Summary, Analysis, and Review of Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k

PLEASE NOTE: This is a key takeaways and analysis of the book and NOT the original book.

Start Publishing Notes’ Summary, Analysis, and Review of Mark Manson’s The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life includes:

Summary of the book
A Review
Analysis & Key Takeaways
A detailed “About the Author” section

Mark Manson, a massively successful dating advice and travel blogger, has written The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck to address what he perceives as a major gap in the self-help market. Manson, who has been helping blog readers and clients with their problems for nearly a decade, has isolated a critical, recurring issue: people do not know what to give a f**k about. The book begins with an evaluation of fuck-giving (the profanity is intentional; Manson wants to make sure his points are made in as concise and punchy a way as possible). The author himself, although from a wealthy family in Dallas, struggled with the divorce of his parents and spent many years drifting around, never quite certain of what his priorities in life should be.

Along the way, Manson romanced hundreds of women and visited fifty-five countries. Even so, he hadn’t yet sorted out what values he should give a fuck about and what values didn’t matter quite so much to him. He hadn’t yet had the “practical enlightenment” he believes is the key to humanity’s spiritual well-being. He was very confused about life, even as his online businesses had begun to prosper, because he hadn’t accepted suffering as a natural condition of life. Once he realized that suffering was inevitable and the only things he had control over were his reactions to that suffering, he became, in his words, “spiritually invincible.” This is a central tenet of Buddhism, something Manson says throughout the book, but he is not interested in exploring Buddhist theology and spiritual practice, only in utilizing this insight to improve his life and the lives of his readers.