Never Play It Safe: A Practical Guide to Freedom, Creativity, and a Life You Love

by Chase Jarvis

Bestselling author and award-winning photographer Chase Jarvis offers a guide to rediscovering your true going beyond fear, trusting your intuition, embracing your authentic self, and creating a life you love.

In Never Play It Safe, Chase Jarvis challenges you to look at how you live.

Packed with stories of the world’s top performers, ordinary people who have created extraordinary lives, and surprising insights from the author himself, this book is your practical guide to building the life you desire. How? By using these seven key tools already within

• Attention

• Time

• Intuition

• Constraints

• Play

• Failure

• Practice

If you’re tired of feeling afraid or lost, take heart. Never Play It Safe will help you reclaim that playful part of yourself in service of your dreams.

Your life is the ultimate creative act. Don’t settle for safety.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Self Help, Productivity, Personal Development, Philosophy

256 pages, Hardcover

Published October 8, 2024

Reviews

[Jeno · Rating 1 out of 5]

It feels like those podcasters hand-fed a new genre of books about success - full of struggles (of course) and lots of motivational speeches presented in stories of Helen Keller, Oprah, Mandela, Gandhi, Jefferson and even Rasputin. Pick yours, the story doesn't change.
It gets dried, overly dramatic ("I have built the company to teach everyone" turns quickly "pandemic was the best time to sell it"), lots of blunt assumptions about other people's biographies.
It is messy, it is mushy and it has little taste.
It is 'chok' like in that favorite movie of mine, and that's not a good comparison.

Why did it buy it?
Rich Roll invited him for an interview.
He obviously thinks his story is any different.
Or that the 'steps' he gave are something actionable beyond the 'feel good' warmness inside.
Sorry folks, it is very... standard, a motivational brochure you will find in your local store for a month after it disappears from the shelves into the cold walls of their warehouse.

[CatReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chase Jarvis (b. 1971) is an American photographer who also founded an educational streaming platform that I've never heard of, CreativeLive (which you've probably never heard of either, as it no longer exists; Jarvis had been the CEO of this company but got laid off in 2022 after CreativeLive was acquired by Fiverr). Based on these credentials, and with his newfound free time, Jarvis decided to write yet another edition of the generic "go follow your passions/be boldly daring" self-help books in the form of 2024's Never Play It Safe.

There's unfortunately not much original about this book. Jarvis' own testimony for never playing it safe is quite weak -- he talks about how he went from a prestigious medical career (safe) to photography (daring), when in fact he never even matriculated to medical school and his higher education ended with a bachelor's degree in philosophy. He heavily throws in other inspirational stories from people we've probably all heard of throughout the book for padding. Overall this seems like a vanity project for the author.

My statistics:
Book 53 for 2025
Book 1979 cumulatively

[Abbie Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dude-bro wrote a creative-inspo book where he got to name drop all the important people he knows. Also, he got to use himself as a shining example of how to live your fullest, most creative and fearless life. (It helps when you’re sitting on millions from the sale of a company.)

Truthfully, I AM more inspired than when I started the book. There were some good nuggets. But in all, the name dropping was distracting and I felt like the content lost direction about halfway through.

[Jake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do you feel adrift in your life, complacent and following the current as it takes you down the “safe” path of least resistance? This book is an invitation to reorient your mindset so that you can start furiously paddling towards the things that make you feel most alive and fulfilled.

The book is structured around 7 core “levers”: attention, time, intuition, constraints, play, failure, and practice. Each of these levers is a mental reframe intended to help you reorient toward living a life that is creative, fulfilling, and meaningful - regardless of what you decide that means specifically for you.

Chase is no stranger to this playing this inner game and his credentials as a creative entrepreneur make it abundantly clear that this stuff works. Obviously, luck and chance play a massive part in any successful endeavor. But these seven levers help you to create the conditions so that when opportunities arrive in life, you are fully prepared to take advantage of them.

Chase shares a lot of stories of both success and failure in applying these levers to his own life and career. He writes in a humble, conversational style that doesn’t sugarcoat details in an attempt to embellish his own reputation. The audiobook is narrated by Chase and he did a solid job with the reading - if you’re an audiobook person, I’d highly recommend it.

