happiness – Marlo Yonocruz

Book notes: The Happiness Files by Arthur C. Brooks

The Happiness Files by Arthur C. Brooks — a curated collection of behavioral science essays offering practical, actionable insights on work, happiness, and life. Book notes, key ideas, and my personal review.

The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life by Arthur C. Brooks book summary review and key ideas.

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The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life by Arthur C. Brooks

Date read / Format:

May 2026 | Audiobook

Synopsis:

“Imagine if your life were a startup. How would you lead it and shape it to be most successful? That’s the question behind The Happiness Files, a rich selection of enlightening and instructive essays by Arthur C. Brooks, known worldwide for his inspiring yet practical wisdom and advice in his weekly column for The Atlantic and in his bestselling books, From Strength to Strength and Build the Life You Want (coauthored with Oprah Winfrey).

Building on his popular Harvard Business School course “Leadership and Happiness,” Brooks begins each essay with sharp observations and behavioral science research that shed light on how happiness really works, then offers experiential wisdom and practical advice. Beautifully written, the essays range from ancient philosophy to literature, pop culture, and the contemporary world of work.

The simple answer, as Brooks wisely explains, is to manage your life in a way that leads to truly valuable rewards: love, enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning—in other words, happiness.” —Audible

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Book notes: The Art of Spending Money by Morgan Housel

Morgan Housel makes the case that spending money well is a deeply personal art—shaped far more by your values, identity, and expectations than by the size of your paycheck. The real goal isn’t to accumulate more, but to reach a place where nothing feels missing.

The Art of Spending Money by Morgan Housel book summary review and key ideas

Get the audiobook on Audible 👇 (affiliate link)

The Art of Spending Money: Simple Choices for a Richer Life by Morgan Housel

The Art of Spending Money by Morgan Housel

Date read / Format:

April 2026 | Audiobook

Synopsis:

“From the bestselling author of The Psychology of Money and Same as Ever, lessons on harnessing the power of money to live a happier life

Most of us don’t know how to spend money. We chase things that impress others but leave us cold. Or we save endlessly, afraid to spend on what would actually make life better. We confuse admiration with envy, comfort with excess, and utility with status.

The Art of Spending Money doesn’t provide budgets, hacks, or one-size-fits-all solutions. It gives you understanding of how your relationship with money shapes your decisions—and how to reshape it so money works for you.

Morgan Housel’s work has helped millions rethink how they earn, save, and invest. Now he turns his attention to the other side of the equation: how to spend. With insight and warmth, he shows why the most valuable return on investment is peace of mind, why expectations matter more than income, and why doing well with money has less to do with spreadsheets and more to do with self-awareness.

This book isn’t about getting rich. It’s about getting the most out of what you already have—and learning to want what’s worth wanting.” -Audible

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Book notes: The Gift by Edith Eger

The Gift by Edith Eger book summary review and key ideas.

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The Gift: 12 Lessons to Save Your Life by Dr. Edith Eva Eger

Synopsis:

“This practical and inspirational guide to healing from the award-winning, New York Times best-selling author of The Choice shows us how to stop destructive patterns and imprisoning thoughts to find freedom and enjoy life.

Edith Eger’s powerful first book, The Choice, told the story of her survival in the concentration camps, her escape, healing, and journey to freedom. Oprah Winfrey says, “I will be forever changed by Dr. Eger’s story”. Thousands of people around the world have written to Eger to tell her how The Choice moved them and inspired them to confront their own past and try to heal their pain; and to ask her to write another, more “how-to” book. Now, in The Gift, Eger expands on her message of healing and provides a hands-on guide that gently encourages us to change the thoughts and behaviors that may be keeping us imprisoned in the past.

Filled with empathy, insight, and humor, The Gift captures the vulnerability and common challenges we all face and provides encouragement and advice for breaking out of our personal prisons to find healing and enjoy life.” -Audible

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Book notes: Get to Be Happy by Ted Larkins

Get to Be Happy by Ted Larkins book summary review and key ideas.

