reading

Context

Bestselling author Jen Sincero puts her own personal twist on the self-help genre in You Are a Badass by abandoning the preachy, cheesy tone found in many inspirational books. Sincero’s chatty, colloquial writing style makes the book read as if she’s talking to you face to face. It’s the same relatable voice that comes through in her interviews and her earlier books.

Sincero delivers her advice throughout You Are a Badass in a fresh, punchy way that is meant to light a fire under you—to make you get up and live your best life. With quotes from thought leaders, monks, musicians, writers, and celebrities, Sincero incorporates wisdom from across history and creates zesty sources of inspiration based on her own life experiences and her success as a personal coach and world traveler.

Overview

In You Are a Badass, Jen Sincero wants to help you achieve your best life. In the introduction, she reveals that she, too, was once stuck in a rut. A lot of self-help books didn’t resonate with her. She promises that, if you keep an open mind, this book will be different.

Sincero divides the book into five parts.

In Part 1, she digs into the reasons why you’re in this situation, starting with how your subconscious controls your conscious mind, despite it being full of false beliefs. She explains how spirituality plays a big part in her ideology. She describes the Big Snooze (BS), the unfulfilling way you’re living your life currently, and how self-perception and self-love are key in breaking free from it.

Sincero continues to focus on self-love in Part 2, explaining how you can use positive affirmations to change your way of thinking. She discusses how you can discover what you’re meant to do and how to start doing it.

Shifting the focus to spirituaity in Part 3, Sincero explains how to tap into the Mother Lode, one of her words for the Universe, through meditation and harnessing the power of your own thoughts. She heralds gratitude and forgiveness as two major factors in becoming your best self.

Sincero acknowledges that changing your life can be extremely difficult in the book’s next section. She describes how to break free of the bullshit through dealing with overwhelming situations, procrastination, fear, and bad relationships.

In the final part she explains how important concrete decisions are, as well as how to fix your relationship with money and surrender yourself to the good of the Universe. In closing, Sincero encourages you to believe that everything you desire is already out there, and to love yourself above all else.