Papercuts

The Art of Self-Delusion

De: Brent Perkins

Narrado por: Brent Perkins

In a world obsessed with fixing trauma and chasing peak performance, we've missed the point entirely.

We spend years trying to heal our past or outsmart the future, while quietly neglecting the only version of us with any real power: the one who's here now. Papercuts peels back the layers of modern burnout, emotional erosion, and high-functioning numbness to reveal the tiny, daily self-betrayals that quietly steal your agency, clarity, and presence.

Written with gut-punch honesty and soul-level vulnerability, Brent Perkins—once a hard-driving CEO, now a leadership alchemist—invites you into an unfiltered reckoning. No quick fixes. No guru gloss. Just a raw, illuminating confrontation with the invisible decisions that cost us the most. Unlike traditional self-help, Papercuts doesn’t teach you to heal your inner child, it shows you how to stop abandoning your inner adult.

Inside you’ll discover:

- Why “I’m fine” is the most dangerous lie we tell ourselves

- How over-functioning becomes self-abandonment

- The trap of performance without presence

- Why agency is your birthright and how to reclaim it

- Practical tools to stop outsourcing your peace, power, and clarity

- How choosing yourself—fully, finally, unapologetically—becomes the doorway to self-love and deeper connection with everyone around you

Uniquely positioned at the intersection of midlife transformation, emotional health, and leadership psychology, it’s for those ready to stop numbing, stop performing, and finally embrace self-leadership. If you’re a high-performing leader, overwhelmed achiever, or someone who’s “doing everything right” but still feels hollow… this book is your wake-up call.

Papercuts is a must-listen for fans of:

The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer

The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck* by Mark Manson

©2023 Brent Perkins (P)2023 Brent Perkins

Great listen!

I appreciate the way Brent takes us on a journey through parts of his life. Undoubtedly you will find pieces that tangentially align with stories from most anyone’s. He shares some unique ways to look at situations and self reflect. One I will certainly add to the repeat listen list, as there will be nuggets that continue to challenge my growth and add value to any stage in my own personal journey. Thanks Brent for bringing this to the world!

It’s like hanging out with a friend- who doesn’t bullsh*t you

I read both the hardback and listened to the audible version simultaneously. Reading this book is like having a conversation with that one friend who doesn't hold back...and you love them for it.

Forget the usual recipe step-by-step instructions for how to "make a change" or "self-improvement" books you typically read. I felt like I was sitting down, having a cup of coffee with a friend who listened but gave me some hard truths on why I was reacting to certain things in my typical judgmental way.

It was written in conversational style, as if the author was speaking to you, with some parts written in a fictional way (although they are real stories) about conversations or experiences he has had in life that led to his "ah-ha" moments. In fact, there are parts where you are given an instruction (I do not want to give it away) and you stop and perform said instruction...which had an impact!

You can get a sense of the author's personality, humor, and wisdom throughout the book with it packaged in a way as if you were sitting down, drinking a cup of coffee over it all. It truly made me reflect on some aspects on my life.

I highly recommend this book and especially the audible version, as the author reads it with some character.

I look forward to the deeper dive writing of the future versions or the continuation of the series as that is probably my only suggestion for improvement: that some concepts were only touched on the surface, and I wanted to go further/deeper.

Looking forward to the next ones. Enjoy!

A Must Listen for Anyone Interested in Personal Growth

Once I started this book, I couldn’t stop listening and I finished it in a day! I love it when the author is also the narrator to the audiobook. Brent’s stories are SO relatable! He brings you along the journey of him waking up to his own self-delusion and invites you to do the same. You will be challenged in the way you think about yourself and how you relate to others. And you will discover nuggets of wisdom all along the way. This is a repeat listen for sure!

A guide to awakening yourself through one man's jo

We may not be aware of the toll that life's "papercuts" are taking on ourselves or where we have given up our agency of choice. Throughout this book, Brent shares with us his journey of discovering the papercuts and delusions that were keeping him from living as his best and true self.

I really appreciate how Brent shared personal stories in a way that helped me to both realize some of my own blindspots and give context for how I can apply theses learnings to my own personal journey.

The truth heals

In this book, the author lays bare his life (both successes and failures) to show the reader that true happiness isn’t found through success in business, titles, and money, but through being completely truthful to yourself and those you love. I appreciated the honesty in this book and the author’s desire to help others find hope and comfort from his example.

Must Listen!

This book is a must read and offers practical tools/knowledge to help live in the present; with intention, manage assumptions, expectations and control the ego!