Reviews and Other Stuff

malcolm gladwell

You Are a Badass Book/Audiobook Review

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you are a badass book by jen sincero, pink lady dior bag, pink iphone x review

 

“If you want to live a life you’ve never lived, you have to do things you’ve never done before” – Jen Sincero, success coach, author of You Are a Badass.

 

I don’t remember exactly where I heard about this book. It must have been recommended to me, or that I must have read somewhere that a lot of bloggers have read it, raved about it, or got inspired by it. I also seem to remember seeing a pile of it at Urban Outfitters looking like it’s the must-read of the moment. Regardless of how I’ve come to know about the book sassily entitled as You Are a Badass, I knew it got me curious and I had to read it at some point in time. Since I love listening to audiobooks while doing my daily activities, I decided to listen to this book via Audible. If you’ve read my previous book reviews, you’d know that I’m not a big fan of self-help books, not because I don’t need help, lol, it’s just that I’m quite picky about them. I gave this book a chance because it seems to be just everywhere, and it looks really interesting.

 

The Audible version of this book is read by the author herself, Ms. Jen Sincero. I liked the way she narrated the book. It was fast-paced and her tone of voice was very engaging. The book or audiobook itself is really all about improving oneself or life and on how to be awesome. As blissful and at times shallow that word may be, the author emphasizes for us to recognize that it’s very important to feel good about ourselves. Immediately you could tell that this book is all about self-positivity and self-affirmation, though I must admit that learning to be awesome can be quite a lot especially in today’s day and age.

 

you are a badass book by jen sincero, pink lady dior bag, pink iphone x

 

This book tells no-nonsense advice about achieving your best potential and living the life you’ve always wanted. Which means, being the “you” you’ve always wanted to be. It gives a lot of words of encouragement on following your dreams by getting things done and not sabotaging yourself. It’s like motivating yourself to act and hit the ground running while also loving and believing in who you are. In other words, this is a book not just for the go-getters but also for those who tend to procrastinate and want some push with practical advice and positive affirmation. Think Sophia Amoruso of Nasty Gal with her Girlboss vibe, and you can already imagine what listening to this book must be like.

 

While I find this book to be encouraging and motivating at the same time, especially when the author talked about following your dreams and understanding your limitations, as well as accepting the things that cannot be changed, or in how you can react to the things/situations that you can’t control, I feel like there are some parts of the book that I couldn’t understand. The author talked about source energy and the universe, and that just seemed a little too farfetched for me, but it didn’t bother me much. I’d like to think that I am more pragmatic in that sense, but perhaps I just didn’t listen to her explanation enough about these things because I was doing some chores while listening to the book. 🙂

 

Since this book has a very modern voice/approach, expect to hear or read some swear words from the author, which honestly is not really a big deal for me. As for the condescending/arrogant tone that the author gives off with some of her advice, (mentioned by some readers) well, there is definitely a feisty tone to them, and at times they kinda sounded tough, but there is some humor to them as well. So, I just took the positive vibes/advice that I could get out of this book and decided not to judge on the questionable ones. I definitely think that the author should have delved more on some pointers on how to be awesome, and not just on encouraging and motivating the readers to get up and get going.

 

you are a badass, lady dior bag

 

Bottom line, I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked it because of its tell-it-like-it-is approach to motivation, but I also wish that it should have been more open-minded to every individual’s specific situations and daily struggles. But anyhow, the next time you’re feeling low, or you’re feeling like you’re under the weather and needs an extra push or a shot of motivation, you may want to consider adding this book to your list of pick-me-up items to buy.

 

This book is currently available in Amazon

The Audible version is available HERE

 

  • Lip Gloss is from Cle de Peau
  • Fragrance is from Viktor & Rolf’s Magic Collection – Sparkling Secret, available HERE and reviewed HERE

 

Have you read this book before? Did you like it?

 

 

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Book Review.

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Outlier – a person or thing differing from all other members of a particular group or set. Ex. people whose achievements fall outside normal experience.

 

outliers book by malcolm gladwell

 

I’m not quite a fan of self-help books, and I don’t really know why. Perhaps because I haven’t really found the one that really inspired me. Although I do have a thing for Psychology books, especially the Feeling Good book by Dr. Burns. I’ve read countless self-help books in the past, but I always seem to just forget about them right after finishing the last page. Recently, I was wandering around at my local Barnes & Noble and I stumbled at the Psychology area when I found this minimalistic book by Malcolm Gladwell called the “Outliers”. I immediately read the back part and was truly intrigued by it. Then it dawned on me, a friend suggested this book to me before but I didn’t really pay that much attention, so, this time, I know I’ve got to read this book. I was so intrigued about knowing the people we consider Outliers, and the whole term is sort of news to me. So, I bought the book in Amazon since it’s cheaper there and I started reading it non-stop.

 

I wouldn’t call this a self-help book, it’s not really, but more like a non-fiction inspirational book about understanding the people we call as Outliers in this world. Most of our understanding of the path to success and about very successful people are defined by the misconception that you have to have an innate talent, or that you have to be hardworking. Truth is, in this book, talent and hardwork are indeed parts of success, but these two qualities are not enough. Yes, you have to work so hard and have a talent, but you also need to be born at the right circumstances. These circumstances are very important in achieving success and that is how we can understand that the Outliers of the world didn’t just start from scratch or came from nothing and then became very successful. Further, this book will answer why there are no star hockey players born in the Fall, or why the smartest man in the world is not necessarily the most successful in life.

 

malcolm gladwell the outliers

 

This book is an eye-opener and will change the way you view life. It puts everything in perspective and will make you realize why such very successful people exist. The answer is pretty much right there, you just have to make sense of it. With that being said, it doesn’t mean that nobody can be successful, the book will tell you that if only we’d applied what we know of success in all its complexities and elements, then we’d have more Outliers in this world, and in that sense, there won’t be such thing as an Outlier at all.

 

I highly recommend this book, as well as some other books by Malcolm Gladwell. He’s definitely my favorite author now and I just like the way he writes and explains things. He is very keen on observing our society and its occurrences. So, for that, I’ve already started reading his other books like “The Tipping Point” and “Blink“. However, this Outlier book holds a special place in my heart. It’s a fascinating read that will inspire you to learn about people’s success stories and realize that success truly doesn’t happen overnight or from scratch, it’s a much more complicated event that happens when all the right circumstances and all the forces of nature combined to make a dream a reality.

 

The Outliers book by Malcolm Gladwell is currently available at http://www.amazon.com or at Audible as an audiobook.