July 29, 2024
Anderson draws on his tenacious rise to rap fame in this openhearted debut guide to personal growth. During a period of depression after college, the author embarked on what became a lifelong journey of “self-reflection” to become his “best self.” Boiling down what he’s learned, he outlines five general principles—accept, strategize, try, trust, and manifest—through stories from his career. Examples include how, as a teen, he “strategized” to grow his network by performing on a weekly program for young rappers at a local radio station (where he met Kanye West, who’d go on to sign Anderson to his label), and “manifested” success by learning to meditate, which allowed him to gain the “positive energy” to attract business opportunities. While the suggested practices (meditation, journaling, therapy) aren’t groundbreaking, the unpretentious tone and candid anecdotes make Anderson a surprisingly relatable guide, offering especially solid wisdom on forgiveness and how to use discomfort as fuel for growth. Readers need not be hip-hop fans to find inspiration here.