The Algebra of Happiness by Scott Galloway

The Algebra of Happiness

by Scott Galloway

From the New York Times bestselling author, a provocative book of hard-won wisdom for achieving a fulfilling career and life.

- How can you have a meaningful career, not just a lucrative one?
- Is a work/life balance really possible?
- What does it take to make a long-term relationship succeed?
- What can you do now so there are no regrets aged 40, 50 or 80?

As Scott Galloway puts it, by the time you hit your mid twenties sh*t gets real. Life become stressful. Even the smart, the hard working and the elite can feel lost in a chaotic, noisy and unpredictable world. As a professor at New York University's Stern School of Business, the debate in Galloway's MBA class often veers away from business strategy to the challenging issue of life strategies. Which is why Galloway, in his signature, take-no-prisoners style, has developed a dynamic formula for a life well lived.

In The Algebra of Happiness Galloway tells you how life can be navigated and negotiated better to maximise happiness and minimise the inevitable stress. Delivering practical advice and hard-won wisdom on everything from when to own property to how hard to work, this is self-help for anyone struggling with life's big questions. Through simple equations that measure the relationship between success, resilience and failure or the correlation between happiness and money, Galloway attempts to convert intangible advice to tangible equations.

Reviewed by Kevin Costain on

4 of 5 stars

Share
This is the second Galloway book I've read (after The Four). He has a very succinct and direct style that you'll appreciate for it's brevity, but clearly some consider that same approach off-putting. This seems like that kind of book I should have read what I wasn't reading books - I.E. in my twenties. Overt time, that has changed. If you are in that time of your life, read this. It won't take you long, and there are bunch of good insights.

Those insights are things you'll feel like you've heard already if you watch Mr Galloway's online videos (or were ever a student of his). Even though I do watch those videos, and the insights do feel familiar, they are still interesting and useful and even sometimes unexpected (he keeps cash in his mattress?) Later on in the book, shit gets real, and the insights improve greatly.

Along the way, the book is well-designed with great drawings and charts; it's built for speed. You'll read this in less than a few days.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 23 December, 2019: Finished reading
  • 23 December, 2019: Reviewed