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The Happiness Equation: Want Nothing + Do Anything = Have Everything
The new book from the New York Times-bestselling author of The Book of Awesome that "reveals how all of us can live happier lives" (Gretchen Rubin).
What is the formula for a happy life? Neil Pasricha is a Harvard MBA, a New York Times-bestselling author, a Walmart executive, a father, a husband. After selling more than a million copies of the Book of Awesome series, wherein he observed the everyday things he thought were awesome, he now shifts his focus to the practicalities of living an awesome life.
In his new book The Happiness Equation, Pasricha illustrates how to want nothing and do anything in order to have everything. If that sounds like a contradiction in terms, you simply have yet to unlock the 9 Secrets to Happiness. Each secret takes a piece out of the core of common sense, turns it on its head to present it in a completely new light, and then provides practical and specific guidelines for how to apply this new outlook to lead a fulfilling life.
Once you've unlocked Pasricha's 9 Secrets, you will understand counterintuitive concepts such as: Success Does Not Lead to Happiness, Never Take Advice, and Retirement Is a Broken Theory. You will learn and then master three brand-new fundamental life tests: the Saturday Morning Test, The Bench Test, and the Five People Test. You will know the difference between external goals and internal goals and how to make more money than a Harvard MBA (hint: it has nothing to do with your annual salary). You will discover that true wealth has nothing to do with money, multitasking is a myth, and the elimination of options leads to more choice.
The Happiness Equation is a book that will change how you think about pretty much everything--your time, your career, your relationships, your family, and, ultimately, of course, your happiness.
What is the formula for a happy life? Neil Pasricha is a Harvard MBA, a New York Times-bestselling author, a Walmart executive, a father, a husband. After selling more than a million copies of the Book of Awesome series, wherein he observed the everyday things he thought were awesome, he now shifts his focus to the practicalities of living an awesome life.
In his new book The Happiness Equation, Pasricha illustrates how to want nothing and do anything in order to have everything. If that sounds like a contradiction in terms, you simply have yet to unlock the 9 Secrets to Happiness. Each secret takes a piece out of the core of common sense, turns it on its head to present it in a completely new light, and then provides practical and specific guidelines for how to apply this new outlook to lead a fulfilling life.
Once you've unlocked Pasricha's 9 Secrets, you will understand counterintuitive concepts such as: Success Does Not Lead to Happiness, Never Take Advice, and Retirement Is a Broken Theory. You will learn and then master three brand-new fundamental life tests: the Saturday Morning Test, The Bench Test, and the Five People Test. You will know the difference between external goals and internal goals and how to make more money than a Harvard MBA (hint: it has nothing to do with your annual salary). You will discover that true wealth has nothing to do with money, multitasking is a myth, and the elimination of options leads to more choice.
The Happiness Equation is a book that will change how you think about pretty much everything--your time, your career, your relationships, your family, and, ultimately, of course, your happiness.
304 pages, Paperback
First published March 31, 2015
1141 people are currently reading
18617 people want to read
About the author
Neil Pasricha
30 books887 followersHey Goodreads peeps,
Pass me a drink. Let's chill on the ripped couch at the back. I love this place. Book lovers are my favorite people. (And my favorite lovers.)
My name is Neil Pasricha (pass-REACH-ah) and I'm the New York Times / #1 int'l (blah blah blah!) bestselling author of ten books on living an intentional life including THE BOOK OF AWESOME (gratitude), THE HAPPINESS EQUATION (happiness), TWO-MINUTE MORNINGS (habits), and the poorly-titled YOU ARE AWESOME (resilience.) My books are published in a lot of languages I can't read and sold a couple million more copies than anyone was expecting.
My background? Well, trust me: Nobody expected me to be writer. Least of all me. My parents aren't jazz trumpet players and watercolorists who raised me in Manhattan. They're hardcore Indian immigrants from Punjab and Nairobi who arrived in Canada scraping to get by. I was supposed to be a doctor! That was the life plan. But after my wife left me and my best friend took his own life in my late 20s I started a blog to cheer myself up. That blog was called 1000awesomethings.com and basically turned into everything else I've done and am doing.
If you want to hang out without social media algorithms in between us (no offence, algorithms! please don't punish my search results!) then join the thousands and thousands of good-hearted kindred spirits globally who get my newsletters. I put a lot of work into my newsletters -- they're sort of my weird digital babies -- and they contain my book recommendations, my new articles, my podcasts, and, of course, my daily awesome things (which I've been writing for 15 years now!). Sign up at www.neil.blog/newsletters
Hit me up if you wanna be friends! I love this clunky old site because it feels like my old hometown library somehow.
Shall we both get back to reading now?
XOXOXO
Neil
neil@globalhappiness.org
Pass me a drink. Let's chill on the ripped couch at the back. I love this place. Book lovers are my favorite people. (And my favorite lovers.)
My name is Neil Pasricha (pass-REACH-ah) and I'm the New York Times / #1 int'l (blah blah blah!) bestselling author of ten books on living an intentional life including THE BOOK OF AWESOME (gratitude), THE HAPPINESS EQUATION (happiness), TWO-MINUTE MORNINGS (habits), and the poorly-titled YOU ARE AWESOME (resilience.) My books are published in a lot of languages I can't read and sold a couple million more copies than anyone was expecting.
My background? Well, trust me: Nobody expected me to be writer. Least of all me. My parents aren't jazz trumpet players and watercolorists who raised me in Manhattan. They're hardcore Indian immigrants from Punjab and Nairobi who arrived in Canada scraping to get by. I was supposed to be a doctor! That was the life plan. But after my wife left me and my best friend took his own life in my late 20s I started a blog to cheer myself up. That blog was called 1000awesomethings.com and basically turned into everything else I've done and am doing.
If you want to hang out without social media algorithms in between us (no offence, algorithms! please don't punish my search results!) then join the thousands and thousands of good-hearted kindred spirits globally who get my newsletters. I put a lot of work into my newsletters -- they're sort of my weird digital babies -- and they contain my book recommendations, my new articles, my podcasts, and, of course, my daily awesome things (which I've been writing for 15 years now!). Sign up at www.neil.blog/newsletters
Hit me up if you wanna be friends! I love this clunky old site because it feels like my old hometown library somehow.
Shall we both get back to reading now?
XOXOXO
Neil
neil@globalhappiness.org
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,011 reviews
June 29, 2016
I really wanted to like this book. I loved the Awesome books and have read a fair amount about positive psychology and happiness. Unfortunately, for me, this book just didn't add any value. In general, it oversimplified concepts in an effort to make it digestible or to share anecdotes. It felt a little contrived when all was said and done. Very quick, lighthearted read, and likely fine if you're new to the idea of self-reflection or happiness exploration, but if you've read anything about habits, motivations, happiness or positive psychology, don't expect to find anything new in this book.
