Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Joy

Every morning, before work, I would sit down with a cup of coffee and read a few pages from this book. I can’t fully explain to you how those days impacted my life and how different I see the world. Triumph out of tragedy, beautifully and elegantly and most importantly—sincerely told.

excellent book if you have unsolved life and death questions - deep and spiritual - needs to be read more than once - thanks Mr Gawdat for clarifying for me many issues I am just beginning to understand.

I've read several books on the subject of happiness and this is the best. There were others I really liked but this book puts it all into a step by step instruction manual that's easy read, easy to follow, and easy to use.

I personally am so thankful for this book! I could not believe how many complex topics this book touches on - and not only touches on, but so beautifully simplifies. This book resinated with me so much! I realized I was craving something like this. I loved how open and honest he is - Mo does not hold back on his take on important topics such as the meaning of life - which many people miss out discussing this candidly with close family and friends. I found it refreshing to hear such an open and honest take. There are areas that I personally highlighted, around how to recognize the brain's non-sense chatter or build up of fear, simple tactical tips around meditation (although this word is not used), and diving into an organized and deeper discussion around the concept of time, life and a potential version of the after-life. (GREAT JOB Mo!) I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!

Mo Gawdat has an overall approach to maintaining a state of equanimous happiness through the many sorts of ups and downs of life that has a lot in common with Buddhism and Stoicism and which I think might be helpful to many. However, his approach to presenting his "happiness equation" to achieve this state is truly terrible and severely undermines the message and his credibility to deliver it.

His introduction, largely built around the story of his son's tragic unexpected death, is, to me, the best part of the book: a touching story of context and motivation that might be worth a read by itself. And the next couple of chapters (part one), setting up some terms and concepts, aren't bad.

But almost immediately into part two, his outline of the "grand illusions" that confuse us all on what we are and what happiness is, his approach starts to collapse for me. Misrepresenting the context and meaning of Rene Descarte's most famous quote to use as a strawman that he can "correct" to make his point was disingenuous, at the least. Many of his examples attempting to distinguish the self from the brain, mind, voice and other traits (e.g., your voice recorded and played back to you doesn't sound like you to you, so the voice clearly isn't you) sometimes border on the ridiculous and flout the reader's ability to think critically at all.

To be fair, there are some good ideas in there. And even some good points—that one's expectations significantly affect one's happiness with outcomes, that ruminating on past events unnecessarily eats away at happiness, etc.—but nothing I haven't read and heard elsewhere and with much better exemplification.

Also, to be fair, I only made it 35% of the way through the book before I couldn't take it anymore and stopped. (And I'm generally pretty stubborn about finishing any book I start.) Maybe it gets better later on. But I'm just not a fast enough reader to complete the rest without spending significant-to-me time doing so, and my confidence that the remaining read would be anywhere near worth the time was completely blown.

I suspect that, if Mo took his touching introduction and most of the first two chapters, and then replaced each the remaining twelve chapters with just a couple sentences stating its main point and no more than a few paragraphs directly explaining it, he'd have a pretty good (if much shorter) book. But, as it is, the book definitely does not solve for my happy at all.

This is a challenging yet impressively clear and easy to read book. The challenge is in really thinking about how the topics play out in your own life, and in your own head, and deciding what to do about it. The author gives a surprisingly simple formula that I'm already realizing will take practice but be effective over time. Very different from other 'self-help' types of things I've seen/heard about. Heads-up, the last chapter does get into a debate that's more personal for most, but the rest of the book is useful without it so you can choose to skip it if preferred.

Books about mindfulness

I have been reading a lot of books about mindfulness. The ones I remember are “The monk who sold his Ferrari”, “The here and now”, “The Tibetan book of living and dying”, “The road less travelled”, “The Celestine Prophecy”, “The Tao of Physics” and “Life and Teaching of the Masters of the Far East”.

Lessons fade away

They all had profound effects. However, the teachings all faded as ordinary life took over. I am in the fortunate positions that I read for a living. That exposes me to a lot of books, and particularly in the last year, there have been some cracking books on being mindful.

Mindfulness as a full business trend

There is no question about it, mindfulness is a business trend. I suspect that as a response to the fast-changing world, people are looking for a different way of making sense of what is going on. Slowing down in order to go faster.

"The code of the extraordinary mind."

My favourite book is “The code of the extraordinary mind”. It has changed my life and should be read by everyone. Once you have read that one, you should immediately pick up “Solve for happy” by Mo Gadwat to get some reinforcement.

Engineering joy

How to engineer your path to joy. If you want the business argument. Being happy will make you 12% more productive and get you more likely up the career ladder. It reads like “The buddha brain” and has touches of “The future of the mind”. This book brings it down to some very simple basics.

You are what you think

For example; Your brain can only hold one thought at the time. You are what you eat, and you are what you think. So why would those thought not be happy ones? Develop an arsenal of happy thoughts to counteract your brain. Your brain is designed to keep you alive and still thinks we are living with dinosaurs and sabre tooth tigers. Everything is danger.

The brain

The brain is an amazing machine. If you count each neuron as a small computer, your brain would have thirty times more neurons than the number of computers and devices that make up the entire Internet.

Your brain is only interested in survival

That brain is talking to you, trying to keep you safe. Making constant fight-flight decisions. Plotting the next potential danger. Real or imaginary. You need to train your brain that things are not as bad as it thinks it is. Teaching it six grand illusions and make it aware of seven blindspots. That will help you (not your brain) five ultimate truths. You are not your body. You are not your brain. You need to take back control. You are the boss. You get to choose.

Brain Management

In short, it is about brain management. Observing your internal dialogue is a start. Anything negative needs to be examined and can be replaced with something positive. Store happy pictures on your phone and use them. The longer you keep your brain in the positive zone, the more difficult it will become for it to shift into negativity and the more that pre-historic part of your brain will diminish.

The usual

It is about self-knowledge, delayering the egos, funding your true self, loving who you are, living in the moment (=now), ignoring what might happen, and releasing control. What will be, will be.

Switch off the brain

Switch off your brain. Stopping assumptions, predictions, memories, labels, emotions, and exaggeration messing up the now. It is amazing. Surveys show that 60-70% of our thoughts are negative. That adds up to 35,000 negative thoughts per day. 62% of all emotional words in the English dictionary are negative. Our brain, genuinely thinking it is helping you to stay alive, is like a Velcro for negative experiences but Teflon for positive ones. Remembering happy events, offer no survival benefit in the view of your brain. Life, however, is almost entirely made of positives. Most of the constant stream of thoughts in your head are not true.

Happiness is internal

What they have found through research, is that it is not necessarily the reality that shapes us but the lens through which your brain views the world that shapes your reality. If you know everything about your external world, you can only predict 10 percent of your long-term happiness. Ninety percent of your long-term happiness is predicted not by the external world but by the way your brain processes.

Teach your brain

Most of the time the only thing wrong with our lives is the way we think about them. When you see the world for what it really is, you solve the Happiness Equation correctly. The truth—always—is just a single dot on a long line of infinite possibilities, of which every other point is an illusion. All of life is here and now. Teach your brain to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Debugging your brain’s code. That is "Mindstore".

Be aware

Being fully aware of the present moment considerably increases your chances of being happy. The second you open your eyes with the intention of being aware, you are aware. To reach it you need to stop doing! By removing the clutter, we become present, pay attention, and start to receive

The tips

Start a “positive events journal.”
Notice when you are not aware.
Get rid of the distractions to free up the space you need to be fully present.
Focus your attention on the process of doing, not the end results.
Do only one thing at a time.
Seek the path of least resistance.
Travel as the wind takes you.
Gratitude is a sure path to happiness.
“No expectation” never turns into a missed expectation.
The true joy of true love is in giving it.
The more love you give, the more you get back.
Force yourself to write at least one thing a day that you are proud of.
Write down every compliment you receive: what it was, who said it, and what prompted
Be kind.
Treat everyone as you would like to be treated.
In there it is not dissimilar to Andro O’Donovan’s “Motivate yourself.”

The magic is in the last two chapters

If you are into quantum physics, observers paradox, Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, Einstein’s theory of relativity, gaming, near death experiences and intelligent design, you will like the last two chapters:

The observer paradox

Unless the laws of physics as we know them did not apply from the point of the Big Bang until life appeared in its physical form, then life existed before the physical world did

Life as a video game

How different is your life on this earth from a video game? If your physical form—the avatar you use to navigate the physical world—is not the real you, then what difference does it make if you face a few challenges on the way? If the world deprives you every now and then, what impact does that have on the real you, the you on the sofa holding the controller? Regardless of how immersed, we get in the game of life, we get through it. We live through ups and downs, some gifts and some losses, but none of it matters because when we focus on the gameplay every experience feels new, and it’s all fun. Now that is a true gamer’s point of view

Be a serious gamer

Serious gamers, you should note, always set the difficulty level of their games to high. When Ali played alone, he used to set Halo to “legendary,” the most difficult setting possible. He would turn it down to “hard” only when he played with me. When games are too easy, there’s no challenge.

Intelligent design

The designer does not run the show; the equations he designed do. Focus on your Happiness Equation. It is the only one you can fully control. When you compare the events of your life to the expectations you set, please remember that what happens is what’s supposed to happen. Instead of dreading the event, perhaps you should start by doubting the expectations you set because, harsh as that is sometimes: Life always meets realistic expectations. Accept the design.

A credible book

I can see lots of eyes up to heaven. All I can tell you that most of the lessons of all the books I have mentioned in this blog come back as wise lessons in “Solve for happy”. What makes this book credible is the life story of the author. He lost his son under tragic circumstances. He applies his own rules. He is happy.

The book started out ok but toward the middle you start to feel sorry for the author he clearly has no faith in God and that's his right,but after that the rest of the book just seemed like he really never found happiness.

Only the last short chapter on unconditional love displays the best of hope and inspiration to and for all. There are dozens of self help
affirmations the reader is encouraged to memorize. The detailed scientific analysis of every brain thought process makes reading this
book cumbersome and almost depressing although his goals to achieve happiness are admirable.

An honest read. Written with one purpose, to help the reader be happy, through Mo's personal take on life and the death of his beloved son, Ali. I highly recommend the book because it's not written so that Mo can make some money. He has clearly written it to help people. Mo is clearly a very intelligent person, and his mathematical indication of the universe having been made by design alone is worth reading the book.

Such a beautiful book, so touchingly written with candor and love.
I love the way Mo describes it. . . Ask an incomplete question, and any answer we get will be unsatisfactory. So true for life, love, business, and happiness.

Happiness, like life and business is an equation. A robust equation will always generate the same result when the inputs are plugged into the variables. The answer may be different, but the result will always be the same.

These couple of insights have shed so much light for me, like I was sleep walking in the dark for all my life before I read this book.

I must thank my dear friend Mochamad Asri who mailed me a copy of SOVE FOR HAPPY. He anticipated, and believed that I would enjoy the book and sent me a copy as a suprise gift. This book is truly an eye opening book.

If you want to understand happiness. Read Solve for Happy.

William Teh
Investor | Author | Entrepreneur
TTTrends Investments

When I heard Mo Gawdat speak at the World Happiness Summit in Miami, I knew I had to buy this book at once. Mo's message wasn't wrapped in the familiar mindfulness or happiness research bubble wrap. This was a story of a very logical man's deconstruction of the path to happiness after a tragic personal loss. The thinking was fresh. It was also completely common-sense. As I devoured Solve for Happy, I found the same freshness of thinking on every page. This is a "big" book without striving to be big, a spiritual book without striving to be spiritual. My favorite quote from its pages: "When nothing is certain - and nothing ever is - choose to be happy." YES. Solve for Happy is full of many, many more tangible nuggets such as these. Get this book and savor the solutions and mindshifts you will find within.

Almost all of us get our religious views from someone else. As Mark Twain said, "In religion and politics, people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination, from authorities who have not themselves examined the questions at issue, but have taken them at second-hand from other non-examiners, whose opinions about them were not worth a brass farthing."

A few brave souls build their own religious philosophies. Add now Mo Gawdat to that list.

Mo Gawdat is a tech executive raised a Muslim in Egypt who worked at IBM, Microsoft, and several other places, and who now works at Google. In 1995 he, his wife, his son and his daughter moved to Dubai, where he still lives. There in that hyper-rich city he discovered that he was rich (in a beer-and-pizza way compared to his hyper-rich friends), successful, and unhappy.

So engineer that he is, Mo Gawdat decided to engineer his own happiness. He studied, talked to people, and gave speeches to develop his ideas. Then he came up with his equation for happiness: your happiness >= (your perception of the events in your life) - (your expectation of how life should be). And its corollaries and other assorted principles.

Then Mo Gawdat got a chance to test his philosophy in the saddest circumstances. His beloved son Ali was killed at age 21 by a medical mistake -- he was operated on to remove his appendix, his femoral artery was accidentally punctured, and he bled to death.

Mo Gawdat tells the story in this book. Much of the book is a paean to his son. Without meaning any disrespect, I thought that was a little overdone. A lot of the rest of it is theory underlining his equation. I thought that was interesting, but not impressive, and a lot of it was derivative and frankly, confusing. He talks about 6 Grand Illusions, 7 Blind Spots, and 5 Ultimate Truths. It often seemed more artificial and contrived than insightful.

Then I got to the final two chapters of the book, one on Death and the other on Design. Then I was impressed. Very impressed. He talked about why he thinks there is life of some sort after death, and while he has some doubts about all religions, he thinks that we and our universe had to be designed. (Like me, he has no use for the concepts of Darwinian evolution.)

I read a lot on this subject, and a lot of books are valuable, but gems are hard to find. For me, at least (and others may well feel otherwise), those last two chapters Mo Gawdat wrote are gems.

In particular, I liked his discussion of evolution. There is too much evidence supporting the idea that species evolve to argue against it. To do so would be like arguing that the earth is flat.

But how does evolution occur? Is it the so-called modern synthesis of Charles Darwin's theories, sometimes called neo-Darwinism, that was put together by people like Julian Huxley (brother of Aldous "Brave New World" Huxley and grandson of "Darwin's Bulldog" Thomas Henry Huxley), Theodosius Dobzhansky, and Ernst Mayr in the mid 1900s? That is: random variation + natural selection + millions of years = new species. To me, and to Mo Gawdat, that makes no sense.

Many people forget that Charles Darwin had only very simple biology to go on. He was born the same day as Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809) and published his magnum opus On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859, the year before Abraham Lincoln was elected president. Back then, there was no genetics. No DNA. No biochemistry. We would laugh at some of the things biologists believed back then.

Yet some today, like Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett, seem to think that natural selection is God and Charles Darwin was its prophet. They argue that natural selection is a basic law of the universe that explains all creation. In making their arguments, they never seem to do the math. Mo Gawdat does, and he shows how random variation and natural selection would need much too much time to make the neo-Darwinist theories plausible.

What I like about Mo Gawdat's thinking about design is that he boils it down to one core question: was there a designer? He does not get into all the arguments that various religions raise and fight about. Just focuses his engineer's mind on that core question. And his answer is yes. A basic design underlies evolution -- it does not happen randomly and naturally.

Mo Gawdat's thoughts on death too are quite interesting, and poignant. But that all is in just the last two chapters.

His algorithm or equation for happiness, which is the bulk of his book, did not impress me as much. I am not sure you can solve for happiness. To me, happiness pursued eludes. Or as a delightful analogy from the 1800s puts it, "Happiness is like a butterfly. The more you chase it, the more it will elude you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it may come and sit softly on your shoulder." Very Zen.