This is a book about trusting the process, trusting yourself, and not playing it safe. It’s a book that I really needed at this point in my life. I’m incredibly grateful that Chase took a chance on writing it instead of taking the “safe” path. It’s too early to say if it’s going to change my life, but it’s certainly changed my mind.

[knspillane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some solid ideas, but not a ton of substance.

Pros: The seven levers are good anchor points, will revert back to these:


“• Attention-Your human superpower, and the first step toward a life you love, requires that you learn to skillfully direct your attention and keep distractions at bay. Your experience of life is what you focus on, and all of this can be entirely of your choosing.

• Time —Despite what we've been told, time is not some uniform conveyor belt moving us closer to our death every day. You've had the experience of time expanding and contracting based on what you're doing, how you're doing it, and who you're with.
Flow states and all the time to do as you choose are readily available and well within your reach.

• Intuition-Trusting your gut is the most valuable tool you've been taught to ignore. Until now. Get ready to burn the standard-issue map to success (whatever that means) and instead to live by your own inner compass.

• Constraints-The world places limits on us, but it's the limits and constraints we apply to our own lives that give us a massive advantage when it comes to unlocking a bold and creative life. In many cases, you'll learn to leverage the very thing that's been holding you back.

• Play-It's not board games, glue sticks, and glitter, and it's definitely not just for kids. Relish in remembering that play is the engine of life.
Recapture the joy and energy in everything you do to drive better outcomes and put everything into a broader perspective.

• Failure—It's time you completely reimagine failure as a stepping-stone to success. This isn't a trite phrase with a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Life isn't about avoiding mistakes-it's about recovering quickly and learning to trust yourself again and again.

• Practice-The sum of all these parts: practice is the art of consistent action. Thinking about what you want is not enough. The actions that make up your days will shape your life into what it ultimately becomes, so what and how you practice matters.”


Cons: Mostly the author’s personal examples, which are not often the most relatable, and a lot of quoting others. (Started to feel like name dropping TBH.)

[Victoria Linares · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel that this book was more an autobiography than a self-help book. It started very interesting and at some point, he just started to drop too many names and stories about some other people that personally, it was just too much. It seemed that a good part of the book was extra.

However, when the author was actually talking about the self-help part of the book I did enjoy it. It took me a couple days to read the book, but now I feel that some of the things that he said about finding yourself and enjoying life is actually pretty accurate depending on the perspective of the reader.

Personally, some of the things that he mentioned are things that I feel I can start practicing and I believe that some of the layers that he described during the course of the book are important in our daily life, and we should remember them a little more often.

[Jill Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t want to read this book

I’m not even sure why I bought it. I bought an earlier book of the author’s, and even gave it as a gift to a student of mine who was a burgeoning photographer. I think I bought it because I heard a podcast interview with Chase and bought it on a whim. But then (after the election) I thought, “Why bother?” I didn’t want to hustle any more. I didn’t want to hear any more rah-rah-you-can-do-it BS. But then something shifted, not sure what, and I opened it back up and started reading. It was a lovely book, and both the beginning and the end will likely be one of my go-to “pep talks” I turn to when things get hard in the future. The whole book is personal, sweet and practical. I especially liked the chapters on attention, failure and practice, but have also thought a lot about play. Who knows? Maybe my dream project starts here. Maybe now is the time to start paying attention, think about time in whole new ways, work within (the right) restraints, think about failure differently and really come into my own through practice. For the first time in awhile, I’m optimistic about what could be next.

Thanks Chase.

[Jesse · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were a few good nuggets here and there, but a lot of those nuggets are things that I’ve already read from other places (Atomic Habits, essentialism, even Chase’s other interviews from his YouTube channel.

I don’t feel like Chase did a good job of connecting the dots between lessons he learned in his life as a successful CEO, to lessons I can apply in my own career. I don’t think most readers can relate to the demands of venture capitals that fund your company; or owning multiple homes; or the value of having a cold plunge pool in their backyard.

