The Art of Not Giving a Fuck

by Stephen Parato

The Art of Not Giving a Fuck holds a special place in my heart. It’s the culmination of so much knowledge, wisdom and experience I’ve acquired over the years.

It is for everyone, including myself. I feel it has truly empowering and actionable information that will most certainly enhance your life. I also find myself consistently applying more and more of what is discussed since I began writing this book. I hope this work sparks something within you. I hope it acts as a catalyst for setting you on the path of empowerment, becoming the best version of yourself, having fun, and spreading joyfulness to others.

Even though the title is “The Art of Not Giving a Fuck,” it’s deep, insightful, spiritual and ultimately rooted in love. This book is a “Trojan horse” of sorts, in the way that it conveys messages of empowerment and love in an unorthodox way.

I wrote this book because I believe it contains crucial messages that will enhance our experience of life. I struggled a lot with fear of all kinds until recently. I cared way too much about the opinions of others, and this suppressed my true essence. But through a lot of self-work, inner exploration, and self-improvement in every aspect of life, I feel liberated and empowered. I let my awesome out, no fucks given.

The Art of Not Giving a Fuck is a combination of my knowledge/wisdom/experiences, the knowledge/wisdom/experiences of others, and reverse engineering the mind-sets of people I deeply admire.

There is so much out there, so much to learn, so much to experience. This is my collage of applied knowledge; my mosaic of wisdom and experience. This is my gift to the world. And I present it to you with a big, beaming smile as I write this.

I wish you a life filled with peace, love, happiness, health, learning, and most importantly FUN.

“You gain nothing by being bothered by life’s events. It doesn’t change the world; you just suffer.” – Michael A. Singer

Enjoy yourself!

-Stevie P!

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Self Help, Psychology

69 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 21, 2014

About the author

I write to open your heart, blow your mind, and spark your soul.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought this in error thinking it was The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. It reads like a blog post.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new friend suggested that I read this book because I tend to care when it's painfully obvious that others don't. I now have a new perspective on my relationships and life.

[Francesca Catanuso · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads like a blog, very american, patriarchal, privileged white boy angst.
Spoiler alert.

I lost the message based on his tone- he gets caught for weed in high school and blames his parents divorce for his subsequent years of promiscuity and soul searching through international travel.

His general message is to prioritize what you DO care about it, which resonates (but little else does).

[Torie]

I got a little more than halfway through before I realized that I, too, was reading the wrong book. Loool. Honestly, I don’t think this was too bad, but the quotes made it a bit cheesy and I do feel like a lot of this is rehashing of common advice at surface level. I think it’s a good introduction to the topic of mindfulness and meditation and letting go etc etc, but I think it needs a little more meat and insight.

[H. Amirian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall it's a great read. I guess you can either love or hate the book based on what you have been through in life and whether or not you can connect to some of the points the author arises. Personally, I learned a lot. That being said, I have some problems with the "Entitlement" chapter. It should be given to people who think so highly of themselves to level them out. Otherwise, give it to a depressed individual and he will kill himself tomorrow. Because the very hope for something more keeps many people going.

I disagree with some Buddhism notions like "killing the self in you", the acceptance of failure or your current situation (awful as it may be) so that you can achieve a kind of freedom, to be more humble and not to feel special, etc. 

There are some purely materialistic notions in the book that begs the question of "So where does God fit in here?"

There are some contradictions between the chapters as well. 


BUT HELL YES, IT WAS WORTH MY TIME!

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book on the plane back from a conference. It is not a book that i would have picked up, however, it is definitely a book that i can highly recommend and agree on, after reading it and at times, laughing out loud on the plane. Good humor, straight to the point, no sugar coding, just a book that tells the reader stop giving “fuck, or shit” to things that dont matter

[Monika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay. Based only on the title, this book is not entirely what I expected. I had expected tactics to detach myself from caring about relationships to people and things that don't deserve or warrant the effort. And while, there's a bit of that in there too, it's more about how it's okay to not 'be okay' all the time.

It was surprisingly spot-on... it put into words, in a no BS way, some of the baffling behaviors that seem completely commonplace now and why our increasingly narcissistic world is increasingly unhappy. How everyone is expected to have only joyful/perfect exchanges, that giving up on anything difficult is completely fine, and rather than deal with hard truths it's perfectly acceptable to turn away from them or to deny they exist.

As if people were entitled to an easy life or to only follow their desires. An easy life becomes pretty unsatisfying if nothing is earned; if attachments are that easily detached. And desire generally doesn't work well as a justification or primary motivator.

I loved this (sort of) quote:
"...entitled people exude a delusional degree of self-confidence. This confidence can be alluring to others at least for a little while…. the problem with entitlement makes people need to feel good about themselves all the time, even at the expense to those around them.... any attempt to reason with them is simply a threat to their superiority ... entitlement closes in on itself in a kind of narcissistic bubble distorting anything and everything in such a way as to reinforce itself."

