What do you think?
Rate this book
The Success Experiment: FlexMami's formula to knowing what you really want and how to get it
How would our lives change if we set our goals based on what would actually fulfill us, instead of what feels easy or achievable?
Lillian Ahenkan's hypothesis- anyone can create a unique formula for their own personal success. The one-size-fits-all approach to your best life is outdated - you can do better.
You don't have to be exceptional (or even the exception) to be successful. You just need to learn the algorithm. Through her own success experiment, Lillian transformed herself from a two-time uni drop-out stuck in a career that paid in burnout, into a highly sought-after media personality FlexMami. And here she shows that her experience hasn't been a fluke. Instead of focusing on what you can't change, spend your time hacking what you can - yourself. This formula combines what you know about yourself with what you know about society. The result? Getting what you really want.
(Via Bloomsbury)
Lillian Ahenkan's hypothesis- anyone can create a unique formula for their own personal success. The one-size-fits-all approach to your best life is outdated - you can do better.
You don't have to be exceptional (or even the exception) to be successful. You just need to learn the algorithm. Through her own success experiment, Lillian transformed herself from a two-time uni drop-out stuck in a career that paid in burnout, into a highly sought-after media personality FlexMami. And here she shows that her experience hasn't been a fluke. Instead of focusing on what you can't change, spend your time hacking what you can - yourself. This formula combines what you know about yourself with what you know about society. The result? Getting what you really want.
(Via Bloomsbury)
364 pages, Paperback
Published June 1, 2021
93 people are currently reading
753 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
November 15, 2021
I found it very interesting and useful in some ways, and totally not for me in others. I don’t think I am necessarily the intended audience. Flex is a great speaker and writer though.
October 3, 2021
I searched high and low to find a copy of this book and I’m glad I did.
How does Lillian take a simple concept and make it so attractive to her audience? She isn’t saying anything we don’t know and yet we just… eat 👏🏽 it 👏🏽 up 👏🏽.
The Success Experiment is a great book for many reasons.
Firstly, it’s designed beautifully. I love the character that the book has. For FlexMami fans, it feels like she has created something specially for you, and that in itself makes the book worth every cent.
Now, let’s look at the content.
In between the cool colours, fun fonts and engaging activities are insights to motivation, critical thinking and introspection that readers of all ages, but 20-somethings in particular, can really benefit from.
While reading it, the concepts that Lillian wrote about were nothing new, but it was explained in a way that I hadn’t heard before. On top of that, it was coming from a person who I genuinely respect and think is really cool (honestly, I feel like her and I would be really good friends, but I guess her 150k+ IG followers feel the same. I’m different, though. Pick me, Lil)
I also think that this book would be fantastic for anyone who’s going through a rough patch or a new chapter. The Success Experiment is a physical example of the ‘Teach a man to fish’ trope. It gives readers the tools to find the answers to its questions, without telling anyone how to think or feel, or what to do. Readers are given guidance and advice, while being encouraged to find their own way.
The book also rings true to a topic that is often spoken about on Lillian’s account- don’t ask her anything that you can Google. On the flip side, she also won’t give us anything that we can Google, and that is how you know that you’re getting something unique and truly insightful.
Finally, Section 1: Know Who You Are was fantastic. I LOVE personality tests and it was a great experience to learn about tools like the Johari Window to better understand myself and be able to share and express myself effectively to others.
I work in the development of a well-being program about building character and resilience at work, and found this section, and in fact the whole book to be well researched and aligned with professionals in the field like Martin Seligman and his work on positive psychology. A lot of these concepts and formulas also date back to ancient philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, in particular The Neomachean Ethics; which explores how success and virtue are learned through consistency, practice, and the adoption of good habits. Lillian also makes reference to other sources which shows that the text has been well researched.
Overall, I think that The Success Experiment will do a lot of good for a lot of people. I’m happy to see that this sort of text/concept has been put in such a bright, prominent light by our lord and saviour FlexMami. The devil works hard but Lillian Ahenkan works harder.
How does Lillian take a simple concept and make it so attractive to her audience? She isn’t saying anything we don’t know and yet we just… eat 👏🏽 it 👏🏽 up 👏🏽.
The Success Experiment is a great book for many reasons.
Firstly, it’s designed beautifully. I love the character that the book has. For FlexMami fans, it feels like she has created something specially for you, and that in itself makes the book worth every cent.
Now, let’s look at the content.
In between the cool colours, fun fonts and engaging activities are insights to motivation, critical thinking and introspection that readers of all ages, but 20-somethings in particular, can really benefit from.
