The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck - Book Review

About Mark Mason 

Mark Mason is a star blogger, internet entrepreneur and author of two books titled Models: Attract Women Through Honesty and The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life. The latter of which has become a recent New York Times bestseller. Mark quit his first day job two months in to start his own internet business. He has traveled to over 60 countries and speaks three languages. His journey so far, has led him from living on people's couches to overcoming failures and he now runs a successful blog and is a tremendous entrepreneur.

Overview and Thoughts about the Book

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life is a book about living the counter-intuitive approach to life. We are constantly bombarded with motivational speeches and inspiring stories of how people have overcome deep struggles to become successes. In the root of all of this is "being positive". Manson suggests that some things are meant to be f*cked up and being positive actually works against "being positive". He pulls from philosophers such as Alan Watts eluding to the "backwards law". Watts writes, “When you try to stay on the surface of the water, you sink; but when you try to sink, you float.” In more layman terms, trying so hard to make everything right often causes things to go wrong.

Manson's book is centered around accepting life's challenges and learning better how to deal with the flaws and limits in our lives. Backed by academic research, Manson takes us through a series of powerful "ah ha moments" revealing the truth behind empowerment. The truth behind finding happiness and enjoying life involves embracing our fears, faults, and uncertainties in life. While all of this may seem obvious when brought up, we all know need that reminder to take a step back and look at life from an inverse approach.

"Life is about solving problems. Therefore, learn how to pick good problems. Avoiding problems just makes everything worse."

Perhaps one of the most insightful pieces is when Manson uses the story of the Buddha to illustrate his point of how life is not about avoiding the pain and suffering in life. The point is to embrace all that life has to offer and take life's problems in stride. Manson does a tremendous job in bringing to light and conveying his message through a series of light-hearted jokes and anecdotes. 

Final Word

The world is become more and more globalized and social pressures are more prominent and in your face than ever before. Media and Hollywood paint pictures of what life should be like. Facebook skews your view of reality when people only post their best moments and few of their worst. You start comparing yourself to others and set high expectations to "keep up with the Jones". We all need that guide and constant reminder to be ourselves and to understand the life is about tackling problems and solving one after the other. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life is a book that will teach you how to let go. Manson will strangely motivate you to trust that if you fall it will be all okay. Frankly, you'll just learn how to give less of a F*ck and as a result you'll actually feel better about yourself, those around you, and your life.