I felt vindicated reading this. I'm so glad it isn't just me that knows these people, and that its not my imagination that I'm seeing more and more of this behavior.

Parato presented this blunt content in a way that completely resonated with me. And aside from the (entitled?) feelings of vindication? I found it amusing, insightful and an extremely easy read.

[Chris Webber · Rating 4 out of 5]

My very good friend sent me this book. She knows me well, the perpetual worrier that I am. The contents of this book help! It is zen philosophy. I should probably pick up a zen meditation book and do it every morning for a more balanced, fulfilling life.

Second read. Of all the things in life I need to better learn, it is this. I care too much. I'm not a huge fan of embracing the reality of suffering because I'd like to think I am a change agent for helping to eliminate it. There are far too many people unaware and clueless about their own immediate suffering so in my own way I feel I need to carry the responsibility banner. I do myself a disservice by putting through a basic need to ignore balance in my approach.

Another thing this disappointment Panda picked up again. There is no happiness algorithm. Learning to let it flow and be is truly a life skill. I am going to head back into Eastern philosophies for a while as a reminder I'll be more at peace this way.

[Pamela Bayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a good reminder of what is already known. I would recommend this book for a young person, such as a college student.

[Melia Indra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let's be honest. Using the word fuck so many times in a book just gets old. Although this author has more than a few good points, his writing is basic and shallow.

[D.E. Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like to hand a copy of this to everyone I know, and everyone I do not know. This book could go a long way in helping people understand themselves and those around them. The approach is fresh, positive, and appealing to men (and women) in their 30s, I wager. I've had a lifetime of "working out my life" already, and this echoes other sound, therapeutic suggestions. There's no magic wand to wave away all the shit in life, but this is a great reminder to reserve your fucks given for things that really matter to you. As a bonus, I enjoyed listening to the narration while walking around the heath.

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book started out tongue in cheek. It started to worry me at first. I was asking myself if this guy really went around doing and saying whatever he pleased with no thoughts about who he hurt. That's usually called a narcissist. Then he got more serious and mature sounding.

I get what he is saying. Live your own life and stop giving a fuck about what others expect of you. Too many of us live in fear of what others will say. You are not responsible for anyone else's happiness but your own.

The exception being, if you have a small child. Make them happy: until they are grown up.

[Sammy Abdelhadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine the amount of fucks that you can give as a video game character's health bar. You have a limited amount of fucks, using each one of them eats at your energy level throughout the day and just a tad bit on your level of mental sanity.
The books helps you fathom this idea and really comprehend it, which is life changing as it reduces the amount of unnecesary stress you *put your self* in. (Highlighted for importance) Personally, i made some major decisions that shaped my life for the best after reading the book. Totally recommend.

[Susan Brearley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not sure who the intended audience was for this, but it wasn't for me. I suspect it's for a young male audience? A not very bright male audience? Even the young males I know wouldn't have much patience for this blather. Repetition in MANY ways made it impossible to even get through the first chapter.

[Fadel Alshaibani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, though i don't think i share some of the values he tried to promote in this book. There are values in life far greater than, just feeling good about yourself or doing things for your own benefit. I did learn some of the tricks the book promoted though.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read. Easy ideas. Good points. Loved hearing it on Audible, really gave it grits with the swearing. Metrics is my favourite chapter. Worthy read if you need to be reminded it's all just air and water. X

[℉₳ℨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Puts things into perspective - most of which you know and a reminder of the stuff you may have forgotten. The style
of writing made me giggle ..

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an EXCELLENT book. I plan to read it once annually to keep the theme in mind.

[Kathleen Waller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe the writing isn't 5 stars, but the message is and some of the stories are quite relevant especially to educators today.

[Hema Dahya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!

[Krysta · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not sure what all teh fuss is about....

[Lim Yi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read

[Madeline Frances · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not a self help book for the average person. Parato is a privileged male who started a blog on dating women..I had trouble relating to this book for many reasons.

[sachin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most practical approach towards life!

[Deb Mazonakis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nothing special as a book. It reminds me blog posts. Don’t bother buying it.

[Tom Weissmuller · Rating 2 out of 5]

This seems to be an attempt to make a buck off of a more popular book, “The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck”. The Subtle Art is the one you want to read. Neither are great.

[Aaron Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book. I've read it twice and it is a good one to read periodically to remind you to evaluate your goals and the metrics you use to evaluate your goals and values.

[Gail Griffith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sort of cute

[Gaze · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's just a series of obvious reminder what our point of view should be. nothing grandiose whatsoever.

[Clara Agustin Stephani · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is super good! I used to think about what others say about me but after reading this book my perception started to change