Mo Gawdat

But then I remember I sat down, which tells you how your incessant thinking always looks for misery. I sat down. I mean, remember, Ali left. A is almost done with her university. I have reasonable assets. Everything's fine. And I start to put down the numbers, sort of trying to convince myself to be afraid, right? Like you can't leave Google. How can you leave Google? How can you leave this?

You're going to starve to death. And I'm like, how can you prove that brain, right? And then my brain starts to come up with scenarios where what if your car breaks and you need to fix it? Easy, right? What if this happens? Easy. Until I remember vividly that my brain then said, what if the US attacks Iran? And then that escalates to a nuclear war.

You're going to starve to death. And I'm like, how can you prove that brain, right? And then my brain starts to come up with scenarios where what if your car breaks and you need to fix it? Easy, right? What if this happens? Easy. Until I remember vividly that my brain then said, what if the US attacks Iran? And then that escalates to a nuclear war.

And then all of your real estate assets in Dubai get wiped out. How will you survive then? And then I found myself laughing out loud saying, well, in that case, I don't think your money is the biggest of your concerns, right? But isn't that how our brains constantly try to fool us? And then I remembered something I read when I was very young about financial freedom.

And then all of your real estate assets in Dubai get wiped out. How will you survive then? And then I found myself laughing out loud saying, well, in that case, I don't think your money is the biggest of your concerns, right? But isn't that how our brains constantly try to fool us? And then I remembered something I read when I was very young about financial freedom.

And financial freedom, interestingly, is never about income. Wealth is about income. And wealth does not make you financially free because if you make a million dollars a year, but you want to change your Ferrari and go on a first-class cruise every year, you're still poor. As a matter of fact,

And financial freedom, interestingly, is never about income. Wealth is about income. And wealth does not make you financially free because if you make a million dollars a year, but you want to change your Ferrari and go on a first-class cruise every year, you're still poor. As a matter of fact,

One of the biggest problems that our world today is that so many citizens and nations, including the world's largest nation, is in so much debt.

One of the biggest problems that our world today is that so many citizens and nations, including the world's largest nation, is in so much debt.

Yeah, and the idea is after I found my path to happiness with Ali's help 20 years earlier, suddenly I didn't need an Armani suit anymore and I didn't need a fancy car. I still love fixing them and selling them, as I said, but I don't need it in my life. And so my entire expense is just nothing really. My daughter's an adult. My ex-wife is completely fine, taken care of.

Yeah, and the idea is after I found my path to happiness with Ali's help 20 years earlier, suddenly I didn't need an Armani suit anymore and I didn't need a fancy car. I still love fixing them and selling them, as I said, but I don't need it in my life. And so my entire expense is just nothing really. My daughter's an adult. My ex-wife is completely fine, taken care of.

Myself and my loved ones are okay. And so when you really think about it, most of your financial freedom happens on your spending side, not your income side. And I think that was really what got things clear in my mind. Because living as the chief business officer of Google X requires you to pay some expenses that may look like things are highly inflated.

Myself and my loved ones are okay. And so when you really think about it, most of your financial freedom happens on your spending side, not your income side. And I think that was really what got things clear in my mind. Because living as the chief business officer of Google X requires you to pay some expenses that may look like things are highly inflated.

But when you really sit down and look at your actual expenses, if you don't have to spend on your work, on the image, on the networking, on the travel. If you just take all of those expenses that are actually expenses to get in the revenue, if you take all of those out and you simplify what you actually need, you'll be fine.

But when you really sit down and look at your actual expenses, if you don't have to spend on your work, on the image, on the networking, on the travel. If you just take all of those expenses that are actually expenses to get in the revenue, if you take all of those out and you simplify what you actually need, you'll be fine.

More interestingly, the other reason is that most people will say, but what if things go wrong? And I think I got frustrated first-class MBA degree from life in when things go wrong. Because I'll tell you openly, I planned everything for Ali. Insurance policies on my life in his name. I had properties and real estate in his name. I had started businesses. So Ali changed majors three times.

More interestingly, the other reason is that most people will say, but what if things go wrong? And I think I got frustrated first-class MBA degree from life in when things go wrong. Because I'll tell you openly, I planned everything for Ali. Insurance policies on my life in his name. I had properties and real estate in his name. I had started businesses. So Ali changed majors three times.

I would start a business in his major so that when he graduates, he runs it and then he dies. So seriously, most of us think that we have to over plan because life is not safe. right? I think you have to under plan because life is not safe. You really have to expect the best because otherwise if the worst happens, it doesn't matter if you're a millionaire or a billionaire or a trillionaire.

I would start a business in his major so that when he graduates, he runs it and then he dies. So seriously, most of us think that we have to over plan because life is not safe. right? I think you have to under plan because life is not safe. You really have to expect the best because otherwise if the worst happens, it doesn't matter if you're a millionaire or a billionaire or a trillionaire.

If something serious, I didn't know Steve Jobs myself, but I knew lots of people who knew him personally. And they'll all tell you the story of how in his last years, he finally understood that all of that, and I couldn't prevent this, All of the success, all of the money, all of the power, all of the influence. And he really saw it at the end.