While reading it, the concepts that Lillian wrote about were nothing new, but it was explained in a way that I hadn’t heard before. On top of that, it was coming from a person who I genuinely respect and think is really cool (honestly, I feel like her and I would be really good friends, but I guess her 150k+ IG followers feel the same. I’m different, though. Pick me, Lil)
I also think that this book would be fantastic for anyone who’s going through a rough patch or a new chapter. The Success Experiment is a physical example of the ‘Teach a man to fish’ trope. It gives readers the tools to find the answers to its questions, without telling anyone how to think or feel, or what to do. Readers are given guidance and advice, while being encouraged to find their own way.
The book also rings true to a topic that is often spoken about on Lillian’s account- don’t ask her anything that you can Google. On the flip side, she also won’t give us anything that we can Google, and that is how you know that you’re getting something unique and truly insightful.
Finally, Section 1: Know Who You Are was fantastic. I LOVE personality tests and it was a great experience to learn about tools like the Johari Window to better understand myself and be able to share and express myself effectively to others.
I work in the development of a well-being program about building character and resilience at work, and found this section, and in fact the whole book to be well researched and aligned with professionals in the field like Martin Seligman and his work on positive psychology. A lot of these concepts and formulas also date back to ancient philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, in particular The Neomachean Ethics; which explores how success and virtue are learned through consistency, practice, and the adoption of good habits. Lillian also makes reference to other sources which shows that the text has been well researched.
Overall, I think that The Success Experiment will do a lot of good for a lot of people. I’m happy to see that this sort of text/concept has been put in such a bright, prominent light by our lord and saviour FlexMami. The devil works hard but Lillian Ahenkan works harder.
March 22, 2022
This book is a mixed bag and I’m giving it a 3 right now, but that could change if I decide to revisit it in the future. For someone at a point in their life where they are ready to start achieving some big goals, I think this would be perfect but I’m just not there yet so a lot of it felt irrelevant. It also feels directed at people who need a little help with self-awareness.
To Flex’s credit, she writes as well as she speaks. She has a way of capturing your attention and bringing you with her, as well as making you think a little bit more.
I’m definitely going to turn to it again when I feel like I have some more concrete goals that I need some guidance I’m achieving.
To Flex’s credit, she writes as well as she speaks. She has a way of capturing your attention and bringing you with her, as well as making you think a little bit more.
I’m definitely going to turn to it again when I feel like I have some more concrete goals that I need some guidance I’m achieving.
November 28, 2021
I really, really wanted to love this book! I am 100% the target audience for this book, I love Flex so much, so I was super excited to read this. I felt the book wasn’t very well thought out, all the referencing was done really poorly, and it didn’t really bring any new ideas to the table. Some of the sections (like explaining all the personality tests) seemed like page fillers and the book overall just seemed as though it was trying to be an extended version of a reflex game but didn’t really hit the mark. As a huge self help reader I was soooo disappointed :(
October 27, 2025
I love Flex and self-help books and was super excited to read this, but felt it didn’t quite live up to the expectations I had based on the hype. Sections of it definitely resonated with me, helping me to reevaluate my current goals on a deeper level and consider success through a different lens.
I think it definitely could have been more succinct, especially the first half of the book where parts felt like page fillers. Sections throughout felt repetitive but I do understand it would be a very difficult topic to try to summarise in a linear manner. I felt like I had to read through quite a lot of ~words~ to get to the parts that I was there for (longest intro ever)!
While it wasn’t groundbreaking information, I think Flex did a good job of bringing this book together based on her personal experience, and you can take from it the parts that resonate with you. I think it would be best suited to teenagers/young adults as an entry to learning about goal setting and success/failure.
I think it definitely could have been more succinct, especially the first half of the book where parts felt like page fillers. Sections throughout felt repetitive but I do understand it would be a very difficult topic to try to summarise in a linear manner. I felt like I had to read through quite a lot of ~words~ to get to the parts that I was there for (longest intro ever)!
While it wasn’t groundbreaking information, I think Flex did a good job of bringing this book together based on her personal experience, and you can take from it the parts that resonate with you. I think it would be best suited to teenagers/young adults as an entry to learning about goal setting and success/failure.
January 8, 2022
If you haven’t done much personal reflection, this would be a great book for you! Anyone who has an interest in self-development and who has read a couple of books on it would likely already know a lot of the lessons and concepts, and therefore not find anything wildly new or groundbreaking.
That said, Flex is an excellent writer - she’s so authentic, funny and writes so matter-of-factly. I appreciate that she doesn’t bullshit you or sugarcoat anything, and the book aesthetic is divine!
That said, Flex is an excellent writer - she’s so authentic, funny and writes so matter-of-factly. I appreciate that she doesn’t bullshit you or sugarcoat anything, and the book aesthetic is divine!
April 20, 2022
Pros:
+ Awesome graphic design throughout, loved the colour scheme.
Cons:
+ Took way too long to get to the point. After dutifully completing every personality test and reflection question under the sun, the reward was just a simple goal-setting framework. This could have been a 5 page e-book to be honest. Or a nice poster.
+ Awesome graphic design throughout, loved the colour scheme.
Cons:
+ Took way too long to get to the point. After dutifully completing every personality test and reflection question under the sun, the reward was just a simple goal-setting framework. This could have been a 5 page e-book to be honest. Or a nice poster.
November 2, 2021
Flex has gone and done it! What a 1st book - no surprises here regarding the sublime quality of this read from the self-proclaimed critical thinking queen. Flex epitomizes what it means to be a millennial who goes after exactly what she wants with clarity and determination. The best part is this book imparts so much of her wisdom.
Check out my IGTV review if you want more spoilers @read.byestelle
Check out my IGTV review if you want more spoilers @read.byestelle
June 12, 2022
On one hand I enjoy the way flex writes and the format of the book was interesting, on the other I don’t really think this book says anything that hasn’t already been said. This would be a great starting point for someone who’s just starting to think about their life and what they want from it, but it just didn’t give me anything new.
January 14, 2023
I gave this book a 4 star review as there are things that this book taught me I’m yet to try. It was a great exploration into how to change our perspectives to achieve success. FLEXMAMI has a refreshing way of defining success that’s relevant to the individual. This book has taught me lots of new things that I will be coming back to in the future for reference.
October 15, 2021
Listened on audible since getting a copy in the US is difficult. I enjoyed the content and way Flex laid out her premise, but it would be much easier to take action and think about the prompts with a physical copy.
October 31, 2021
Didn’t love this book, nothing new here. I would suggest that this book is aimed at the Author’s followers, from her media presence. On the positives, it is a very practical guide (more than theoretical) and could be useful to a reader working through big changes in their life.
December 18, 2021
Didn’t make it all the way through this book as I wasn’t in a place where I had the time / headspace to critically engage in the activities! But I’ll return to it soon - I very much enjoyed the parts I managed to read.
Want to read
September 8, 2022Unreadable on kindle. Looks beautiful as paper book.
Ask why five times for a goal on paper to get to the real goal.
Set boundaries and expectations at the start to be successful.
As far as I can read it has a few helpful ideas and is well written.
Ask why five times for a goal on paper to get to the real goal.
Set boundaries and expectations at the start to be successful.
As far as I can read it has a few helpful ideas and is well written.
December 24, 2022
I love Flex’s conversational yet intelligent style of writing. Appreciated the way she broke everything down so comprehensively and provided relatable examples. But I also REALLY loved how aesthetically this book is, from every angle!
January 31, 2023
I'm clearly not the target audience. I found this pretentious in that it was trying so hard to be profound, but was just stating the obvious. The author clearly loves the sound of her own voice. Not for anyone over the age of 23.
August 1, 2023
Solid 3. Good stuff here and there but generic. Questions in here helped me but honestly it’s nothing mind blowing. Love her personality and style usually and thought it didnt come across as well as it does on her social media
August 6, 2021
Loved it!
November 1, 2021
I’m not the target demographic for this one, but geez I would have gobbled this up in my teens/twenties.
January 24, 2024
Potential re-read (with a notebook) if I feel ready to plan out to achieve some goals lol. Really applicable in some places, not so much in others. interesting takes though!
December 6, 2025
This was actually really good?????
August 25, 2022
I really enjoyed this book! I plan to read it again as I’d benefit from writing out and actioning things from it.
February 17, 2022
It was good! It was a self help but written by someone from this generation so I think that helped it to not be high and mighty and preachy. The writing was easy to understand and flowed well.
The personality types was an interesting approach, I liked the self reflecting questions in it, and definitely took a few pages of notes. It is one that I will have to go back to and refresh and to realign goals but I think it is set out easy enough that I can do that. I loved the graphics!!
I did struggle with getting through the last bit because I didn't have some specific goal in mind and it felt a bit repetitive- I know partly the point of the book was to figure this out but I read it at a very stressful, depressed time in my life.
The personality types was an interesting approach, I liked the self reflecting questions in it, and definitely took a few pages of notes. It is one that I will have to go back to and refresh and to realign goals but I think it is set out easy enough that I can do that. I loved the graphics!!
I did struggle with getting through the last bit because I didn't have some specific goal in mind and it felt a bit repetitive- I know partly the point of the book was to figure this out but I read it at a very stressful, depressed time in my life.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews