Jen Sincero had me right from the get-go with her irreverence, and “Sass-Factor”! Those two qualities alone could have carried me, but the quality of the content is what I want to share with you.
(Aside: the Publisher’s legal department allows me to quote 1000 words, so if this seems a little choppy I apologize! I started with 1822 words and really struggled to bring it down to 999! But I did it!)
This reading is from the Introduction:
“I’m assuming if you’re reading this that there are some areas of your life that aren’t looking so good… And that you know could be looking a whole lot better… Or maybe you have everything you’ve ever wanted but for some reason you still feel unfulfilled.
[…]
“This is about getting mighty clear about what makes you happy and what makes you feel the most alive, and then creating it instead of pretending you can’t have it. Or that you don’t deserve it… Or listening to what Dad and Aunt Mary think you should be doing.
“It’s about having the cojones to show up as the brightest, happiest, badassiest version of yourself, whatever that looks like to you. The good news is that in order to do this, all you need to do is make one simple shift:
“You need to go from wanting to change your life to deciding to change your life.
[…]
“You’ll probably have to do things you never imagined you’d do because if any of your friends saw you doing it, or spending money on it, you’d never live it down… You’ll have to believe in things you can’t see as well as some things that you have full-on proof are impossible. You’re gonna have to push past your fears, fail over and over again and make a habit of doing things you’re not so comfy doing. You’re going to have to… cling to your decision to create the life you desire like your life depends on it.
“Because guess what? Your life does depend on it.
[…]
“There’s a great line from the poet Anaïs Nin that reads: “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” This is how it was for me, and how I think it is for most people. My journey was a process (and still is) that started with my decision to make some serious changes, regardless of what I had to do to make them. None of the things I’d already tried were working: mulling it over and over with my equally broke friends and my therapist, working my ass off, going out for a beer and hoping it would take care of itself . . . I was at the point where I would try anything to get my act together, and Lawdy Lawd Lawd Lawd, it’s like the Universe was testing me to see just how serious I was.
[…]
“If you’re new to the self-help world, I’m hoping this book will ease you into some of the basic concepts that totally changed my life so you can have a breakthrough, too, without making you want to run off screaming in the process. If you’ve already dipped your toe in the self-help pond, I hope it will say something in a new way that turns a light on so you can make some major shifts, create some tangible results, and someday wake up crying tears of giddy disbelief that you get to be you.
“And if I can save one person from ever having to take their inner child on a play date, I have done my job.
[…]
“In an attempt to help you get to where you want to go too, I’m going to ask you to roll with some pretty out-there things throughout this book, and I want to encourage you to have an open mind. No, on second thought, I want to yell in your face about it: STAY OPEN OR ELSE YOU ARE SCREWED. I mean it. This is really important. You’ve gotten to where you are right now by doing whatever it is you’re doing, so if you’re less than impressed with your current situation, you clearly need to change things up.
[…]
“I don’t care how big a loser you may or may not perceive yourself to be right now, the fact that you’re literate, have the luxury of time to read this book and the money to buy it puts you way ahead of the game.
“This isn’t something to feel guilty or whiney or superior about. But it is something to appreciate, and should you make the decision to really go for it, know that you are extremely well-poised to knock it out of the park and share your awesomeness with the world. Because that’s really what this is all about.
“We need smart people with huge hearts and creative minds to manifest all the wealth, resources, and support they need to make their difference in the world.
“We need people to feel happy and fulfilled and loved so they don’t take their shit out on themselves and other people and the planet and our animal friends.
“We need to be surrounded by people who radiate self-love and abundance so we don’t program future generations with gnarly beliefs like money is bad and I’m not good-enough and I can’t live the way I want to live.
“We need kickass people to be out of struggle and living large and on purpose so they can be an inspiration to others who want to rise up, too.
“The first thing I’m going to ask you to do is to believe that we live in a world of limitless possibilities. I don’t care if you have a lifetime of proof that you can’t stop shoving food in your face or that people are intrinsically evil or that you couldn’t keep a man if you were handcuffed to his ankles—believe that anything is possible anyway.
“See what happens—what do you have to lose? If you try getting through this book and decide it’s a bunch of crap, you can go back to your sucky life. But maybe, if you put your disbelief aside, roll up your sleeves, take some risks, and totally go for it, you’ll wake up one day and realize you’re living the kind of life you used to be jealous of.”
Published by Running Press
To learn more about Jen Sincero and her rocky ride from “Loserville to Awesome City” and to buy the whole book “You Are A Badass”, click the link below: