MAHA Make America Happy Again!
Make America Happy Again
Want Less. Live More. A Reverse Bucket List Journey
By Ed Reif
MAHA Audio Experience
Your Journey to Emotional Freedom
Instead of asking "What do I want to do before I die?", the Reverse Bucket List asks: "What do I want to want less before I live?"
This revolutionary approach focuses on subtraction as a path to liberation—actively letting go of desires that don't serve your well-being.
Satisfaction = Haves ÷ Wants
Most people try to increase the numerator (more money, stuff, achievements). But the real leverage lies in the denominator. When you decrease your wants, your satisfaction explodes exponentially.
Just as martial arts jujitsu redirects an opponent's energy rather than meeting force with force, emotional jujitsu is about acknowledging emotional energy and skillfully redirecting it rather than being controlled by it.
- The 30-Second Pause: Count to 30 before responding
- Three Questions: What am I feeling? What do I need? How can I respond skillfully?
- Box Breathing: 4-4-4-4 technique for nervous system regulation
The Four Pillars
Pillar 1
The Myth of More
The Hedonic Treadmill
We chase satisfaction through acquisition, but adaptation always kicks in. The new becomes normal, leaving us wanting more.
Pillar 2
Reverse Bucket List
Liberation Through Subtraction
Create a list of things you want to want less. Cross them off. Watch how space opens for real fulfillment.
Pillar 3
Emotional Jujitsu
Redirect, Don't Resist
Master the space between feeling and response. Use breath, pause, and movement to choose your reaction.
Pillar 4
The Executive Decision
CEO of Consciousness
Every day, choose to regulate rather than react. Become the executive of your inner world, not a victim of circumstances.
14 Transformational Chapters
Key Insight: Enough is a decision, not a destination.
Explores the hedonic treadmill and how Ed stepped off through his experience in Bhutan, learning the satisfaction equation from farmers who owned nothing but radiated contentment.
Core Practice: Each morning, write down three things that are already "enough."
Key Insight: What do you want to want less?
Born from a café epiphany in Misawa, this revolutionary concept shifts focus from adding experiences to subtracting unnecessary desires.
Examples from Ed's list: Wanting to be the smartest person in the room, collecting countries like trophies, needing constant upgrades
Key Insight: Redirect energy instead of resisting it.
Developed after a meltdown at Kabul HKIA Airbase when an interpreter said, "Sir, you just gave your power to an airplane."
The 30-Second Revolution:
- What am I feeling right now?
- What do I actually need?
- How can I respond skillfully?
Key Insight: Work on the denominator, not just the numerator.
Contrasts a miserable billionaire with Ahmad, an Afghan interpreter whose simple dream for his daughter's literacy created immense satisfaction.
Key Question: "Do I want this—or want to want it?"
Key Insight: Faith is surrender to something bigger.
Finding transcendence through awe—in the sea, stars, silence. Learning surrender when GPS failed during an Atlantic crossing.
Practice: Go on a device-free walk and talk to your higher self.
Key Insight: You don't have to agree to be grateful.
Ed's three-year estrangement from his father and the healing that came from separating signal (character, love) from noise (political differences).
Practice: Precise gratitude letters to family members.
Key Insight: Useless friends are priceless.
The rock bottom test: Would you still love them if they had nothing to offer? Contrasts networking with genuine connection.
Practice: Invest agenda-free time in real friendships.
Key Insight: Service over salary.
The service test: Does this work make someone else's life measurably better? Contrasting a wealthy hedge fund manager's emptiness with a pediatric nurse's purpose.
Practice: Identify daily moments of impact in your work.
Key Insight: Aging is an upgrade in usefulness.
The shift from individual accomplishment to sharing wisdom. From being the fastest translator to teaching others to bridge cultural gaps.
Practice: Share one piece of wisdom with someone younger daily.
Key Insight: The world needs your usefulness, not your specialness.
Liberation from the exhausting need to be the most interesting person. Learning from Margaret, the retired librarian from Kansas who was incredibly useful.
Practice: Do one good deed anonymously daily.
Key Insight: Pain is data. Trauma is compost.
Witnessing refugees transform suffering into service. Ahmad choosing bridge-building over revenge after losing family to bombing.
Practice: Create a Failure & Disappointment Inventory to mine insights.
Key Insight: Boredom is where wisdom begins.
The Drake Passage revelation when power failure created space for real connection. Embracing digital sabbaths and intentional boredom.
Practice: 15 minutes of doing nothing daily.
Key Insight: In a divided world, love is countercultural.
