorithm would be put to the ultimate test. After the sudden death of his son, Ali, Mo and his family turned to his equation—and it saved them from despair. In dealing with the horrible loss, Mo found his mission: he would pull off the type of "moonshot" goal that he and his colleagues were always aiming for—he would share his equation with the world and help as many people as possible become happier.

In Solve for Happy Mo questions some of the most fundamental aspects of our existence, shares the underlying reasons for suffering, and plots out a step-by-step process for achieving lifelong happiness and enduring contentment. He shows us how to view life through a clear lens, teaching us how to dispel the illusions that cloud our thinking; overcome the brain's blind spots; and embrace five ultimate truths.

No matter what obstacles we face, what burdens we bear, what trials we've experienced, we can all be content with our present situation and optimistic about the future.

Download the accompanying reference guide.©2017 Mo Gawdat (P)2017 S&S Audio

Thought Provoking

Great book for anyone, especially a scientist like me (veterinarian), who is not faithless but doesn't believe the rhetoric of the ages but also doesn't have any answers. In essence, it makes sense to me.

Heading back in for a second listen.

Great book, up until the last chapter when...

the author start discussing the mathematic probability for the existence of a creator. Left out of the discussion a small but crucial detail: who created the creator? The author could benefit from reading The Selfish Gene book on evolution by Richard Dawkins, in that book, Dawkins discuss the difference between 'pure random luck' and 'the results of randomness tied to cumulative adaptation'. I enjoyed the majority of this great book, not only enjoyed the reading but I am also working on applying it's wisdom to my daily life, I am happy to report that I am happier because of that :). Thank you Mo (and Ali) for a great book that can be life changing, I take what I consider useful and I appreciate you.

Fantastic book with a small exception

Everything about this book resonated deeply with me until the last chapter on god. Although his initial arguments were logical and worth pondering, it deteriorated into a shell-game argument that posed pedantic questions already answered by science. I lost some emotional connection to the book overall but Mo Gawdat's mathematical look at happiness made sense to me.

Gave me the tools I needed to be happier in life.

This book was so good. I loved the narrators voice and he made me look at life in a whole other light. I recommend this book if you are feeling down, in a rut, or want to improve your state of mind. Great tips and examples. Made me feel so warm and greatly at the end of the book.

wonderful for us that grieve.

four years after the loss of our son this is a wonderful resource. read & reread.

Soul filling!!

Thanks Mo! This is a soul touching book and I felt like I travelled with a dad and seen his love and inspirations from his son. I had so many nuggets from this book as useful. It was with Best clarity and points well defined. Life seems more positive and made simple. Loved it every bit.

Thank you Mo Gawdat

If anyone has ever told you to find happiness or to make yourself happy... and you didn't know how or where to begin, this is a great place to start. I thought finding my happiness meant finding the right job or learning to fill my time with things that made me happy. Mo Gawdat helped me find happiness, no matter where I am or what I am doing. I am agnostic and lean towards logical, mathematical, visual proof to solve and resolve my problems. This book does just that with great examples, meaningful analogies, and heart wrenching stories. Before finishing the book I was already on my way to finding my happiness and inner peace. A great read even... if you are not up against insurmountable unhappiness.

Different aproach to the happiness question

What did you love best about Solve for Happy?

I think of myself as a logical person, so a lot of the information and ideas on books about happiness, fulfillment and the like(I've read and listened to a few) seem superficial or too simple to me. I very much liked and "understood" the explanations the author gives about the quest for happiness and even God. His logical approach to the existence of God resonated with me.

What did you like best about this story?

The logical approach that the author uses to address the quest for happiness.

Have you listened to any of Mo Gawdat’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Have not listened to any other works by the author.

What insight do you think you’ll apply from Solve for Happy?

The understanding that there are certain equations that dictate how the world works, and the knowledge that happiness is not an accident, you have to do things a certain way to attain it.

Outstanding

Wow- this book is a jewel! I have gained so much and will be listening to it again.

Almost perfect

This book carry’s me through one mans struggle and his attempt to draw out universal truths that can apply across life to help us all become just a little better. He does an amazing job of helping us to accept the inevitable bumps that make life...life. I do draw issue with the conclusions that he makes in chapter 14 on the existence of a master planner. His monkey typewriter theory neglects the exponential increase in probability of occurrence that would occur in an environment where nucleic acids are combining billions of times per second every second for billions of years. He talks about the complexity needed to form a human but doesn’t take into account that initial life could be as simple as a prion or a virus like entity that eventually morphed into a more complicated life form. He theorized that if a single monkey attempted to change or evolve over time that it would take too much time for this to happen. This was not the case as there were trillions of micro organisms constantly evolving or dying off. His premise that macro evolution has no scientific basis is also incorrect. Lastly his car evolution theory is absolutely baseless.

Mo you did a phenomenal amazing job making an almost perfect book. Thank you for bringing me such a helpful blueprint. I have gifted this book to many friends and will be re-reading it for the third time starting today.

I urge you to read this wonderful work but realize that like any work created by man it should be taken with skepticism and scrutinized. His understanding of the human mind is amazing...biological development and evolution...needs some work.