July 23, 2020
Being happy is something everyone has struggled with at least once in their lives. For the most part, happiness is taught to be the end product of great success which results from hard work.
This model is severely flawed because success doesn't always guarantee happiness. That doesn't stop there. We keep crossing milestones and setting bigger goals, so we are never satisfied.
What if we're happy first, then we work hard? Research shows that if we're happy, we tend to be more productive and we can achieve more success. The question is how can we be happy?
In this book, Neil Pasricha talks about things we can do to feel better. He has given some pointers by reading different research papers, studies, and drawing from his client' and his own experience. The writing is to the point, and he has used several graphs and scribbles to illustrate his points.
In my opinion, this book is really useful for people who are trying to find some joy in their life. I struggle with it all the time and I'm always delighted to find such books that enlighten me to improve my lifestyle.
Summary: Instagram
This model is severely flawed because success doesn't always guarantee happiness. That doesn't stop there. We keep crossing milestones and setting bigger goals, so we are never satisfied.
What if we're happy first, then we work hard? Research shows that if we're happy, we tend to be more productive and we can achieve more success. The question is how can we be happy?
In this book, Neil Pasricha talks about things we can do to feel better. He has given some pointers by reading different research papers, studies, and drawing from his client' and his own experience. The writing is to the point, and he has used several graphs and scribbles to illustrate his points.
In my opinion, this book is really useful for people who are trying to find some joy in their life. I struggle with it all the time and I'm always delighted to find such books that enlighten me to improve my lifestyle.
Summary: Instagram
June 3, 2020
Had a great start but went downhill after that. The chapters on happiness and living longer were excellent but the rest of the book was a bit disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the author’s positivity when covering the different subjects but it didn’t really get my interest. Could’ve been better.
June 5, 2020
Biggest disappointment ever.
I am a HUGE fan of the 'awesome' books....all 5 stars.
This tripe is an annoying read. You will be HAPPIER if you don't waste your time reading this.
More to come on why this is the worst book.
Hint.....NEVER RETIRE....work means everything!
Hint...i am a harvard mba....did i tell you i am a harvard mba....my hardvard mba friends have basketball courts in their house, but they aren't happy.....we had marble floors at harvard...we harvard mbas work really hard, like 120 hours a week (puke on you on spending half your time writing CYA emails, surfing the web, copy and pasting powerpoints like your doing something important)
Reading the reviews either people are paid to suck up to the author (who again wrote great awesome books) or have never read a self improvement book before.
For those that read it, please enlighten me on what you you have implemented to make your life 'happy'.
I am a HUGE fan of the 'awesome' books....all 5 stars.
This tripe is an annoying read. You will be HAPPIER if you don't waste your time reading this.
More to come on why this is the worst book.
Hint.....NEVER RETIRE....work means everything!
Hint...i am a harvard mba....did i tell you i am a harvard mba....my hardvard mba friends have basketball courts in their house, but they aren't happy.....we had marble floors at harvard...we harvard mbas work really hard, like 120 hours a week (puke on you on spending half your time writing CYA emails, surfing the web, copy and pasting powerpoints like your doing something important)
Reading the reviews either people are paid to suck up to the author (who again wrote great awesome books) or have never read a self improvement book before.
For those that read it, please enlighten me on what you you have implemented to make your life 'happy'.
May 8, 2016
Many of you have likely heard of The Book of Awesome. This was written by Canadian author, Neil Pasricha who was to present at the Toronto Reference Library. Inspired by this upcoming event, The Happiness Equation made it to my TBR pile. Unfortunately, the event has been postponed.
The book has an appealing cover - the bright blue balanced with a yellow smiling face encourages a reader to choose it off the shelf. It has an easy cadence of text, encouraging examples and highlights some interesting facts about happiness and being your authentic self. Pasricha divides his book into 9 secrets:
Secret # 1 - The First Thing You Must Do Before You Can Be Happy is instead of working hard to achieve success as a way to lead to happiness start with feeling happy which then leads to great work and success. Paschira gives ideas such as:
Take walks to improve happiness;
20 minute replays - write to relive a positive experience
Carry out at least 5 random acts of kindness each week (good advice for everyone)
Completely unplug (hard to do in our world of connection with smart phones but finding time to leave the technology behind)
Hit flow - become completely absorbed in what you are doing (mindfulness and connected with completely unplugging)
2-Minute Meditations - using mindfulness to improve compassion and self-awareness while reducing stress
5 Gratitudes - write them down each week as a way of appreciating what we have
"Happy people don't have the best of everything. They make the best of everything. Be happy first"
Secret # 2 - Do This and Criticism Can't Touch You focuses on "do it for you", setting your own meaningful goals for yourself, being confident and accepting yourself.
Secret # 3 - The Three Words That Will Save You on Your Worst Days focuses on being happy with what you have, not worrying about keeping up with the Joneses (which had been an actual cartoon strip in the early 1900s) and avoiding a culture of 'more'. The three words are remember the lottery since we have already won this lottery by being alive. Interestingly, the author also shares that the average world income is only $5000 and if you make over $50000 you are in the top 0.5% of wage earners in the world which puts 'having more' in perspective.
Secret # 4 - The Dream We All Have That is Completely Wrong is in relationship to retirement. It is interesting that there is such a focus on retirement yet it is so important to have "ikigai" or a reason to wake up each morning which gives life meaning and provides stimulation. Instead of retiring, Paschira talks about changing focus and to "seize the opportunity of an exhilarating second wind". It was interesting to read about the benefits of work which "exposes us to simple joys each day".
"We want challenges. Challenges let us contribute a sense of giving, learning, and improving ourselves and the world".
Secret # 5 - How to Make More Money Than a Harvard MBA compares the effort and time that some individuals put into their job. A high salary with large amounts of overtime equates to a lower salary with reasonable hours when you consider the pay hourly. Less hours working can provide a better quality of life to ensure time to recharge.
Secret # 6 - The Secret to Never Being Too Busy Again highlights the need for balance and giving space to think and be creative. He writes about taking a break from a problem, doing something different like taking a walk, a bath or relaxing in bed which helps ideas percolate when we use a different part of our brain. Removing decision fatigue by automating decisions can increase time for recharging. He provided examples of individuals that bought all the same socks or a wardrobe of clothing that all matches to reduce thinking, sorting and decision-making. He discussed the importance of deadlines, sometimes too much time encourages us to procrastinate while a tight deadline inspires the work to be done. The last area of discussion was email and how this can be a 'hot potato' yet when a response is not forthcoming, individuals either figure it out on their own or email again if it is really important. He postulates that when you don't write as many emails, you don't receive and that reducing email helps create focus on what is important.
Secret # 7 - How to Turn Your Biggest Fear Into Your Biggest Success is relating to first thinking that we can do it (confidence) and wanting to do it (inspiration).