Solve for Happy displays the secrets to a life of happiness beautifully. I spend my time working with cancer patients (whom I love dearly) but see the process of illness, aging, and dying on a daily basis. I struggled with the concept of death and avoided thinking too deeply about it. I felt like time was speeding up and I was getting closer and closer to my own departure. I couldn't make it slow down to even enjoy my life. This books has been life changing. I've learned to enjoy my surroundings and not get upset when something goes wrong. I rented this book from the library and plan to get my own copy so I can tab the pages, highlight, and reference this beautiful read daily. I even mailed my mom a copy and plan to distribute these as Christmas gifts this year.

In this book there are probably written all the right rules to be happy, but I was so sad for the story of Ali that's more or less all that I remember reading about.

In questo libro ci sono probabilmente spiegate tutte le regole per raggiungere la felicitá e tenersela stretta, purtroppo peró io ero cosí triste per la storia di Ali che é piú o meno tutto quello che mi ricordo di avere letto...

This is such a wonderful book: it offers honest, personal, logical and scientific yet simple and easily digestible story of what life REALLY is. Even if you're not a much of a reader or if you're not into this whole 'self help' topic. I think this book is so inspiring and eye-opening for everyone. Personally for me, I love reading about happiness, psychology, I've read several similar books and loads of articles on similar topics in the past but I still found tons and tons of new inspiring thoughts in this book!
We all live such busy lives and it's easy to rush through life and not notice how wonderful and special it is. Even in the times of change, challenge, when we are out of our comfort zone. And maybe especially then. The most unexpected circumstances often bring beautiful surprises later. And there is always something good that comes out of every situation. If you just choose to see it.
Solve for Happy helps with seeing the good in life and knowing how to grow through any life situation, in fact it kind of helps train your happiness muscle so to say! It left me incredibly inspired. Highly recommended!

Full of assertions that ring true but have no basis in fact (and are really not true). Illogical arguments, and generalizations.

It basically comes down to how to manage your expectations of life. Obviously he has achieved an impressive sense of personal calm, but that doesn't mean that he can teach it.

This is popular pseudo psychology, which means it may do you good, but so might a placebo book, or just reflecting on your lack of peace for the duration of this book. I found myself just skimming the pages full of things that sound like science but are made up facts.

In all, not useless, but should have been a $2 pamphlet.

This book is challenging. As the author says, “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.”
Gawdat’s happiness equation is to balance the events of life with our expectations of those events. It’s not what happens that makes us unhappy but what we tell ourselves about what happened that does.
To “solve for happy” entails stripping away a number of illusions and embracing certain “ultimate truths” to get back to a default state of happiness.
Gawdat was raised a Muslim, but “Solve for Happy” feels slightly Buddhist. He quotes Eckhart Tolle, and the similarities are obvious. The book rarely is breezy but it’s never dull. I’d recommend it for anyone up for a thought-provoking read.

Mo takes an interesting approach to the eternal struggle for happiness with some scientific and mathematical approaches to prove concepts that have previously been espoused but never been proven. What drives the message home however isn't the engineering approach in my opinion, but the reflection on life & happiness by a man who suffered a great personal tragedy. He includes some paradigm shifting points which are necessary for the foundation of getting out of your own head as well as explains what essentially amounts to a cheat sheet to refer back to as life keeps throwing you punches. Would highly recommend this book.

I have learned a lot from Mo Gawdat - especially that he is legitimately trying to help human kind. He gives many suggestions, through examples of his own life experiences which helps one realize we are all in this together. His "equation" works, but you don't just read it and put it down; that will not work. Practicing the ideas laid out in his book has been my experience. wonderful and warm all the way through.

Amazing book, I feel such a sense of freedom after reading it. The author has very nicely explained happiness from a common man perspective and what can we do to become happy. The book has changed my perspective towards life and has given me the ability to think positive in any situation. I feel inspired reading the authors life journey. I highly recommend everyone to buy this book and read it.