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Get to Be Happy: Stories and Secrets to Loving the Sh*t Out Of Life by Ted Larkins

Synopsis:

“The secret to my happiness started during my high school days (yes, drugs were involved) and continued through hitchhiking across the country, through the suicide of my girlfriend, through bartending in many cities around the country, and then a move to Japan. I lived there for nine years, helping start a $500 million business, including a LARKINS (my last name) line of product, finding enlightenment and meditating in Zen temples in the mountains of Hiroshima, meeting Mother Teresa in Calcutta, partying with Bon Jovi, experiencing the death of my business partner and then the loss of my daughter, and all the life lessons that come with the following statement: I get to do this!” -Audible

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Book notes: Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk

Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk book summary review and key ideas.

Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion by Gary Vaynerchuk

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Synopsis:

“Do you have a hobby you wish you could indulge in all day? An obsession that keeps you up at night? Now is the perfect time to take that passion and make a living doing what you love. In Crush It! Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion, Gary Vaynerchuk shows you how to use the power of the Internet to turn your real interests into real businesses. Gary spent years building his family business from a local wine shop into a national industry leader. Then one day he turned on a video camera, and by using the secrets revealed here, transformed his entire life and earning potential by building his personal brand.

By the end of this book, listeners will have learned how to harness the power of the Internet to make their entrepreneurial dreams come true. Step by step, Crush It! is the ultimate driver’s manual for modern business.” -Audible

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Book notes: Solve for Happy by Mo Gawdat

Solve for Happy by Mo Gawdat book summary review and key ideas.

Solve for Happy: Engineer Your Path to Happy by Mo Gawdat

Synopsis:

“Mo Gawdat is a remarkable thinker and the Chief Business Officer at Google’s [X], an elite team of engineers that comprise Google’s futuristic “dream factory.” Applying his superior skills of logic and problem solving to the issue of happiness, he proposes an algorithm based on an understanding of how the brain takes in and processes joy and sadness. Then he solves for happy.

In 2001 Mo Gawdat realized that despite his incredible success, he was desperately unhappy. A lifelong learner, he attacked the problem as an engineer would: examining all the provable facts and scrupulously applying logic. Eventually, his countless hours of research and science proved successful, and he discovered the equation for permanent happiness.

Book notes: The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga

The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga book summary review and key ideas.

The Courage to Be Disliked: How to Free Yourself, Change Your Life, and Achieve Real Happiness by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga

Synopsis:

“The Courage to Be Disliked, already an enormous best seller in Asia with more than 3.5 million copies sold, demonstrates how to unlock the power within yourself to be the person you truly want to be.

Using the theories of Alfred Adler, one of the three giants of 20th-century psychology, The Courage to Be Disliked follows an illuminating conversation between a philosopher and a young man. The philosopher explains to his pupil how each of us is able to determine our own life, free from the shackles of past experiences, doubts, and the expectations of others. It’s a way of thinking that is deeply liberating, allowing us to develop the courage to change and to ignore the limitations that we and other people have placed on us. The result is a book that is both highly accessible and profound in its importance. Millions have already read and benefited from its wisdom. This truly life-changing audiobook will help you declutter your mind of harmful thoughts and attitudes, helping you to make a lasting change, achieve real happiness, and find success.” -Audible

Why I Spent Almost $120 on Acai Bowls Last Month

Why I don’t think this is going overboard.

For anyone who checks out my foodie Instagram account (@yolocruzfoodz) and story, or has talked with me in the past couple of months, you probably know that I’ve become mildly obsessed with acai bowls.

“Mildly” being up for interpretation.

This point was underscored when I took a look at my July spending towards this recent obsession (I track all of my spending categories via my budgets feature on Mint).

While my fascination with acai bowls began in late May / early June, this was the first month I knew it was becoming an actual obsession.

July Acai Spending Breakdown:

Vitality Bowls x1 = $11.50
Berry Brand x4 = $36.00
Paradise Bowls x3 = $27.50
Nekter Juice Bar x1 = $9.35
Sambazon Organic Acai-Superfruit Packs x2 = $33.60

Total: $117.95

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