You Are Awesome: How to Navigate Change, Wrestle with Failure, and Live an Intentional Life

Written by Neil Pasricha

Narrated by Neil Pasricha

From Neil Pasricha—New York Times, million-copy bestselling author of The Book of Awesome series and The Happiness Equation, thought leader for the next generation, and one of the most popular TED speakers in the world—comes a revelatory and inspiring book that will change the way we view failure and help us build resilience.

Why is life getting harder instead of easier?
How do I get back up after life knocks me down?
And how do I grow stronger and live more intentionally?

These are just some of the big life questions Neil tackles in his motivating new book You Are Awesome. And Neil knows what he’s talking about—he’s dealt with many failures and flops throughout his life and, in addition to sharing these intimacies, he also offers simple, research-backed models we can all use to get back up and stay on track.

Resilience is a skill in desperately short supply today. One side effect of living in our era of abundance is that we no longer have the tools to handle failure or even perceived failure. We are turning into an army of porcelain dolls. We no longer bend, we break. When we spill, we splatter. When we crack, we shatter. The New York Times reports that nearly two thirds of college students report “overwhelming anxiety.” Cell phones show us we’re never good enough. And what about rates of depression, loneliness, and suicide? All rising!

The world is ready for Neil’s new approach to resilience in the form of nine accessible, story-based, science-backed secrets that will help you live stronger and with intention. By taking this journey with Neil as your guide, you’ll learn how to navigate failure, how to positively reframe your own perceptions, and ultimately, how to become your most unbreakable, powerful and awesome self.

Written in Pasricha’s trademark high-energy, takeaway-laden awesome style, this book is for everyone—including fresh grads walking into their first jobs, anyone processing a breakup, people whose industries or careers are quickly getting disrupted, parents wanting to help children be mentally tougher, children wanting to help parents be mentally tougher, and millennials looking for a flashlight to help illuminate the dark path of adulthood.

This book is for anyone who needs to be reminded that every problem is an opportunity, that every dead end has a hidden door, and that every step back is ultimately a step forward.

Pssst…. This book is also a little reminder that YOU ARE AWESOME.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Release date: Nov 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781982140151

Neil Pasricha

Neil Pasricha thinks, writes, and speaks about intentional living. He is the New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including The Book of Awesome and The Happiness Equation, which together have spent over 200 weeks on bestseller lists and have sold over a million copies. He hosts the award-winning podcast 3 Books, where he’s on a fifteen-year quest to uncover the 1000 most formative books in the world by interviewing people such as Malcolm Gladwell, Judy Blume, and the world’s top-ranked Uber driver. He gives more than fifty speeches a year, appearing for audiences at places such as Harvard, SXSW, and Shopify. He has degrees from Queen’s University and Harvard Business School, and lives in Toronto with his family. Connect with him on social media @NeilPasricha or get his latest writing for free at Neil.blog/Newsletters.

Reviews for You Are Awesome

[Anh · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoy books read by author. It really does feel like a conversation… well more if storytelling. But certainly a deeper connection to the work bc it is read in their “voice.”

[Kishen Seyjagat (MARS Audio Inc) · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book really showed the diversity of perspectives and its importance in the struggles of life. You are awesome not only about how to be happier but how to use the tools that are right at your feet to move forward and live life like you want it. Well worth the read!

[Alvaro Cruz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellent and uplifting listen in these dark days, the world needs more Neil Pasricha. I really do appreciate that it is his voice reading his words, it allows us the listeners to really connect with the lessons and message he is trying to imprint on the world. Not going to change anyone who is a glass half empty, but if you are looking for something uplifting, hopeful and well awesome, you can do no wrong here.

[Aimelia Cyr-Ducharme · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very good listen. I heard about author when he appeared on The Social and wanted to listen to 1 of his books. This is the latest and a really good 1.

I listened to it on my commute and it is very inspirational.

[mrstreme · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

If you need help improving your resilience, then be sure to a copy of You Are Awesome by Neil Pasricha.Let’s face it – resilience is a skill. If you can bounce back better and faster, you will be happier and accomplish more (this is especially important for entrepreneurs).In You Are Awesome, Pasricha outlines nine secrets to being more resilient. I’ll list them below, but I encourage you to get the book to learn more about each secret:1.Add a dot-dot-dot…2.Shift the spotlight3.See it as a step4.Tell yourself a different story5.Lose more to win more6.Reveal to heal7.Find small ponds8.Go untouchable9.Never, never stopMy big takeaways:#1: Be more like a wedding photographerIf you’ve been to a wedding, you’ll notice the wedding photographer takes a lot of photos. Hundreds, it seems, of the same shot. Photographers do this because they know that one of those shots will be “just right” – the one that will help the bride and groom remember their special day. The rest of the photos? They are deleted – without much thought.As entrepreneurs, we have to take a lot of bad pictures to find the right one. This is true for ideal clients, services we want to sell, even networking groups we attend. We have to become comfortable with failing, knowing it will lead us to success.That’s a bitter pill to swallow when you’re a perfectionist control enthusiast (ahem!), but it’s the truth. When we become more resilient after failure, we succeed. #2: The staircase is in front of you, even if you can’t see itStaying in faith is an essential virtue for any entrepreneur. Staying in faith is hard when you feel stuck, or when things aren’t going your way, but if you can believe in yourself and your abilities, you will push through.Sometimes though, we reach what seems to be the bottommost of levels. We can’t see a step, much less a staircase, to help us out of this awful place.Take a step anyway. The staircase is there. Have faith in its existence. That one step will take you to it.#3: Schedule “untouchable” days – pronto!Pasricha has “untouchable days” scheduled on his calendar.“Untouchable days” are when you are completely unavailable. No one can reach you by phone, email, text message, direct message, and social media.Guess what? We can schedule “untouchable days” too!It is a mindset shift, especially for moms (what if the kids need us? What if there’s an emergency?), but imagine what you could get accomplished if you were completely untouchable for a day. And truthfully, everyone will be okay if you’re out of pocket for 10 hours (this is what I’m telling myself).You are worthy of this time. I am worthy of this time. Let’s do this, okay?How You Are Awesome relates to entrepreneurs:I highly recommend You Are Awesome to every entrepreneur. Personal growth is an essential part of entrepreneurial success. We could learn the best marketing and business strategies in the world, but if we haven’t developed the right mindset, these strategies won’t work as well (or at all).As I mentioned already, You Are Awesome specifically helps you build better resilience. I have coached countless female entrepreneurs over the years, and resilience is something most of us could work on. A failure can really knock the wind out of us. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we could “bounce back” faster? Even better, what if we could shrug off failure and stay in faith even more? We would be unstoppable!And that’s what I want for you – to be unstoppable. Get Neil Pasricha’s book and start implementing his secrets to resilience. You won’t regret it!