THE HAPPINESS EXPERIMENT

Barney, a successful educational entrepreneur and founder of the Prometheus Foundation, tells how a near-death experience led him to investigate what happiness is and how to achieve it.

The author opens his book with an account of when he was a passenger on a Delta Airlines flight in which an engine exploded shortly after takeoff from Reno, Nevada. Eerie silence ensued, and the author’s thoughts turned toward his loved ones, and his gratitude that they were in his will. He envisioned them in a “formal, cold meeting,” he says, listening as his last will and testament was read to them by an attorney. Thinking about this grim scene, he realized that he “didn’t like this picture one bit. There had to be a better way”; he wanted to see the most important people in his life “experience the pleasure and happiness” of his bequests while he was still alive. He then shares how he created and conducted what he ultimately coins the “Happiness Experiment,” in which he offered money—not bequests, but what he calls “pre-quests”—to his loved ones with explicit directions that they work with a Happiness Coach and create a Happiness Plan; this, he says, would ensure that they spend their funds in ways that bring them true joy. With each pre-quest, he revised his ideas about joy, ultimately learning that “the way to achieve real, lasting happiness is through values and virtues.” Backed by the author’s own expertise in Aristotelian thought and his work in education, this book clearly provides readers with intriguing concepts about happiness, taking off from the notion that “few people take enough time to think about what would make them happier [and] few intentionally create a plan to pursue it.” The “Lives Transformed” portion, which shows the impact that his experiment had on his loved ones’ lives, is particularly compelling. Throughout, the author’s inclusion of conversations with his business partner makes his thoughts easy to follow. An accompanying workbook and pre-quest guide effectively provide further explanation and an action plan.

A fresh take on well-being with clear, easy-to-follow self-help elements.