Have you ever read a book that completely, totally changed your life? Something that inspired you to finally get off your butt and do all the things you always wanted to do?
This was that book for me.
“You are a Badass” is a must-read, wellness bible written by bestselling author, life coach, and motivation speaker, Jen Sincero. The book touches on major life points that we all know yet often forget to practice in everyday life – concepts like gratitude, overcoming your fears, why mediation is important, accepting yourself for who you are, etc. But she delivers these concepts by leading with chapters like “Your Brain in Your Bitch” and “Fear is for Suckers” so it comes off in way that’s completely non-preachy.
I’ve been a fan of Sincero’s ever since I read her hysterical semi-autobiographical novel “Don’t Sleep with Your Drummer” (still my favorite book of all time) about a girl who quits her corporate job to start a rock band. Ever since then, she’s been my idol.
Sincero has since given up her former rock star status, become a life coach, and set out to tell the world how to kick some serious ass.
Now, if you’re one of those people who rolls their eyes at words like “life coach” and “inspirational,” don’t worry. I’m one of those people too. The phrase “therapy” makes me want to run for the hills, and I wouldn’t be caught dead in the self-help aisle. However, Sincero’s writing is so hilarious, you’ll be too busy dying laughing to realize that she’s actually kicking your ass into major motivation gear.
Some of my favorite lines:
“Shirley, are you really going to quit your secure, corporate job to open a nail salon when you’ve got two children, a mortgage, and high blood pressure? So few new businesses succeed, especially in this economy – aren’t your worried about what will happen to your family if you fail?
Of course Shirley is worried about what will happen to her family if she fails! She wakes up every night seized by panic about it, but she’s moving past her fear to create something she’s really psyched about, rather than dying a slow painful death hanging around the watercooler with you, whining about how dry the cake was at the birthday party your boss threw for you in the conference room last week.”
“When we’re all happy and in love with ourselves, we can’t be bothered with the bullshit (our own or other people’s).”
“What other people think about you has nothing to do with you and everything to do with them.”
“Get out of your routine. Talk to strangers, wear something different, go to a new grocery store, cook for someone who you want to get to know better, change toothpastes, go to a movie at 2pm on a Wednesday, learn three new jokes, walk taller, notice five awesome things you’ve never noticed about your home, your beliefs, your mother, your face. Do things that pull you out of your routine and you’ll be amazed by the new realities that were there all along that suddenly present themselves.”
“Never apologize for who you are. It lets the whole world down.”
Confession: When I first read this book, I was in a pretty bad place. I had been single for 5 years, was working a job I hated, and desperately wanted to travel the world and land a publishing deal for my first novel. So I started meditating more, tried to think more positively, and even made a ridiculous vision board of all the things I wanted in my life.
A month after I finished the book, I traveled through all of Italy. Three weeks later, I landed a 3-book publishing deal with HarperCollins. A month later, I met my boyfriend. And two months after that, I quit my painful dying-of-boredom day job and upgraded to a much better (part-time) one.
Maybe it’s a coincidence. Maybe not.
Either way, go grab yourself a copy. You’ll thank me later.
You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life
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