"The greatest leaders just try and try and try. They try. And then they try. And then they try some more. Sure, you will fail at some things. But you'll keep moving. And more often you'll succeed. Little wins turn into confidence and desire to try again, which leads to bigger wins. You gain momentum."
Secret # 8 - The Simple Way to Master Your Most Important Relationship discusses "being you" or knowing thyself including "a total alignment of thoughts, words and actions". This makes me reflect on the wisdom of my Grandma Davison who used to quote Shakespeare and say "to thine own self be true". I never understood her meaning as a child but it resonates today. He encourages readers to uncover yourself by thinking about what you like to do on a Saturday morning when you have nothing to do (ikigai, finding things that spur your passion), by thinking about and testing how you feel in new situations and considering the 5 people that are closes to you in the things you love most.
Secret # 9 - The Single Best Piece of Advice You'll Ever Take is to make your own decisions and not follow the advice of others as "the answer are all inside you".
I enjoyed this simple focus on happiness. It is an easy read and a reminder to relax, follow your dreams and focus on what is important in life. It reinforces concepts similar books which I have reviewed:
The Happiness Advantage (Sean Achor) shares that success does not lead to happiness but happiness leads to success. Provides 7 steps to attain this happiness.
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth (Chris Hadfield) who writes of his experiences and his leadership lessons following his dream to become an astronaut.
Mindset (Carol S. Dweck) describes how talent is helpful yet attitude and mindset is more important and identifies the benefits of a growth mindset.
This book is a reminder on focusing on what makes the reader happy, finding ways to make time to recharge and relax and to be true to yourself. Life requires balance and we never regret time spent doing things we love. I hope that there is another opportunity to hear this author speak and get my book signed and for now, I will reflect on the AWESOME in my life.
The book has an appealing cover - the bright blue balanced with a yellow smiling face encourages a reader to choose it off the shelf. It has an easy cadence of text, encouraging examples and highlights some interesting facts about happiness and being your authentic self. Pasricha divides his book into 9 secrets:
Secret # 1 - The First Thing You Must Do Before You Can Be Happy is instead of working hard to achieve success as a way to lead to happiness start with feeling happy which then leads to great work and success. Paschira gives ideas such as:
Take walks to improve happiness;
20 minute replays - write to relive a positive experience
Carry out at least 5 random acts of kindness each week (good advice for everyone)
Completely unplug (hard to do in our world of connection with smart phones but finding time to leave the technology behind)
Hit flow - become completely absorbed in what you are doing (mindfulness and connected with completely unplugging)
2-Minute Meditations - using mindfulness to improve compassion and self-awareness while reducing stress
5 Gratitudes - write them down each week as a way of appreciating what we have
"Happy people don't have the best of everything. They make the best of everything. Be happy first"
Secret # 2 - Do This and Criticism Can't Touch You focuses on "do it for you", setting your own meaningful goals for yourself, being confident and accepting yourself.
Secret # 3 - The Three Words That Will Save You on Your Worst Days focuses on being happy with what you have, not worrying about keeping up with the Joneses (which had been an actual cartoon strip in the early 1900s) and avoiding a culture of 'more'. The three words are remember the lottery since we have already won this lottery by being alive. Interestingly, the author also shares that the average world income is only $5000 and if you make over $50000 you are in the top 0.5% of wage earners in the world which puts 'having more' in perspective.
Secret # 4 - The Dream We All Have That is Completely Wrong is in relationship to retirement. It is interesting that there is such a focus on retirement yet it is so important to have "ikigai" or a reason to wake up each morning which gives life meaning and provides stimulation. Instead of retiring, Paschira talks about changing focus and to "seize the opportunity of an exhilarating second wind". It was interesting to read about the benefits of work which "exposes us to simple joys each day".
"We want challenges. Challenges let us contribute a sense of giving, learning, and improving ourselves and the world".
Secret # 5 - How to Make More Money Than a Harvard MBA compares the effort and time that some individuals put into their job. A high salary with large amounts of overtime equates to a lower salary with reasonable hours when you consider the pay hourly. Less hours working can provide a better quality of life to ensure time to recharge.
Secret # 6 - The Secret to Never Being Too Busy Again highlights the need for balance and giving space to think and be creative. He writes about taking a break from a problem, doing something different like taking a walk, a bath or relaxing in bed which helps ideas percolate when we use a different part of our brain. Removing decision fatigue by automating decisions can increase time for recharging. He provided examples of individuals that bought all the same socks or a wardrobe of clothing that all matches to reduce thinking, sorting and decision-making. He discussed the importance of deadlines, sometimes too much time encourages us to procrastinate while a tight deadline inspires the work to be done. The last area of discussion was email and how this can be a 'hot potato' yet when a response is not forthcoming, individuals either figure it out on their own or email again if it is really important. He postulates that when you don't write as many emails, you don't receive and that reducing email helps create focus on what is important.
Secret # 7 - How to Turn Your Biggest Fear Into Your Biggest Success is relating to first thinking that we can do it (confidence) and wanting to do it (inspiration).
"The greatest leaders just try and try and try. They try. And then they try. And then they try some more. Sure, you will fail at some things. But you'll keep moving. And more often you'll succeed. Little wins turn into confidence and desire to try again, which leads to bigger wins. You gain momentum."
Secret # 8 - The Simple Way to Master Your Most Important Relationship discusses "being you" or knowing thyself including "a total alignment of thoughts, words and actions". This makes me reflect on the wisdom of my Grandma Davison who used to quote Shakespeare and say "to thine own self be true". I never understood her meaning as a child but it resonates today. He encourages readers to uncover yourself by thinking about what you like to do on a Saturday morning when you have nothing to do (ikigai, finding things that spur your passion), by thinking about and testing how you feel in new situations and considering the 5 people that are closes to you in the things you love most.
Secret # 9 - The Single Best Piece of Advice You'll Ever Take is to make your own decisions and not follow the advice of others as "the answer are all inside you".
I enjoyed this simple focus on happiness. It is an easy read and a reminder to relax, follow your dreams and focus on what is important in life. It reinforces concepts similar books which I have reviewed:
The Happiness Advantage (Sean Achor) shares that success does not lead to happiness but happiness leads to success. Provides 7 steps to attain this happiness.
An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth (Chris Hadfield) who writes of his experiences and his leadership lessons following his dream to become an astronaut.
Mindset (Carol S. Dweck) describes how talent is helpful yet attitude and mindset is more important and identifies the benefits of a growth mindset.
This book is a reminder on focusing on what makes the reader happy, finding ways to make time to recharge and relax and to be true to yourself. Life requires balance and we never regret time spent doing things we love. I hope that there is another opportunity to hear this author speak and get my book signed and for now, I will reflect on the AWESOME in my life.
November 19, 2017
كتاب خفيف متنوع المواضيع يؤشر نحو قيمة القناعة والحرية ..
