Good Influence: Motivate yourself to get fit, find purpose & improve your life with the next bestselling fitness, diet & nutrition personal trainin

by Zac Perna

Find the motivation to live your best life and get into your best shape with social media influencer Zac Perna

Consider this your personal (and hilarious) road map to becoming a lean and happy good influence in your own life. Let's begin.

People worldwide know fitness guru Zac Perna for his informative, motivating, curious and very funny social media content. In this book Zac goes deeper, wider and more intimate than ever before. With lots of information about diet, nutrition, exercise and fitness, Zac also reflects on pivotal lessons he's learned about confidence, resilience and what it takes to create something tangible out of your dreams.

Zac has done the hard work so you don't have to struggle through the same journey. Drawing on his experience establishing a mega social media brand, a hugely successful fitness-coaching business and the Slouch Potato pyjama brand, and on his extensive health knowledge, Zac offers life lessons through intimately personal and at times unbelievable anecdotes that will make you laugh, reflect on your own life, then laugh some more.

If you want a new start, need a bit of encouragement or just want to be inspired, Good Influence is here to help you create healthy habits and become the very best version of yourself.

Genres: Nonfiction

304 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 1, 2023

Reviews

[Naomi Noor · Rating 3 out of 5]

“If we can learn this much from nothing, so can you. You just need to be able to take things one step at a time. Be patient. Ask experts to share their knowledge and be willing to learn everything you can about your chosen venture. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that.”

[Suzie B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zac hits the mark perfectly to his (young) target audience who want to live a healthy life. The book is broken into 3 parts: mental fitness, physical fitness and social media. The mental and physical elements embody much of the work written by many on these topics. I was curious as to what his social media section was about: it covers entrepreneurial issues as well the pitfalls and advantages of pursuing a successful social media profile. Zac has a young voice but his enthusiasm is boundless and as the title suggests, his intentions in writing this book is genuine and he truly hopes he is a good influence.

[Ethan Turney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Not that I got a huge amount out of it as its another self help book, focusing on the individuals achievements and personal practices that helped him obtain success, but as a memoir. Zac is intelligent, incredibly humorous, and I see a lot of similarities in our demeanour. For this, I find him likeable, relatable, and someone I could listen to time and time again.

This book is really great for those who know Zac, or at least know him as much as his social media following and youTube video vlogs - or even those who just want another perspective on self help. His concepts aren't new, but he made me laugh out loud a few times with his explanations through personal experience. For the times I have spoken with him, he's been a decent bloke, and this book proves he's a little different than the rest.

[Nicholas Condon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinda skimmed through half of the book because it didn’t seem that relevant to me (i.e. how to lose weight or pursue a successful career in social media) but I’m here there would’ve been good takeaways in there. The best parts for me were definitely the first section on mental fitness and how to train properly in the gym through mind muscle connection.

Key notes:

Morning routine - avoid phone, read, daily planning/goal setting, cold shower

Night routine - don’t eat within 2-3 hours of sleeping, read (an easier read), no phone at all

Don’t be afraid to chase what you really want and talk to people who are doing what you want to do.

Set huge goals. Forget them. Set smaller goals. Break them down into actionable, manageable items. If they’re not manageable, your goals haven’t been broken down enough. Put those items in your calendar or weekly planner.

Four mental skills:
- delayed gratification (endure short term pain for long term gain. Tie your ability to be patient and delay current desires for future rewards)
- resilience (continued search for pain to increase pain tolerance such as cold showers)
- discipline (simply taking action. Discipline is not questioning or doubting your WHY every day)
- flexibility (know when to ease off the accelerator to prevent drastic changes to mindset and productivity)

[Jack Veitengruber · Rating 5 out of 5]

To start off, I am a huge fan of Zac and got this book because I thought it would be a funny and somewhat knowledgeable book written by an “influencer” that I have followed throughout my fitness life. Let me tell you, this but is SO much more than that. Not only did I catch myself LOL-ing but this thing is packed with information regarding mental/physical health and how he (and you) can navigate the world of social media. This is all done in a way that doesn’t feel overtly textbook-y trying to jam tid-bits and what-to-do’s down your throat. Rather, this book is an amazing guide on methods that he utilizes to be his best self and informs you how you can to (again, it is done in a way that does not feel like your typical “self-help” book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

[GA Reville · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really, I would rate it 3.5 stars if Goodreads allowed the distinction.

