Carl B. Barney: The Happiness Experiment & Giving Away a Fortune to Live Fully

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Welcome to the CJ Moneyway Show podcast, the podcast show where we unlock potential one dream at a time. Today we have another guest whose journey is truly worth hearing. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the Moneyway experience.

What's up, my good people? Welcome to the CJ Moneyway Show in association with Believe Network and GI, the state's capital, where where we explore stories behind the success, innovation, and purpose. Today we have a truly remarkable guest, Carl Barney. Carl is an entrepreneur and visionary behind the groundbreaking concept of Happiness Grant. After surviving a near-fatal plane crash, Carl transformed his approach to wealth and happiness by giving away his fortune and still alive. His new book, The Happiness Experience, dives into this deep Philosophy and how it changes lives. Carl, welcome to the show, man. How you doing today, Carl?

I'm good. Thank you for inviting me, CJ.

No, man, I'm glad you could take the time out your busy schedule, man, to come and join me, man. So, Carl, man, let me ask you, man, let's talk about this fatal plane crash you almost had, man. How did this life experience alter your life, man?

Well, I was flying from Reno to Salt Lake City and the plane had just taken off, climbing for altitude. The engines are very loud, and suddenly there was a massive explosion on the plane. I thought the whole back of the plane had blown off. And then suddenly everything went quiet. No engine noise, nothing. And the plane started plunging to the ground. And I knew I was going to die. I just knew it. And so if you want to know whether I lived or died, you're going to have to read my book. Okay? So that got me thinking about the people in my will. And I thought, well, they were going to get a lot of money, but I'd be dead and I wouldn't be there to see it or enjoy it. And I thought, well, there's got to be a better way of doing it. So I thought through, well, why should I wait? And at that time, my sister called me from England and said her husband was ill and was dying. So I flew to England. Well, you know, there were 20 people in my will, CJ, and I had 2 professors in there that had tutored and taught me. I had some friends, I had a housekeeper, keeper, a driver, some employees and former employees. And I thought about all of those and I said, well, why should I wait with them? I'm going to do it now. So I called each one of them and I said, really grateful for what you've done for me, and that's why you're in my will, and you're in my will for X amount of dollars. It was a lot of money to them. And they said, oh, that's great. They were very happy about that. And I said, but there's a problem. And they said, what's that? I said, I'm planning to live until I'm 120. —so you might not get anything. And she said, well, that is a problem. And I said, well, you know, the other problem would be I'd be dead and I wouldn't see anything, you enjoying the money. And I said, look, I've got the money right now. So this pre-quest, I'm going to bring it forward and give it to you now as a bequest. I'm going to bring it forward and make it a pre-quest. And they said, you mean all that money right now? I said, yeah. I said, it's all yours with no strings attached. It's yours. And they were delighted. Of course, some of them burst into tears. Some of them were, you're kidding. Am I dreaming? Is this really real? Impactful.

So let me ask you, Carl, man, you know, why did you decide to give away the money with the condition that it's spent on personal joy within the 3 to 5 years?

Well, that's really an important point. You know, money can actually hurt people. We know all the stories about people that won a lottery, they got millions of dollars and they ruined their life. They just didn't turn out well. And so I didn't want the money to hurt the people. And I said, look, I want this money to be used for your own happiness. I want you to enjoy the kind of satisfaction that I've enjoyed because you helped me get here. I wouldn't be successful and wealthy without your help. And I told them that. And I said, look, because I want you to personally get the benefit of this, I want you to spend the money on yourself, but I want you to give it away. Don't just waste it. I said, I want a plan from you. And once I see the plan that you, you have for spending and using this money for yourself and your family and the things you love, I'll give you the money. And they said, well, what kind of plan is that? I said, well, give me a happiness plan. And they said, a happiness plan? What's that? And I said, I'll get you a happiness coach. And with the happiness coach, you'll do some happiness planning. And then once I see the plan, I'll give you all the money one at a time, and then you can go off and pursue your own happiness.

Man, that's pretty cool, man. Well, the big car. So let me ask you, Corwin, what year was this, man, that you had this almost fatal plane crash?

It's about 10 years ago now. Oh, okay.

