The Algebra of Happiness by Scott Galloway | Book Summary

In his book, The Algebra of Happiness: Notes on the Pursuit of Success, Love, and Meaning, Scott Galloway shares stories from his own life to provide wisdom to help you overcome life’s challenges. Since 2002, Professor Galloway has taught Brand Strategy at NYU’s Stern School of Business. But the course discussion often swerves from brand strategy to life strategies:

• What career path should I go into?
• How can I set myself up for success?
• How do I reconcile growth in my personal and professional lives?
• Can I live my life in a way in which I don’t have regrets when I’m older?

Thus, Galloway addresses these questions and others regarding success, love, and health in this most popular course lecture called “The Algebra of Happiness.” Galloway shares what he has “observed as a serial entrepreneur, academic, husband, dad, son, and American man, coupled with a decent amount of research.”

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The Formula for The Algebra of Happiness

The Basics

In the first section of The Algebra of Happiness, Galloway breaks down his “formula for happiness into a finite number of equations.”

• Everyone Knows Happiness, Stress, Tragedy: When you are unhappy, stressed, or dealing with tragedy, it is part of being human. Keep going as happiness is waiting right around the corner.
• Work It While You’re Young: When establishing yourself in your career, you need to work hard at the lack of having balance. Not having balance earlier can yield more balance later in life.
• Sweat: Success = Producing / Consuming: Your success can be predicted based on the ratio of time you spend sweating (producing) to watching others (consuming).

The Most Important Decision You Will Make

This important decision is who you chose to partner with for the rest of your life. Those who have the right spouse or life partner shares the following three things:

• Passion – are physically attracted to each other
• Values – have alignment regarding religion, family, children, responsibilities, etc.
• Money – share expectations about contribution, sacrifices, spending, saving, etc.

Credentials + Zip Code = Money

In the United States, wealth is positively correlated based on your credentials (education level and institution) and zip code (the place that’s crowded with success).

• What Makes You Happy: For lower incomes (> $70,000), happiness increases with more income. However, beyond that income, the correlation flattens. Thus, determine what gives you joy and meaning, and invest in those people, interests, and experiences.
• Invest Early and Often: Compound interest is powerful whether applied to money, habits, or relationships. At first, the payoff is not much, but later, it’s enormous.
• Find Your Gorilla: Masculinity = Relevance + Good Citizen + Loving Parent: Being the best man (or women) you can be is based on three things:
  • Relevance – are well connected in your community or society
  • Good Citizen – are a great neighbor and respecting institutions
  • Loving Parent – are a great parent to your children
• Equity = Wealth: Focus on your burn (money spent) being less than your earnings (money earned). Invest your savings by diversifying in retirement, property, and stocks.
• Drink Less: Consume less alcohol, as overconsumption leads to unhappiness and poor results in careers, relationships, and health. 
• Car < Lion: Invest in experiences over things, as people overestimate happiness from stuff and underestimate happiness from experiences.
• Give Someone a Good Death: Provide comfort to those you love at the end of their life as it is satisfying and will be cherished forever.
• Happiness = Family: The happiest people are those in monogamous relationships and have children, as it can address the question of “Why am I here?”
• Success = Resilience / Failure: Everyone deals with obstacles, so your success is correlated to your ability to be resilient and overcome failure.
• Nothing Is Ever As Bad or As Good As It Seems: Hold yourself accountable but also forgive and be kind to yourself to move on with life.

Download the PDF Book Summary for The Algebra of Happiness

Success

In the second part of The Algebra of Happiness, Galloway discusses what he has “learned about success, ambition, career, and money from my experience as an investment banker, entrepreneur, business school professor, and voice on the impact of big tech on our economy and society.”

Stay Thirsty

Talent is vital, but being hungry and taking 10X action is what is most important. Figure out what you are great at, and work hard to be so good they can’t ignore you. Later, pursue relevance for who and what is meaningful over earning more money.

Embrace Adulthood

Scott Galloways provides advice for those who recently graduated from college:

• Don’t Follow Your Passion: Find your passion at the intersection of what you are good at, makes you money, and what you enjoy.
• Boring Is Sexy: If a career path appears sexier, more people will work in it, and it gets harder to succeed. Therefore, invest in the boring work while avoiding what seems cool.

The Adult in the Room

Many adults act like children in front of their parents and expect them to solve their issues. Instead, start taking care of your parents now and provide solutions as it feels rewarding.

Getting the Easy Stuff Right, and Email

Scott Galloway has struggled his whole life to get the easy stuff right. Thus, he recommends you do so by eating that frog, showing up early, being respectful, and following up with others.

Believe You Deserve It

About 70 percent of Americans experience Impostor Syndrome, which is the belief that you are not as competent as others perceive you to be. Even at award ceremonies, Scott Galloway still feels some insecurity, but he cuts himself slack and embraces the achievement. When experiencing Imposter Syndrome yourself, take it easy and understand that you have earned it through hard work, risks, and help along the journey.

