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This book has 9 recommendations

Ryan Holiday (Founder/Brass Check)

I loved Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving A Fuck. There’s a reason this book is blowing up. It’s that good.

Derek Sivers (Founder/CDBaby)

The opposite of every other book. Don’t try. Give up. Be wrong. Lower your standards. Stop believing in yourself. Follow the pain. Each point is profoundly true, useful, and more powerful than the usual positivity. Succinct but surprisingly deep, I read it in one night.

Fabrice Grinda (Serial Entrepreneur, Investor)

I have lots of books to recommend, but they are not related to my career path. The only one that is remotely related is Peter Thiel’s Zero to One. That said here are books I would recommend.

Nicky Cullen (Writer, Anxiety Coach)

Personal development is a little different: Mark Manson's The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck, The Charisma Myth by Olivia Fox Cabane, and The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins. All these teach invaluable life lessons with added entertainment in The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck. If I was to write an article listing the top three books to help with anxiety that don't have anxiety in the title, these would be them.

Chelsea Frank (Founder/Life and Limb Gel)

I read everything with an open mind, often challenging myself by choosing books with an odd perspective or religious/spiritual views. These books do not reflect my personal feelings but are books that helped shape my perspective on life, love, and happiness.

Liam Martin (Co-founder & CMO/Time Doctor & Staff.com)

Read the books in this order: Marx: Capital, Peter Thiel: Zero to One, Eric Ries: Lean Startup, Tim Ferriss: 4 Hour Work Week, Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck.

If you read the books in that order you'll have the theoretical framework to get great in business, the application to make it happen, the opportunity to figure out how to get that first business up and running and the context to understand that it isn't all that important in the first place.

Ella Botting (Founder/CyberWomen.co.uk)

You’ll meet a lot of d*ck heads at work. This book helps you prioritise how you spend your energy. I liked how Mark used examples from his real life to explain his points, means you can relate to his whole ideology more.

Chris Goward (Founder/WiderFunnel & GO Group Digital)

Here are some of the books that have been very impactful for me, or taught me a new way of thinking: [...] The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.

Bogdan Savonea (CEO / TPS Engage)

"What five books would you recommend to young people interested in your career path & why? ""Spy the lie"" by Philip Houston and Michael Floyd and ""The subtle art of not giving a f*ck"" + ""Everything is f*cked"" by Mark Manson. I'd leave the remaining 2 books to their spirit of discovery."

Amazon description

In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be "positive" all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people.

For decades, we’ve been told that positive thinking is the key to a happy, rich life. "F**k positivity," Mark Manson says. "Let’s be honest, shit is f**ked and we have to live with it." In his wildly popular Internet blog, Manson doesn’t sugarcoat or equivocate. He tells it like it is—a dose of raw, refreshing, honest truth that is sorely lacking today. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is his antidote to the coddling, let’s-all-feel-good mindset that has infected modern society and spoiled a generation, rewarding them with gold medals just for showing up.

Manson makes the argument, backed both by academic research and well-timed poop jokes, that improving our lives hinges not on our ability to turn lemons into lemonade, but on learning to stomach lemons better. Human beings are flawed and limited—"not everybody can be extraordinary, there are winners and losers in society, and some of it is not fair or your fault." Manson advises us to get to know our limitations and accept them. Once we embrace our fears, faults, and uncertainties, once we stop running and avoiding and start confronting painful truths, we can begin to find the courage, perseverance, honesty, responsibility, curiosity, and forgiveness we seek.

There are only so many things we can give a f**k about so we need to figure out which ones really matter, Manson makes clear. While money is nice, caring about what you do with your life is better, because true wealth is about experience. A much-needed grab-you-by-the-shoulders-and-look-you-in-the-eye moment of real-talk, filled with entertaining stories and profane, ruthless humor, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is a refreshing slap for a generation to help them lead contented, grounded lives.

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See more books recommended by

Ryan Holiday, Derek Sivers, Fabrice Grinda, Nicky Cullen, Chelsea Frank, Liam Martin, Ella Botting, Chris Goward, Bogdan Savonea

See more books written by

Mark Manson

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