Startup Your Life: Hustle and Hack Your Way to Happiness

Extrapolating from her successful record of entrepreneurship, first-time author Akbari recounts her discovery that the same skills used in running a successful business could be applied to her personal life as well. In many varied areas of life—including the search for love and an attempt to lose weight—Akbari believes that an entrepreneurial approach can be all that’s necessary to push one over the top. Using the Thomas Edison quote “I haven’t failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work,” as her benchmark, Akbari explains that behind any notable success stretches a long trail of trial and error. Illuminating stories about business giants such as Ralph Lauren, Instagram, Netflix, and Zappos illustrate the constructive tips covered in each chapter. As an added bonus, the author rounds out each chapter with usable snippets of wisdom. Though the book is expressly aimed at readers wishing to improve their personal lives, many of Akbari’s ideas are business-specific. It’s doubtful, for instance, that advice such as developing a website presence could be applied to someone struggling to build healthier eating habits. That said, budding entrepreneurs should benefit greatly from Akbari’s sound guidance. [em]Agent: Kirsten Neuhaus, Foundry Literary + Media. (Dec.) [/em]