Choosing love across political divides, forgiving for self-liberation, and developing "love intelligence" for deeper understanding.
Practice: Express love in a risky way daily.
Key Insight: Every day, choose to be CEO of your consciousness.
The culmination: daily practices for inner authority, self-regulation as resistance, and creating ripple effects of positive change.
Mantra: "I am not my wants. I am my witness."
Master These Core Concepts
The Satisfaction Equation
Haves ÷ Wants = ?
Work the Denominator!
Most people increase haves. Smart people decrease wants. When wants shrink, satisfaction explodes exponentially.
The 30-Second Pause
Space Between Trigger & Response
Three Questions:
1. What am I feeling?
2. What do I need?
3. How can I respond skillfully?
Box Breathing
Emergency Brake for Emotions
4-4-4-4 Technique:
Inhale 4, Hold 4, Exhale 4, Hold 4. Signals safety to your nervous system.
The Service Test
Meaningful Work Filter
Key Question:
"Does this work make someone else's life measurably better?"
The Rock Bottom Test
Real vs. Deal Friends
The Question:
"Would I still love them if they lost everything? Job, money, status, health?"
Metacognition
The Ultimate Superpower
Thinking About Thinking
Observer vs. Reactor. Witnessing thoughts without being controlled by them.
52-Week Transformation Journey
The Decision
Making the Executive Choice
Awareness Building
Noticing Your Patterns
The Want Audit
Cataloging Your Desires
First Reverse Bucket List
The Art of Subtraction
The Enough Experiment
Redefining Sufficiency
Emotional Geography
Mapping Your Triggers
Focus on mastering the satisfaction equation, simplifying life, and choosing presence over productivity.
- Week 14: The Satisfaction Equation
- Week 15: Simplicity as Strategy
- Week 16: The Hedonic Treadmill
- Week 17: Presence Over Productivity
- Week 18: The Wisdom of Enough
- Week 19: Useful Over Special
Deep dive into emotional jujitsu, learning to redirect rather than resist emotional energy.
- Week 27: Emotional Jujitsu Basics
- Week 28: The Witness Perspective
- Week 29: Anger as Energy
- Week 30: Fear as Teacher
- Week 31: Sadness as Gateway
- Week 32: Joy as Choice
Transform your connections through authentic love, forgiveness, and service.
- Week 40: Family Foundations
- Week 41: Friendship Audit
- Week 42: Love Without Agenda
- Week 43: Conflict as Connection
- Week 44: Forgiveness Practice
- Week 45: Service in Relationship
Culminate your journey by living generatively and choosing love as revolution.
- Week 47: Work as Service
- Week 48: Generative Living
- Week 49: Wisdom Sharing
- Week 50: Love as Revolution
- Week 51: Integration and Vision
- Week 52: The Executive Decision
Daily Practices for Transformation
Morning Declaration
Start with Intention
Daily Affirmation:
"I am not my thoughts. I am not my emotions. I am the witness who chooses how to respond to both."
The Three Enoughs
Gratitude Practice
Morning Ritual:
Write down three things that are already "enough" in your life today.
The Pause Protocol
Throughout the Day
When Triggered:
1. Count to 30
2. Ask the 3 questions
3. Choose your response
The Purchase Question
Before Buying Anything
The Filter:
"Do I want this—or do I want to want it?"
Anonymous Kindness
Daily Service
Usefulness Practice:
Do one good deed without seeking recognition or credit.
Evening Review
Daily Reflection
Two Questions:
When did I react automatically? When did I respond consciously?
Digital Sabbath
Take 24 hours completely offline weekly. No phone, email, or screens.
Intentional Boredom
15 minutes daily of doing absolutely nothing. Let your mind settle.
Failure Inventory
Document past disappointments and mine them for wisdom to help others.
Love Across Divides
Practice loving someone who disagrees with you politically or personally.
Get Your Copy Today!
Make America Happy Again
Want Less. Live More. A Reverse Bucket List Memoir & Workbook
By Ed Reif
What You'll Get:
14 Transformational Chapters - From myth of more to emotional mastery
52-Week Workbook - Complete year-long transformation guide
Daily Practices - Reflection prompts, challenges, and integration questions
Emotional Jujitsu - Master the art of inner regulation
Reverse Bucket List - Revolutionary approach to wanting less
Real-World Wisdom - From combat zones to cruise ships
Special Features: Each chapter includes reflection prompts, daily practices, challenges, and integration questions—making this not just a read, but a complete transformation.
"You don't need more. You need to want less. This book won't sell you joy. It will show you how to make it."