If you had the opportunity to exponentially increase your happiness, would you take it? Most of us would say yes – but how? What if the roadmap didn’t involve paying off debt, saving for a rainy day, or giving it to others? What if the journey was inward and the destination was joy, defined entirely on your own terms? A happiness experiment far from our current culture of instant gratification but a guide to a more intentional life – genuine, unaltered happiness.
That is exactly what entrepreneur, philanthropist and educator, Carl Barney set out to explore. After surviving a near fatal plane crash, Barney didn’t just reassess his life – he launched what would become a revolutionary pursuit of meaning and fulfillment. The result is his debut book, The Happiness Experiment, a bold narrative and call-to-action that challenges conventional ideas of happiness, success and well-being. The crash didn’t just jolt Carl physically – it altered his mindset, compelling him to ask, if happiness is the purpose of life, why aren’t we actively pursuing it? “The principle of the book is to reconnect with yourself and seek your own happiness,” Barney states.
Author Carl Barney, The Happiness Experiment
Rather than deliver abstract theory, The Happiness Experiment offers a practical guide, including a full Happiness Planning Workbook at the end. Cleverly layered with inspiring chapters of what Barney calls “Happiness Grants” or “pre-quests” – inheritance-style gifts distributed while the grantee is still alive. “If the idea of pre-quests gets into the world,” explains Barney, “people that have something that are not using albeit money, wisdom, time – can be shared now while they are alive and living. It spreads an infectious state of happiness and it comes back to you personally. You can’t have all your friends and family be happier and not feel it yourself.”
Simultaneously, Barney quips that this quest isn’t about money. “People assume having lots of money is the answer. It’s a part of it but true happiness requires intention and planning. You can always increase your happiness, wherever you are. More areas, more intensity, more now.”
The book is both deeply personal, philosophical and at times confessional. The reader journeys into the step-by-step blueprint Barney took to hold himself and the chosen 20 accountable. “In some ways my friends were forced to make the decision to increase their happiness. That was the condition of the pre-quest. I wanted a happy plan from them. That was the beginning. Followed by a happiness coach and financial planner to set them up for success,” exclaims Barney.
Author, Carl Barney
Philosophical at heart, Barney believes happiness is both an ancient wisdom and a modern necessity. “Aristotle said happiness is both the meaning and the purpose of life. Two-thousand years later, the Founding Fathers of America said the same thing – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” But where did Carl’s motivation stem from? Near tragic incidents happen everyday yet, few if any, are compelled to change the world.
To answer that, we must take a moment to reflect on Barney’s childhood- a childhood rooted in humble beginnings. He boldly shares in the book the absence of love in his life. Raised on the streets of London without love or stability, he shares a vivid anecdote of treasuring a sixpence (a coin) as a child. A simple gesture of generosity from a stranger that was forever embedded in Carl’s mind. “I learned the value of generosity through the people who helped me – the sixpence lady, mentors, teachers, friends, even employees. They contributed their time, their advice, their wisdom. All of which shaped who I became,” expressed Carl.
That gratitude became the foundation of his pre-quests. “I had a list of 20 people. Two professors who tutored me generously. Former employees who stuck by me. Friends who were there during rough times. The pre-quest was a gratitude grant. And for them, a happiness grant,” says Barney. He further emphasizes that true generosity isn’t just financial. “The most valuable generosity people can share is their time and wisdom. Encouragement is a spiritual generosity. That is where gratitude comes from.”
Author, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist Carl Barney
Still, offering money while alive created unexpected tension. In one story in the book, Barney recalls offering the pre-quest to his sister while her husband’s health was ailing. When he offered the same pre-quest to his brother, his sister-in-law had an adverse reaction. “She wasn’t comfortable with the money being offered. She rejected it. She felt, at the time, it was wrong. Her reaction made me question why I was doing this. And I realized I was doing it from a place of gratitude,” Carl continues, “I had to be authentic in my reason for giving. I needed to tell the people receiving the grants specifically why I had chosen them. ‘You’re in my will because you did this for me. You stepped up when I needed you.’ That kind of acknowledgement – that’s real.”
Barney, a man publicly known for his immense success in for-profit education, is fully aware how his financial standing may color some readers’ perception. Notwithstanding, he is firm in his belief that happiness is accessible to us all. “Some people have very little yet they are happy. Others have great wealth and are frustrated,” Barney expresses. “Happiness is a choice. And it doesn’t require millions. It requires asking – what is important to me? Health, love, purpose and pursuing it.” He continues, “You don’t need money for most of these things. Money is great, but it is overrated in terms of happiness.”
Photo of Carl Barney backpacking through Australia
Barney admits writing the book required a level of vulnerability he hadn’t anticipated. “There is a section where I talk about my family – the lack of love. That was hard to write,” he shares. “But I knew if I was going to ask others to be honest with themselves, I had to go first.” His commitment to authenticity, no matter how uncomfortable, becomes the compass guiding his story. “When you’re willing to reveal something tender, you create connection,” he says. Authenticity isn’t’ just about revealing the truth, it is about showing people who you really are – the humanity that connects us all. And that’s when transformation begins.
Carl Barney and long-time friend
