Mark Manson is a New York Times best-selling author, podcaster and educator. He writes with a wit and no bullshit style that can wake you up better than a can of red bull after an all-night bender.

Manson’s book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, lays out how to live a better life by caring about fewer things. And not giving a f*ck about the rest.

The key points I took away from his book are:

• Find the right struggle for you – whatever you do in life will be a struggle, so you need to find the struggle that’s right for you. Working on something that makes you happy will mean you'll not only be undeterred by the constant battle, you'll grow to love it. There’s no point looking for an easy life – because that will guarantee you life a life you’ll hate. Know better.

• Suffering is good, but only if you have the right values – what you value has a major impact on how you perceive your life. If success means earning more than others you know – and if they do better than you, you lose. Dumb value to have and guarantees either disappointment or hollow success. Choose better.

• Ditch victimhood for responsibility – we sometimes feel like victims, but positive change only happens when you take full responsibility for your life. By realising and working on your mistakes, especially the most painful ones, you grow and avoid them in the future. Then you can live a better, happier life. Be better.

• Be careful where you source your identify from – without realising it our identity is often shaped by things like the job title we have, the cars we drive or the way we look. When our identity is threatened, we tend to flee to safety. When we do this, it’s more hindrance than assistance as it can hold us back from taking risks and pursuing paths that could lead us to living the life we dream of. Do better.

Read this book if: you need shot of adrenaline to wake you up from a long career sleepwalk.

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