Customer Reviews

Happiness from the Inside Out: The Art and Science of Fulfillment

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I really enjoyed this book. Rob has a way of laying out his personal journey while inserting very valuable kernels of wisdom that carry on with you long after you finish reading the book. I recommend this for anyone who's trying to find their way to living a more peaceful and happy existence but doesn't need it thrown in their face. Unlike some personal development or "self-help" texts, Rob's book cleanly and calmly lays out modern-day scenarios that we all face and puts them in perspective - the perspective of being happy and one with who you are. Thanks to Rob for sharing himself and equipping me with some new tools for keeping my mind focused on the positive. Books like this one help me KNOW that all things are possible.

Robert Mack does an excellent job clearing one's mind of learned misconceptions of what makes a person satisfied and provides one with the focus on the right stuff.

An outstanding read.

This is a great read. The only person that could make you happy is you. You cannot blame others for your unhappiness. This book is a great guide to give you a different mindset and start to learn to take action and do something about it.

Over the last few years I have tried to make a conscious effort to do more for myself in regards to my happiness. Some of the things involved doing yoga more, spending more time doing things I love and reading a bit more about happiness and how your thoughts impact not only your happiness, but oftentimes your health and well-being.

One of the first books I read was the Dalai Lama's "The Art of Happiness". I then received a copy of Robert Mack's "Happiness from the Inside Out". The book is short, at under 200 pages but it is absolutely full of good information. No mind blowing insights, but good information that you may know but need to hear once again to bring into practice. Now I would not say I'm a pessimist or an optimist really, sometimes I guess I can be a bit of both. When I asked my mother what she thought, when asked if I was a glass half empty or full kind of person, she countered with "You would say the glass is just half, it is what it is...." So, I guess I am a bit of a realist who yearns to take the happier road if I can.

The chapters in the book are short, with a few main points listed at the end as "take-aways" from each chapter. I liked Robert Mack's style. Reading his book was like getting advise from a good friend. He isn't always "up", but he knows what to do when he starts to feel like happiness is escaping his grasp and gives us an incite on how to do the same.

The sections that most stick with me are those that tell you that you can't change people around you. I work in a place that often has negative emotions or feelings and sometimes I find it difficult to deal with people who don't try to make the best of a situation. He speaks to this in that you can't change them, but you can change how you feel about the situation. You can have good and bad things happen and it isn't necessarily your circumstance that makes you happy or not, but how you feel about the situation. This involves training your mind with more positive thoughts then negative ones and practicing it like you would an instrument or something you wanted to excel at. After all, your happiness is at stake here, is a little practice too much to ask? Getting over the "Grass is Always Greener" thought is another good one. He tells you to pay attention to your own lawn. Know that how you choose to think about a situation really can make a difference. You also have to learn to make your happiness a priority. Not with reckless abandon and indulgence, but in knowing what makes you happy and what doesn't and pursuing the things that make you feel happy and at peace. You will not be successful or happy if you are looking to others to "complete" you. Of course a good cornerstone of happiness is being happy with where you are and in showing appreciation or gratitude for what you have and where you are. I find sometimes that when I drive to work on a day where I don't feel so fabulous that listing out the things I am grateful for really does make me feel blessed with where I am and what I have and I end up feeling happier once I have done this, no matter how hokie it may sound... It is all good information that we of course know, but that somehow we need to hear in order to get on the right track.

I will definitely keep this book on my nightstand as a reminder that happiness is a choice I can make every day and every moment. I decide on my reactions and how I decide to view my situations and the world. I am not a victim of the world but empowered to make my own decision.

Overall, a great book that most people could benefit from reading. Mr. Mack aside from being a life-coach also has a masters degree in positive psychology. I loved the book and would definitely recommend it for all of us who are interested in happiness and how to train our minds to get there.

Rob was on my radio show, Energy Awareness and his energy is phenomenal. He has written a book that is easy to understand, a quick read and gets to the point using 8 principles that will make you happy if you just put in a little effort. You can be happy, you can be sad. It's the same effort. May as well go with being happy and this book is just the tool to teach you how. I recommend it highly and feel it will benefit even those of us who think we're happy where we are presently as it reminds us of the basics and only brings in more happiness.

T Love, RMT, CST
Energy Awareness Radio

Rob Mack hit a home run with his book Happiness From The Inside Out.
This book is carefully, thoughtfully and beautifully written. His eight principles provide simple and practical techniques for beginning and continuing to lead a happy fulfilled life. Rob's gives contemplative and concise techniques to use every day and throughout the day, and they work great for me. I've read the book throughout, and continue to go back over various sections always finding something new to ponder.
Thanks Rob for writing a "life GPS" for happiness!

Robert Mack's book is a fantastic read. I learned there really is a science to happiness!

This book is fantastic. It's not too long, so I finished in a couple of days.

The basic premise is that you already have everything you need to be happy. Learning how to feel happiness is your responsibility.

Like the author, I grew up believing that buying a new toy, getting the right job, or falling in love with the right person would make me happier. Then shortly after getting whatever-it-was, I'd be back to the same level of unhappiness.

I had to learn to be happy from the inside out, which this book teaches. It has simple steps based in sound science. I've been applying his principles for a few weeks and am steadily feeling happier.

The book is packed with valuable information. I see myself re-reading it several times to make the lessons my own. Also, each chapter ends with take-away points. In a pinch, I can just review these bullet points.

If you want a quick, practical way to apply the principles of positive psychology, this is it.

This easy to read book describes many of the approaches I've used to make myself happier. That makes me somewhat tempted to believe the rest of his advice, but he seems to exaggerate enough that I have some doubts.

Being less concerned about what others think of me is an important part of his advice. But it seems implausible that I can be completely unharmed by other peoples opinions of me. He seems to believe that it's possible to have a romantic relationship without risking being disappointed by one's partner. I can somewhat reduce my emotional reaction to a partner not acting as I expected, but complete detachment would seem to make it hard for me to sympathize with a partner when appropriate.

There's plenty of peer pressure for people to claim to be less susceptible to peer pressure than they actually are, so many people will be unaware of how to reduce those influences. This book's focus on optimism is likely to distract people from such unflattering insights. You should look elsewhere for awareness of your desires for status, and choose wisely which status hierarchies you want to care about.

His paints a misleadingly gloomy picture of long-term happiness trends in the U.S., by selective evidence such as rising teen suicide rates, but not the fact that overall suicide rates are lower than a few decades ago.

His discussion of the genetic influence on happiness is unnecessarily discouraging. He mentions height as a stereotypical trait influenced by genes. I suggest thinking about hair color - it's probably more influenced by genes than happiness, yet people who decide their hair should be purple often succeed quickly.

His claim that "Happiness is a particularly personal journey and no amount of data or research can tell you what will bring you happiness" is somewhat misleading - see the book Stumbling on Happiness for a very different perspective.

Book is easy to read. I expected it to have more scenarios to explain ways to find happiness and I found that it was more the writer explaining all of his. Some things were useful......just took a long time to get to the "meat" of the book.