The Algebra of Happiness: Finding the Equation for a Life Well Lived
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- Create Date：2021-03-29 11:19:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Scott Galloway
- ISBN：0593084195
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Summary
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Four， Scott Galloway， a provocative book of hard-won wisdom for achieving a fulfilling career and life， based on his viral video of the same name。
Scott Galloway teaches brand strategy at NYU's Stern School of Business， but often his class veers to life strategy。 His students are smart and hardworking， but they struggle with life's biggest questions， just like the rest of us。 What's the formula for a life well lived？ How can you have a meaningful career， not just a lucrative one？ Is work/life balance really possible？ What does it take to make a long-term relationship succeed？
Galloway explores these and many other questions in the take-no-prisoners style that has made him a sought-after commentator and YouTube star。 For example。。。
If （Money In） - （Money Out） > 0， you're rich。
The definition of "rich" is income greater than your burn rate。 My dad and his wife receive about $50K/year and spend $40K。 They are rich。 I have friends who earn more than $1 million， but with several children in private schools， an ex-wife， a home in the Hamptons， and the lifestyle of a master of the universe， they spend nearly all of it。 They are poor。
Compound interest = the key to relationships。
Most of us know how compound interest works with money， but don't recognize its power in other spheres。 Make small investments in the people you care about， every day。 Take a ton of pictures， text your friends stupid things， check in with old friends， express admiration to coworkers， and tell your loved ones that you love them。 The payoff is small， until it becomes immense。
Serendipity = a function of courage。
My willingness to endure rejection from universities， peers， investors， and women has been hugely rewarding。 Asking a VC for money is nothing compared to approaching a woman midday in a beach chair， sitting with another woman and a guy， and opening。 Nothing wonderful will happen without taking a risk and subjecting yourself to rejection。
Cool vacation > Cool car。
Studies show people overestimate the happiness that things will bring them， and underestimate the long-term positive effect of experiences。 Invest in experiences over things。 Drive a Hyundai， and take your spouse to Australia。
The Algebra of Happiness is perfect for any graduate， or for anyone who feels adrift。
Scott Galloway teaches brand strategy at NYU's Stern School of Business， but often his class veers to life strategy。 His students are smart and hardworking， but they struggle with life's biggest questions， just like the rest of us。 What's the formula for a life well lived？ How can you have a meaningful career， not just a lucrative one？ Is work/life balance really possible？ What does it take to make a long-term relationship succeed？
Galloway explores these and many other questions in the take-no-prisoners style that has made him a sought-after commentator and YouTube star。 For example。。。
If （Money In） - （Money Out） > 0， you're rich。
The definition of "rich" is income greater than your burn rate。 My dad and his wife receive about $50K/year and spend $40K。 They are rich。 I have friends who earn more than $1 million， but with several children in private schools， an ex-wife， a home in the Hamptons， and the lifestyle of a master of the universe， they spend nearly all of it。 They are poor。
Compound interest = the key to relationships。
Most of us know how compound interest works with money， but don't recognize its power in other spheres。 Make small investments in the people you care about， every day。 Take a ton of pictures， text your friends stupid things， check in with old friends， express admiration to coworkers， and tell your loved ones that you love them。 The payoff is small， until it becomes immense。
Serendipity = a function of courage。
My willingness to endure rejection from universities， peers， investors， and women has been hugely rewarding。 Asking a VC for money is nothing compared to approaching a woman midday in a beach chair， sitting with another woman and a guy， and opening。 Nothing wonderful will happen without taking a risk and subjecting yourself to rejection。
Cool vacation > Cool car。
Studies show people overestimate the happiness that things will bring them， and underestimate the long-term positive effect of experiences。 Invest in experiences over things。 Drive a Hyundai， and take your spouse to Australia。
The Algebra of Happiness is perfect for any graduate， or for anyone who feels adrift。
Reviews
Leonardo Varasconi
，
Stop reading after the introduction of the book 。。。 Do not waste your time in all the other parts
Vj
，
Great book on values Great big picture book on life ，values what's realynimportant in life 。see many similarities in people I know and even in myself Great book on values Great big picture book on life ，values what's realynimportant in life 。see many similarities in people I know and even in myself 。。。more
Sean Thornton
，
You can read this book in a day。 I liked it。 I can see why others don’t like it。 The Geometry of Wealth and How Will You Measure Your Life are probably better offerings in this “category” of book。There’s some bad advice here。 There’s some really good advice。 The author is a smug a-hole。 On the whole I found it entertaining with some useful advice。
Venkat Shashank
