I was trying to find a good beach read when I came across a book titled “YOU ARE A BADASS” about how to stop doubting your greatness and start living an awesome life by Jen Sincero. Seriously? You had me at “BadAss.” Of course, the title grabbed me immediately; I’m a marketer’s dream, after all. It couldn’t have come at a better time, except that I hesitated to purchase. It must have been my subconscious speaking to me, “you need to read this,” or perhaps it was my girlfriend, giggling, “just get it,” so I did.

Would I classify this as self-help? IDK… I couldn’t put it down; having me laugh out loud at the silliest things, and yet it was so very relatable. Sometimes stating the obvious is all one needs to wake up and go, WAIT, duh…I get this! Why this book? Perhaps it’s the humour infused into what is usually considered a serious or sensitive topic; it was refreshing to read. I love the author’s frankness, zero sugar coating,  keeping it real without floating off into some meditation zone, leaving you wondering, what the hell are we talking about?

I won’t turn this into an actual book review; I’ll leave that to the professionals. That said, I have to share when I stumble upon something that gets me excited. The author highlights some basic simple rules,  thus helping the reader understand the steps to achieving greatness. Simple, right? Here are a few of my favourites points;

1. APPRECIATE HOW SPECIAL YOU ARE
2. DO THINGS YOU LOVE
3. LET THE LOVE IN
4. DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS
5. ASK YOURSELF WHY
6. ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST
7. TRUST YOUR INTUITION
8. FOLLOW YOUR FANTASIES
9. FORGIVE YOURSELF
10. LOVE YOURSELF…

“DO NOT WASTE YOUR PRECIOUS TIME GIVING ONE SINGLE CRAP ABOUT WHAT ANYBODY ELSE THINKS OF YOU”

Yes, very liberating indeed! I know this, we all know this, and the author is brilliant at slapping you into reality. I felt it!

Furthermore, with titles like “The G-word,” “The Big Snooze,” “I Know You Are But What Am I?”, “Your Brain Is Your Bitch”, “Lead With Your Crotch” and “Money, your new best friend,” how can you not read on? Also, I don’t know about you, but I learn from someone who speaks my language. Jen Sincero was definitely speaking mine, meaning, DO NOT preach to me, I will literally turn on my heels and run the other direction, but that’s just me.

However, discovering this book was the perfect refresher course in what I and most of us already know in order to embrace our inner badass. I may have misplaced this some time ago, but after reading this book, I’m slowly getting the feeling back…watch out!

LOL, don’t worry, I’m not turning into some badass bitch. I think that’s a different book. In all seriousness, whether you’re a badass or an ass that’s gone bad, we all need to step back and reflect on what we can do differently to improve our lives. It can be the smallest details that can make the biggest difference. You get to decide the changes, think about it and make yourself go, WOW, I did that?!

LC

xo