The Algebra of Happiness
The Algebra of Happiness
I finished reading a book called The Algebra of Happiness by Scott Galloway recently and really enjoyed the book. Galloway is an entertaining writer and has a ton of real world experience from his time as professor of marketing at NYU’s Stern School of Business. This book offers advice on both professional success and personal fulfillment. It is brash, funny, and surprisingly deep.
Here are a few interesting ideas that Scott makes throughout his book about how we can achieve success in our professional lives and happiness in our personal ones.
Sweating vs. Watching
The ratio of the time you spend sweating vs. watching others sweat is a forward indicator of your success.
Show me a guy who watches ESPN every night, spends all Sunday watching football, and doesn’t work out; and i’ll show you a future of anger and failed relationships.
Some me someone who sweats everyday and spends as much time participating in sports as they do watching them on TV, and i’ll show you someone someone who is good at life.
The Myth of Balance
Everyone seems to know someone who is uber successful. They are top of their field, in great shape, play in a band, close with their parents, volunteer at the ASPCA, and have a food blog.
Assume you are not that person.
To achieve success/crack the top 10%, plan on spending 10-20 years working. And not much else
Successful people have a lot of balance later in life, because earlier on they had none.
The Arc of Happiness
Life in your early years (childhood, teen, college) are pure magic. This is one of the two stages in life when you are happiness
However, from your mid 20s to your mid 40s, shit gets real. Work, stress, and the realization that, despite what your mom told you, you won’t have a hollywood star. As you age, the stress of building the life you’ve been told you deserve begins to take a toll. This is when you are generally at your least happy.
Then as you hit your 50s, if you’re soulful, you start to register your blessings, acknowledge your mortality, and begin affording yourself the happiness you deserve.
So in adulthood, if you find you’re stressed, recognize this is a normal part of the journey and just keep on keeping on.
Happiness waits for you.
Zip Code + Credentials
We have a caste system in the US: higher education.
Economic growth is increasingly clustering around a handful of supercities, which is where you will find most economic velocity.
As soon as you can, get credentials and get to a city. Both of these get more difficult, if not impossible, as you get older.
PS: There will always be great stories about Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Jay Z, and other college dropouts. Again, assume you are not that person.
Money and Happiness
There is a correlation. Money can buy happiness, but only to a point.
Once you reach a certain level of economic security the correlation between money and happiness flattens.
Work your ass off and get some semblance of economic stability. But take note of the things that give you joy and satisfaction and start investing in those things.
Compound Interest
The idea of putting money away is most important to the cohort that least understands it: young people.
Start putting away money, early and often. Think of it kind of like a magic box. Put $1000 into a box and in 40 years it’s $10k-$25k.
If you could have this magic box, how much money would you put in it?
Equity = Wealth
It’s difficult to obtain economic security with just your salary, because you will naturally raise/lower your lifestyle to match your current income. As soon as possible, buy properties and stocks. Find a job that has forced savings for a retirement plan or potions on the firm’s equity.
The definition of rich? Passive income that is greater than your burn.
Scott has friends that receive 50k a year from dividends, interest, and social security and spend 40k a year. They are rich.
Scott has other friends that earn between $1-$3M dollars per year, have several children in private schools, an ex-wife, and a lifestyle fitting a master of the universe. These people spend most, if not all of their money. They are poor.
Alcohol
The presence of one thing in a man’s life predicted unhappiness in a man’s life more than any other factor: alcohol.
It led to failed marriages, careers coming off the tracks and poor health.
As much as I love a good drink, I have noticed that alcohol has made me a mediocre person. Being frank, it stopped me from reaching my potential and caused me to do things and behave in ways that I now regret.
Take stock of your relationship with substances. If they’re getting in the way of your relationships, professional trajectory or life, address it soon.
Things vs. Experiences
Studies show people overestimate the amount of happiness things will bring them and underestimate the long term positive effect of experiences.
TL;DR: Drive a Prius and take a trip to Asia.
Happiness = Family
The happiest people are those in a monogamous relationship who have children. You dont need children to be happy, but providing for a family and raising kids with someone you love begins to answer questions we all struggle with.
Questions like: Why am I here?
Success = Resilience/Failure
Everyone experiences failure. Everyone experiences tragedy. You will get fired, lose people you love, and likely have periods of economic stress.
The key to success is the ability to mourn and then to move on. Some people have marriages fail, go bankrupt, get laid off, or have loved ones die.
While these events suck, treat them as obstacles rather than barriers.I had a marriage fail, businesses go bankrupt and lost. Armed with a great education, good friends, some talent, a little luck (and being in the best zip code in the world, the USA), you can overcome these obstacles.
Nothing is ever as good or as bad as it seems.
Market Dynamics Trump Individual Performance
Your successes and your failures aren’t entirely your fault.
The number one piece of advice seniors would give to their younger selves is they wish they’d been less hard on themselves.
Your limited time here mandates you hold yourself accountable, but also be ready to forgive yourself so you can get on with the important business of life.
Work. Partner. Friends.
The most important decision you’ll make on future happiness is who you’ll choose to partner with for the rest of your life.
There are many people that have impressive careers, wonderful social lives, and a spouse they love. But they aren’t happy, as their spouse isn’t their partner. They’re out of sync on their goals and approach to life.
On the other hand, there are those with less economic success and that spend less time with friends but have a real partner to share their struggles and successes with are tangibly happier.