Find Your Voice

Scott Galloway witnessed his dad’s happiness when he spoke and taught groups of people. Later, Galloway found his voice and honed his public speaking craft during his weekly lectures to his MBA students. Scott Galloway continues to provide value today and came full circle to have his father fly in to watch the MBA lectures.

You Are (Probably) Not Mark Zuckerberg

In the Algebra of Happiness, Scott Galloway shares his four questions to ask to determine if you have the traits of a successful entrepreneur:

• Can You Sign the Front, and Not the Back, of Checks?: You need to fund your company and work without getting paid until you make or raise money.
• Are You Comfortable with Public Failure?: As most failures are private, you need to have the ability to handle public business failures.
• Do You Like to Sell?: You need to be comfortable with selling products/services to customers, opportunities to investors, and positions to job candidates.
• How Risk Aggressive Are You?: You need to take calculated risks in regards to decision making, strategy, market effects, etc.

When to Take Cover

Economic cycles occur regularly, so examine key metrics, behavior changes, and CEO perception to indicate when a market or company is dealing with a downturn. When times are good, people look for youth to run companies. However, when times are bad, people look for experience.

What to Do If You Think You Might Be in a Bubble

Companies started in recessions are more successful as people, property, and services are cheaper. However, those firms founded in booming economics struggle as everything is more expensive and competitive. If you think a crash is imminent, do the following:

• Know When to Sell: Sell assets that hold most of your wealth into cash and strive for diversification.
• Have Cash: Have most of your money (about 80%) in cash to be safe.
• Be Humble: Having humility will help you live within your means and prepare you financially and psychologically.

Measure What Matters

Metrics indicate our values, goals, and actions and show who we are. Some have more meaning than others, and numbers can provide insight and accountability.

Know the Ends vs. the Means

“Professional success is the means, not the end. The end is economic security for your family and, more important, meaningful relationships with family and friends.”

Learn from Rejection

“Serendipity Is a Function of Courage” as nothing worthwhile will occur if you do not take risks while being subjected to possible rejection.

If You’re Not an Employee, Employ Yourself

Most entrepreneurs do not lack skills. Instead, they start businesses and provide offers, because they are missing the skills to be an effective employee:

Employee – a person hired to provide services to a company regularly in exchange for compensation.

Being an employee is less risky and more rewarding. And employees tend to be more grown-up, have civility, and are secure with themselves. As an employee, Galloway finds the most value in helping younger staff figuring out career moves or working through issues.

Be a Role Model

Scott Galloway recalls stories of his childhood mentor, Cy Cordner, teaching him a lot about stocks and markets. After a few decades, Galloway’s students found his mentor, and Galloway called Cy to thank him. Mentors can significantly impact your life and success, so be appreciative and pay it back.

Download the PDF Book Summary for The Algebra of Happiness

Love

In the third part of The Algebra of Happiness, Galloway discusses love and relationships and how to weave to achieve meaning in your personal and professional lives.

The Ends

The ends are love and relationships, while the means are everything else. “Love received is comforting, love reciprocated is rewarding, and love given completely is eternal.” As we are immortal, we ultimately need to find someone to love unconditionally:

• The Most Important Decision: It is “who you have kids with. Who you marry is meaningful; who you have kids with is profound.” Raising kids with the right person will be joyful, comforting, and rewarding.
• Someone Who Likes You: Like someone who thinks you are great and feels out of your league. Don’t believe that if someone seems better, they are not into you. Or if you feel superior that someone is not worthy of you.

1 + 1 > 2

The most rewarding aspects of life are professional achievement and family. Being single is challenging, as marriage is more economically beneficial and meaningful as you have a partner to share in the knowledge, decisions, earning, and responsibilities. Further, you can be a great partner in your marriage by:

• Not Keeping Score: Be generous and caring every day.
• Not Letting Your Partner Be Cold or Hungry: Make sure your partner feels comfortable and has eaten.
• Expressing Desire Often: Provide affection, touching, and sex to your partner.

Keep Your Kids Close

Invest early and often in your kids as it will compound with your kids remembering that their parents chose them over anything else. Later, when you are old and vulnerable, your kids will instinctually come visit and comfort you.

I ♡ U

Love is when you are willing to take the life you have worked so hard to build for yourself and throw it away for the wellbeing of another. You will never truly love someone until you have kids.

Montezuma’s Revenge

You will downgrade the things you hate to inconveniences when you are in the presence of those you love. “My life is yours, and I love you.”

Valentine’s Day

Scott Galloway recalled a story in which his CrossFit trainer, Sean, got called by his grandpa in the middle of class. Galloway was taken aback when observing that Sean and his grandpa exchanged many “I love you’s.” Thus, you should invest in your kids so much that they will be there for you in old age.

Taking Affection Back

Be affectionate with your partner and children through many kisses and always extending your hand to hold theirs.

