The Courage to Be Disliked

By: Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga

Narrated by: Noah Galvin, Graeme Malcolm, January LaVoy

Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Courage to Be Disliked, already an enormous best seller in Asia with more than 3.5 million copies sold, demonstrates how to unlock the power within yourself to be the person you truly want to be.

Using the theories of Alfred Adler, one of the three giants of 20th-century psychology, The Courage to Be Disliked follows an illuminating conversation between a philosopher and a young man. The philosopher explains to his pupil how each of us is able to determine our own life, free from the shackles of past experiences, doubts, and the expectations of others. It's a way of thinking that is deeply liberating, allowing us to develop the courage to change and to ignore the limitations that we and other people have placed on us. The result is a book that is both highly accessible and profound in its importance. Millions have already read and benefited from its wisdom. This truly life-changing audiobook will help you declutter your mind of harmful thoughts and attitudes, helping you to make a lasting change, achieve real happiness, and find success.

©2018 Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga (P)2018 Simon & Schuster

Life Changing

I read a lot and listen to a lot of audiobooks, from classic literature to contemporary biographies, philosophy, psychology and the latest in non-fiction. Seldom do I find a book that surprises me. This one did. Though very familiar with the thoughts of Freud and Jung, I had never heard of their colleague Alfred Adler until I came across this book, interestingly enough through the recommendation of a guy I don’t like. The thoughts of Dr. Adler opened new possibilities and pointed to solutions of problems I have been grappling with for years. His original way of thinking and his method truly can change ones’ life. Even though the questioning young man in the audio version irritated me at times (maybe it was supposed to) the content is so good that I could not turn away. If you are interested in personal growth and how to better navigate the journey of life, allow yourself to get immersed in Adlerian thought through the voice of the philosopher. