The Sh*t They Never Taught You: What You Can Learn From Books

by Adam Ashton, Adam Jones

Have you ever stumbled upon a piece of life-changing knowledge that made you why the hell didn't someone tell me this sooner?!Millions of people have listened to Adam and Adam on the What You Will Learn podcast, where they have spent tens of thousands of hours studying the best ideas from the greatest minds on the planet. Their most frequently asked what is the best lesson you've come across? While you'd think a simple question would have a simple answer, it didn't - until now!The Shit They Never Taught You will take you on a journey through takeaways from over a hundred of the world's greatest thinkers capturing lessons in personal development, career, business, personal finances, human nature, history, and philosophy. Every lesson will be useful, and one might change your life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology, Business, Personal Development, Education, Productivity

762 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 18, 2021

Reviews

[Meghan Valeriani]

Does anyone know why this book is so pricey? really want to read it but apprehensive in spending $50 on a book that isn't a textbook.

[Ian D · Rating 2 out of 5]

Μισείτε κι εσείς τα βιβλία αυτοβοήθειας; Εγώ νομίζω πως αγαπώ να τα μισώ αλλά στην προκειμένη περίπτωση, έπεσα θύμα πλάνης. Είχα ακούσει για το podcast What You Will Learn - εννοείται πως το ίδιο το podcast όχι, διάβασα στην περιγραφή ότι ήταν σαν μια ζουμερή περίληψη 100 και βάλε βιβλίων, λέω εδώ είμαστε! Ο θείος Adam κι ο θείος Adam μπορεί να έχουν καταπιαστεί με τα βαρετά τα οικονομικά και Πώς να γίνεις ο τέλειος μάνατζερ και CEO σε μια βδομάδα αλλά θα πιάσουν και κάνα βαριό κουλτούρικο, μη διαβάζουμε τώρα στα γεράματα το Αναζητώντας το Χαμένο Χρόνο. Αλλά φευ! Προυστ πουθενά!
Με ιντρίγκαρε κι ο τίτλος βέβαια. Προφανώς κρύβω μέσα μου ένα εξάχρονο γιατί μη δω κι εγώ τίτλο με shit, fuck και ass, αμέσως να πέσω. Τέλος πάντων...

700+ σελίδες για την οργάνωση των οικονομικών, του χρόνου, τις μπίζνες, τη φιλοδοξία, το στρώσε τον κώλο σου και δούλεψε κι άλλα τέτοια χαριτωμένα. Εννοείται ότι αναφέρεται αποκλειστικά σε δουλειές γραφείου και σε content creatorζ - διάβαζε ΓιουΤούμπερ (γιατί φυσικά - οικοδομή, χωράφι και καφετέρια δε δούλεψε ποτέ κανείς), γι' αυτό να περιμένετε αγαπημένους όρους όπως corporate, productivity και synergy. Α, και entrepreneur! Εντρεπρενέουρ σας έχω πολύ. Αναμενόμενα αμερικανοκεντρικό (αν και οι δημιουργοί είναι Αυστραλοί) - πιστωτικές κάρτες, φοιτητικά δάνεια, υψηλοί μισθοί, χαμηλοί φόροι, αγοραπωλησίες ακινήτων, πολύ white, male privilege κι όλα τα συναφή. Δηλαδή στην Ψωροκώσταινα πόσο να είναι relevant;

Κάποια βιβλία που προτείνει τα έχω ήδη διαβάσει (δυστυχώς - και δεν μπορώ να πω πως τα ξανασυνάντησα με μεγάλη χαρά), τα περισσότερα είναι συγκινητικά προφανή και χιλιοϊδωμένα και γενικά, εισέπραξα μια τάση Γίνε παραγωγικός και πλούσιος, εγώ θα σου πω, κάτι που στα 20 μπορεί και να μου διέγειρε την περιέργεια αλλά στα 40 καθόλου.

Πιάνει και ολίγην από ψυχολογία και ιστορία, βέβαια - και να ο Harari, και να ο Pinker κι ο Jordan Peterson - αλλά είχα ήδη βαρεθεί προς το τέλος κι επιπλέον, δείχνει και τις προτεραιότητες των δημιουργών. Πρώτα τα λεφτά και μετά το ευ ζην. Με λίγα λόγια, μετριότατο.

Τελειώνοντας, αναρωτιέμαι γιατί να ασχοληθεί κανείς με ένα απλό copy-paste μερικών bullet points από έργα τρίτων, καλά ή κακά. Ωραία ιδέα το podcast αλλά να εκδώσω άμα είναι κι εγώ βιβλίο γκουμούτσα με τα αγαπημένα μου τσιτάτα, να ξεστραβωθεί ο κόσμος, να βγάλω κι εγώ κάνα φράγκο.
Βρε λες; Θα το πω The Sh*t They Never Taught You About Reading Sh*t They Never Taught You κι ας μου στείλουν το Νόμπελ Λογοτεχνίας σπίτι, δεν παρεξηγώ...

