There Is No App for Happiness: How to Avoid a Near-Life Experience

by Max Strom

Technology has expanded at such a rate that nearly every aspect of our world has been affected—yet there has been no corresponding expansion of personal happiness. Instead, we find that the wealthiest societies of the world have become depressed, anxious, sleep deprived, and overmedicated.

Max Strom, author of A Life Worth Breathing and global teacher of personal transformation, reveals that we each have internal, human technology capable of empowering our lives and leading us to deeper levels of happiness. In his new book, There Is No App for Happiness, Strom illustrates three imperatives to take back control of our lives.

Imperative One: Self-study. Overcoming our negative presets.

Imperative Two: Live as if your time and your lifespan were the same thing.

Imperative Three: Learn a daily regimen that heals and empowers you, and practice it one hour a day.

Learn that joy and fulfillment require us to be active participants and that we should not strive for a virtual life—but a life truly lived. There Is No App for Happiness will propel you into a new and more meaningful experience of living.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology, Personal Development, Philosophy, Audiobook

272 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2013

Reviews

[Holly Klump · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could not completely finish this book because I found the author to be such a judgmental grump. For someone who writes about happiness, I found him to be very negative ("Kids these days!!" "No one talks to their neighbors anymore" "People are SO RUDE" etc) which I personally find simply to be not so true and a dangerous blanket statement.

Perhaps this book has good information that is helpful for some folks, but I was so put off by the angry overtones that I put it down about halfway through.

[Glenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of stuff that we already know about the affect and influence of the "flat screens" on our lives - be they computers, TV, phones, etc. and the importance of disconnecting at times from those.

Some interesting statistics on the growth of technology in our lives, but mostly a lot of common sense things that you may have already heard (especially if you do yoga) but with some structured exercises and specific tips on how to incorporate them in your life.

[Mary-ann Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, it has exercises within it, some journalling required and well worth the effort. Love his books.

[Sukhita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book

Thought provoking and well written. I learnt much from this book. This is a book which everyone should read. I believe it would make the would a better place’.

[Lisa Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
A little on the heavier side but interesting information on technology and social media and its affects on society and individuals. It also includes tips and strategies for attaining true self happiness. I would recommend this book to others.

[Katy Slessor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I agreed with a lot of what was said in this book and would like everyone to read it and impart this knowledge to a wider audience, hard to make the changes yourself when others aren't. I like how the book was broken into accessible short chapters.

[Robin Dix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eye opening and a pleasure to read!

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

[Elena Rodighiero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great at diagnosing the problem. Not great at proving solutions. Easy to read and interesting

[John Molyneaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book - great advice within its covers

[Natasha Phillips]

Life changing

[Rita M · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Conheci muitas pessoas de idade avançada ainda à espera de que alguém abrisse a porta das suas celas"

[Urs · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I first started reading this book I thought that it was going to be one of those far too common books these days that denounces all things digital and all social media. However it was quite the contrary. In this book, Max Strom taught how to make technology work for us, and how to use it to make our lives better. Strom also taught the importance of becoming self-aware and how to do it. He stressed the importance of human relationships as opposed to virtual ones. Plus, he touched on the importance of sleep, how to better manage our time, and have better relationships.

This book bored me in the beginning. It took a while to get to the instructive part of the book. He divided part two of the book into three imperatives: becoming self-aware, living your time and life span as if they were one in the same, and creating a daily regime for healing, empowerment, and enlightenment. Imperatives one and two were the most interesting to me. As I mentioned before, imperative three focused on creating a practice/regime for healing, empowerment, and illumination. In other words, it was the section where he focused on yoga, breathing, stillness, and the like. This section went on for too long for me, especially when Strom states that one should practice with a teacher for a year before trying to practice at home alone. Strom even discuses how to pick a teacher, so it was more reason to not go on and on about the processes. There were a couple of good stillness exercises in this section, though.

I read this book as a part of the last days of my Kindle Unlimited trial. Read my review of Kindle Unlimited here. It also fit into my quest to consume positive books. There is a lot of good information in this book. I would not say it is the best book on happiness out there, but it is decent enough.

[Timber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book. It did have some good advice, but it also had some white noise (particularly his insistence on yoga solving every problem ever). The first half of the book was better than the 2nd half. I skimmed most of the 2nd half as it went into yoga & breathing techniques way more than what I cared about.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are many books in this genre that examine the dangers of the modern lifestyle and provide life lessons and suggestions for living a happier, more fulfilled life. This one was not my favourite, but what I did appreciate is that it incorporates Hatha yoga and meditation into the solutions for what ails us.

[Cathy Telzrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Max Strom outlines 3 imperatives to avoid living a virtual life. His lessons, & especially some of the difficult homework, are valuable for anyone who lives even a portion of life on "autopilot".

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book. The book allows you the time and questioning to evaluate what you value and if you're living a life that mirrors these values.

[Dean Krosecz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Strom starts off strong. I found the first ten exercises to be valuable in my life. Even if you only read (and do) the first half of this book, it will be worth it.

[Scott Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time for change.

I really like that Max got me to think about the obvious but ignored steps to a better life. He describes many helpful ways to get there.

[Sarah Brock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book. Easy to read. Thought-provoking stats & exercises.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Max Strom and his wisdom - great book so far - I recommend it to everyone!

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had some good advice.