I’ve enjoyed watching a lot of Chase’s interviews over the years; but this book just feels very out of touch.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jarvis offers a surprisingly a fresh, motivating framework for avoiding a life playing it safe

[Scott Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book with advice and strategy for overcoming fears (playing it safe) to pursue passion (never play it safe)
Main points of the book 'Never Play It Safe' by Chase Jarvis:
If you 'play it safe', which means not taking risks, you will not achieve your potential (not even close) and leave you unfulfilled.  Playing it safe generally has you ignoring your true purpose, not pursuing your passion.  Playing it safe is about fear, so you never leave your comfort zone.  If you 'Never Play It Safe', you use your abilities and experiences (your tools) to pursue what you want and how you want to be, to fulfill your potential, to be happy with your life. Along this path it is important to get in touch with and not ignore your intuition.  The book has seven chapters which present 7 concepts to adopt in order to live boldly, not succumb to self-limiting fear, and not succumb to other's opinions of what we should or should not do or be.  

1. Attention - the ability to focus your attention is the main key to success. Mediation is a recommended practice to train your brain to focus. Mindfulness is a key to attention focus - taking time to be present in the moment rather than constantly distracted is fundamental to attention focus.
2. Time - we make time for what is important.   Be intentional with your time as well as your attention.
3. Intuition. - be still, be quiet, listen to and trust your intuition.  Feel the alignment that comes with your intuition - inner peace.
4. Constraints - Constrain to re-train.  Constrain your focus to be specific; constrain your ideation process.  Introduce new constraints, self-imposed constraints. We default first to using prior experience, then to what we have seen before, as our default thinking. However, if we discard the default constraints and put in task specific constraints, together with resource constraints. we can limit the breadth of considerations and focus on depth.  Chase Jarvis lists 4 types of constraints:  Self-imposed constraints like time boxing, External constraints, perceived constraints, and environmental constraints   
5. Play - spending time playing is critically important for our overall health, especially mental health, and our creativity.
6. Failure - Failure is key to progress and growth.  We grow more from what we learn through failure than from success.  Don't be afraid to fail, and when failure happens study it in detail to learn as much as you can from each failure, then apply the learnings to your next endeavor.
7. Practice - intentional practice is what is important, not just repetitiveness.  Focus on the basics - you can't make extraordinary achievements without having the basics so well practiced that they are second nature.  

Exercise to get started: Every day for 30 days write down what you want and how you want to be.  Refine it as you go.  Then work on strategy and planning to start pursuing your passion.

[Kevin Stecyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly Recommend Never Play it Safe

This book is aimed at those who are time billionaires--that is, those with a billion seconds or thirty one years of runway ahead of them. If I am lucky, I am still part of that club, though I may not be. In other words, I am older than his target audience.

Chase Jarvis's book is part inspiration, part memoir, and part therapy.

In the inspirational part of the book, Jarvis ping pongs amongst the various people he has read about or met. For those that are younger side of his target audience, they may not know about the author Patricia Highsmith. In fact, his audience may not know many of the people he mentions. One person I was pleasantly surprised to see mentioned in his book is Jia Jiang, the author of a book that I recommend Rejection Proof. The problem with his ping pong approach is that each person he mentions likely has a lot to teach others, though Jarvis just highlights one aspect of their lives.

As an aside, I highly recommend Patricia Highsmith's novels and her biography Patricia Highsmith: Her Diaries and Notebooks 1941 — 1995.

As Jarvis moves throughout the book, he dips into stories about his personal life. For those not familiar with his life story or accomplishments, he has led an interesting life. I give him much credit for his accomplishments. He strikes me as a methodical, curious, intelligent, and determined person. Perhaps what I like most is willingness to appreciate others for their unique skills and personalities.

Life can be challenging at times for all of us, including someone as accomplished at Jarvis. At times, he revealed some of his challenges and how he overcame them. I got the impression that writing this book was a cathartic experience in that he was able to express himself.

The one overarching impression is that Jarvis wanted to share all that he has learned and experienced. He appears widely read and has met so many different people, so his challenge was to convey all that information in one book. For those starting their creative or entrepreneurial journey, Jarvis provides more than enough material for your own deeper dives into topics that interest you. And for those who have already traveled through a good portion of their lives, Jarvis challenges you to assess your current lifestyle and habits.

Overall, I recommend this book, especially to those who are younger and are ready for forge their own path through life.

