The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*CK: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life

This chapter includes three subchapters: “Failure Is the Way Forward,” “Pain Is Part of the Process,” and “The ‘Do Something’ Principle.” Manson begins this chapter with an anecdote, this time from his own life. He discusses the state of his life at an earlier era in which he had little true direction. It was 2007, the beginning of a financial catastrophe in the US, and Manson was out of work, out of a home, and sleeping on a friend’s futon. While considering his present and future options, he decided after evaluating the risk to go all-in toward an entrepreneurial career on the internet. His calculation came down to having nothing to lose.

Next, Manson relates an incident involving Pablo Picasso. The famous artist was at a café, doodling on a napkin, and when he got up to leave, a woman approached him and asked if she could have the doodle. Picasso told her it would cost her $20,000, and when the woman responded dumbfoundedly, Picasso told her that it took him over 60 years to draw such a doodle. Manson explains the point of including this anecdote—namely, that success results from a lengthy process of trial and error—including, of course, outright failure.