Today we’re talking You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero! If you missed part one of this series, check it out here: Three books that changed my life: Part 1.
I’m guessing there’s a 50/50 shot this book has been living on your shelf begging you to read it for months or even years, and you just haven’t picked it up yet. Maybe it’s because you NEED to be convinced you are a badass, but you’re scared to do the work or don’t believe that you could ever possibly “become a badass”. Definitely not speaking from personal experience here or anything. Just suck it up and read it. (I’m so inspiring, right?)
Quick summary of You Are a Badass
You are a Badass is like a roadmap to your badassery. It’s important to note that the title is You Are a Badass, not How to Become a Badass. You just have to behave like the badass you really are deep (perhaps very deep) inside. Jen talks a lot about operating on a high frequency and making decisions as the person you want to be. She does an excellent job of differentiating between 1) being an idiot and blowing all your money on something without thinking it through, and 2) investing your time, money, and energy into things that are going to actually take you down the road you want.
Highlights
The G word
Jen Sincero, the author of this fabulous book, starts out by talking about the dreaded G word. (Shhh she means god). If you’re not a bible thumper or theist of any sort, fear not. The energy of the G word is just the same as “Goddess, The Big Guy, The Universe, Source Energy, Higher Power, The Grand Poobah, gut, intuition, Spirit, The Force, The Zone, The Lord, The Vortex, The Mother Lode”. Basically anything that indicates you are not the center of the entire universe.
The Big Snooze
Remember thinking the world revolves around you? One could call that having a big ego. Jen Sincero talks about the other kind of ego and calls it The Big Snooze, or BS. Your ego, psychologically speaking, is the state of your mind between conscious and unconscious that tends to do a cute little self-sabotage job to keep you “safe” and/or ruin your life. As soon as you start operating from a place of subconscious beliefs and fears that were probably impressed upon you as a little babe, you’re letting The Big Snooze drive the boat. Once you “wake up” you’re able to make choices that lead to a more fulfilling life.
Take cues from the beasts and the babies
Dogs and toddlers are fun to watch because they’re constantly exploring and finding “new” things. Everything they discover or realize they can do already existed. As adorable as your niece is, she didn’t invent rolling on to her tummy, and the sticks your pup discovered existed already. In the same way, us jaded adults (says me, the 22 year old) can exercise our curiosity and exploration a little more. For example, she says the money you want already exists or the ~love interest~ you want to meet is already alive and out there. She compares it to how the invention of the lightbulb showed us that electricity exists. It existed before, we just didn’t know how to harness it. In summary, what you want is out there and you deserve to get it if you put in the work.
Bits of wisdom
- “Faith is having the audacity to believe in the not yet seen…Faith is your best buddy when you’re scared shitless.”
- “Forgiveness is about putting your desire to feel good before your desire to feel right”
- “’If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present.’ Lao tzu” -Jen Sincero
- “It’s not your fault if you’re fucked up, it’s your fault if you STAY fucked up.”
Let me know if you read You Are a Badass and keep an eye out for the next installments of the series! For more book recommendations check out books to read this summer or audiobooks to listen to based on your fave TV show.
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