Your User's Manual: A Guide for Purpose and an Anxiety Free Life in the 21st Century

Stoicism for a Better Life #1

by Anderson Silver

What is the point? What is the purpose of life? Why must I suffer the stress, and anxiety that comes with it? Why does it all seem so hard and so unfair? If you have asked yourself any of these questions, then you have found the book you are looking for. There are answers to all of these questions and Anderson Silver has compiled teachings from Stoicism and other schools of thought in Your User’s Manual. This refreshing collection not only gives the reader much sought after answers, but also provides the tools for finding purpose, and living an anxiety-free life in the modern world. Meant as a light read that the reader can come back to and meditate on periodically, Anderson has done a wonderful job of condensing fundamental teachings, making Your User’s Manual a straightforward read in answering life’s most pressing questions and recognizing what is truly important.

Genres: Philosophy, Self Help, Nonfiction, Productivity, Death, Addiction

86 pages, Paperback

Published November 24, 2018

Reviews

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

After spending time reading the heavyweights like Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca, I was looking for a supplement to these Stoic greats and found this book. This book takes a modern outlook on Stoicism that appealed to me. It almost feels like the content was written just for me. I'm going to use this book in daily reflections and I've already been through it twice. It's not a long book but it can get someone up to speed on Stoicism in an hour. What you do from there is up to you but this book is fantastic.

[Monika · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up looking for a light positive read and I'm sure glad that I did.

Being someone who's lived with anxiety as long as I can recall I was drawn to this book because of the title. What can you teach me that I haven't already read in all of those self help books over the years? Well, apparently, a lot! It has changed my entire outlook on life. It contains some very valid and easy to understand points which helped me realize that life isn't as complicated as we make it. Anderson Silver managed to put the world into perspective for me in a way I had never really considered. And when you stop to think about it, it's so simple!

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a guiding light. I will definitely be keeping this one in my collection and going back to it regularly!

[Joey Two-Wolves · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great easy read with a meaningful message. Its something we all know but never put into practice. This book has helped me focus on whats really important in life.

[Anderson Silver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye opener

A super read that truly opened my eyes to the world around me. The series are a must read for anyone looking for purpose in life, or is looking to better manage or shed anxiety.

[Bo Stansell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple, Practical Guide to Stoicism and Stoic Practice

Anderson Silver does not mince words here. This is a concise and brutally honest guide for practicing stoicism. The directness is a breath of fresh air, and I look forward to periodically re-reading this.

[Vincenzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read! Very accessible and well worth the time and price.

[Seren · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read! Straight forward and concise, as of chapter 3 every chapter was mind blowing and eye opening.

[WilliaD · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has to be one of the most impactful books I have ever read, and yet it was so short (like Meditations). Loved it and changed my approach to life for sure. Everyone should read this.

[Zoë · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decided to purchase this book after listening to Anderson Silver’s podcasts on Stoicism. Silver certainly makes some valid points and is good at giving the reader a reality check, but I did feel that the book jumped about in places, as it seemed to flit from the words of Stoic philosophers to Buddhism to science about the universe to history lessons about WWII and Hiroshima without much structure. I’m also knocking off an extra star due to the spelling/grammar/punctuation errors which, while mostly small, were frequent enough within the book’s eighty or so pages to make me question whether it had been proofread properly.

Nevertheless, the book did a good job of hammering home the fact of our own mortality and how best to spend our daily lives, as well as making the excellent point that external circumstances are neither good nor bad, it’s our judgements alone that makes them seem that way. I won’t rule out reading the second and third volume of this series, but for now I’ll be diving straight into the writings of Marcus Aurelius and Seneca - Your User’s Manual did a good job of whetting my appetite for what the classic philosophers had to say.

[Olga · Rating 1 out of 5]

I never give books 1 star. They usually have something redeeming, you know? This one, though... I didn’t like this book’s approach. Most of the scientific stuff the author based his reasoning upon is just wrong. Like the entropy bit. I remember being so pissed about that bit.