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Bought this book as I have watched a few of the author's videos on YouTube。 If you don't like his videos I doubt you enjoy reading this book。 Some brilliant points but nothing new or impressive & lots of opinions。 A light read。 Bought this book as I have watched a few of the author's videos on YouTube。 If you don't like his videos I doubt you enjoy reading this book。 Some brilliant points but nothing new or impressive & lots of opinions。 A light read。 。。。more
Kyle Sargent
，
Super quick read， Scott offers some of his best unabashed wisdom。 I love this guy for the candor and sincerity of his views， and the I-don’t-give-a-fuck-what-others-think attitude。 Here was a particular passage I loved。“A better proxy for your life isn’t your first home， but your last。 Where you draw your last breath is more meaningful， as it’s a reflection of your success and， more important， the number of people who care about your well-being。 Toward the end， you aren’t adding much value， and Super quick read， Scott offers some of his best unabashed wisdom。 I love this guy for the candor and sincerity of his views， and the I-don’t-give-a-fuck-what-others-think attitude。 Here was a particular passage I loved。“A better proxy for your life isn’t your first home， but your last。 Where you draw your last breath is more meaningful， as it’s a reflection of your success and， more important， the number of people who care about your well-being。 Toward the end， you aren’t adding much value， and people who look out for you are either exceptionally generous or reciprocating your love and support。” 。。。more
Diederick van Wijk
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Usually not very keen on self-help books， but prof。 G is a genius。 The book contains clever insights that break with popular belief of where priorities should lie in life。
Nisha
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Mediocre musings overall， but the chapter called “How to Deal With the End of a Life” was very profound。
J。 Justin
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Big fan of his first book the Four， this book was good at times。 Scott is great， insightful， funny， but he is so snarky in this book and self depreciating at times that it takes away from content。 I watched his 30 min video summary of the book and enjoyed it more。 We all go through tough times， Scott accounts his childhood challenges and you feel bad for what he's been thru。 But that's his angle and his advice to young people is worthwhile。 Big fan of his first book the Four， this book was good at times。 Scott is great， insightful， funny， but he is so snarky in this book and self depreciating at times that it takes away from content。 I watched his 30 min video summary of the book and enjoyed it more。 We all go through tough times， Scott accounts his childhood challenges and you feel bad for what he's been thru。 But that's his angle and his advice to young people is worthwhile。 。。。more
贾晶
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The book is a fun reading。 I love equation but I got the impression that author is a narcissist。 He has a privilege successful life。 The happiness definition to him is being a father that can provide his kids financially and emotionally security， a good son to his parents and a star professor。
Mark Bunch
，
A decent book about a lot of things- I think this did the writer more good then the reader。 just a list of observations on what is important in terms of values。 A NYU Sterns business school prof giving opinion。
Abhishek Arora
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 3。5/5Excellent narration to begin book with， however the last 50 pages become a bit slow。 Overall it is a good book to read of you wish to go a self introspection trip。
Mike Martinsky
，
I enjoyed the book， having read No Mercy / No Malice regularly and stumbled on an abridged 30 min YouTube version。 I think the book didn’t expound enough beyond the snippets I’d read in the blog or the talk， but Scott is a passionate writer and there are some great hard truths！ The chapter about caring for a terminal parent is one of the more powerful essays I’ve encountered。 On the other hand， I can absolutely understand the ego read from someone not familiar with the style。 3/5 for a regular G I enjoyed the book， having read No Mercy / No Malice regularly and stumbled on an abridged 30 min YouTube version。 I think the book didn’t expound enough beyond the snippets I’d read in the blog or the talk， but Scott is a passionate writer and there are some great hard truths！ The chapter about caring for a terminal parent is one of the more powerful essays I’ve encountered。 On the other hand， I can absolutely understand the ego read from someone not familiar with the style。 3/5 for a regular Galloway reader， and probably a 4 for someone reading these thoughts for the first time。 。。。more
Dana
，
Am citit-o în altå limbå，dar o explicit în limba românå！Ce am retinut din aceastå carte？Cât este de important så ai un partener bun de viatå，o familie si cât este de important så i ajuti cei apropiati tie。。。，am înteles unde este fericitea。。。！Recomand cartea！
Diana Suddreth
，
Galloway is a self-admitted jerk （only he uses stronger language）。 When he says he is a jerk， I believe him because every story in this book demonstrates that despite making every stupid decision in the world， he somehow made a bunch of money， found happiness in his marriage （eventually）， and can go on thinking he has answers he does not。 It's no big surprise that love brings happiness and service brings reward。 The details of Galloway's life do nothing to promote this idea in the long run。Pass。 Galloway is a self-admitted jerk （only he uses stronger language）。 When he says he is a jerk， I believe him because every story in this book demonstrates that despite making every stupid decision in the world， he somehow made a bunch of money， found happiness in his marriage （eventually）， and can go on thinking he has answers he does not。 It's no big surprise that love brings happiness and service brings reward。 The details of Galloway's life do nothing to promote this idea in the long run。Pass。 。。。more
