Mo Gawdat

Or I can listen to an amazing episode. There you go, right? And then suddenly it's the same exact situation, but your perception could be very different. And here is the statement that upsets a lot of people when I say it. It's your perceptions and your expectations, which means what? Happiness is 100% a choice. Unless you have chronic pain,

Or I can listen to an amazing episode. There you go, right? And then suddenly it's the same exact situation, but your perception could be very different. And here is the statement that upsets a lot of people when I say it. It's your perceptions and your expectations, which means what? Happiness is 100% a choice. Unless you have chronic pain,

or you're really, really struggling, you can't make ends meet, you can't put food on the table, unless you're in a very, very traumatic place like some of the war zones around the world today or whatever, I honestly and truly believe that if you're fortunate enough to have a device where you can watch this conversation on or listen to this conversation on, which means you have a roof on top of your head so you're safe, which means you're not starving to death, you're probably one of the luckiest 1% alive.

or you're really, really struggling, you can't make ends meet, you can't put food on the table, unless you're in a very, very traumatic place like some of the war zones around the world today or whatever, I honestly and truly believe that if you're fortunate enough to have a device where you can watch this conversation on or listen to this conversation on, which means you have a roof on top of your head so you're safe, which means you're not starving to death, you're probably one of the luckiest 1% alive.

And once you see it that way and you realize that you could have been born in Syria and you would now be bombed with no mistake on your side, suddenly you go like, oh, it's not really that bad that my boyfriend's annoying. Boyfriends are supposed to be annoying. Right? That's expectations.

And once you see it that way and you realize that you could have been born in Syria and you would now be bombed with no mistake on your side, suddenly you go like, oh, it's not really that bad that my boyfriend's annoying. Boyfriends are supposed to be annoying. Right? That's expectations.

That turning moment for me was quite pivotal in many ways. I'm a geek, as you've probably figured out by now, right?

That turning moment for me was quite pivotal in many ways. I'm a geek, as you've probably figured out by now, right?

But this to me truly explains something. So now I can see an algorithm. Now I can understand the progress and I understand that it's my choice. And I now can understand how to work on this. But then I go to my son, Ali. And Ali was a tiny little Zen monk. He was unbelievable. I don't know if that's frequent, but he never really cried ever. And he spoke very little.

But this to me truly explains something. So now I can see an algorithm. Now I can understand the progress and I understand that it's my choice. And I now can understand how to work on this. But then I go to my son, Ali. And Ali was a tiny little Zen monk. He was unbelievable. I don't know if that's frequent, but he never really cried ever. And he spoke very little.

He either joked all the time, but when you spoke about something serious, he would listen like you're talking to Yoda. And then he would say four words, usually four to eight words that would blow your mind. So I go to Ali after I go back from that trip. And I go like, you wouldn't believe what I figured out. And I start to describe everything to him. And he treats me like a little child.

He either joked all the time, but when you spoke about something serious, he would listen like you're talking to Yoda. And then he would say four words, usually four to eight words that would blow your mind. So I go to Ali after I go back from that trip. And I go like, you wouldn't believe what I figured out. And I start to describe everything to him. And he treats me like a little child.

He must have been eight at the time. And he listens. And then he asks me a couple of questions, clearly just to entertain me. And then he would say what I explained to him, but coming from the heart in a way that would blow my mind. And for the following three years, I work with this tiny little thing, explaining to him what I figure out. And he explains it to me like humans figure it out.

He must have been eight at the time. And he listens. And then he asks me a couple of questions, clearly just to entertain me. And then he would say what I explained to him, but coming from the heart in a way that would blow my mind. And for the following three years, I work with this tiny little thing, explaining to him what I figure out. And he explains it to me like humans figure it out.

And then we build this model, the 675 model. And now suddenly over four months, I'm the happiest person alive. Literally, you wouldn't put a dent in my happiness. I remember at the time I still worked at Microsoft. And so I would have to go to Seattle once a month, which meant that I flew from Dubai to to JFK. Oh my God. And Middle Eastern, born and raised. So I did that for four years running.

And then we build this model, the 675 model. And now suddenly over four months, I'm the happiest person alive. Literally, you wouldn't put a dent in my happiness. I remember at the time I still worked at Microsoft. And so I would have to go to Seattle once a month, which meant that I flew from Dubai to to JFK. Oh my God. And Middle Eastern, born and raised. So I did that for four years running.

Every single time I'd land in JFK and they would give me a big red envelope and treat me like a freaking criminal and take me to Homeland Security. And it's an insulting experience. And if you look to the side, the officer behind you who's holding a gun, guys, like seriously, I've done nothing. Who's holding a gun says, look forward, sir. And then you get into that room, they sit you down.

Every single time I'd land in JFK and they would give me a big red envelope and treat me like a freaking criminal and take me to Homeland Security. And it's an insulting experience. And if you look to the side, the officer behind you who's holding a gun, guys, like seriously, I've done nothing. Who's holding a gun says, look forward, sir. And then you get into that room, they sit you down.

And the officer is literally shouting at me until the guy behind the counter recognizes me. Because he saw me last month and the month before and the month before. And he doesn't remember my name, but he remembers I work at Microsoft. So he would actually out loud, which is really funny. He goes like, oh, Mr. Gates is back. Right.

And the officer is literally shouting at me until the guy behind the counter recognizes me. Because he saw me last month and the month before and the month before. And he doesn't remember my name, but he remembers I work at Microsoft. So he would actually out loud, which is really funny. He goes like, oh, Mr. Gates is back. Right.