Notes on Being a Man

De: Scott Galloway

Narrado por: Scott Galloway

Bestselling author, NYU professor, and cohost of the Pivot podcast Scott Galloway offers a path forward for men and parents of boys.

Boys and men are in crisis. Rarely has a cohort fallen further and faster than young men living in Western democracies. Boys are less likely to graduate from high school or college than girls. One in seven men reports having no friends, and men account for three of every four deaths of despair in America. Even worse, the lack of attention to these problems has created a vacuum filled by voices espousing misogyny, the demonization of others, and a toxic vision of masculinity. But this is not just a male issue: Women and children can’t flourish if men aren’t doing well. And as we know from spates of violence, there is nothing more dangerous than a lonely, broke young man.

Scott Galloway has been sounding the alarm on this issue for years. In Notes on Being a Man, Galloway explores what it means to be a man in modern America. He promotes the importance of healthy masculinity and mental strength. He shares his own story from boyhood to manhood, exploring his parents’ difficult divorce, his issues with anger and depression, his attempts to earn money, and his life raising two boys. He shares the sometimes funny, often painful lessons he learned along the way, some of which include:

• Get out of the house. Action absorbs anxiety.
• Take risks and be willing to feel like an imposter. Don’t let rejection stop you.
• Be kind. That’s the secret to success in relationships.
• Find what you’re good at; follow your talent.
• Acknowledge your blessings—and create opportunities for others. Be of surplus value.
• Being a good dad means being good to the mother of your children.
• Life isn’t about what happens to you—it’s about how you respond to it.

With unflinching honesty, Scott Galloway maps out an enriching, inspiring operator’s manual for being a man today.

I hope all young men read this!

I just sent it to my stepson, and he has three young boys. But I will also recommend this to all my clients, both male and female. Because I think for females, they should know that if they do not have a good male in their sites they should choose someone else to share their life with!

Men who are kind and are protective are good possibilities . but the most important thing is integrity! And when I texted my stepson and told him how much I like this, he said he was going to meet Scott the next time he was in London. Because he travels in the same world. He’s very much like him and that he’s tall, handsome and gets nosebleeds. He also has three sons! And they are adorable! I’m very lucky to have gotten him as my stepson! Opening to Love is the most important thing in life!

Thoughtful in so many areas

I’ve listened to other books by Scott Galloway and this one was an interesting balance of guidance and introspection from his own experience.

Principles of character, evolved through life challenges and growth through maturity

Light approach, funny and the notes of application to life by living it day to day.

Kindness to and from men and boys

A touching look at raising boys to become competent kind humans. Friendships, encouragement and kindness improve the quality of men’s lives. Feeling emotions is good for people. Feel the moment.

Loved every moment!

So many awesome insights. I hated that it had to end. Just an awesome read. I understand my son now so much better. Don’t get all his issues, but I’m sure he doesn’t get all of mine. Thanks for writing this book, Scott! I hope it changes so much of who young men are these days.

An important memoir

I hoped this would be a better guide to life for my son, and there is certainly some great advice, but this is a reflection of a deeply thoughtful, imperfect man who I truly appreciate.

useful Galloway book

I didn't really appreciate that. this was a memoir when I began the book. I had hoped for more galloway- like data and numbers. there's some of that but it's mostly Scott telling the story of his life. he tells it with honesty and forthrightness. I don't agree with everything he says, and I think that some of what he says is wrong and insensitive. however, I give him great credit for writing from his heart, being true to himself and being compelling for the most part. it's worth a read or a listen.

Live n love

Scott this book is needed and lucky for me, excellent. Your insight is invaluable for any gender who takes the time to read/listen. Thank you.

Must Read for Men Aged 20-40

A role model for young men like me. His success is not in his net worth, but reflection. Thank you, Mr. Galloway

Nothing New Here If You Listen to Pivot & Disturbi

As a long time listener to Pivot, Scot Galloway has talked about ALL the topics in this book on more than one occasion. So nothing new here, but also he has left out some very troubling and disturbing things as well. Below is a list of these items:

- “More young people should get drunk and have sex!” (Summer of 2025) My wife a psychotherapist for 35 years, has had a number of clients who have blacked out due to what she has calls an epidemic of binge drinking among young people, and having sex and in many instances not even knowing the person. This does not lead to romance, but shame and in some cases, STDs or pregnancy. Encouraging this on one of the most popular podcast of 2025, is not only irresponsible, but is legally questionable.

- “My boys don’t want to hear about sex from me, so I am thinking instead of them watching porn on their own, we will watch the eight seasons of “Game of Thrones” instead since it will introduce them to all kinds of relationships. When Kara pushed back in saying it also has some of the worst depictions of sadistic rape, he just said well there is that. (11/4/2025)

- Equating sex to success. Over and over again Scott Galloway talks about what young men should do to have more sex. Instead of what relationships should be about. I had wondered if he was married or in a relationship on a number of accounts because of the way he talks about his interest in sex all the time. Part of it, is he thinks he is funny, but I also think he equates sex to success. Sadly, our current US president also talks about sex and women in the same manner.

- I found his conversation over the years about “his boys” equally disturbing (as recent as two days ago), but especially with his younger son. Jet-setting around the world to visit the largest malls or the World Cup, not only does it smack of someone out of touch with most people in the world are capable of doing, but sets a precedent that he has clearly talked about, which is his guilt of not being there for them when he was making ALL THIS MONEY in their early lives. Now feeling that he has achieved the wealth he has always wanted, he can now shower them with attention, time and sadly any wish they want. In my day, these were called “very spoiled children,” that grow up not really understanding how hard there parent(s) worked to give them everything. Again, the current president of the US comes to mind.

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Technically the audio book is decent. Scott Galloway has a good speaking voice, but it does come off emotionless — dare I say like AI? This is probably not the case since the production and direction isn’t top notch and there are stilted pauses as he thinks of how he should pronounce a word. The AI component comes up since he constantly talks about how he uses LLMs constantly to “come up with ideas” and then rewrites them (uh huh, wink wink). He has even admitted that he worked with Google to create a “Prof G,” LLM that he could use as a substitute for personally responding to emails. He admitted this after saying he would not go forward with its release after hearing Kara Swisher’s interview with family of the person who committed suicide due to being encouraged by Open AI’s Chat GPT to do so. This, as he stated “Scared him” and did not want to be responsible for someone doing something bad due his AI’s advice. Interesting response considering, the real “Scott Galloway” also says a lot of things, that if one took as advice, could also lead to harm to oneself, or worse to someone else.

Sadly, my review will have little impact on the sales of his book due to all the media coverage he has received already. But hopefully if you do read this, spend some time getting advice and council from a licensed professional, be it personal, couple, or family counseling. Physiotherapist not only must achieve at least a graduate degree, they have to fulfill hours of internship before being licensed and thereafter hours of continuing eduction to renew their license and must upheld the standard that states board, or lose their license. Most, make far less than the time and money they have put into their profession, and (those that continue) do it because they truly want to make difference in lives. Scott Galloway, is not a licensed therapist, and I believe he really believes he can help, but I think a better choice is to take some of that wealth, and set up a trust fund to help struggling psychotherapist succeed instead creating more work for them with “pop psychology.” and misleading statistics.