Wisani Shilumani
，
Was quite a realistic model of how to go about life; albeit geared towards men。 （Specifically heterosexual men aiming to get married and have kids）I enjoyed that he was aware that relationships were the end; and everything else the means。I do believe that the blindspot of the text is that it does not speak enough about forming networks and relationships early on （too much emphasis on work）
Britt Allgood
，
Food for thoughtDecided to read this book after seeing the author on the news。 Found the book very enlightening and easy read。 Scott definitely has a perspective on life that many people should at least consider。
Jameson Di Nucci
，
I was intrigued to read this book after having Scott Galloway provide a keynote presentation at a work function a few weeks ago。 The talk was sharp， fast， smart， and informative。 I was hungry for more and gave a chance at his podcast。 After a few episodes I felt a little disappointed that none had quite matched that same level of valuable info-tainment （I also found that the presentation I saw was near word for word with one of his podcast episodes）。I turned to this book， one he had mentioned se I was intrigued to read this book after having Scott Galloway provide a keynote presentation at a work function a few weeks ago。 The talk was sharp， fast， smart， and informative。 I was hungry for more and gave a chance at his podcast。 After a few episodes I felt a little disappointed that none had quite matched that same level of valuable info-tainment （I also found that the presentation I saw was near word for word with one of his podcast episodes）。I turned to this book， one he had mentioned several times in his keynote， as one in which I would extend that “final chance”。 While the book was charming at parts， I would continue to mark this work as underwhelming。 The book reads like a thousand quick winded statements on various topics， many of which can be repetitive。 I would say close to half of them are interesting but if you would like to see some elaboration the most you usually get on a topic is about 500 words。 All in all， it makes for a very quick read （the book is the smaller than the dimensions of my hand） and still leaves me unsatisfied， longing for greater information on several topics。 If he ever writes another book， I’ll have to be very impressed with the reviews to give it a chance。NOTE: if you like reading memoirs that follow the “I’m a white dude from California that attended the best schools and was given all the right opportunities to be rich and successful“ storyline， you will LOVE this book。 。。。more
Sarah Morgan
，
Struggling with the stars for this little book。 The author is an ass， but he admits that he’s an ass。 So。。。well written？？？？But more importantly， he says hard truths about life， life in America， and the choices we all have within the structures thar we find ourselves in。 For better or worse， he’s likely right about a lot of this， even though it’s a book full of things we wish were not true。 There’s a pretty fundamental question here - do you live for the world you wish existed or the world you ar Struggling with the stars for this little book。 The author is an ass， but he admits that he’s an ass。 So。。。well written？？？？But more importantly， he says hard truths about life， life in America， and the choices we all have within the structures thar we find ourselves in。 For better or worse， he’s likely right about a lot of this， even though it’s a book full of things we wish were not true。 There’s a pretty fundamental question here - do you live for the world you wish existed or the world you are facing？ He seems to say that realism is the most effective way to find happiness within your context。 He straight up tells us how to define happiness （bold & different than you expect） and simply says that your choices define your path toward or away from it。 Hard to argue。 I finished 24 hours ago and I have already taken actions based on what I read here。 I also can’t get it out of my head。 That is what I call a 5 star book。Note: while the author overcame his share of white， cisgender male struggles， this is written by/for people with privilege。 There is no getting past that。 But to disregard it for that is to miss his point。 。。。more
Neha Gautham
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A bit repetitive especially on the topic of ‘give a good death to your loved ones’， but overall I enjoyed the content。
Tyan T
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Simple， to the point。 A classic Scott Galloway book。 If you follow him or watch him on YouTube， you’ll understand what he’s saying and take it to heart。 A short， easy read that will remind you what’s important in life and provide a perspective on how one person has lived it。
Ahmed Abdou
，
