The Art of the Good Life: 52 Surprising Shortcuts to Happiness, Wealth, and Success

by Rolf Dobelli

Overview

From the bestselling author of The Art of Thinking Clearly, an insightful book that shares tips for making the very best of life–and maybe finding happiness along the way.

A simple path to happiness doesn't exist. Rolf Dobelli, businessman and founder of the TED-style conference World Minds, has synthesized the leading thinkers and the latest science in happiness to find the best shortcuts to satisfaction in The Art of the Good Life.

The Art of the Good Life is a toolkit designed for practical living. Here you'll find “happiness hacks”–from guilt-free shunning of technology to gleefully paying your parking tickets–that are certain to optimize your happiness. A good life isn’t guaranteed, but that doesn’t mean we can’t strive for it–and this book will give you a better chance at happiness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316445061
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	11/06/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Rolf Dobelli is a bestselling writer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Zurich Minds, a community of some of the world's most famed and distinguished thinkers, scientists, artists, and entrepreneurs, and a cofounder of getAbstract, the world's largest publisher of compressed knowledge. A novelist, sailor, and pilot, he lives in Lucerne, Switzerland.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

1 Mental Accounting 1

2 The Fine Art of Correction 5

3 The Pledge 9

4 Black Box Thinking 13

5 Counterproductivity 18

6 The Negative Art of the Good Life 22

7 The Ovarian Lottery 26

8 The Introspection Illusion 30

9 The Authenticity Trap 34

10 The Five-Second No 38

11 The Focusing Illusion 42

12 The Things You Buy Leave No Real Trace 46

13 Fuck-You Money 50

14 The Circle of Competence 54

15 The Secret of Persistence 58

16 The Tyranny of a Calling 62

17 The Prison of a Good Reputation 66

18 The "End of History" Illusion 70

19 The Smaller Meaning of Life 74

20 Your Two Selves 78

21 The Memory Bank 82

22 Life Stories Are Lies 86

23 The "Good Death" Fallacy 90

24 The Spiral of Self-Pity 94

25 Hedonism and Eudemonia 98

26 The Circle of Dignity-Part I 102

27 The Circle of Dignity-Part II 106

28 The Circle of Dignity-Part III 110

29 The Book of Worries 114

30 The Opinion Volcano 118

31 Your Mental Fortress 122

32 Envy 126

33 Prevention 130

34 Mental Relief Work 134

35 The Focus Trap 138

36 Read Less, But Twice-on Principle 142

37 The Dogma Trap 146

38 Mental Subtraction 150

39 The Point of Maximum Deliberation 154

40 Other People's Shoes 158

41 The Illusion of Changing the World-Part I 162

42 The Illusion of Changing the World-Part II 166

43 The "Just World" Fallacy 170

44 Cargo Cults 174

45 If You Run Your Own Race, You Can't Lose 178

46 The Arms Race 182

47 Making Friends with Weirdos 186

48 The Secretary Problem 190

49 Managing Expectations 194

50 Sturgeon's Law 198

51 In Praise of Modesty 202

52 Inner Success 206

Afterword 211

Acknowledgments 215

Appendix 219

Notes 221

Editorial Reviews

"Rolf Dobelli offers plenty of food for thought, and writes clearly—stimulating, amusing, brilliant."—Dr. Christoph Franz, former C EO of Lufthansa, Chairman of Roche

"Do you have to read this book? Definitely. It's extremely entertaining and offers a fundamentally sound introduction to the nature of human thought."—Professor Dr. Roland Berger, Founder and Honorary Chairman of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants

"Brimming with insights! Anybody who's sick of constantly stumbling into mental traps has got to read this book."—Prof. Iris Bohnet, Harvard

"This book will change your thinking."—Prof. Dan Goldstein, London Business School

"Rolf Dobelli possesses one of Europe's finest minds."—Matt Ridley, author of the Evolution of Everything

"Rolf Dobelli's works are informative, insightful, and accessible. In an age of celebrity ignoramuses, he is a true public intellectual."—Lou Marinoff, Professor of Philosophy at the CityCollege of New York

"Rolf Dobelli is a virtuosic synthesizer of ideas. With wit, grace, and precision he melds science and art in his joyful pursuit of wisdom."—Joshua Greene, professor of psychology, HarvardUniversity, and author of Moral Tribes

"Rolf Dobelli possesses the fascinating knack to present modern scientific insights in an inspiring and thrilling way."—Bruno S. Frey, Professor of Economics,University of Basel, and founder of the field of economic happiness research

From the Publisher

Keith Wickham’s cheery performance is pleasing to hear, despite pitch and phrasing patterns that sound repetitive. His lively vocal personality captures the wisecracking tone of the Dobelli’s writing, which uses entertaining examples and vignettes to illustrate the mental errors we make in managing our lives. Drawing from his background in economic philosophy and his prodigious research on classical antiquity, cultural practices, and cognitive psychology, Dobelli explains common mental errors and debunks myths about such things as happiness, satisfaction, health strategies, relationships, and consumer decisions. The mental tools he offers are more logical than inspirational, so there is a lot of information in this audio to process. But for listeners serious about optimizing their lives, these insights and mental tools are worth studying and putting into practice. T.W. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2018 - AudioFile

Keith Wickham’s cheery performance is pleasing to hear, despite pitch and phrasing patterns that sound repetitive. His lively vocal personality captures the wisecracking tone of the Dobelli’s writing, which uses entertaining examples and vignettes to illustrate the mental errors we make in managing our lives. Drawing from his background in economic philosophy and his prodigious research on classical antiquity, cultural practices, and cognitive psychology, Dobelli explains common mental errors and debunks myths about such things as happiness, satisfaction, health strategies, relationships, and consumer decisions. The mental tools he offers are more logical than inspirational, so there is a lot of information in this audio to process. But for listeners serious about optimizing their lives, these insights and mental tools are worth studying and putting into practice. T.W. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2018 - AudioFile