Review: 6 Mega Life-Transforming Hacks by Mirza Barlas, MBA

Successful entrepreneur Mirza Barlas shares his affirmative philosophy with parables, positive reminders, and “specks of gold” to maintain happiness and sustain achievement in 6 Mega Life-Transforming Hacks: Maximize Your Life Satisfaction, Experiences, and Results.

Barlas begins with a brief illustrative vignette from his own life: after attaining great success as an expert in the field of business transformation while still in his twenties, he found he was not happy. To become happy, he realized, required that, as Thomas Aquinas asserted, he would know what he ought to believe, desire, and do. Based on this personal revelation, he began a quest not only to discover these goals in himself, but to help others discover them.

To this end he has created six “hacks,” or deftly conceived strategies that anyone may utilize. The hacks build upon one another, all with the purpose of developing a mindful approach to problems, a meditative calmness in confronting barriers, and a set of behaviors for warding off negativity.

The first of the six hacks he outlines is perseverance, or grit: it is easy to imagine that a huge setback is final and unconquerable, but many times life shows us that just on the other side of the seemingly unsolvable problem is the very goal of success that we have been longing for. A prospector looking for nuggets of gold may not see the tiny gold “specks” in the apparently ordinary rocks he is finding, but cumulatively, those specks are as valuable as any nugget.

Expertise is next, and surprisingly, one can become an expert by repetition and determination, because experts are made, not born. Then comes positivity. Research has shown that positive thinking improves performance at every level – surround yourself with happy people, meditate on loving kindness, visualize enjoyment and don’t brood on past mistakes. Fourth is mindfulness, symbolized by the Japanese tea ceremony in which smell, taste, and relaxation all play a role in putting us in the present moment, banishing negative thoughts and creating self-insight. Fifth is happiness, gained through acceptance, appreciation, and good habits like reading, sleeping well, building strong relationships and seeing the “specks” within the stones. The sixth hack blends the others in optimal perception and judgment to affect better results.

On their own, these hacks aren’t especially unique, as one will find this focus in many works of self-help. However, the effect is accumulative, and given the book’s cogent organization, it is highly effective in relaying its message. Additionally, the use of the modern term “hacks,” is unique for a self-help manual, which sets it apart in something of a crowded field. What sets this book apart most is its step-by-step methodology, with a tone that is at once sober and inspiring.

Mirza, who has received numerous awards in Canada and internationally for his business acumen, has organized this book as thoroughly as might be expected from such an expert in a multitude of fields. There are symbolic pictures in every chapter, and often lengthy lists expanding on relevant themes such as “CBT (Cognitive Behavioral therapy) Affirmations for Countering Thinking Errors” and “Benefits of Mindfulness.” Some parables from various cultures have been given the author’s lively take, and each chapter ends with “specks of gold” to be gleaned from the material presented. There is also a unique addition to the work, in which editor and author Marni McRae offers her commentary regarding each of the six hacks, helping to illuminate the work further.

A serious but engaging approach to self-help, it is doubtless Barlas’ work will reach the minds and spirits of many readers both within and outside the business/corporate world and yield positive repercussions.