This was a very different take on typical psychological analyses of what it means to be "happy." Perhaps because of the author's perspective as an engineer, but especially because of his personal experiences, the book encourages its readers to view contentment in life as formulaic and achievable, a set of smaller equations compiled into one.

One of the most inspiring and genius books that I've ever experience! Seriously brilliant and amazing techniques to really achieve happiness!! I think it's a must read and that everyone would be happier if they reads and implementthese tools!

Thrilling human interest story with the wonderful character of young Ali, but disappointing methodological content - not much that hasn't been written elsewhere. The author's reasoning on the existence of a "Designer" is drivel. I regret I bought this book.

Really disappointing. Author pretends to use his "superior skills of logic" to define an algorithm to solve happiness. Problem is that his logic is seriously flawed. There is nothing scientific about his approach.

Most painful is his logic to “proof” there must be a creator. His argument is basically that the chance of arriving at the current state of the universe, including the life that evolved on earth, is too small that it could happen without the aid of a creator. “There is not enough time in the universe to throw billions of times 6 with a dice”.

The problem with this premise is that it never was the goal of the universe to arrive where we are today. The universe doesn’t care about its state. It doesn’t care if there is a universe that includes Hitler, Stalin, and the authors son dying at 21. It might as well be a universe that includes live on Mars, no Second World War, and Ali living to reach an age of 90. The chance of reaching the current state of the universe is extremely small, but reaching any random state is 100%.

His other logic is equally flawed.

This was a thoughtful and different look at creating happiness in your life. I had several "aha" moments in the book. It made me consider my thoughts differently...and gave me tools for doing it. Really liked this one.

Happiness, the ultimate goal of everyone, had never been so achievable. This book helps to rewire your brain, understand the true drivers of happiness and how close they are to you. I'm so fascinated by the fact that a tragic event in the author's life led to such a meaningful gift to everyone who is searching for joy in their lives.

Solve for Happy communicates in fresh, clear, language what today's tech-savvy audience is ready for, and needs to hear. Completely aligned with ancient wisdom, this modern knowledge is truly technology for happiness, wellness, stress release and very simply, joy for life. Brilliant yet simple. Very powerful.

Solve for Happy communicates in fresh, clear, language what today's tech-savvy audience is ready for, and needs to hear. Completely aligned with ancient wisdom, this modern knowledge is truly technology for happiness, wellness, stress release and very simply, joy for life. Brilliant yet simple. Very powerful.

Life changing and inspiring book. Once you start reading it it is very hard to put it down! The author does an amazing job at defining a happiness equation based on science and facts. I truly recommend this amazing book to everyone who wants to be happy!

Instead of writing a detailed review, I just want to thank Mo. And share some Pink Floyd Lyrics: "Hey you, don't tell me there's no hope at all. Together we stand, divided we fall." This book makes you pause, take a step back, step out of the frame, see the bigger picture, and think.

"Solve for Happy" is amazing, insightful and a thought provoking gift to our world! Mo, shares from his heart and incredible intellect many secrets to life and gifts from our designer. May "Solve for Happy" help millions Catch Happiness!

Honestly, influential, insightful and inspiring. An Alan Watts for our time is the only way I can really express it. Well worth the read, and the re-read, and then listen to the Audiobook for good measure to hear it expressed in his own way.

I have learned a lot from Mo Gawdat - especially that he is legitimately trying to help human kind. He gives many suggestions, through examples of his own life experiences which helps one realize we are all in this together. His "equation" works, but you don't just read it and put it down; that will not work. Practicing the ideas laid out in his book has been my experience. wonderful and warm all the way through.

Count me as one the #10million happy. Wonderful book. Passing to my husband next to read. Thank you for writing this book and reaching out to us who needed it. You are connecting with many not by chance but for a purpose.

This is one of the smartest, the most spiritual and the most emotional stories / book I have read recently by Mo Gawdat.
Must read for those who are on their way to discover happiness and joy in their life.