Yeah, I was just asking, man, because I wish I would have known you not for the fatal plane crash, but I would have had my happiness business plan all laid out for you, man, and I would have spent that money 3 to 5 years on my family and everything else, man. But I think that was a good gesture, Corwin. So let me ask you, man, moving on. The impact of the happiness experience. What kind of transformation did you see among the 20 recipients of your happiness grant?

Well, that's why I wrote the book, because I saw my friends getting happier, increasing their happiness, and I thought, this needs to be— the story needs to be told. That's why I wrote the book. I had no intention of writing the book, but there was— everybody used it in a different way. In fact, it's very interesting that originally there was a couple that I gave a happiness grant to. They refused it. They said, "No, we can't accept that. It's too much money. We've always worked for what we've got.

So no, we can't do it." My man Carl say that these people turned down money because they always worked for what they had. But my man was out here giving out happiness grants. I don't know about y'all, but I would have took that one. So you said that they turned it down, but then what happened?

But they had a tragedy in their life. They had lost their beloved daughter in a car crash. She was hit by a drunk driver. She was 8 months pregnant. They were heartbroken, totally devastated, decided that they could never be happy again. They thought if they were happy, they would be disrespecting their daughter's memory. So they said, no, we can't accept it. But after a while, after some coaching— and the coaching really was the big thing. Coaching was enormous. They changed their mind. They accepted the grants, totally changed their lives. These guys are now pursuing happiness, that they're climbing Kilimanjaro, traveling to Bora Bora, doing all kinds of wonderful things. It did transform their lives. And that's the last chapter in the book. It's a very heartwarming story. Those guys are wonderful people.

So let me ask you, Carl, man, because that was going to be my next question. So you had— you gave me one story. Give me another story that resonated to you in your book, how impactful these stories were, man.

Well, there was one of the professors who I admired and had supported earlier, and he talked to me about wanting beauty in his life. And I said, "What kind of plan is that? Beauty, my shi—" He said, "Like—" So this professor was living in a rented home. He hated it. It was ugly. He was ashamed to have anybody come to his home. He wanted to be beautiful. He wanted to invite his students home because that's what professors do, but he was not going to do that. And so he had his eyes set on a beautiful home on the golf course. And that was his big dream for him and his wife. And so he built the home. Well, he didn't. He bought the home, created a library for him, and then he invited his family, his friends, and his students to his home. And he was loving life, enjoying what he was doing, enjoying his family, and enjoying his students. There were other things he did. He does a lot of writing and so forth, and he helped him get his books published. There's a whole— it's not just one thing in the plan. And these things— people want health, they want wealth, they want love, they want purpose, they want a career, they want a business, they want a radio show. You know, these are things that people want. And the money— the money was a big thing, but it wasn't the only thing. It was identifying what they loved, what they really wanted, their dreams. These are the big things. And they said, now I can pursue them. But it was having the dreams, knowing what they wanted, and going after it and having a plan. That's what made the big difference. Money was help, but it's not all about money.

Yeah, I agree with that, man. It sounds like a little bit of this movie back in the day, Will Smith and his son played in it, I believe, The Pursuit of Happiness. You know, like you say, the couple before, how they say they turned it down because they had to work for everything. You know, that was his grind. He had to work for it. But in in the end, you know, in the end it was the pursuit and it was the journey that got him there, man. And that brings the happiness. Like you said, it ain't all about money, it's all about happiness, man. And sometimes you don't need money to be happy, but to have a boatload of it can make you happier. I'm not gonna sit here and suck and jag you, man. So, uh, let me ask you, man, what has surprised you the most about the way people use their grants?

I think every one of them surprised me a little bit because they all had different values. One couple, they used a huge part of their funds in their daughter's education. I mean, a very significant part of it. One man that I really liked, he said, I'm going to put this money in the bank and I'm going to use this as happiness money and only happiness money. So he said, I would normally fly coach, but when I'm gonna fly now, I'm gonna take some money from my happiness account and fly first class. I would normally buy this kind of car, but I wanted this kind of car, so I bought some money back into my, from my happiness account and bought the car of my dreams. So it was the way that did that. I thought it was very clever, you know, a happiness way. And I think there are different kinds of money, CJ. You know, there's the money that pays the bill and pays the mortgage and the car payment. That's the regular money, but it's gone everywhere. But the good money is the money that comes from a bonus, an unexpected place. You know, you get a sudden bunch of it. That's good money. That's money that you can do your happiness with. And in a sense, what I gave these people was good money above and beyond, you know, paying the mortgage and the regular bills. Mm, I like that.

Then you got the money where you robbing Peter to pay Paul. You know, you got that type of money too. And that ain't happiness money. That's stress money right there, man. So, Carl, man, I'm trying to get on this happiness tip. So let me ask you, man, how did the combination of a happiness coach and financial planner support the grant recipients?

Oh, that was crucial, CJ. There was— I mean, many people said to me afterwards, you know, I could return all the money now because working with the coach, talking to my spouse, talking to my romantic partner, talking to whomever, and planning out happiness, that That was the main thing. It wasn't the money, it was the coaching, it was the planning.

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It was talking about happiness. It was the decision. And this is really critical. You need to decide to increase your happiness. It's just not going to happen. Decide to make it happen. Talk to your loved ones, talk to friends, talk to a coach, talk to AI if you like, talk to somebody, create a plan, and then you can pursue that plan and happiness will be the result and the reward.

So let me ask you, Corwin, I ain't had this on the list, man, but just listening to you, because this is truly inspiring. The first person that didn't know that they was on your recipient list, when you gave them the check or showed them the amount that you was going to give them, man, what was the expression on they face like? Did they cry? Was it emotional? How was it, man? Yeah, they cried.

They were emotional. Some of them burst into tears. Some of them laughed, you know, out of control. Some of them said, "Are you kidding? No, am I dreaming? Is this for real? What's the catch? Come on, why are you doing this? What do you want from me?" So it's all kinds of reactions. And one person just sat there forever, "I don't believe this. I don't believe this. I don't believe this. Is this really happening?" They were very impacted by it. But you know, the thing about it, CJ, you can't just give people money. They gotta understand it had to be authentic from me. I had to let the people know why I was doing this and why I was doing it. I was just really grateful to them. They had been so generous to me with their affection, love, support, what are the things they'd done for me. And I said, look, this is what you've done for me, and I want to tell you thank you. I want to thank you. And that's why I've got you in my will. And they could accept that. That was okay. But when they came to the point of, you know, here's the money now, that had a huge emotional reaction.

Yeah, man, because, you know, as I'm sitting here thinking about it, because that's different, you know, you made a statement and you just said it again, that they would have got the money because they was in your will, but you wouldn't have been able to see them enjoy it. And I just have to imagine that it takes on a whole different approach when you do something like that and you can to see exactly, you know what I'm saying, the happiness and the things that they doing and the things they're pursuing and being able to mentor and coach along the way, man. So I know it got to be a joy for them as well as yourself too, to see, you know what I'm saying, to see how everything goes and shapes out. So let me ask you, Carl, man, philosophy and the practicality of happiness. In The Happiness Experience, you talk about discovering core values. Can you explain why this is the first step towards real happiness?

That's really important, CJ. You've got to know what you love, what you want, whether it's health, whether it's wealth, whether it's love itself, whether it's purpose, a business, whatever it is you dream about, whatever it is you really want. We call them values, practical, real-world values, family, friends, a home. All of those things. Once you decide those things and then you make a commitment to pursuing them in a certain way, and that the way you act, the actions you take to achieve values are called virtues. Those are actions. I'm not talking religion here now. I'm talking about practical things that we do. If you want something good, you have to do something good. If you want a good life, you have to do what it requires. And that's what we call virtues. Not again, not religious things, but practical things that we do.

I like that. I like that. My man Carl getting biblical on me right now. 'Cause if you want to go to heaven, you have to do the things required to get there. If you want happiness, you have to pave out your life and get to that point because what they say, do unto others as others do unto you, or however that saying go. If I want a friend, I know this one for sure, Carl, They say if I want a friend, I first have to present myself friendly. And so if there's some things that I want in life, I have to carve my path out to walk down that road first. So I like this happiness experience, man.