[Sally Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised by the number of books discussed in this that I've already read. I managed to put together a great reading list from the ones I haven't. If you like books and like learning things, add this one to your list.

[Adam Ashton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Without doubt - the best book I’ve ever read

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unique contribution to the genre of self-improvement. This book draws on the underlying principles that run throughout hundreds of books, and distil them into digestible lessons. The authors are very readible and funny. You’re not having to grind through slabs of text to get to the one or two good points (as is the case with most books in this genre)
Well worth the bit extra cost. Plus is a beautiful book to have on the table or bookshelf

[Peta · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book may be slightly helpful for you in you are a privileged, white, heterosexual male who needs a pump up of your ego and a bit of motivation. I really tried to get through this book but the blatant fat phobia, toxic masculinity and quotes from Donald Trump as inspiration are harrowing. Let alone the confusing layout and writing style of this book. I would not recommend.

[Kris Sokoloff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to just pick up and read randomly. Wisdom from world thought leaders and entrepreneurs. Looks great on my coffee table

[Prakhar Tripathi]

I want to start reading it again

[Izabella Vittoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book I decided to read from start to finish in many years and I’m glad I did! It has motivated me to continue reading and shed light on many different topics. Whilst some chapters felt slightly redundant and a bit painful to read through at times, I feel they may be areas I’d come back to read when I’m at a different stage later in life 😌

[Esther Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

deep insights

Love this book, was a bit pricy but well worth it as it contains lessons for living. Definitely a yearly read

[Harold Cane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Legen...dary.
Level up your life with this behemoth of a book.

[Phantom_fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked this book. It was well done. No wasted text. Great information and inspirational. I recommend it.

[Ligia Bonetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true compilation of great books and theories in short versions, which serve as a bible for extraordinary reminders of how to stay moving, getting the best out of life. I loved the way they did each chapter short, referencing the book and author, most importantly to the point of each wise point. Kind of the cliff notes of the best books of self help, life changing techniques, personal and professional wisdom experiences and trends, business and philosophy of this century … etc. All lessons to cherish and never forget. An ideal book to always carry with you.

[Nic Lishko · Rating 4 out of 5]

An incredible amount of jam packed cliff note wisdom. Only a few absolute stinkers I wouldn't touch, but the vast majority of the books I need to read. Audiobook had bonus books and was a ton of fun!

[Jon A · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of knowledge to start your self development!

[Maya Mihajlovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book + great podcast with key takeaways from the best non fiction books. Really authentic and relatable

[Riko Riko · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book through a recommendation from a respectable graphic designer, and I blindly bought it without doing my own research.
This books is just a collection of brief summaries of other self help books.
And the authors’ emphasis on how much effort, time and money they spent to produce this book was disturbing.

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I swear this book is contained in the title: what you can learn from books, because it has mini chapters from every self help book I’ve read and it’s gorgeous.

It’s effing long but the advice is high quality and interesting and it’s basically a summary of many self help books, why read those when you can just read this?

It’s insane, seriously read it, it’s fact advice that they don’t teach you in school, in relationship, at the work place, it’s super accurate and thought through.

I truly can’t recommend it enough.

[Lily · Rating 2 out of 5]

I commend the writers for their idea of compiling different ideas from self books. You can definitely tell that this was their passion project.

However that is where the compliments stop. This book is difficult to read. The language used was of that of year 10 students trying to reach their word count. It is difficult to trust self help authors that I felt didn't truly understand what they were writing and/or lacked the words to iterate their ideas cohesively.

If you don't enjoy very colloquially written self help books you definitely would not enjoy this one.

[Chitra Saraswati · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this after listening to their podcast (What You Will Learn).

Context: I was hesitant to listen to the podcast after a friend recommended it because I didn't believe in book summaries--spoken, written, or otherwise. I believed summaries substituting actually reading the text was just another sad byproduct of our productivity-fetishizing economy. But after listening to quite a few episodes on books I've read but forgotten, books I've wanted to read but haven't gotten around to, and books I "should" read but really had little interest in actually reading (*coughs*Richest Man in Babylon*coughs*), I was won over. Ashton and Jones are doing some really valuable work here by distilling the books featured on their podcast with great intelligence and humour.

Sure, most of the content in this book they've gone over on their podcast episodes, but to have it all laid out in front of you, in a tangible copy, is equivalent to the feeling I have in preferring hard copies over an audiobook. I don't think I'd pay the AUD60 for my own copy (a library copy suits me just fine), but I'm really glad I got to experience it.

And maybe, just maybe, I've been convinced that life is too short to slog through books you're not really interested in.

[Johnnysbookreviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Encyclopedia of information from great minds. The ideas are from great books around the world, and covers a lot of topics. It opened up beautifully, and I had to buy it. My first book I bought in 2021. The authors have three ways for you to read the book. For me, I chose the way to not read the book cover to cover. Wouldn't be able to do that in this book. Too much information to digest for me to do that. I would have to read one idea or chapter once per day. Digest it, apply it, and move on to the next one.
Its cool with this book that I can learn so much. I love it. I consider it a finishing reading book and will put it in my done pile. However, there is a lot of coming back to and will do since I bought the book. I dont buy books, so this is telling you something that you should get the book. I got the Kindle version, and this helped me save $30. Lets get it.

Update: books have the topics never taught in schools. These are some of the lessons from those books.

[Anastasia Alén · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually don't like books that nitpick information and summarize it for you. I did enjoy this one though because it summarizes many of the books I have read and many I should read.

If not for the nitpicks of wisdom, that are indeed well summarized then you should read this book to understand why everyone should read so much more.

[Mirjana · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want a summary of many different concepts, taken out of a lot of books, this one is for you.

[Kitabi Keeda · Rating 2 out of 5]

 
📍This book is compilation of footnotes of some of the best self help books from around the world minus their heart, soul and context.
 
•• INSIGHT: The authors have evidently read an impressive number of self-help books and have compiled their collective insights into a 680 page tome. From Dalai Lama to James Clear of Atomic Habits fame, everyone of self-help import is credited to have inspired each chapter. 
Each chapter has a logical flow to the next, starting from the book’s name sake “Getting your **** together” all the way up to philosophical musings on the past present and future.

•• REVIEW: This book is a cannibalised dish of the body of work of authors who have spent years researching and creating an engaging narrative for their respective topics.

The authors of this book, however, have provided their brief notes that lack depth, perspective and intellectual engagement.
There is a reason why we do not immediately turn our lives around when advice such as “Stop smoking”, “Stop wasting your life”, “Grow up” etc are thrown at us. Our evolutionary traits need us to be moved either emotionally, psychologically or logically before we take up new habits or break away from old ones.
Nothing this book has to offer is original.
 
•• STRENGTH:
1. Cover is eye-catching.
2. The authors’ style of writing is easy to understand, conversational.
 
•• WEAKNESS: Unoriginal and lacks depth.
 
•• BEST QUOTE: “Important people prefer good listeners to good talkers, but the ability to listen is rare.”
 
•• TARGET READERS : This book is suited for those looking for quick Highlights of great self help books.
 
••GENRE: Non-Fiction/Self-help

 •• Rating: 2.5/5
 

[Adri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Each chapter takes a self help book and summarizes it. Pulling the highest points from each book. I didn't mind this format.

Chapter 2 has a cool story about a tree that withstood fires and lightning storms. But tiny beetles took down the mighty tree. Sometimes its the little things that bring us down. We need to be vigilant about the little things. The thing that will set you apart is your ability to profit from your losses. Turning a minus into a plus. Anyone can be happy with GAINS. It takes a REAL WINNER to learn and grow from the LOSSES.

I loathe the term "the best bits" which was repeated 100x in the introduction.

Also, no need to say the F word in a book like this. All swearing discredits an author in a self help book. There are so many words in the English language. Swearing is lazy--Yes, even in the title, its lazy.
But what could I expect from a book with sh*t in the title? It is a fair representation of the material within.

[Deepa T · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It is a long-winded, unending mish-mash of ideas from other self-help books” - But that was because I tried to read it all in one go. The right way to go about reading this book would be to open up a random page and be inspired by the concise summary of a popular concept in the genre. Another way would be to scan through the index and identify an area of interest and read that chapter only. The book has both inspired me to pick up some new books as well as reminded me subtly of a few forgotten books and the ideas therein.

[The Book Squirrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this was probably about 1/3-1/4 too long for me. I started off quite interested, lost all interest and put it down for a while, skipped chapters (listening on audio, I don't even know what those chapters were about) and listened to the last chapter. After the first few chapters, I skipped all of the authors' additional commentary at the end of every chapter.

It has some interesting points, which I've mostly forgotten 2 weeks after finishing this book.

[Nanadhoi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took a long time to finish this book. Sebab dia compilation of book summaries dari pelbagai genre/kategori. So ada part yang macam lambat nak hadam sikit hahaha. However I do really find this book really helpful in deciding whether you should continue buy/read the books thats already in your wishlist/tbr list. Selain tu dapat tambah title buku baru jugak untuk letak dalam wishlist/tbr list 😆

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good book, a lot of the books it's mentioned so far I had already read or knew about (Tony Robbins, Tim Ferris, etc) and others I have been skipping (Spark Joy) or adding to my list (Richard Branson).

[Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

A self-help book based on a lot of self-help books that the writers have read (to be precise, some of them are not self-help, especially the ones in the later part of the book). If you are addicted to the self-help genre, you would've probably already come across many of the titles, and are willing to read it to find out what you may have missed. On the other hand, if you, like me, have never been a fan of this genre, it's still fun to leaf it through, because by investing very little time in getting to know the books that you would normally avoid, you can judge for yourself if your personal bias is valid.