[Teronie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jarvis’ book powerfully confirms the path I am already on. If anything, it served as a push to go even harder—embracing the risks, trusting my instincts, and staying committed to my vision. I'm building something unique, and "Never Play It Safe" reinforces that the unconventional path is often the most rewarding.

Chase Jarvis’ Never Play It Safe is a bold call to reject conventional thinking, embrace creativity, and take risks to build a fulfilling life and career. Jarvis, known for his book Creative Calling and his work as a photographer and entrepreneur, argues that playing it safe often leads to mediocrity, while calculated risks and bold action lead to success and personal fulfillment.

Key Themes:
Risk as a Catalyst for Growth
Jarvis emphasizes that avoiding risk is the surest way to stagnate. He encourages readers to take strategic risks that align with their values and goals rather than waiting for the “perfect” time.

Creativity in Every Aspect of Life
The book reframes creativity as more than just an artistic endeavor—it’s a way of thinking that applies to business, problem-solving, and personal development. He argues that innovation and success come from embracing a creative mindset in all aspects of life.

Identity and Mindset Shift
Much like James Clear’s Atomic Habits, Jarvis emphasizes the importance of identity. If you want to succeed in a field, you must first see yourself as someone who belongs in that space.

Action Over Perfection
A major theme is the power of starting before you feel ready. Many people hesitate due to fear of failure, but Jarvis argues that real progress happens when you take action, iterate, and adjust along the way.

Overall a very solid read.

[Mickey Holiday · Rating 5 out of 5]

iG MickeyHoliday MUST read

This was truly an extraordinary read, reminding me of a dear friend I served alongside during my time with the Marine Corps. Rather than following the conventional path of higher education or routine jobs, he chose a life of exploration—working in tea houses, bartending, and embarking on countless adventures abroad. To this day, his journey sounds almost unbelievable when shared, yet his willingness to embrace risk and discomfort has made him one of the three self-made millionaires I am privileged to know. This book beautifully underscores a powerful truth: comfort, especially when it keeps us from reaching our potential, can be one of the most perilous traps in life.

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chase Jarvis's Never Play It Safe is a letdown for anyone hoping for actionable insights; while his podcast is engaging, this book feels like a relic of the late '90s, offering cliché self-help platitudes followed by an overload of random examples without any real depth or structure.

I was excited to dive in, but I quickly abandoned it due to its lack of valuable content and clear steps to implement the ideas presented. Instead of fresh perspectives, I found myself wading through familiar concepts that simply didn't resonate in today's context. Perhaps some readers might find value in it, but I left feeling underwhelmed and uninspired—no love lost on Chase, though; I’ll stick to his podcasts for my creative fix. Overall, I’d rate it a 'whomp'whomp' 3.2/10

[Paul Pichugin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly decent book, but it is definitely written from a very privileged point of view. I've been a bit of a fan of Chase since I first came across his photography work many years ago, I participated in some of the first online sessions of CreativeLive and loved those.

This book purports to be about taking risks and going all in on your dream... which Chase has done, but kind of glossed over that, most of it is written about after he has already had massive success. It seems like it would be somewhat easier to take "risks" knowing you have a very sizable financial safety net.

Anyone just starting out may find some value in this book, I read it along side the audiobook and enjoyed it.

[Danielle LeBlanc · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up to 5/5...i usually have a hard time rating self-help-eqsue books above a 3 or 4 because in my experience they tend to be prescriptive and lack authenticity (tbf i'm no expert picker). i don't know if i'm just reading this at the right moment in my life, but the advice Chase gives in this book hit different. my ratings in the 4-5 range are reserved for books that have had a deep, meaningful impact on my life and led me to rewire my way of thinking and being in the world. this book did that. simple and compelling, a helpful nudge to get out of my comfort zone more often & trust my intuition, always. will probs be journaling and chewing on this for a while.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started and stopped this one several times. Jarvis has an astonishing life. He has done more than you or I will ever imagine! But about half way through I started to feel less compelled by the life he is prescribing. While appreciate the concise chapter titles and organization, that was not enough to keep one’s attention. Agree chapters share some meaningful stories, but like most creative non-fiction the momentum fades quickly. I like the last chapter and wish the rest was written with similar voice and urgency. Unfortunately medium.