You know, CJ, that's real. If you want love in your life, and we all do, what does that take? You can't just sit around and say, I want somebody to love me. You have to be lovable. Yeah, you have to be lovable, likable. And also you have to be loving. You have to do something, be loving to others, be lovable, and you will get the value of love in your life.

Hey, November 15th will be the 10-year anniversary of my book, Both Eyes Open and Both Eyes Shut. So please get the 10-year anniversary edition of Both Eyes Open, Both Eyes Shut, written by your boy CJ Moneyway. I'm listening, Carl.

So in a sense, what I did with the happiness grants, with the pre-quests, and what I did there was I was being loving to my friends. And I got a lot of love back, CJ. I got a lot. I mean, they shared their experiences, their traveling, the things that they did, the things that they purchased. And they said, look what I've got. Look at my new car. Look at my new home. And I felt a sense of joy being surrendered by 20 of my dear friends who were increasing their happiness. And that's the thing, these people were already happy, but this is increasing their happy. And everybody, everybody, you see, Jay, can increase their happiness. No matter whatever their level is now, they can raise it little by little. And that's what it takes, just little by little, and little is enough.

So let me ask you, Carl, man, 'cause that was an interesting point. You said that you had 20 of your friends, you know, they was around you and everything after this happened. Because I know that it was 10 lepers and 10 of them got healed, right? But it was only one that came back to say thank you. And so I'm saying that it has to be a joy to have everyone to come back and share their happiness with you and to be able to enjoy it together. Because some people can take it and say, "Oh, well, thank you, Carl. That was a good deed. Oh, look what Carl did for us." And then you never hear from them again. And so, you know, how was that feeling to you to have all of them to come back and rejoice with you in the surroundings and the pathway that you had, you know, opened up for them?

Yeah, no, that was a serious— vicariously, I can experience their happiness because they shared it with me. And, you know, when we're happy in our lives, others become happy around us. If we surround ourselves with happy people, it's contagious. And so I caught happiness right back from my friends.

You said they affected each other. Hey, look here, man, I'm gonna be straight up honest with you. Let somebody give me some money that can be life-changing. I'ma share to be happy too. What about you? Hit your boy on the CJ Moneyway Show and respond to what my man Carl talking about. So Carl, let me ask you, man, what practical advice do you have for people who want to align their financial choices with their personal values?

Well, I would say identify what you really want, the things that you love, the things that you dream about. Dreams are important. Make a dreams list. I have a dreams list. Create a dreams list, things that you love and want, and then take that seriously. What you want is important. Make a decision to pursue those things. And once you achieve those things, happiness will come. You'll increase your happiness as you achieve the things that you love, the things that you want.

Yeah, I totally agree with what Carl's saying. I have a point to make with what he just said because that was key. He said, write your dreams down. He said, have a dreams list. And I think that's very important, very vital for people to understand. And I never forget, you know, Yesterday was my father's— would have been my father's 74th birthday. And so I was thinking about a lot of things, you know, I'm thinking about him and whatnot. And you just said something that made me think about something that he instilled in us when we was younger. I never forget, he said, write down a list of things that you want, like a car, a good job, and things that— just put it in your wallet and just let it sit there. Don't go back and look at it until the things that has been accomplished is checked off. And so what I want to say is sometimes then when you go back and you look at it like, man, I accomplished this, I got a new car, things of that nature. And so, you know, you can check it off, Carl, and say, man, you know, I got a new car, I put that on my list 5 years ago. I got this good job, put that on my list 6 years ago, you know. And once, like you say, once it becomes accomplished, you start saying, you'd be more, it's more gratifying because these are things that you had already searched out for and planned for. Sometimes it don't come overnight, but it's the joy when it happened, you like, you know what, I pursued this, this is what I wanted. Like my man that got his luxury car, and what I did say, I got my dream car, I'd have been just like him. Dream car, dream house, too bad. All right, well, I ain't gonna say I already got the dream wife. I don't want to get in no trouble, Corwin, so let's move this on, man. So, uh, what role does purpose play in achieving lasting happiness according to your research?

There's so much written about purpose, but it's really, truly important to have a purpose. It's not just one purpose. There's lots of purposes. You can have a purpose to be happy. You can have a purpose to be a lifelong learner. You can have a central purpose, like your purpose is to be a radio show host or whatever, you know, how you call it. That is your central purpose. That's what you do every day. And having a purpose for your business, Having a purpose for your life, a central purpose, something that gets you out of bed every day is crucial. And the way you find that purpose is to identify really important values. Like in my case, I did some soul searching and I found that I loved management. I just do. I just love it. And also I love education. So that led me to a central person to be involved in managing education. And thereafter I built 20 on-ground locations. Educational centers and an online university. And that was pursuing a purpose. Purpose is a driver. It's the heart of your life, but you need to find it and you find it by soul searching and finding what's really important to you, the values, the things that you really care about, fascinated by, the things that you love.

Mm, I like that, man. So Carl, man, tell us about these online universities that you have, man. I don't think I had that on my list, but that's very, very intriguing. Tell us a little bit about that endeavor, man.

Yeah. I didn't know anything about career colleges when I had that purpose. And so I discovered these career colleges, which are very practical, career-oriented business colleges. They train IT, they train practical careers, and that appealed to me. So I got involved with that. I built one of them, it became very successful, and then I just went on and created more. And then I created an online university based on that. Oh, okay.

So I thought, you know what, Carl, I paused because I thought you were finna go out on me again, man. I really did. I saw the free. And so let me ask you, Carl, man, before we go any farther, let's talk about what we came to talk about. Tell us about your book and tell us when it's coming out and where can we find it at.

Thank you for that invitation. It's coming out. It's available right now at Amazon or anywhere, Barnes Noble or Books-A-Million for preorder. It's available now. It's being launched on January 8th, in a couple of weeks from now, in New York. The book is an easy read. I wrote it for ordinary, you know, it's not using any technical language, you know, it's not scientific experiment. It's a real-world experiment with real people. There's lots of stories, including of the plane crash and those people that had suffered tragedy and decided they could never be happy again. So there's real personal stories in it. So I think it's a great book. It's an easy read. And if you do read it, that and you follow the ideas involved, it will increase your happiness. It will increase it and it can be increased.

Man, I take it from you, man. Somebody that, you know, a lot of times when you're not in a certain situation, it's just certain things that you don't know about. It's just like we grieve differently depending on who we lose. Like you say, the one couple, they lost their daughter. You know, it's just different type of levels of happiness, different type of levels of grief and things of that nature. I kind of got threw off while I was there, but let me ask you, Where can we find you on social media, Carl? I know we have to go through Brittany now, man, and your team. I know they probably do most of that because Carl, you sitting high, man. You sitting high. Carl don't have to do all that. See, me on the other hand, I don't have a management team like that, people that reach out and do my podcast shows and things of that nature. So Carl, let me ask you, man, your approach to the things that you do is quite unique as far as the recipient grants. That is very unique. How does giving while alive differ from traditional inheritance in terms of personal satisfaction?

Well, that's a good point, because when you're dead, you know, you personally are not going to enjoy it. But also the people in your will are not going to be guided. They're not going to be motivated. They're not going to have a happiness coach. They're not going to be creating happiness plans.. And that's a crucial part of it. And you know, if you're gonna create a will, it would be good if you put in the will some money for a happiness grant, a happiness plan, a happiness coach who could then work with the people so that the money they got was used to really help them and help them to increase their happiness. So this is really, really an important thing. I'd like it to be revolutionized estate planning. So that when people die, their heirs really enjoy the money that's left to them or the possessions, whatever it is they're being left with.

Mm, I like that, man, because so many times and too many times, I know I see it in our community when someone pass away and go on to be with the Lord and, you know, sometimes you have debt and sometimes, you know, some people, it is an inheritance be left, man, and these things can draw wedges through families and, you know, just cause chaos, you know. But I like what you're doing. I like, you know, saying what you just said, that let's have some peace, because everything is not about money, and it's definitely not worth falling out for, losing your family over. But it does happen. I'm just being honest, you know, seen it too many times happen in the past. But Carl got a new method, man. We gonna make this a law. Almost said a bad word, it didn't mean to, so forgive me. Carmen, let me ask you, can you discuss how your work with— I can't pronounce this word, but the foundation that you work with ties into your personal philosophy of giving and living with purpose?