وبين هذه القيمتين توجد العديد من النصائح والقصص المعبرة وغيرها تصب في عيش حياة سعيدة..
كتاب مفيد ولكن قد يكون فيه شيء من التكرار
وبين هذه القيمتين توجد العديد من النصائح والقصص المعبرة وغيرها تصب في عيش حياة سعيدة..
كتاب مفيد ولكن قد يكون فيه شيء من التكرار
July 19, 2018
This was one of the fav non-fiction books I have ever read. It clearly states what you need to do in order to become a happier version of yourself.
What I learned from this book:
-you have to be youself, find your deepest wants and desires
-to become happy you need to know thyself
-do not take advice only you get to know your path
-you are average of people you hang out with, so make sure they are people who you admire
-eliminate unnecessary decisions in your life
-live to the fullest
What I learned from this book:
-you have to be youself, find your deepest wants and desires
-to become happy you need to know thyself
-do not take advice only you get to know your path
-you are average of people you hang out with, so make sure they are people who you admire
-eliminate unnecessary decisions in your life
-live to the fullest
July 17, 2019
This... was not a good listen. The best advice in this book comes in the form of watered down sentiments better expressed in any number of other fairly generic self-help books, except that the advice is tinged by Neil's own weirdly egotistic and largely unhelpful anecdotes from his own life.
The worst advice in the book was probably the bit talking about how a great way to get things done is to give yourself less time to do it. Not that the advice itself is that horrific, but his anecdote is talking about how inspired he was by the seriously concerning and stress-inducing work practices put in place by some software company executive he was talking to. His story gave me flashbacks to my last job which I specifically quit because of how often we'd get hammered by unreasonable and stressful deadlines and how it was affecting my mental health. It was very much advice I could see coming from a Walmart executive, and I pretty much mean that in the worst way possible.
And don't even get me started on that bloody equation in the title. If you want nothing then isn't having everything basically meaningless? The answer is yes, like a lot of the advice in this book.
The worst advice in the book was probably the bit talking about how a great way to get things done is to give yourself less time to do it. Not that the advice itself is that horrific, but his anecdote is talking about how inspired he was by the seriously concerning and stress-inducing work practices put in place by some software company executive he was talking to. His story gave me flashbacks to my last job which I specifically quit because of how often we'd get hammered by unreasonable and stressful deadlines and how it was affecting my mental health. It was very much advice I could see coming from a Walmart executive, and I pretty much mean that in the worst way possible.
And don't even get me started on that bloody equation in the title. If you want nothing then isn't having everything basically meaningless? The answer is yes, like a lot of the advice in this book.
March 1, 2021
واقعا این کتاب رو نخونید ! فقط نخونید
این کتاب رو به پیشنهاد یک نویسنده که اتفاقا هم خودش کتاب های خوبی نوشته و هم تمامی پیشنهاداتی که توی وبسایتش قرار میده تا الان کتاب های خوبی بودند ، شروع به خوندن کردم
کتاب ��یچ نظم ساختاری ای نداره و اساسا نمیدونه دنبال چیه و پر از تناقضه . ابتدای این کتاب راجب این موضوع صحبت میکنه که فاکتور اول زندگی و معیار ارزش گذاری آدم ها نباید ثروت باشه و اون رو به شدت سرکوب می کنه . کمی جلوتر میریم و میبینیم نویسنده ی با دانش ما ، داره راجب این حرف میزنه که درآمدمون رو چطور افزایش بدیمو گاهی از معایب بی پولی میگه و دقیقا مثل کتاب های به ظاهر برای موفقیت صحبت از روش های کسب و کار ، چگونه کم کار کنیم و بیشتر پولدار بشیم ، پدر بی پولی داریم و در انتها پولدار میشیم ، صحبت می کنه
ادامه این کتاب مثالی رو میزنه که اصلا باور نمیکنه آدم که یک انسان چقدر می تونه ابله باشه . صحبت از این میکنه که اگه قراره در بازنشستگی شروع به استراحت و دوری از کار کنیم ، به جای سخت کار کردن در طول زندگیمون ، می تونیم به حقوق بخور و نمیر عادی انسان راضی باشیم و همون کارهای دوران بازنشستگی مثل کنار دوست و خانواده بودن و یا خوشگذرانی هایی که میخوایم رو در تایمی که دیگران زحمت میکشند داشته باشیم . اما تاثیر ثروت توی دورانی که خودش اسمش رو بازنشستگی گذاشته رو نمیگه و هنوز نمیدونه که گاهی اوقات آدم دنبال طوفان های زندگیش نمیره و بلکه اون ها هستند که دنبال اون میان و زندگی شاد و رویایی با حداقل حقوق در کنار خانواده و دوستان با وفا ، افسانه ای بیش نیست . شاید بگید که منظورش این بوده که حتی دوران بازنشستگی رو هم باید انسان کار بکنه ، اما این چیزی نیست که توی این قسمت از کتاب اومده باشه بلکه در ادامه و یک قسمت مجزا راجب این موضوع صحبت کرده که این هم یک تناقض دیگه از این کتابه
روایت های کتاب هیچ سنخیتی به کلمات نویسنده نداره و اصلا در جای درست استفاده نشده ( نمونش موضوع قبلی که بهش اشاره کردم ) نویسنده از ربط دادن مطالب کتابش به این روایت و داستان ها عاجزه و نمیتونه اون ها رو بهم مرتبط کنه . نویسنده نقطه شروع و پایانش مشخص نیست . به این صورت که مطالب و عنوان هایی رو زودتر بیان میکرد که یا کلی تر بودند ، یا پیش نیاز موضوع بودند و یا اینکه اون هارو مرتبط با موضوعی مثل سن آدم ها طبقه بندی میکرد و مشکلاتی رو که افراد در سنین پایین تر بهشون برخورد میکنند رو در صفحه های اولیه کتابش قرار میداد و به همین ترتیب جلو میرفت . نه اینکه در اولین مباحث بحث بازنشستگی رو بیان کنه و در آخر کتاب یاد روابط زناشویی بین دو طرف در هنگام ازدواج و بعد از آن بیفتد
درکل تا همینجا هم بیش از حد زیاده گویی کردم در مورد این کتاب در حالی که به هیچ عنوان ارزش یک بار خواندن رو هم نداره و از عنوانش هم میشه فهمید که به جای اینکه نویسنده به دنبال این باشه که موضوعی علمی و حقیقتی درست رو بیان کنه ، معیارش رو بر طبق این میزاره که چه چیزی رو باید بنویسم تا مخاطب از خواندنش لذت ببره
شو خوش
این کتاب رو به پیشنهاد یک نویسنده که اتفاقا هم خودش کتاب های خوبی نوشته و هم تمامی پیشنهاداتی که توی وبسایتش قرار میده تا الان کتاب های خوبی بودند ، شروع به خوندن کردم
