Jen Sincero Badassery

I was always going to struggle with this. The second in what might likely become a franchise of authorings imploring that You Are A Badass. This follow-up is worryingly subtitled, Master the Mindset of Wealth.

From the outset, let me state that my cynicism surrounding the kinds of evangelical (alas, overwhelmingly American) self-help, you-can-do-it, personal-branding ‘gurus’ was not shrunken in the slightest reading these 120 pages.

This despite the writer’s often delicious turn of phrase and occasionally evocative anecdotes.

Pull yourself together. Get cracking right away. Don’t take no for an answer. Keep going. Making money is not a crime so enjoy your eventual (inevitable) fruits.

You’ve got the gist.

Chapters end with the exhortation to sculpt your own “Suggested Money Mantra” around I love money because _______, do ‘stuff’ like write down lengthy lists or certain actions, and fill in the blank of I’m grateful to money because _______.

So why am I posting about this work?

Well. Peppered throughout are the kinds of deepism so beloved by slaves to social media.

Some she merely adapts from the tried and tested. Others though, appear to me to be freshly minted by her and proof of the power of her penwomanship.

Here’s a baker’s dozen to sample (in the order they appear);

Time wasted rationalising the mediocre could be time spent creating the magnificent

There is no such thing as too much awesome

Your external world is a mirror of your internal world

The walls of your comfort zone are lovingly decorated with your lifelong collection of favourite excuses

An excuse is nothing but a challenge that you’ve given your power to

You can’t see the silver lining through victim goggles

Let your fear be your compass

Nothing pops your balloon of belief like the pointy pin of a pal

Faith is contagious

The number one thing that holds people back is resisting change

Change your mind, change your life

Temporary failure becomes permanent defeat only when you say so

You have infinite greatness inside of you. Let it win over the BS.

I’d offer a trio of closing thoughts on these.

The first is that whilst quotes can be a useful presentation device, they do to tend to be as unseductive as your prep probably convinced you. Use sparingly.

Next, a good citation deployment can be taking someone else’s and altering slightly by switching in different words. Especially when uttered by your prospect. (The contagious & compass lines above are examples where almost anything could slot in before and become relevant).

Finally, a moment to reflect on change. That staple of any solution bid. There’s endless scrolling screens of ‘change’ quotes you can find collated around the web. Treat them with the most delicate of care. Do you really imagine that putting one up on a slideshow, or plastering atop each Prop chapter heading will make your prospect concur that ‘yep, change has to be good, what was I thinking when I thought it was not…!’ Perhaps their real power is behind the scenes. When alone with your most treasured prospect chum. Recite one. Who do they think doesn’t fit in with it?