The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

By Mark Manson

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About the book

Mark Manson argues that the self-help habit of constant positivity is neither practical nor helpful, and that struggle is what gives a life its meaning. Since nobody can care about everything, he says, the real task is choosing a few values worth caring about. Good values in his account are ones a person controls, such as honesty, kindness or punctuality, while popularity counts as a bad one. With personal stories and blunt profanity, Manson works through nine chapters with titles like Don't Try, The Value of Suffering and The Importance of Saying No, the first named after the philosophy of Charles Bukowski. It reached the bestseller lists of both the New York Times and the Globe and Mail.

Ryan Holiday said he loved it and that its popularity was earned, and CD Baby founder Derek Sivers praised how it reverses the usual advice, adding that he finished it in a single night.

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This book has 9 recommendations

Ryan Holiday (Founder/Brass Check)

I loved Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck. There’s a reason this book is blowing up. It’s that good.

Derek Sivers (Founder/CDBaby)

The opposite of every other book. Don’t try. Give up. Be wrong. Lower your standards. Stop believing in yourself. Follow the pain. Each point is profoundly true, useful, and more powerful than the usual positivity. Succinct but surprisingly deep, I read it in one night.

Recommended by Fabrice Grinda (Serial Entrepreneur, Investor)

Source: Serial Entrepreneur & Investor Fabrice Grinda Reads Almost 100 Books Each Year

Recommended by Nicky Cullen (Writer, Anxiety Coach)

Source: Book Talk with Nicky Cullen, Writer & Anxiety Coach, on Why He DOESN'T Recommend His Career Path

Recommended by Chelsea Frank (Founder/Life and Limb Gel)

Source: Chelsea Frank, Founder of Life and Limb Gel, on How Books Revealed the Path to Self-Improvement

Liam Martin (Co-founder & CMO/Time Doctor & Staff.com)

Read the books in this order: Marx: Capital, Peter Thiel: Zero to One, Eric Ries: Lean Startup, Tim Ferriss: 4 Hour Work Week, Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck.

If you read the books in that order you'll have the theoretical framework to get great in business, the application to make it happen, the opportunity to figure out how to get that first business up and running and the context to understand that it isn't all that important in the first place.

Ella Botting (Founder/CyberWomen.co.uk)

You’ll meet a lot of d*ck heads at work. This book helps you prioritise how you spend your energy. I liked how Mark used examples from his real life to explain his points, means you can relate to his whole ideology more.

Chris Goward (Founder/WiderFunnel & GO Group Digital)

Here are some of the books that have been very impactful for me, or taught me a new way of thinking: [...] The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.

Recommended by Bogdan Savonea (CEO / TPS Engage)

Source: Bogdan Savonea - The CEO Library interview

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