کتاب ��یچ نظم ساختاری ای نداره و اساسا نمیدونه دنبال چیه و پر از تناقضه . ابتدای این کتاب راجب این موضوع صحبت میکنه که فاکتور اول زندگی و معیار ارزش گذاری آدم ها نباید ثروت باشه و اون رو به شدت سرکوب می کنه . کمی جلوتر میریم و میبینیم نویسنده ی با دانش ما ، داره راجب این حرف میزنه که درآمدمون رو چطور افزایش بدیمو گاهی از معایب بی پولی میگه و دقیقا مثل کتاب های به ظاهر برای موفقیت صحبت از روش های کسب و کار ، چگونه کم کار کنیم و بیشتر پولدار بشیم ، پدر بی پولی داریم و در انتها پولدار میشیم ، صحبت می کنه
ادامه این کتاب مثالی رو میزنه که اصلا باور نمیکنه آدم که یک انسان چقدر می تونه ابله باشه . صحبت از این میکنه که اگه قراره در بازنشستگی شروع به استراحت و دوری از کار کنیم ، به جای سخت کار کردن در طول زندگیمون ، می تونیم به حقوق بخور و نمیر عادی انسان راضی باشیم و همون کارهای دوران بازنشستگی مثل کنار دوست و خانواده بودن و یا خوشگذرانی هایی که میخوایم رو در تایمی که دیگران زحمت میکشند داشته باشیم . اما تاثیر ثروت توی دورانی که خودش اسمش رو بازنشستگی گذاشته رو نمیگه و هنوز نمیدونه که گاهی اوقات آدم دنبال طوفان های زندگیش نمیره و بلکه اون ها هستند که دنبال اون میان و زندگی شاد و رویایی با حداقل حقوق در کنار خانواده و دوستان با وفا ، افسانه ای بیش نیست . شاید بگید که منظورش این بوده که حتی دوران بازنشستگی رو هم باید انسان کار بکنه ، اما این چیزی نیست که توی این قسمت از کتاب اومده باشه بلکه در ادامه و یک قسمت مجزا راجب این موضوع صحبت کرده که این هم یک تناقض دیگه از این کتابه
روایت های کتاب هیچ سنخیتی به کلمات نویسنده نداره و اصلا در جای درست استفاده نشده ( نمونش موضوع قبلی که بهش اشاره کردم ) نویسنده از ربط دادن مطالب کتابش به این روایت و داستان ها عاجزه و نمیتونه اون ها رو بهم مرتبط کنه . نویسنده نقطه شروع و پایانش مشخص نیست . به این صورت که مطالب و عنوان هایی رو زودتر بیان میکرد که یا کلی تر بودند ، یا پیش نیاز موضوع بودند و یا اینکه اون هارو مرتبط با موضوعی مثل سن آدم ها طبقه بندی میکرد و مشکلاتی رو که افراد در سنین پایین تر بهشون برخورد میکنند رو در صفحه های اولیه کتابش قرار میداد و به همین ترتیب جلو میرفت . نه اینکه در اولین مباحث بحث بازنشستگی رو بیان کنه و در آخر کتاب یاد روابط زناشویی بین دو طرف در هنگام ازدواج و بعد از آن بیفتد
درکل تا همینجا هم بیش از حد زیاده گویی کردم در مورد این کتاب در حالی که به هیچ عنوان ارزش یک بار خواندن رو هم نداره و از عنوانش هم میشه فهمید که به جای اینکه نویسنده به دنبال این باشه که موضوعی علمی و حقیقتی درست رو بیان کنه ، معیارش رو بر طبق این میزاره که چه چیزی رو باید بنویسم تا مخاطب از خواندنش لذت ببره
شو خوش
March 25, 2018
Заримдаа зөв цагтаа зөв юмаа олж унших ч гоё шүү.
It is an awesome book! There are various tips and ideas. In general, he suggested 9 secrets or rules how to be a happy. No doubt, you already knew some of them, but it is better to refresh your mind.
Also, I really liked the examples demonstrated using Buddha and Daniel Kahneman's stories. You can also check his blog called 1000awesomethings.com.
Happy reading! Be cool!
It is an awesome book! There are various tips and ideas. In general, he suggested 9 secrets or rules how to be a happy. No doubt, you already knew some of them, but it is better to refresh your mind.
Also, I really liked the examples demonstrated using Buddha and Daniel Kahneman's stories. You can also check his blog called 1000awesomethings.com.
Happy reading! Be cool!
July 3, 2017
If I could give this book six stars I would.
I am not a man who likes self-help books. Due to what a crutch they were during a really nasty time in my life, I am prone to hate them more than anything. I despise their circular and contrarian nature. The repetition of advice that couldn't possibly stick gets on my nerves. You could literally read one page of cliff notes for most of the "best" books on happiness and you probably wouldn't miss much.
That's precisely what I've done for a long time. I use my Blinkist account to read summaries. I skim books at the library and find nothing really of note. If I do actually take it upon myself to read something in the genre I usually give up after a few chapters.
This is not the case with Neil Pasricha's work.
Yes, the book is flawed. He has clear filler sections. I wished he had expanded upon "want nothing" much more, seeing how helpful Stoicism has been to myself and my students lately. Sometimes Neil Pasricha strikes the wrong tone in a key spot.
Yet, none of this matters, because when Neil Pasricha delivers, he kills it. His sections on time management are some of the best I've ever seen. His advice on the futility of most counsel really hits home for anyone who has been ruined by well-wishing friends. His mathematics being applied to relationships are fascinating. His anecdotes are few and essential. The majority of the read is crucially necessary for any listless millennial.
What truly makes Mr. Pasricha's work great is his use of numbers. He is so focused on making life work for you through essential thoughts. Knowing your schedules and the cold hard data of what needs to work numerically will guide you much more assuredly than a thousand airy digressions on some particular joy of life.
Neil Pasricha's profession is quite clearly managing and helping a great deal of people, because his methods really do hold up in the field. Everything I've applied in practice has benefitted me enormously.
The number of people who have written reviews about how pompous Neil Pasricha is are truly unbelievable. Perhaps most amusingly, they are the exact rudderless millennials that this book really could assist.
Yes, he brings up the fact he went to Harvard...right before he tells you how horribly many Harvard grads go about their life. He is nothing but unassuming and polite throughout the whole work. As someone who grew up in literal poverty, I am flabbergasted anyone could feel Neil Pasricha was flaunting his station in life through this book. If anything I felt I hadn't missed much because he was so modest and truthful about what little good Harvard did for so many of his friends.
In short, ignore the naysayers. This book is full of wonderful writing that will change your life. Pick it up and get to work.
I am not a man who likes self-help books. Due to what a crutch they were during a really nasty time in my life, I am prone to hate them more than anything. I despise their circular and contrarian nature. The repetition of advice that couldn't possibly stick gets on my nerves. You could literally read one page of cliff notes for most of the "best" books on happiness and you probably wouldn't miss much.
That's precisely what I've done for a long time. I use my Blinkist account to read summaries. I skim books at the library and find nothing really of note. If I do actually take it upon myself to read something in the genre I usually give up after a few chapters.
This is not the case with Neil Pasricha's work.
Yes, the book is flawed. He has clear filler sections. I wished he had expanded upon "want nothing" much more, seeing how helpful Stoicism has been to myself and my students lately. Sometimes Neil Pasricha strikes the wrong tone in a key spot.
Yet, none of this matters, because when Neil Pasricha delivers, he kills it. His sections on time management are some of the best I've ever seen. His advice on the futility of most counsel really hits home for anyone who has been ruined by well-wishing friends. His mathematics being applied to relationships are fascinating. His anecdotes are few and essential. The majority of the read is crucially necessary for any listless millennial.
What truly makes Mr. Pasricha's work great is his use of numbers. He is so focused on making life work for you through essential thoughts. Knowing your schedules and the cold hard data of what needs to work numerically will guide you much more assuredly than a thousand airy digressions on some particular joy of life.
Neil Pasricha's profession is quite clearly managing and helping a great deal of people, because his methods really do hold up in the field. Everything I've applied in practice has benefitted me enormously.
The number of people who have written reviews about how pompous Neil Pasricha is are truly unbelievable. Perhaps most amusingly, they are the exact rudderless millennials that this book really could assist.
Yes, he brings up the fact he went to Harvard...right before he tells you how horribly many Harvard grads go about their life. He is nothing but unassuming and polite throughout the whole work. As someone who grew up in literal poverty, I am flabbergasted anyone could feel Neil Pasricha was flaunting his station in life through this book. If anything I felt I hadn't missed much because he was so modest and truthful about what little good Harvard did for so many of his friends.
In short, ignore the naysayers. This book is full of wonderful writing that will change your life. Pick it up and get to work.
July 15, 2016
Ugh, just what we needed...another must-have book on happiness, complete with the ubiquitous smiley face on the cover.
We all know the book store aisles are covered to a depth of six feet with how-to manuals on happiness. This one is different enough, funny enough and short enough that it stands out.
I liked it as Canadian native Pasricha offers contrarian, iconoclastic views, not grinning, back-slap style advice. That is one of his main points--do not mindlessly accept advice. Happiness comes from within, from funneling our wisdom, our experiences into choosing our happiness. Create more time in your life by consciously choosing to invest less time in meaningless meetings, tiresome events and putting up with boorish people. It takes nerve and confidence--qualities we are proud to possess and hone.
Here is an excerpt: “You get rid of the fear you have by thinking you can’t do it and that you wanna do it and you place a little baby step of action ahead of time. So just run to the corner of the street if you wanna run a marathon. Start writing on a piece of paper if you wanna write that book. Don’t wait for perfection, don’t wait for the perfect shoes or the perfect notebook or the perfect coffee shop, because you’ll be waiting forever.”
So, cut the clutter from your life. With all that new found freedom and space, read this fun look at something we all want to have.
We all know the book store aisles are covered to a depth of six feet with how-to manuals on happiness. This one is different enough, funny enough and short enough that it stands out.
I liked it as Canadian native Pasricha offers contrarian, iconoclastic views, not grinning, back-slap style advice. That is one of his main points--do not mindlessly accept advice. Happiness comes from within, from funneling our wisdom, our experiences into choosing our happiness. Create more time in your life by consciously choosing to invest less time in meaningless meetings, tiresome events and putting up with boorish people. It takes nerve and confidence--qualities we are proud to possess and hone.
Here is an excerpt: “You get rid of the fear you have by thinking you can’t do it and that you wanna do it and you place a little baby step of action ahead of time. So just run to the corner of the street if you wanna run a marathon. Start writing on a piece of paper if you wanna write that book. Don’t wait for perfection, don’t wait for the perfect shoes or the perfect notebook or the perfect coffee shop, because you’ll be waiting forever.”
So, cut the clutter from your life. With all that new found freedom and space, read this fun look at something we all want to have.
October 3, 2017
This guy clearly has a good family with nice connections, he himself went to Harvard and has a nice high salary job at a young age. But what he doesn't know is that all of those things he had aren't really readily available for most young people out there. He talks as if life is so easy, not having to worry about a thing, just go with your heart, follow your ikigai, never retire, as if everyone's got a choice on everything. I came from a mediocre little family without much big connections, and my situations do not allow me to go to schools like Harvard or Yales, even if I did have the opportunity, I don't think I would be able to afford it anyway. I worked part-time cashier in a grocery shop with many of my schoolmates while I was studying in college, and we all struggled to get our first real job, and was highly satisfied to accept a $15/hr receptionist work to get experiences. Life is not a piece of cake like he makes it sounds.
I'm also really disappointed to read all those unintentionally arrogant advices from the book, how he was embarrassed to tell people he graduated from Harvard but he then found out he should accept who he is, or how he worked for his cousin's clinic counting pills when he was 13, earning his own allowances, and didn't like the expansion of the clinic b/c it was killing motivation. Well, good for you!
It did have a few nice little stories that are good chicken soup for the soul though, thus the two stars.
I'm also really disappointed to read all those unintentionally arrogant advices from the book, how he was embarrassed to tell people he graduated from Harvard but he then found out he should accept who he is, or how he worked for his cousin's clinic counting pills when he was 13, earning his own allowances, and didn't like the expansion of the clinic b/c it was killing motivation. Well, good for you!
It did have a few nice little stories that are good chicken soup for the soul though, thus the two stars.
Read
February 13, 2020برای اینکه بدونید درآمد واقعی شما چقدره کافیه یه محاسبه ساده انجام بدید.حقوق یه هارواردی 120000 دلاره هم یه کسر حساب میشه. معنیش اینه که شما 120000دلار رو در یه سال به دست میارید. 120000 دلار صورت کسر ویک سال مخرج کسره. خیلی خوب به نظر میاد اما این کسر یه مشکل کوچیک داره. هیچ کس همه ساعات سال رو کار نمی کنه، پس معنی نداره که بگیم کل سال چقدر درآمد دارین. این جوری درآمد یه عالمه چک دستمزد میشه که شب عید براتون میارن. با شما دست میدن:" مبارک باشه سامسون، دستمزد فروشت در 12 ماه گذشته اومده . بعد ازاینکه یه سال تمام خرد خرد هر روز این رو جمع کردی نهایتا اینو بهت می دیم. چک دستمزد سالانه". اما ماجرا این شکلی نیست. ما یه پول قلمبه برای یه سال کار به دست نمیاریم. ما برای هرساعت کار، دستمزدهای کم به دست میاریم
May 19, 2017
I think this book is important and a good introduction for those who have never deeply considered their own happiness. It provided nice little insights and general guidelines of how to be happy. With that in mind, this book doesn't really provide concrete and analytically backed answers, or even many actionable items of how to be happier. It is a bit fluffy in that way. I would recommend it as an introduction, but for anyone who considers the topic deeply and is truly interested in increasing their happiness as a life goal I would look elsewhere.
September 14, 2016
While I agree with very much of what Pasricha says, most of the evidence for his claims is in the form of quotes from famous people, rather than empirical or scientific evidence...
July 7, 2024
Un classique à relire pour se rappeler de l'essentiel.
July 7, 2019
Last chapter- don't take advice. Okay-we can toss this book out. It is advice.
Nothing in this book was new. I enjoy anecdotes and quotes as much as the next person but these seemed to be twisted to fit what the author wanted to say instead of the original quotes intention.
At first I was okay with this book and then a couple things happened that shifted:
1) hours worked chart. While I can't speak for the whole of the teaching profession I think 40hr a week was an incredibly low number. Random numbers that came from nowhere so he could make the pay per hour equal
2) too many anecdotes about Harvard
3) no bibliography but he mentions studies
4) the comparison between cliches. Most of those refer to different things
It would be like comparing a cat on a hot tin roof and raining cats and dogs. Sure they both have cats in them but their meanings are completely different.
Nothing in this book was new. I enjoy anecdotes and quotes as much as the next person but these seemed to be twisted to fit what the author wanted to say instead of the original quotes intention.
At first I was okay with this book and then a couple things happened that shifted:
1) hours worked chart. While I can't speak for the whole of the teaching profession I think 40hr a week was an incredibly low number. Random numbers that came from nowhere so he could make the pay per hour equal
2) too many anecdotes about Harvard
3) no bibliography but he mentions studies
4) the comparison between cliches. Most of those refer to different things
It would be like comparing a cat on a hot tin roof and raining cats and dogs. Sure they both have cats in them but their meanings are completely different.
April 23, 2021
hmmmm
I found this pretty underwhelming tbh. It seemed to give very basic tips with a lot of “proof” of how it helps. I appreciated it, but i’ve heard many times that to be happy, you need to “exercise”, “eat well”, and “be yourself”. I was hoping for more.
I also read it as an audiobook, which I realized wasn’t the best way to read it. Flipping through the physical copy, there are pictures and diagrams, which always makes a book more fun lol.
I found this pretty underwhelming tbh. It seemed to give very basic tips with a lot of “proof” of how it helps. I appreciated it, but i’ve heard many times that to be happy, you need to “exercise”, “eat well”, and “be yourself”. I was hoping for more.
I also read it as an audiobook, which I realized wasn’t the best way to read it. Flipping through the physical copy, there are pictures and diagrams, which always makes a book more fun lol.
January 8, 2020
The author's tone is very cheery and there are some practical tips, especially for optimizing time. However he gives some simplistic and sometimes contradictory advice. For example, he says he would never make his passion his job, because it lessens enjoyment. Later in the book, he suggests using the "Saturday morning" test to find meaningful work - i.e. what do you do if you can do anything at all?
Also the fact he works for WalMart and his Harvard Business Bro-ness are kind of problematic and clouds some of his judgment. "Never retire" is a great adage for people who enjoy their work but makes light of the fact that for many people (possibly within his own company) retirement is impossible and working isn't exactly contributing to their happiness.
Also, he makes a big deal of admiring his superior's approach to email - doesn't send work emails or respond to them, because it would set a bad precedent and people contacting him "can figure it out" themselves and thus gain confidence. Sure, if you're that high up in your organization that no one will bat an eye, but for 99% of people, never responding to emails would probably get them fired. It seems like a strange oversight to use this guy as an example.
It is always good to be reminded of the importance of gratitude for all the good things in life and the concept of ikigai. But this book could have done with some heavy privilege-checking.
Also the fact he works for WalMart and his Harvard Business Bro-ness are kind of problematic and clouds some of his judgment. "Never retire" is a great adage for people who enjoy their work but makes light of the fact that for many people (possibly within his own company) retirement is impossible and working isn't exactly contributing to their happiness.
Also, he makes a big deal of admiring his superior's approach to email - doesn't send work emails or respond to them, because it would set a bad precedent and people contacting him "can figure it out" themselves and thus gain confidence. Sure, if you're that high up in your organization that no one will bat an eye, but for 99% of people, never responding to emails would probably get them fired. It seems like a strange oversight to use this guy as an example.
It is always good to be reminded of the importance of gratitude for all the good things in life and the concept of ikigai. But this book could have done with some heavy privilege-checking.
September 3, 2016
Just because the themes and insights are simple, doesn't mean that the book is badly written. I liked it. I learned some new research and information about happiness, confidence and life in general that I haven't read in other self-help books. Definitely a book to read and reference in the future. The key points are ones that are applicable to every day in an adult life. Highly recommend!
March 11, 2020
It seems that Pasricha assumes that we are all obsessed with what goes on at Harvard and that we all aspire to be like Harvard students? And he is here mythbusting saying that actually, Harvard students may not do everything right. Yeah, I get that. I never thought that they were the happiest and most successful people. Other than that, the book is pretty banal and basic.
November 25, 2017
a great book. I am usually skeptical about this kind of readings but this one was really useful to me as it had very practical advice towards self development.
July 10, 2021
I took so much from this book!
January 19, 2022
The Happiness Equation by Neil Pasricha is a really a thought provoking book on both personal and professional life. Pasricha, in this book throws light on the secrets before the reader to become more happier and productive than before.
The lessons on concepts of happiness or how to be more happy is well written with illustrations from all over the world. I felt this book is better than Ikigai on that matter. But when book jumps to talk about concepts about productivity, the talk was little mundane and nothing new, lot of unnecessary examples.
The explanation of many complex ideas in a very easy, practical and memorable manner is one the very positive aspect of this book. Giving 3.5* actually for incorporating most of concept about happiness and making happiness as a multidimensional stuff.
“Happy people don’t have the best of everything. They make the best of everything. Be happy first.”
― Neil Pasricha, The Happiness Equation
The lessons on concepts of happiness or how to be more happy is well written with illustrations from all over the world. I felt this book is better than Ikigai on that matter. But when book jumps to talk about concepts about productivity, the talk was little mundane and nothing new, lot of unnecessary examples.
The explanation of many complex ideas in a very easy, practical and memorable manner is one the very positive aspect of this book. Giving 3.5* actually for incorporating most of concept about happiness and making happiness as a multidimensional stuff.
“Happy people don’t have the best of everything. They make the best of everything. Be happy first.”
― Neil Pasricha, The Happiness Equation
July 17, 2021
I wasn't sure if I would like this book, since most motivational books seem a little too self righteous, in my opinion. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I read The Happiness Equation. The author's humble, insightful stories and fresh perspective on creating happiness, offered me takeaways that I am excited to implement in my daily life. I have already recommended this book to family and friends. I will purchase it (checked it out from library) so I can occasionally refer back to it.