Yeah, I've benefited a lot from philosophy. I've studied philosophy from Aristotle to Ayn Rand, and that's had a lot of impact upon my life. There's a lot of guidance from rational philosophy, good philosophy.. And so that's impacted me a lot. So I started a foundation called the Prometheus Foundation. I give grants to people. Yeah. And that, that's to promote rational philosophy from Aristotle to Ayn Rand. And Ayn Rand is a big influence on my life. One of the things she taught me, which is very simple, that life is to be enjoyed every day, every week, every month, every year of your life. Life is to be enjoyed. Now, of course, There's ups and downs, there's good luck and bad luck, but the fundamental purpose is to enjoy life. And you can enjoy life and, and happiness is a successful state of life, not just success with money. So it's success in all areas of your life, with your friends, with your family, with people that you care about, things that you love, and success very broadly when you're pursuing all of your values and all the things that you care about. And when you achieve those things and you're successful in that way, then happiness is the result and the reward. And I wish you increasing happiness, CJ, and all your listeners. Mm-hmm. May you increase your happiness.

Right back to you, Carl, man, and all the people that you help, man, and your family, man. I know they blessed to have a man of your stature and your demeanor, you know, just the willingness and the openness and the good-heartedness that you are, man, is, you know, probably just ecstatic for people just to be around you, you know, because happiness can be You know, just like how they say roll downhill, happiness can do the same thing, man. And so since you at the top, man, happiness coming down on everybody that's around you, Corwin. That's a beautiful thing. So Corwin, I only got one more question for you, man. But before I let you go, I do have a quickfire round where I will ask you 5 questions and you tell me the first thing that comes to your mind. Don't get intimidated, Corwin. Everybody get intimidated when it comes to this part. There's nothing hard. Yeah, I left this out of the out of the memo because this is a trick one, man. But Carl, you're a wise man. I know that you will pass it with flying colors. But let me ask you this last question, Carl. What do you think rational philosophy is? Why do you think rational philosophy is essential for creating happiness and fulfillment?

Because what rational philosophy says that your values, real-world values, again, such as wealth and health and love and purpose, And career, home, children, all of those practical things are real and tangible, and you can pursue them now on Earth. Mm-hmm. You can have things for your very own. The other thing I've learned from rational philosophy is there are certain actions that you need to take to achieve values, and those things are called virtues. Now, again, we're not getting into religion. These are practical things you should do. And again, like I say, look, if you want good in your life, You got to do good, and it's that simple.

Yeah, I can't be sitting around here raising hell and expecting for my life to just be peaches and cream. So I get exactly what you said on that part, because if you want happiness, you got to bring happiness. And one of my sayings, especially for men, if you want peace in your household, you have to bring peace into the household. You can't be bringing hell into the household and raising all kind of chaos and want peace out of It's not going to happen. It's not going to happen. So, Carl, are you ready for this quickfire round, man? Yes, sir. All right, let's go ahead. One simple habit that brings you happiness every day.

Just setting my mind up to have a joyful day. Just waking up in the morning and saying, what do I really want to have happen today? What do I want to get done? What do I want to achieve and what do I want to enjoy? Like today, I set up an intention to enjoy my conversation with CJ, and that was, that was something that I looked forward to. I had the attitude and the intention to enjoy my day, enjoy the experience with CJ, and I'm enjoying it. CJ, I'm having a lot of fun. I find you very easy to talk to and I'm enjoying it. Yeah, you know what, Carl? And I believe you too.

You want to know why I believe you? Because I want to say it's Brittany, because Brittany has been hitting me up, hey, Carl's ready, Carl's book's coming out, hey, Carl need this. She gave me a phone number and everything. So that lets me know that Carl was ready for this interview because Carl wanted to be on the CJ Moneyway Show, and I'm ecstatic to have Carl on the show and help him promote his book that is coming out. When is it, July 8th?

It's out now, you can order it, and July 8th is the official launch. July 8th. Couple of weeks away.

Yeah. Go get your book. I'm going to get mine and watch the videos and listen to the podcast and go grab one of Carl's books so that this happiness feeling can resonate within you. Carl, let me ask you, who inspires you when it comes to living with purpose?

Well, I think philosophy inspires me. Philosophy. But a lot of inspiration I got is from Ayn Rand, who wrote Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. Massive-selling books, and I was inspired by the characters in her books, and that gave me a lot of guidance. But, you know, there's a lot of books I read. I love to read, and reading books, I think, is the greatest. There's all kinds of authors, and I read them, both fiction and nonfiction, and that's what I get a lot of great ideas, a lot of inspiration from books.

Carl, I wrote a book. I got a couple more on deck that I'm, you know, that I'm doing or whatnot. But I'm gonna be honest with you, man. When I was in grade school coming up, Carl, I did not like reading whatsoever. But now I can't eat a bowl of cereal without reading something, you know. Like when we go out to parties, I really can't eat at picnics and things of that nature because I have to sit down and read something. Reading is fundamental. Now, I do have a 14-year-old, and I will be honest, he does not really like to read like that. I'm just continuing the conversation. So, Carl, let me ask you, man, one book besides your own that you recommend for personal growth?

I would have to say Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Very inspirational. It's a big book. Book, but it's an important book. It's got lots of ideas in it which can help one to live a better life and achieve success and happiness.

Mm, Ayaan, she that lady. So if you ain't got nothing else from this podcast episode today, is that Ayaan is the one. Go get whatever book she ever wrote because Carl live, he lives by I've read, I'm telling you. So whatever books she wrote, go get them. Hey, and it can change your life and your pursuit to happiness. So Carl, man, let me ask you the final one, man, real quick. If you could leave one message about happiness, what would it be?

Your own life is important. Feel reverence for your own life and want the highest, the greatest for yourself here and now. And then to imagine a heaven and then not just to dream of it, but to pursue it. Create your idea of heaven on earth and then make it happen. I did. I'm living in my heaven right now. Beautiful home, great friends, lots of books. I've got a wonderful life.

I like that, man. I like that. Carl just going like, I'm happy in life. You know what I'm saying? I have nothing to complain about. Everything is all good. Family straight, friends good, money right. I can do what I like to do. That's happening. As the words say, I come to give you life and give you life more abundantly. And so Carl is a living example that you can have an abundant life right here on Earth. Pursue your happiness. So Carl, man, let me ask you, man, give me your final thoughts. Just give me one true and fine inspired story, man, before we get out of here, man.

Just What an inspiring story. Oh my God. I think the most— the thing that inspired me was the couple again that I talked about that had decided that they could not ever be happy again. Mm-hmm. And they went from there where they refused the money because they couldn't be happy, and they decided that. And then I saw them pursuing happiness with relish and loving life. I mean, these guys love life and they concluded, CJ, that their daughter would want them to be happy. And so they got that idea, which they got from the coach. The coaching was really important. And that was inspiring to me. Now they're living life, they're loving life, they're pursuing happiness. And then I get, you know, I get fueled by that. That gives me emotional fuel and helps me with my happiness. Mm.

I like that. And to that couple, God bless you. Keep pursuing happiness, and let's keep it moving. Carl, man, I really appreciate you coming on the show, man, taking the time out of your happiness day to come join the CJ Moneyway Show. To my listeners, go grab a copy of the book. You can pre-draft it now, but the official launch is July 8th, and learn more about Carl work and his universities that's online. Closing, thank you for joining us on the CJ Moneyway Show Plus G Outta State's Capitol. Your journey is a powerful reminder that true happiness comes from the intentional choices and purpose-driven life that God has given you. Until next time, it's your boy CJ Moneyway with my man Carl B. Pursue your happiness. Until next time, we outta here.

Peace. Thank you for listening to the CJ Moneyway Show. Don't forget to share this episode with your friends, leave a comment, and drop a review. Be sure to tune in every Tuesday and Friday for more inspiring journeys. Who knows, your story might be next. Hey, true crime fans and hustlers alike, step out of the shadows and into the light with the CJ Moneyway Show, where real stories of resilience and legacy building take center stage. I'm CJ Moneyway, your host, guiding entrepreneurs and dreamers brick by brick through the grind to greatness. From faith-driven transformations to scaling your hustle, we've got the insights you need to win. Tune in to hear from reality stars, business moguls, and more at the CJ Moneyway Show. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and join the GI Hustle movement today. That's the CJ Moneyway Show. Don't miss it!