Troubleshooting Life

Debug Your Mindset and Upgrade Your Life, Day by Day

In Troubleshooting Life, Akash Malik invites you into a uniquely modern, deeply personal journey-a daily book of life lessons grounded in philosophy, tech culture, and pop culture to help you debug your mind and reboot your life. Each entry offers a sharp, insightful takeaway drawn from unexpected sources: ancient texts, hip-hop lyrics, Hollywood history, and classroom experiences. Over the course of 366 days, you will learn how to

• Redesign your inner operating system
• Lead your life with greater agency
• Break free from self-limiting scripts
• Build something that lasts forever
• Grow two blades of grass where one once grew

"Think of this book as a software update for your soul. With wit, wisdom, and surprising sources, Malik shows you how to debug your mindset and upgrade your life. I love the page-a-day format - stay with it for a month, watch your life change, and you'll be hooked till the last page." - Salvador Litvak, film director, author, influencer

"Akash Malik's Troubleshooting Life blends wisdom, practicality, and creativity into a format that speaks to professionals and dreamers alike. His one-page-a-day approach challenges readers to think differently, act decisively, and lead with clarity. It's a rare book that you can both learn from and live by. It is worth the read." -Plinio Ayala, CEO of Per Scholas

"Troubleshooting Life is a masterclass in modern resilience-delivered one brilliant micro-lesson at a time. If you want to have a year of thinking deeply and pushing yourself to your best version of you, Troubleshooting Life is your hard truth served up with creative soul." - Caitlyn Brazill, President, Per Scholas

"This is the kind of book you leave out on your coffee table or desk. It invites reflection." - Irina Kensinger, Director of Enterprise Risk, CISO-NA

"Troubleshooting Life is like daily debugging for your mental codebase. With one page a day, Akash Malik helps you trace thought loops, patch outdated patterns, and refactor your mindset for long-term resilience. Whether you're stuck in an infinite loop or just due for a reboot, this book delivers practical updates for your internal architecture." - Dustin Lehr, application security Leader, co-founder of Katilyst

"If you take seriously this adventure we call life, you need to read Troubleshooting Life. It's a truly honest and insightful book that expertly combines the old and the new, helping anyone on their life's journey." - Richard Greenberg, CISSP, Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) Hall of Fame

Akash Malik is a writer, educator, and media storyteller who helps people troubleshoot their lives through tech, creativity, and timeless wisdom. A graduate of Temple University with a degree in Film and Media Arts, he has worked across classrooms, startups, movie sets, editing bays and soundstages. He currently manages a team of technology instructors at Per Scholas, a nonprofit founded in 1995 that has over 30,000 alumni at all levels of business. Born in the 1990s and raised in New Jersey, Akash writes with the heart of a teacher, the eye of a filmmaker, and the mind of a modern philosopher. Troubleshooting Life is his debut book.