Updated June 12th, 2023
Honestly it wasn’t the orange cover or the profanity that got me into this book. What got me was one of my friends who isn’t an avid reader posted this book on his Facebook, saying this was his “favorite piece of literature.”
That, and I got a gift card to Barnes and Noble from my aunt for Christmas. So I bought Mark Manson’s book, read it in like a day, and here I am posting about it. Cool story, Ryan!
To Give or Not to Give (A Fck)?
This is essentially what the Subtle Art is about. Kind of. It’s a lot deeper than that and pretty damn awesome. We only have a certain amount of fucks (pardon my language) to give, and we must choose what we care about and forget about the rest.
Mark Manson doesn’t lie in the subtitle: this book has a lot of counter-intuitive arguments and thoughts.
One of my favorite ideas from the book that I’ve never thought about is that while everyone has problems, some problems are better to have than others. Rich people have money problems (hmm, should I buy or sell my shares of Tesla?…What should I do about taxes?), and poor people have money problems. Clearly, “rich” money problems are better problems to have if I had to give you my own two cents!
Speaking of problems, I thought this was a brilliant call by Manson: Successful people are willing to enjoy the process and put up with pain and problems. So if we want to be successful, instead of focusing on the pleasures, we should ask ourselves which problems we can endure. Successful office workers are willing to endure long hours at the office and playing corporate politics. Entrepreneurs are willing to take risks and put out “fires” every day, like when your supplier suddenly quits on you or how to make payroll. It’s literally the reverse of, like, how everyone in society thinks!
My Biggest Takeaway from The Subtle Art of Not Giving a…
Is that most people are entitled. There are different categories of entitlement as well. I can’t do Manson’s explanations of entitlement justice, so you’ll have to just take my word for it, or check out the book to see for yourself. Maybe me writing this is a sign of my entitlement? I don’t know.
–>Check out The Subtle Art Here<–
How Many Stars?
4 🙂
His arguments, viewpoints, and ideas are very unique. But I just can’t put it in the very best books I’ve ever read, but 4 stars out of 5 ain’t bad!
BOOK DETAILS ONE MORE TIME
Title: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
Author: Mark Manson
Publish Date: September 13, 2016
ISBN: 0062457713 | ISBN-13: 978-0062457714
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure:
Ryan’s Reading Reviews is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.
Comments?
I didn’t put The Subtle Art in the best books I’ve ever read category. But many people did, like my friend in the beginning of this post. Did you love this book? Let me know in the comments.