Mo Gawdat on using mathematics to survive unimaginable grief

From the boardrooms of Google X to the depths of unimaginable grief, Mo Gawdat’s journey defies every conventional narrative about success and loss. The former Chief Business Officer, who helped launch Google’s operations across half the planet, lost his son Ali in 2014 to a routine operation gone wrong – a tragedy that could have broken him forever. Instead, it became the catalyst for an extraordinary mission: to make one billion people happier.

Armed with a mathematician’s mind and a mystic’s heart, Mo has transformed personal devastation into global purpose. He spent 12 years researching happiness with his son Ali and created a formula that now underpins his bestselling books – Solve for Happy, Scary Smart, and That Little Voice in Your Head – as well as the #OneBillionHappy movement, which has already reached nearly 100 million people. His podcast Slo Mo is a regular #1 Mental Health show in the UK.

Whether he’s advising governments on tech ethics, writing about AI’s sentience in real time, or helping people engineer their way out of despair, Mo is living proof that happiness isn’t just wishful thinking – it’s a learnable, repeatable skill that can reshape the way you live your life.

LESSONS YOU'LL LEARN

1. Death is transformation, not termination. Mo's mathematical approach to consciousness reveals that our physical form is just an avatar – the real you exists beyond space and time.
2. Emotions are visitors, not residents. Feel them, acknowledge them, embrace them – then ask what action you can take. Wallowing in misery brings no one back and helps no one forward.
3. Follow the happiness flow chart. Three questions can take you from despair to clarity in seven seconds: Is this thought true? Can I fix it? If not, can I accept it and make tomorrow better?
4. Pride is pointless, gratitude is everything. When you recognise how much of your success came from blessings beyond your control, humility becomes your superpower and service becomes your calling.
5. Your crisis is not your conclusion. The worst moment of Mo's life became the launching pad for the most meaningful work he's ever done – proving that rock bottom can be the foundation for everything that comes next.

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Host: Andy Coulson

CWC team: Jane Sankey, Hana Walker-Brown, Mabel Pickering and Rex Fisher

With special thanks to Ioana Barbu and the brilliant people at Global

For all PR and guest approaches please contact – podcast@coulsonpartners.com