I am a glutton for punishment with self-help tomes, always hoping that *this one* will be halfway decent and actually help in the quest for a better life. This, sadly, is not quite that book – it started off okay, but by the time I finished I was so irked by so many bits of it.

The concept of mindset as a path to ‘life improvement’ is one I can entirely get behind. The exact same situation can be an insurmountable roadblock or a minor speedbump for the same person completely depending on their attitude at the time – I have proven this to myself time and again! So yup, already halfway there with the book’s topic, at least.

Overall, most of the advice and information isn’t exactly wrong, and indeed it starts out okay. The guidance covers the usual ‘positive mental attitude’, and ‘can not can’t’, turning adversity into an advantage – yeah, I can get behind all of this! Even the first bit of guidance, to take responsibility for everything than happens to you rather than wasting time casting blame – I do see where that’s coming from. It’s not “you are at fault for this horrible health thing”, but rather “it’s happened, you can’t change that, be in control of how you deal going forward”. Could all of that have been better phrased in the book? Perhaps a bit.

There are question-led worksheets for every section to try and encourage you through a ‘growth mindset’ shift, which I found a bit hit-and-miss. Towards the end, however, even these started getting a bit too far into the hand-wavy stuff that I have absolutely no time for. Manifesting, asking the universe for what you want, praise for ‘The Secret’ – nope, sorry. Examples of how easily things came together for the author are not as inspirational as he seems to think, but rather had me rolling my eyes at the slightly tone-deaf non-acknowledgement of how much privilege was driving these ‘achievements’, not mindset. For instance, a huge legal battle – great example of triumph over adversity, yeah? But having a friend studying to be a lawyer taking the case for free is not inspirational.

Even before it all got to that point I had a few issues with this. The first was the tone. I can see that it was deliberately casual and chatty rather than super professional, so sure, keep saying how ‘badass!’ things are, throw in the occasional swearword, but it still absolutely grates to see a published book ending sentences with “lol!”. The huge number of typos and careless use of language (affect/effect, to/too, all of those kind of things) weren’t giving me a good impression, nor the sentences that just didn’t quite. Very jarring. And really, it sounds like the author could easily have afforded a good editor.

Because there’s another problem I had: “My huge disaster was when I lost all my millions – but I picked myself up and am doing better than ever!”. Oh yes, that’s what we need: another rich man telling us how easy life is/can be. Hmm. Seriously, self-help writers, it’s not the big positive you think, especially after starting out boasting about being so passionate about sales – I just don’t trust career salesmen, I really don’t. I also wasn’t at all sure about the constant “I had it so bad because of this medical issue with my leg that means I’m practically an amputee” – ouch, I’m sure actual amputees don’t find that an okay statement?

A lot of the book is quite repetitive, and although a comment or two makes that out as deliberate (driving home the message), it didn’t make it enjoyable to read the same things over and over, and the same examples over and over got old, fast.

By the end, any decent advice at the start had been kind of ruined by a lot of these issues, and the usual self-help tome problem of producing a prescribed “this is the way” – ie what works for the author (e.g. getting up at 4am) simply must be the correct way, because look at how successful I am! Really, the claim to want to help the world is too often drowned by the self-congratulatory air, it really is.

I didn’t ‘mind’ this as much reading it as some self-help books, but looking back, I just can’t recommend it. I am also very aware that the authors of self-published self-help books are the biggest threats for finding and shouting at reviewers (yes, I speak from experience!), but – I can only call it like I see it! Kudos to the guy for living his best life, and for whatever intentions he had to try to help others, but mostly this book just could and should have presented its decent theories better.

A game-changer for anyone looking to take control of their life and manifest their dreams. The workbook-style format makes it easy to follow and implement the exercises, and the samples and step-by-step instructions provide valuable insights and guidance. The author's focus on the power of the mind and developing a positive mindset is refreshing and inspiring. This book offers practical tools and strategies to overcome challenges and turn adversities into assets. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to unlock their full potential and become a true badass in the game of life.

A workbook-style guide that offers step-by-step instructions, real-life examples, and exercises to help readers make positive changes in their lives. The book focuses on the power of the mind and how to harness it to overcome challenges, face fears, and manifest goals. With six how-to guides and a bonus chapter, readers will learn how to identify opportunities in problems, start over after a loss, find their purpose, discover hidden abilities, turn adversities into assets, and develop a mental plan of action.