Mo Gawdat

Oh, yeah. It's not an unusual story, is it?

Oh, yeah. It's not an unusual story, is it?

Yeah. I was completely miserable. I was clinically depressed. And there is a difference between Being unhappy because you can't make ends meet and being unhappy when you can just pour money on anything. Fancy cars, beautiful home. I had two wonderful kids, the dream of anyone. My beautiful, loving wife. I could go anywhere on vacation anytime I wanted, first class or business class.

Yeah. I was completely miserable. I was clinically depressed. And there is a difference between Being unhappy because you can't make ends meet and being unhappy when you can just pour money on anything. Fancy cars, beautiful home. I had two wonderful kids, the dream of anyone. My beautiful, loving wife. I could go anywhere on vacation anytime I wanted, first class or business class.

I could buy fancy suits, fancy cars, anything. And I was clinically depressed.

I could buy fancy suits, fancy cars, anything. And I was clinically depressed.

I was the happiest person ever until, believe it or not, I decided, and I remember the moments vividly. I remember when my son Ali was born and I'm like, oh my God, I love you, right? And I was literally, this thing is never gonna need anything ever. And I went mad working. And when Aya was due my daughter, which is life itself, Aya is the sunshine of this world.

I was the happiest person ever until, believe it or not, I decided, and I remember the moments vividly. I remember when my son Ali was born and I'm like, oh my God, I love you, right? And I was literally, this thing is never gonna need anything ever. And I went mad working. And when Aya was due my daughter, which is life itself, Aya is the sunshine of this world.

when she was supposed to get into kindergarten and we could get Ali into a beautiful one, but we couldn't afford to get Aya there. I remember vividly, I walked into my boss's office in IBM and I said, look, you're paying me 680. I need 740 because I have to get my daughter into the same kindergarten. And he said, that's not how it works in IBM. You know, there is committees and promotions.

when she was supposed to get into kindergarten and we could get Ali into a beautiful one, but we couldn't afford to get Aya there. I remember vividly, I walked into my boss's office in IBM and I said, look, you're paying me 680. I need 740 because I have to get my daughter into the same kindergarten. And he said, that's not how it works in IBM. You know, there is committees and promotions.

And I was like, okay, then I'm going to resign. I'm going to leave in four months and I'm going to find another job. And From then, I just money, money, money, money, things, things, things, things. And you know how it is. You succeed, you create a lifestyle for your family that becomes normalized, and then you now have to succeed more and create a higher lifestyle.

And I was like, okay, then I'm going to resign. I'm going to leave in four months and I'm going to find another job. And From then, I just money, money, money, money, things, things, things, things. And you know how it is. You succeed, you create a lifestyle for your family that becomes normalized, and then you now have to succeed more and create a higher lifestyle.

But the thing is, you're born happy. Happiness... changes when you change your choices. So I do a reverse engineering, a simple exercise where I tell myself, I'm going to record every moment in my life where I ever felt happy. Every moment I can recall where I felt unhappy. I'm going to try to plot them on different charts.

But the thing is, you're born happy. Happiness... changes when you change your choices. So I do a reverse engineering, a simple exercise where I tell myself, I'm going to record every moment in my life where I ever felt happy. Every moment I can recall where I felt unhappy. I'm going to try to plot them on different charts.

Basically, if I could find the fitting line that joins all of the moments where I was happy, Then I can have an algorithm and then I can almost code that within me that I'm going to always chase that algorithm. And then suddenly it hits you, okay? There is never a single experience of life that always makes you happy. It's never a single experience of life that always makes you unhappy.

Basically, if I could find the fitting line that joins all of the moments where I was happy, Then I can have an algorithm and then I can almost code that within me that I'm going to always chase that algorithm. And then suddenly it hits you, okay? There is never a single experience of life that always makes you happy. It's never a single experience of life that always makes you unhappy.

Rain makes you happy if you want to water your plants or if it's your ex-boyfriend's wedding. It makes you unhappy if it's your wedding. It's always that comparison, events minus expectations, events minus expectations, and you end up with a value that is either zero or higher or negative. But by the way, it's also your perceptions. So think about it this way. You could be stuck in traffic and

Rain makes you happy if you want to water your plants or if it's your ex-boyfriend's wedding. It makes you unhappy if it's your wedding. It's always that comparison, events minus expectations, events minus expectations, and you end up with a value that is either zero or higher or negative. But by the way, it's also your perceptions. So think about it this way. You could be stuck in traffic and

And telling yourself, oh my God, this is going to take 40 minutes. I'm miserable. I'm wasting my life. What have I done to deserve this? Life is against me. Or you could be stuck in traffic telling yourself, oh, I have a car. I have a place to go. Oh, the car is air conditioned. Oh, by the way, I actually am amazed by the fact that I don't have to walk those 30 miles.

And telling yourself, oh my God, this is going to take 40 minutes. I'm miserable. I'm wasting my life. What have I done to deserve this? Life is against me. Or you could be stuck in traffic telling yourself, oh, I have a car. I have a place to go. Oh, the car is air conditioned. Oh, by the way, I actually am amazed by the fact that I don't have to walk those 30 miles.