Scott is a great speaker and his experience in life is amazing， worth hearing and never gets dull。The book is really valuable as Scott's own experience in life and his ideas and thoughts on happiness - in an abstract way somehow- feels a bit related to Maslow's hierarchy of needs。Most important point for me is that I'm not sure if the book really affected me or my thinking somehow， hard to know really when it's about the priorities of life， worth re-reading again later。Also to set your expectati Scott is a great speaker and his experience in life is amazing， worth hearing and never gets dull。The book is really valuable as Scott's own experience in life and his ideas and thoughts on happiness - in an abstract way somehow- feels a bit related to Maslow's hierarchy of needs。Most important point for me is that I'm not sure if the book really affected me or my thinking somehow， hard to know really when it's about the priorities of life， worth re-reading again later。Also to set your expectations right， this is the experience of a married man with Kids living on US， or just read the summary about his life quickly to understand his background， this is fundamental when reading anyone's experience in life。Also to be fair as well， the book could probably be better named "Scott's reflections on Finding happiness" and still will be very cool book to read， but Scott already mentioned this quickly in the first chapter and that this is not backed by researches but this is more like his own personal experience so treat it as such。 。。。more
Jorel T
，
Relatable。 Amusing。 Engaging。 Galloway focuses on success， love and health as key cornerstones of a life well lived。 His scientific perspective and frequent callbacks to hilarious anecdotes of his past are edgy and a delight。 Galloway’s candidness and ‘no BS’ demeanor is refreshing as he provides guidance to readers on how to pursue a meaningful life in a chaotic， capitalistic world。
Jackie
，
This guy is a privileged asswipe。
Matt
，
I like Scott Galloway - but I struggled with this book。 Scott has had a very successful career by many people’s standards and though he tries to be self deprecating， I got the sense from his stories that he knows this and he’s got the ego to match。 Far from being instructional， this book reads more like he feels the need to lay down a biography of his life for posterity。 He’s had some entrepreneurial success but nothing with a profile which would make people ask - I wonder what the story behind I like Scott Galloway - but I struggled with this book。 Scott has had a very successful career by many people’s standards and though he tries to be self deprecating， I got the sense from his stories that he knows this and he’s got the ego to match。 Far from being instructional， this book reads more like he feels the need to lay down a biography of his life for posterity。 He’s had some entrepreneurial success but nothing with a profile which would make people ask - I wonder what the story behind THAT GUY is。 Instead he’s written a short potted history of his life packed with sentimentality， which seems more designed as a leave behind for his children than anything with useful， actionable insights。 A few core points come through time and time again， namely: he loves his kids， he was greatly affected when he cared for her mother in the last few months for her death， he thinks about death a lot and he doesn’t believe in an afterlife。 The combination of these points I think are the real reason behind him writing this book。Unfortunately with this in mind a lot of the stories included tend to meander into little snapshots from his life with no conclusion。 Younger male readers might get a few titbits from these but I would point them to The Prof G show， an excellent weekly podcast that includes a spot on The Algebra of Happiness and picks out the most useful points of the book as part of a broader and far more useful free podcast。 。。。more
Thea Nikolic
，
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book。 I’m not usually a well being/business book reader however Galloway is very relatable， taking what’s he’s learned throughout the years in business and how it’s related to happiness。 He’s still leaning and is very clear that。 Read this in 24 hours。
Cat Weinrib
，
Very quick read to kick off new year。 Some good highlights about what's important in life。 Great for young people starting out in life。 Very quick read to kick off new year。 Some good highlights about what's important in life。 Great for young people starting out in life。 。。。more
Harold McNabb
，
Scott's best seller is a fun and good read。 It reminds me of the twenty first century version of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes。 It's an easy and serious read in a light and witty style。 Scott's best seller is a fun and good read。 It reminds me of the twenty first century version of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes。 It's an easy and serious read in a light and witty style。 。。。more
Larry Zhou
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Solid， kind of jumpy writing on Scott’s part but reminds me of how he speaks on his podcasts。 Basically you should value your relationships and family/parents are number 1。 Work hard and long before you’re mid 30s， when you have kids， you’ll have a higher calling。。。End of life care for your loved ones will help you sleep well at night （you only have 1 shot at this）
Ajeeth Peo
，
Recently discovered Prof Scott on youtube （2021 predictions）。 Immediately deep dived into his content。 Immediately fell in love。 Chanced upon his talk on the Algebra of Happiness and the Big Four。 Picked up both the books。 Finished this one first。 This was exactly the book I needed to read。 Considering the crossroads I'm at and the decisions / plans I have set， it helped validate a lot of my perceptions， gain clarity about why the things I thought were important ARE important。 If you follow Prof Recently discovered Prof Scott on youtube （2021 predictions）。 Immediately deep dived into his content。 Immediately fell in love。 Chanced upon his talk on the Algebra of Happiness and the Big Four。 Picked up both the books。 Finished this one first。 This was exactly the book I needed to read。 Considering the crossroads I'm at and the decisions / plans I have set， it helped validate a lot of my perceptions， gain clarity about why the things I thought were important ARE important。 If you follow Prof Scott， read this book。 If you don't follow him， read it never the less。 。。。more
JOSE
，