The Hidden Power of F*cking Up by The Try Guys

My rating: five stars

Genre: Nonfiction

Edition: Audiobook

Goodreads Summary: The Try Guys deliver their first book—an inspirational self-improvement guide that teaches you that the path to success is littered with humiliating detours, embarrassing mistakes, and unexpected failures.

To be our best selves, we must become secure in our insecurities. In The Hidden Power of F*cking Up, The Try Guys – Keith, Ned, Zach, and Eugene – reveal their philosophy of trying: how to fully embrace fear, foolishness, and embarrassment in an effort to understand how we all get paralyzed by a fear of failure. They’ll share how four shy, nerdy kids have dealt with their most poignant life struggles by attacking them head-on and reveal their – ahem – sure-fail strategies for achieving success.

But they’re not just here to talk; they’re actually going to put their advice to work. To demonstrate their unique self-improvement formula, they’ll each personally confront their deepest insecurities. A die-hard meat-lover goes vegan for the first time. A straight-laced father transforms into a fashionista. A perpetually single sidekick becomes the romantic lead. A child of divorce finally grows more intimate with his family. Through their insightful, emotional journeys and surprising, hilarious anecdotes, they’ll help you overcome your own self-doubt to become the best, most f*cked up version of yourself you can be!

I have been watching the Try Guy’s videos for many years – basically since when they started at Buzzfeed. I think they are hilarious and put out content that is both entertaining and informative. I went to one of their tour stops and my goodness it was so good! I hope that they go on another one, because it was phenomenal. This book is basically a bunch of stories about their life, and how they got to where they are. As soon as I heard what it was about, I had to get it. I love self-help books, and one written by some of my favorite Youtubers was a must-read.

Likes: If you are planning on getting this book, I recommend the audiobook. The Try Guys are the narrators which is so funny! They are honestly great at it, and they add little comments and sound affects that add to the book. I am so glad that I decided to get the Audible version. The book is full of a bunch of short stories where each of the Try Guys try something new. Some of them were lighthearted, and some of them were deep, but most of them had a great wisdom that they passed on. I loved that they got so vulnerable in some of the stories, it showed how difficult it can be to put yourself out there and try new things. This story gave so much hope and so many good life lessons, I really enjoyed it.

Dislikes: Even though there were several stories that were vulnerable, I felt like some of the stories were just put in there for content. Sure, I liked hearing about them trying something new, however, I didn’t feel like I had as much fun listening to those stories, and there didn’t seem to be a lesson to them. I just wish some of the Try Guys had been a little more vulnerable, instead of trying something just for content’s sake.

Overall, I gave this book five stars. I loved listening to the Audiobook, I thought it was creative and fun to have the Try Guys narrate it. It was a unique listening experience that I have never had before. I loved the lessons that came out of the stories. I appreciated the vulnerability, and I enjoyed hearing more about their lives. Even though I wish some of the stories had more content and meaning to them, I am not going to deduct a star simply because I love this book so much.