Welcome to another practical and applicable episode of the Playing Books podcast. Seeking or affirming the validation of at least one person or some people can largely influence our entire life, decisions, choices, food, accommodation, purchases, education, career, and relationships, like marriage. Living this way is bondage.

This episode discusses how to accept yourself and have the courage to be disliked. It takes courage to be your true self in private, public, straining, and comfortable situations.

This episode is from Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga's The Courage to Be Disliked: The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness. The authors based the book on Alfred Adler's psychological principles. For instance, no experience determines the outcomes of your life. It is rather how you deal with and handle the situation that brings happiness or despair.

You can overcome the past, change for the better, have an interesting, mutual interpersonal relationship, and connections with others; become valuable to your community, and find true happiness.

Feeling inadequate, trauma, insecurities, excuses, and holding on to what people think of you are the seeds of unhappiness. But you can break free from this, and it is your task to change your life and lead a truly happy life.

Get the book, The Courage to Be Disliked: The Japanese Phenomenon That Shows You How to Change Your Life and Achieve Real Happiness, and use the ideas in the guide that comes with the book to cultivate self-acceptance, confidence in others, and learn how to make positive contributions where you are with what you have. You can get it on Amazon, https://amzn.to/4eZpcBV, and other bookstores.

Please, share the episode and recommend the Playing Books podcast to your family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and others to learn from Bestselling books, change for the better, contribute to making the world better, and enjoy literary ideas of the best minds of our world.

Thank you.

This is a reflective episode. The 2025 Fourth of July Independence Day celebrations have just concluded. Flag parades, barbecues, and fireworks followed the observance. Everyone seems well, happy, hopeful, grateful, and eager to see what the United States will bring to them and the world. We often forget that each time people gather to celebrate any major national holiday in the US, some citizens experience pain and relive oppressive memories. This episode discusses Howard Zinn's ‘A People's History of the United States.’ It aims to inspire a renewed sense of gratitude and privilege in living and enjoying America by viewing the country through the eyes of marginalized, hurting, and overlooked citizens. Hear questions about power, economic success, struggles, and justice in the U.S. Explore the role of interest in history and gain insightful analysis of the most significant events in American history. Zinn’s book examines American history from the bottom up, challenging the official narratives taught in schools, events, and historical monuments. Zinn closely examines Columbus and his brutal treatment of indigenous Americans, the subsequent establishment of slavery, class struggles, labor movements, and acts of resistance throughout American history, from Bacon's Rebellion to the fight for women's suffrage and workers' rights. It also analyzes the motivations and consequences of U.S. foreign policy, revealing a consistent pattern of economic interests driving U.S. military interventions and the suppression of dissent at home and abroad. You can purchase the book from Amazon, https://amzn.to/4kATcoM, or at any major bookstore. Please share your thoughts on U.S. history, Zinn’s approach, and how we might discuss our country's difficult past. Also, recommend this episode and the Playing Books podcast. Thank you.

Since untapped talents, unwritten books, unsung songs, unstarted enterprises, unfulfilled destinies, unbacked mission, and other unused human endowments collectively make the grave the wealthiest place with wealth unparalleled by the oil-rich Middle East and other affluent regions worldwide, this episode presents revolutionary concepts to dare, harness, and utilize human talents and resources in addressing solvable global challenges, thereby contributing to a more improved world, and the grave less weathy.

According to Rutger Bregman, moral ambition serves as the solution to the substantial waste of talent. Guilt should not hinder personal development and talent cultivation until one achieves significant value in joining others dedicated to societal improvements.

This episode provides practical guidance on recognizing potential, taking strategic actions, and creating substantial ripple effects in both personal and global life.

While seeking personal happiness may not yield satisfaction, true progress often stems from leveraging individual skills and resources to address community and global challenges.

This episode offers valuable insights and practical strategies. For a comprehensive understanding of Rutger’s Moral Revolution, consider purchasing the book “Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference” by Rutger Bregman and Erica Moore. You can find it on Amazon at https://amzn.to/44CYRVz, as well as at other book retailers.

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