[Cris Edwards · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful and accessible distillation of Stoic and Buddhist philosophies on living a tranquil and anxiety-free life. A quick read with a fair amount of sober wisdom. Kindle version had a few typos [missing or incorrect words] but that didn't distract too much from this lovely little book.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It definitely made me think differently and opened my eyes to a lot. It's helping me change the way I live to find purpose and live without anxiety.

[Sebastiam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic introduction to Stoicism!
I found "Your User's Manual" to be very simplistically written yet was able to touch upon very complicated aspects of life. Silver was able to mix many sources of knowledge (science and ancient teachings mainly) to provide a very coherent and very powerful message about what it means to live and how we should focus our time and energy in the short lapse of time called our life.
Despite being a short simple book, "Your User's Manual" will have long-lasting profound effects on any reader looking to find a greater meaning for their life while simultaneously decreasing anxiety!

[Phil Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book for bringing all the elements of stoicism into real life

I read the book after listening to Anderson Silver’s podcasts. I have listened to many podcasts and read many books on the subject of stoicism but the humility and authenticity of this one gripped me more than any other.

Anderson writes in a way that none Americans can enjoy. I find that many books on the subject are very much written with an American audience in mind and the examples etc don’t really resound with me as a non American.

I fully recommend Anderson’s books and podcasts as well as his website stoicismforabetterlife.com.

[Marco Morrone · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The universe does not owe you anything. The universe will do what it will, regardless of your hopes and wishes. Therefore, reason would dictate that you should not hope for things to be a certain way, as the outcome is out of your control. And since you are at the mercy of what fate will dish out at you, by hoping for a certain outcome you are negatively labeling any other outcome other than the one you wish for. And so more often than not you would be faced with a perceived negative outcome when in reality it is not. It just is.
Along with Memento Mori, the Stoics lived by Amor Fati: Love fate. Whatever happens, happens.”

Que sera, sera

[Darius Burinskis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Emotions -- neglected, for okay-ish reasons. Concepts from physics -- applied to philosophy, for arbitrary reasons.

Has a lot of nice quotes and is a quick little book, that might be worth rereading.

[Rónán Mac · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-written focus

I found this book to be a really good distillation of Stoicism and a focus for my own life. It's well-written, clear and was effective in what I was looking for.

[Robert Neve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for new Stoics

I like the author's podcast 'Stoicism for a Better Life' so decided to give the first book a shot. I enjoyed it. Probably the most quote highlights I have added to anything in my library.

[Karl Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought the book after listening to the author's podcast. Apart from the early chapter where he gets a bit detailed on the universe and phsyics, I found it really interesting and it lead me into a deeper expploration of Stoicism. Recommended.

[Darrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to shift their perspective.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recommend this book to people wanting to better their life.

[Leonie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could be more detailed but am rereading to get more out of it nonetheless.

A good simple explanation and guide to stoicism.

[Elai · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eye Opening

This book should be read by every single human being. A rule book on successful thinking, I learned so much:)

[Jakob Klærke · Rating 5 out of 5]

God til både begyndere og øvede

[Wesley LaSota · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply insightful. Something to come back and reread portions time to time when dealing with anxiety of mortality.

[Joana Cordeiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uma leitura tranquila

[Pxan]

Usually, I am not critical of books, hell most of my books have 4 stars or more. This one was different, this one made me angry. If someone is new to stoicism he may find relief in this book and the ideas that it contains, but for me this was not the case, the book is superficial, especially for a philosophy book meant to explain things, is not that the book is simple, is superficial. The author doesn't notice when buddhism and stoicism philosophy enter in conflict or when some ideas are only superficial or he doesn't have a complete understanding of them.

I give it 3 stars only because is a light and smooth read and the author is very humile in his opinions and suggestions.

[Aditya · Rating 5 out of 5]

A concise and straightforward breakdown of Stoic/Zen principles

Short and easy to read, with real-life and interesting examples to keep a seeker engaged enough to learn and absorb timeless teachings.