You're Not That Great

(but neither is anyone else)

By: Elan Gale

Narrated by: Elan Gale

A hilarious, scathing send up of the self-help genre in the bestselling tradition of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F*ck from social media mogul and The Bachelor producer Elan Gale.

I am addicted to positivity. I am addicted to positivity. I am addicted to positivity.

I care more about feeling great than being great.

I am NOT THAT GREAT.

The self-help industry tells you that if you're positive, if you put your best foot forward and if you just believe in yourself that you will find happiness. Let's be real, you can read all the inspirational quotes you want. You can spend your days giving yourself affirmations in your heart-shaped mirror and trying to learn to love yourself. You can say your mantra over and over again while sitting cross-legged on a yoga mat in a Whole Foods parking lot. But the truth is, you're not a badass and you still don't have the life you want.

That's where You're Not That Great (but neither is anyone else) comes in. This book teaches you how to harness all the negativity in the world and use it to improve your life, taking everyday feelings like self-loathing, regret and shame and making them work for you. Positive thinking is for assholes. Negative thinking is for winners.

Love the point of view!

What did you love best about You're Not That Great?

I loved that the writer was honest and gave a completely different perspective than I am used to hearing.

Good message but lacking explicit strategies

This book provides a good description of a new way of thinking, why the old way is not helping you achieve your goals, and why this new way is better. But it lacks explanation of how this really works. Other than simply mind over matter, it does not offer many ideas. You are on your own to figure out how you will take this new information and apply it to your life. Not a bad thing as we are all different and will interpret this differently, just an observation.

Harnessing the Winds of Negativity to Sail Onward

This book defies description. The author makes you mad. He makes you sad. He builds you up. And then he knocks you down again.

If doing mantras in the mirror is working for you, keep that up. But if you find yourself frustrated by going meaning encouragement and sycophantic praise, it's time to make some changes.

Personally I've been an ardent student of the self-development community since 2012. It wasn't until late in 2015 that I started getting the negative messages from key allies that fueled my ego with a burning desire to prove them wrong. Until that point, I'd been driven by the hunger to prove my self wrong about my inner doubts.

If you take the advice as intended, you're going to experience some negative emotions along the way through this is a book. That's a good thing. Hold onto those bad feelings, they will fuel your passion.

Interesting and humorous combined.

I enjoyed the way he used humor while telling the reader they aren't that good.

Gritty and realistic, necessary read

Refreshing and realistic, funny and fun filled. A gold way to get the feedback needed to get to the next level. Love the honesty in this book! 100% would recommend to those with a curious and insatiable thirst for success and self improvement.