Solve For Happy

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What to expect

This audiobook is passionately and strikingly read by the author, Mo Gawdat.

'He explains how even in the face of the unthinkable, happiness is still possible' – Stylist

Solve for Happy
is the equation for happiness.
A startlingly original audiobook about creating and maintaining happiness, written by a top Google executive with an engineer's training and fondness for thoroughly analyzing a problem.

Mo Gawdat, a remarkable thinker whose gifts had landed him top positions in half a dozen companies and who – in his spare time – had created significant wealth, realized that he was desperately unhappy. A lifelong learner, he attacked the problem as an engineer would, examining all the provable facts and scrupulously following logic. When he was finished, he had discovered the equation for enduring happiness.

Ten years later, that research saved him from despair when his college-aged son, Ali – also intellectually gifted – died during routine surgery. In dealing with the loss, Mo found his mission: he would pull off the type of 'moonshot' that he and his Google [X] colleagues were always aiming for: he would help ten million people become happier by pouring his happiness principles into a book and spreading its message around the world.

One of Solve for Happy's key premises is that happiness is a default state. If we shape expectations to acknowledge the full range of possible events, unhappiness is on its way to being defeated. To steer clear of unhappiness traps, we must dispel the six illusions that cloud our thinking (e.g., the illusion of time, of control, and of fear); overcome the brain's seven deadly defects (e.g., the tendency to exaggerate, label, and filter), and embrace five ultimate truths (e.g., change is real, now is real, unconditional love is real).

By means of several highly original thought experiments, Mo helps listeners find enduring contentment by questioning some of the most fundamental aspects of their existence.

Critics Review

  • A powerful personal story woven with a rich analysis of what we all seek in a way we can act upon

    Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google
  • He explains how even in the face of the unthinkable, happiness is still possible.

    Stylist
  • By applying his formula, we stop asking, “Why me; why now; what if?” and focus on how we can make the best of life, despite the pain we may feel.

    Psychologies
  • Mo has an incredible gift to inspire, educate and teach others how to be happy.

    Lewis Howes, author of The Mask of Masculinity and New York Times bestseller, The School of Greatness
  • A fun read, with tips for steering clear of ‘unhappiness traps’.

    The Scotsman

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