You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero (affiliate link)
You know those titles that come out and everybody goes nuts over them?
When I hear all the hype, I get a little skeptical. For many things (technology and products) I’m usually an early adopter. But with books, for some strange reason, I wait.
So, even though Jen Sincero (pronounced sin-chair-oh) first published You Are A Badass in 2013, it wasn’t until March of 2021 that I finally decided to take the plunge. I purchased it in a bookstore on a family trip.
And then I waited again.
But when I finally did crack it open–on May 7 of 2021 to be exact–I devoured it. Like, seriously. It was a matter of hours. Rick and I left that day for our 30th anniversary trip to St. John, US Virgin Islands, and I read the whole book over the course of two flights and the layover in between. (Rick actually read it as well, but over the course of the whole anniversary trip.)
And, folks, that’s saying something. Because I am not a fast reader; I read very conversationally, as if I’m reading it aloud to someone. So, yeah. Devoured.
So in this book review I’m going to give you five reasons why I loved You Are A Badass, along with a few snippets from the author along the way.
#1 I’ve been life coached, so I was ready.
I don’t know how many times I’ve stated it, but this book is WAY more meaningful if you have been life coached. There were so many moments when I was like, “I don’t think I could have handled that idea before life coaching.” Just after our coming home from my trip, I had my last session that completed one full year of coaching.
Now, this in no way means you can’t get anything out of it without having had a life coach. But for someone like me (read recovering pessimist) thought work is key to wrapping my brain around the ideas presented.
The book is divided into five parts:
- How You Got This Way
- How To Embrace Your Inner Badass
- How To Tap Into The Motherlode
- How To Get Over Your B.S. Already
- How To Kick Some Ass
I seriously doubt that I could have gotten very far into section two without a lot of eyerolling. Again, not because the info is not good. It’s a gold mine! But my brain was very stuck in negative beliefs (and let’s be honest, I am still working on this) and a very “that’s all fine and good for everyone else” kind of mentality before life coaching.
So, bottom line….I was ready and open. (A big thanks to my life coach for that.)
#2 Jen Sincero is a very engaging writer.
Like I said above, I read very conversationally. So the more the writing resembles a conversation, the more I tend to absorb. Whether it’s the stories from her own life (I love her story about buying a car to replace her dying one) or hypothetical “what if” situations she shares that we can likely all relate to, her writing keeps you pulled in.
Her tone is very friendly, unassuming, and casual. And I really appreciate that type of vibe. Honest and unfiltered. Like this excerpt from her story about being in Pigeon Pose in yoga class:
…I’m in class and going for it, and am determined to “relax into it” even though I’m really just silently begging the dude to tell us to change into a different pose, which he doesn’t do because he’s too busy talking. He’s blabbing on and on and on about our connection to The Universe and our breath and the path to true enlightenment and holy ******* **** dude will you hurry up I think I’m going to rip something I really do oh my God I think I’m actually stuck how am I going to get out of this pose he’s gonna have to come over here and lift me out of it because I really truly am stuck and then whoosh…
Not that I’m a yogi by any stretch (haha) of the imagination, but this is very likely what I would be thinking in a yoga class. So, relatable.
Now, fair warning. Jen does use some occasional “language” (no she did not use asterisks, I did). But this honestly did not bother me. It did not distract from the message for me at all. Her style of writing just makes me feel like we’re sitting down and chatting.
#3 The Universe, Source Energy, God, The Motherlode, Etc.
I believe in God. So I’m cool with the God references. But what I appreciate about Jen Sincero’s approach to a higher power is that she does not (in my opinion) alienate her audience by ONLY referring to God. If you believe in a higher power (really, just a power bigger than you) just pick your favorite of her many labels for it and mentally substitute it when she uses a label you don’t prefer. And trust me, she changes it up all throughout You Are A Badass.
Recently I headed over to Amazon to buy the Audible version. (Yes, I have the book and the audiobook now. I love it that much that I want to just keep listening to it so I can absorb as much as possible.) I happened upon the reviews and was amazed by how many 1-star reviews there were. Most of those complained about how “Christian” she supposedly is in the book.
I have to say, that was not my impression at all. As a Christian, I initially felt a little weird with all the non-conventional higher power labels. But I quickly saw the wisdom in it. After all, this is not a book about religion. It’s a book about how to be the very best version of yourself and have a blast doing it! Did I feel like she was shoving religion in people’s faces? Definitely not. And if that’s the main takeaway a person is getting, well, I think they really missed the point. Which is pretty sad.
Personally, my favorite higher power label from You Are A Badass is “Source Energy.” I really pondered what that meant. It made me think of my divine heritage in a totally different way. And being able to think of things in a different, more expanded way? That’s a gift.
#4 I finally made a vision board because of this book.
In part three of You Are A Badass, Jen Sincero offers some ideas on how to change your thinking. One of those ideas is to make a vision board. And the whole vision board thing is just a tangible representation of the things you want to manifest and create. It’s a tool.
Admittedly, I did actually roll my eyes at this one. But just one paragraph later, I was convinced that it was one of the first things I needed to do when I got home from our anniversary trip. Rick and I talked a LOT on that trip about our hopes and dreams and what we really wanted to accomplish. So the timing was perfect.
I love what she says in the vision board section:
Cut out pictures of places, people, things, and experiences that you want in your life, paste them onto a board and hang it somewhere where you’ll see it all day long….It’s like having a craft day with God.
That. I love that.
#5 It helped us really launch our business.
Now, just so you know, we already had the business in the works and had already booked and begun work for a few clients and were starting the conversation with a couple more. But things were kind of slowly coming together on the admin side. We were getting our clients’ work done, but not getting our website, our processes, our ideas, and our branding developed. I can truly say that reading You Are A Badass was a big factor in kicking our butts into a much higher gear and a higher vibration.
As Jen states:
Unless your energy is lined up properly with that which you desire, really desire, any action you take is going to require way more effort to get you where you want to go, if it gets you there at all.
Now that are energies are lined up, we’re cruising along creating content, learning new platforms, tweaking branding, brainstorming the mess out of everything, fully launching this website, and kicking butt for our clients. Not that it’s easy; but the driving force behind the work is flowing.
And that’s exactly how we like it.
If you want to kick butt in your business, but you need a little help with some of your tasks we can help. Fill out the form on our homepage and let’s start the conversation.
