What books are you reading this summer?
I’m been reading a new book by Carl B. Barney called The Happiness Experiment, out July 8, 2025. The Happiness Experiment explores how life-changing grants impacted people’s lives and reveals practical steps to help you find true happiness and purpose.
If you’re frugal like me, The Happiness Experiment can be especially valuable because it helps you focus on what truly brings lasting joy and fulfillment—with however much money you have —by guiding you to align your life with your core values and purpose rather than chasing material things.
Carl shares his own journey and the stories of 20 very different people who got his pre-quest grants, showing how each one discovered their own version of happiness. The book mixes personal stories with big-picture ideas about living for your own happiness, and it shows how even small acts of generosity can create a big ripple effect. It’s uplifting, practical, and makes you rethink how you use your time, money, and energy to improve life for yourself and the people you care about.
Here’s a more thorough synopsis of the book:
After a terrifying brush with death, entrepreneur and philanthropist Carl Barney created the innovative idea of “pre-quests” or Happiness Grants—inheritances provided to the grantees while the grantor was still alive.
When he decided to give these grants to twenty friends, The Happiness Experiment was born. The experiment provided a deeply meaningful and fulfilling way for Carl Barney to use his wealth to enhance his own life and the lives of those he cared about. And now he shows how you can do this too.
“The Happiness Experiment” dives into how people felt after getting their grants and how it totally changed their lives. It also shares their take on what real happiness actually means. You’ll learn how to figure out your core values, make a solid plan to find your purpose, discover what truly makes you happy, and build a step-by-step game plan to boost your happiness.
Through a groundbreaking process of Happiness Planning, Happiness Coaching, and Happiness Grants, The Happiness Experiment provides a completely new way to intensify your happiness and change lives.
I find myself relating to the people in Barney’s life whose lives are transformed by the gifts, but also it’s interesting to learn what actually leads to the happiness and how it’s accessible to all of us.
Advance Praise for The Happiness Experiment:
“A real page-turner…something everyone can apply to their life. I promise if you read this book, you’ll learn how to be happier.”
— Jack Canfield co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series and The Success Principles™
“This forward-thinking approach is exactly the kind of disruptive idea that resonates in our era of exponential change. It encourages a paradigm shift urging us to think bigger and act sooner in our pursuit of both personal fulfillment and positive impact.”
— Peter H. Diamandis MD Founder & Chairman XPRIZE Foundation and Author of Abundance and Bold
“Carl Barney’s work beautifully reminds us that longevity isn’t merely about extending our years but enriching them. The Happiness Experiment is an essential read for anyone looking to cultivate not just a longer life but a more joyful and fulfilling one.”
— Peter Attia MD Author of Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity
The book is released July 8, 2025, but you can preorder it now.
Get the book here!
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