August 9, 2018
I enjoyed this book a lot. It was friendly, accessible, easy to read, a quick read, but also meaningful. It is a book I feel I will need to read again and again because its message is both powerful and empowering. For the large part, it reveals truths we "already know," but it adds layers of storytelling and practical applications that make it new. I am considering having my high school students read this book, in part because I would have benefitted to have read it earlier and thereby wasted less of my precious life not living it. I will definitely read other books by Neil Pasricha.
December 2, 2020
So thought provoking that I'm buying a copy to re-read and leave my own notes in. Highly recommend
August 4, 2020
ღირს წაკითხვად!
“Happines is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
“Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you”.
“Happines is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”
“Keep your face always toward the sunshine - and shadows will fall behind you”.
September 1, 2016
Pasricha's entry in to the world of happiness mantras, self help books and to do lists is certainly not the worst of the bunch. Typically these books attempt to mash up some good, helpful advice with a pre-packaged list of steps that promises to help change your life. This is certainly here, represented as something of a power point presentation with easy to follow labels and well marked chapter portions (you could really pick up at any point along the way and navigate the material quite well). But it is also represented in the slightly unconventional approach of it's title, an attempt to fuse the negative notion of wanting with the positive statement of having.
I picked up the book after developing a recent curiosity in to the discussion of happiness. It goes a long ways (rightly so) to dispel the modern myth of more is better, and addresses the limitations of our pursuit for success on puruely monetary and status terms. Where the book loses me is in the failure to fully reconcile our idea of happiness outside of notions of "having". It does help to reorient our ways of thinking about why and how and what, but it doesn't fully protect against the trappings of the to-do-list.
Much of where the book re-orients our thinking is in our recognition of the inner/outward conundrum (what matters most is what we think of ourselves), the powerful impact of understanding the place of negative/positive thinking, and time management. All of this is fairly (and reasonably) familiar (or should be anyways), such as the idea that exercise makes us healthier (and thus happier), and the more we get out there and try new things the more apt we will be at obtaining success in these areas. But where he challenges is by teasing out these familiar ideas (most notably in the portions that talk about self versus other focus) using diagrams and illustrations that help the ideas make sense in practical terms.
One of the book's major anchors (as far as the thought process) is the way it connects our modern shift to wanting more (modern consumption) to the old paradigm that prioritizes food and safety as primary in both ancient and relatively recent history. Happiness is thus, in a way, a more pertinent question for us in the modern age given the re-orientation of the way we live our lives in much of the world (which correlates with the idea that the portion of our brain that can contemplate happiness is also relatively modern). This is not true for all of course, but it is likely true for the vast portions of the books audience. And here-in lies a part of the book's weakness. It doesn't push far enough to cross these boundaries between the affluent and the less than affluent, and in doing so doesn't do enough to divert us from keeping "have" as our end goal.
What did I take away from this book that was helpful? It allowed me to see the connection between doing first (so as to show that I can do it) and wanting to do something second. This of course has everything to do with what motivates us, and motivation can be a powerful tool. But too often we try to force ourselves to want to do something far before we actually show ourselves we can do it, which leads to a disproportioned sense of failure on a number of levels.
I also found the self/others equation helpful, which is closely connected to how we govern our time.
Not everyone is likely to agree, but I also resonated with his idea of never retiring. The more we position ourselves to have something productive to give ourselves to, the happier we become. It is about finding that balance between what feeds us and what we can give outward in return, and this dance is a part of what gives us our identity well in to our old age. And of course the other part of the discussion that rolls in to this is the parts that deal with how we measure success. If it is all about gaining and gaining more until we are satisfied we will never be happy. But if it is less about having lots of money and the grand home (etc, etc), then we can have room to navigate the stuff that feeds us and that allows us to give outwards (from our talents and abilities).
Final analysis: Easy to read, well organized, some good stuff to say about how we orient our lives, but limited ways of dealing with the ultimate motivation for how we live our lives in particular ways (the how, the why and the what of living).
I picked up the book after developing a recent curiosity in to the discussion of happiness. It goes a long ways (rightly so) to dispel the modern myth of more is better, and addresses the limitations of our pursuit for success on puruely monetary and status terms. Where the book loses me is in the failure to fully reconcile our idea of happiness outside of notions of "having". It does help to reorient our ways of thinking about why and how and what, but it doesn't fully protect against the trappings of the to-do-list.
Much of where the book re-orients our thinking is in our recognition of the inner/outward conundrum (what matters most is what we think of ourselves), the powerful impact of understanding the place of negative/positive thinking, and time management. All of this is fairly (and reasonably) familiar (or should be anyways), such as the idea that exercise makes us healthier (and thus happier), and the more we get out there and try new things the more apt we will be at obtaining success in these areas. But where he challenges is by teasing out these familiar ideas (most notably in the portions that talk about self versus other focus) using diagrams and illustrations that help the ideas make sense in practical terms.
One of the book's major anchors (as far as the thought process) is the way it connects our modern shift to wanting more (modern consumption) to the old paradigm that prioritizes food and safety as primary in both ancient and relatively recent history. Happiness is thus, in a way, a more pertinent question for us in the modern age given the re-orientation of the way we live our lives in much of the world (which correlates with the idea that the portion of our brain that can contemplate happiness is also relatively modern). This is not true for all of course, but it is likely true for the vast portions of the books audience. And here-in lies a part of the book's weakness. It doesn't push far enough to cross these boundaries between the affluent and the less than affluent, and in doing so doesn't do enough to divert us from keeping "have" as our end goal.
What did I take away from this book that was helpful? It allowed me to see the connection between doing first (so as to show that I can do it) and wanting to do something second. This of course has everything to do with what motivates us, and motivation can be a powerful tool. But too often we try to force ourselves to want to do something far before we actually show ourselves we can do it, which leads to a disproportioned sense of failure on a number of levels.
I also found the self/others equation helpful, which is closely connected to how we govern our time.
Not everyone is likely to agree, but I also resonated with his idea of never retiring. The more we position ourselves to have something productive to give ourselves to, the happier we become. It is about finding that balance between what feeds us and what we can give outward in return, and this dance is a part of what gives us our identity well in to our old age. And of course the other part of the discussion that rolls in to this is the parts that deal with how we measure success. If it is all about gaining and gaining more until we are satisfied we will never be happy. But if it is less about having lots of money and the grand home (etc, etc), then we can have room to navigate the stuff that feeds us and that allows us to give outwards (from our talents and abilities).
Final analysis: Easy to read, well organized, some good stuff to say about how we orient our lives, but limited ways of dealing with the ultimate motivation for how we live our lives in particular ways (the how, the why and the what of living).
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