I am almost certainly being far too critical of this than it deserves. Perna has certainly had a lot of good luck in his life, and as a result like almost all books providing advice based upon the authors experienced, is hard to generalise. It becomes in effect, a case study rather than a proscription.

And yet, despite his protestations to the contrary, I feel obliged to add that this extends to his physique. His purpose of the book seems a little confused, on the one hand he wants to discuss general fitness and the general benefits of ice baths, purpose on the other hand, and how to develop a stellar social media presence in the fitness and lifestyle space. I feel there are 2 books here to be addressed, although I must admit I enjoyed learning about how the social media side works, to which I hitherto had no idea prior.

I recommend listening to this as an audiobook, as Perna is engaging to listen to.

[Omar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very biased as I am a big fan of this man. However I went into this just to continue developing my habit of reading. Zac does a fantastic job of painting the roadmap to get to any goal by laying the fundamental principles he took, and more interestingly the mistakes he made a long the way. This has probably saved me from years to possibly a decade of wasting my time and energy on developing the wrong skills and habits. Really good read, especially if you're into improving yourself in any capacity. He mainly convers mental/physical health as well as social media. However, the stories and lessons here can be applied to any goal no matter the niche. Very funny, this book will crack you up as you read it.

[Farrells Bookshop · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zac hits the mark perfectly to his (young) target audience who want to live a healthy life. The book is broken into 3 parts: mental fitness, physical fitness and social media. The mental and physical elements embody much of the work written by many on these topics. I was curious as to what his social media section was about: it covers entrepreneurial issues as well the pitfalls and advantages of pursuing a successful social media profile. Zac has a young voice but his enthusiasm is boundless and as the title suggests, his intentions in writing this book is genuine and he truly hopes he is a good influence.

Read by Suzie

[TJ Ventre · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is perfect for people who hate reading. It has short chapters and is more of a conversation with Zac. He gives you an overview of what a ton of people go through whether you are a gym rat or an occasional gym exercise man/woman. Definitely recommend. There are 2 huge takeaways but I won’t say what they are and will let you figure that out.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book surprised me and was actually pretty good. Well intentioned, earnest, authentic. I mean, it’s not quite my style and it could have used a few more references but it was actually a good read. I feel weirdly emotional that I’ve finished it?

[Duncan Swann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very funny, very informative. If you want to get into exercise, dieting and social media domination, this is the book for you.

[Sokratis Lakrindis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was surprised how much I enjoyed this. Didn’t feel preachy or out of touch felt really insightful and honest

[Georgia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Valuable information inside and easy to listen and good humour throughout

[Nicole]

DNF - couldn’t get into it

[Lisa Burrington · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a fifty plus woman so not really the audience for this book so maybe my rating is not really fair. I did not learn anything new but I think a teenager or twenty something would really like it.

[Rachel Huxley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a good motivational book that I'll continue to read again and again.

[William Le · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy-to-read and authentic book! Highly recommend if you are looking for something that is not just another fitness book that's full of crap. Good Indfluence is is written by a guy like Zac who has been helping people both on a fitness, mental level and overall wellbeing level. Book is also affordable and ships with a couple of days! Cheers Zac for an amazing read!

[Brandon Power · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good advice here actually that exceeded expectations, he is clearly well read and his habits align a lot with other books. The attempts at humour are just a bit cringey.

[Lauren Hackwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read and full of information. The book was more tailored to complete beginners whereas that is not me. Was still a good read nonetheless.