Divorce

Scott Galloway recounts the story of his parent’s divorce. When he hears airplanes flying over, his automatic reaction is to identify the airline and aircraft and then think of the time before the divorce when his family lived together near the beach.

Attach to People

“Affection strengthens bonds, provides access to resources, and communicates your potential as a parent, increasing your pool of potential mates.” Further, affection can give your kids the confidence to understand that they have value, are capable, and deserving.

What Makes a Home

“Your first house signals the meaningful—your future and possibility. Your last home signals the profound—the people who love you” and reflection of your success.

How to Deal with the End of a Life

Think about the end of your life to make better decisions today. In the Algebra of Happiness, Scott Galloway states that in the end, “parents want two things:

1. To know their family loves them immensely.
2. To recognize that their love and parenting gave their children the skills and confidence to add value and live rewarding lives.”

Love a Kid Who Isn’t Your Own

Compared to other mammals, humans are unique in their ability to cooperate, which draws on non-verbals, speech, culture, etc. Notably, humans cooperate by caring for children who are not theirs biologically.

Appreciate How Fortunate You Are

“We like to think the time leading up to death is a period when you can reflect on a long life of blessings. It’s a time to register the love you’ve invested and harvested.”

Find Your Own Heaven

Galloway describes his heaven: “I’m with my family, watching over them, strong, timeless, immortal. My child, assessing my worth on things that have nothing to do with our modern, material world, chooses me. I’m with family, loved, and at peace.”

Love the One(s) You’re With

Coming home to the people you love will cause a dopamine release to get you excited to see them. The emotions will focus you on being a better version of yourself in their presence.

Kids: It’s All About Them

“The most important act of progress for our species, planet, and universe is unconditional love.” When you are near the end, you will realize that your relationship with your kids is almost over. Because life is finite, you will be motivated to love, give, and pursue.

Download the PDF Book Summary for The Algebra of Happiness

Health

In the third part of The Algebra of Happiness, Galloway “challenges the reader to turn to the (wo)man in the mirror and address issues including the care and feeding of a physical body, inner demons, and our last days on earth.”

Be Strong

The more you sweat, the more successful you will be, so commit to being healthy physically and mentally. When you are younger, show your grit at work regularly by working hard, being calm in stressful situations, and bolding attacking issues. When you get older, you will age and will think harder about things. Stress can be harmful, so take it easy and don’t sweat the small stuff.

Cry-It’s Good for You

Crying is healthy as it can elicit empathy in the company of others and relieve stress amid difficult emotions. “Sorrowful crying is looking to the past with sadness or to the future with dread.” In contrast, happy crying is a response to a blissful, powerful moment.

Trade Closeness for Harmony

Instead of being close with dysfunctional relationships with your family, strive to be harmonious. Scott Galloway shares that his dad, sister, and he are low maintenance, drama-free, and benefit to each other’s lives. Additionally, be a caregiver to your parents, children, and others “the number of people you love and care for is the strongest signal about how long you’ll live.”

Get Lost in the Moment

Living to be 100 requires having good genes, having a healthy lifestyle, and loving others. However, the X factor is the tragic situations that arise out of our control for no reason. Therefore, we need to find the balance between delayed gratification and living in the moment:

• Delaying Gratification (Tomorrow) – when you resist the short-term temptation for later rewards, so you to build a better tomorrow for yourself, your family, and others
• Live In the Moment (Today) – when you focus your attention on what is happening now, so you are present with people and enjoy the current activities

Don’t Be an Asshole

Assholes tend to be nearly successful, as their insecurity and anger can cause them to emphasize what they have done to show others how “amazing” they are. Successful people tend to be nicer, generous, and well mannered.

Express gratitude for what you do have as it helps “people feel more positive emotions, relish life’s experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.” Praise others as it can make you feel more significant, healthier, and more confident.

Sustenance > Addictive Substances

Receiving rewards that are random, unpredictable, and immediate can fuel addiction. People are wired to be addicted to food, sex, and kids as they are necessary for survival. As kids can be an addictive substance to their parents, Scott Galloway believes that instead, his love will provide sustenance to his children. No matter what, parents give the predictable reward of love more so any other relationship.

Epilogue

Scott Galloway concludes The Algebra of Happiness by saying that even he has become addicted to the affirmation and wealth of being successful professionally. However, when he looks at the stuff he inherited from his mom’s best friend, he feels the need to invest in relationships. When you are left with nothing, relationships will be all that you have. “In the end, relationships are all that matters.”

Download the PDF Book Summary for The Algebra of Happiness

Next Steps

In his book, The Algebra of Happiness, Scott Galloway provides his perspective on succeeding professionally, being fulfilled personally, and achieving balance in life.

I hope this blog post inspires you to get a copy of The Algebra of Happiness: Notes on the Pursuit of Success, Love, and Meaning. For more on brand strategy, check out Building a StoryBrand (book summary) by Donald Miller.