[Cyndie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chase Jarvis’s Never Play It Safe is a no-nonsense reminder that creativity thrives when you take risks, push boundaries, and fully embrace the unknown. His writing is both practical and empowering, encouraging us to step outside of our comfort zones and challenge the status quo. This book is a powerful call to action and a highly recommended read for anyone willing to embrace discomfort in pursuit of bold, meaningful work.

[Etienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Halfway between philosophical thinking and self-help book, Never Play It Safe, provide simple, but helpful and interesting insight about how to make decision in life that will help you orientated it in the direction you want, that being something like a more simple one, a more joyful one or a more meaningful. You can take those advices and apply them to your life goal. Better than I thought and worth reading!

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listen.
This book got five stars as it resonates deeply with me. It is extremely authentic and intentional, and that is what I want to be. I value those traits and feel like I have been hiding them for too long under people pleasing and caring what others think.
So I’m going to have to listen and read this one many more times. It belongs in a “core” set of books for me, with Essentialism at this point.
Very real, very insightful.

[Logan Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book came at the right time in my life, and I’m very grateful. It’s written with raw intention, good spirit, and the right balance of fun. It’s not prescriptive, but more like a tool box. Except you already have all these tools available to you, and the book is a gentle reminder on how to use them effectively. 5/5 stars

[Lisa Zinna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good quality advice that I
come to expect from Chase Jarvis. Lots relatable stories and many I’ve not heard before. Learned a lot about his personal journey, fails, and wins. Very inspiring, with a solid set of guidelines. I read it with myself and my son in mind and it really is a formula that works for any area you’re trying improve/start.

[Kevin Sandell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must read for anyone wanting to live life adventurously. This isn't a book about taking cold showers, jumping off waterfalls, or starting a vegan diet, but rather equips you to fail (and fail often), practice what you want to achieve, and how to do the verb better. Whatever your dream is, Chase's book will equip you to live a deeper, "unsafe" life.

[David Petersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really struggled to finish this book. The author was constantly name dropping and quoting others. I love the message of authenticity and trying to improve and to trust your intuition but overall the book fell very flat. Too much chest pounding and not enough reality

[Vincent Noel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will read it again and again, inspiring. I believe the words in this book can help you focus and seize your moment as marshal matters would say ( eminem). So many thumbs up to the author ! A guide to live your life not just spectate it!

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the first half better than the second half. There was more heart in it and then the tone changed in the second half. Maybe it’s just me and I liked the topics better in the first few chapters 🤷🏼‍♀️

[Margaux · Rating 3 out of 5]

A big thanks to Chase Jarvis, the author, Harper Business, the publisher, and Goodreads for the opportunity to read Never Play It Safe: A Practical Guide to Freedom, Creativity, and a Life You Love in physical form thanks to winning it in a giveaway. I will post my review to Amazon and Barnes & Noble as well. I think the cover is nice and clear, the font conveys the title clearly and the color scheme is good.

This book is focused on seven core levers as outlined by Jarvis, including attention, time, intuition, constraints, play, failure, and practice, and he uses each of these to give some anecdotes, practical insights, and simple calls to action in order to change our behavior and most importantly, our thought processes. His advice is grounded in his own experience, even though it feels specific to his situation and may not apply to everybody. The author feels very genuine and honest in the tone, and I appreciated the concise and to-the-point writing, considering the subject matter. I'm not sure someone starting from zero will find this as helpful as someone who is already in a degree of financial and personal security. Despite all of this, I still found a lot of good information and useful thoughts throughout, including the always-needed reminder that creativity is as much work as it is inspiration. There's so much in this book that will be helpful to someone looking to take risks in their life and career and embrace something new in their lives. It's easy to fall into what feels safe, and this book can help jolt you out of it.

[Christian Benedict · Rating 4 out of 5]

The chapter on focus was excellent. Some of the other chapters were pretty clear. The good chapters are very good, the bad chapters are nothing new.

[Ronald J. Pauleus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insights and stories. Good “levers” to use.

“Successful leaves clues.”

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am allergic to motivational books like these, but my therapist insisted I read this one because it had tips on how to slow down time (or the perception of time, which I stress about constantly). The author does discuss attention and how to focus it toward the things that matter, which is important when it's so easy to scroll for hours. Other than that reminder, I didn't find a lot to latch onto in this book.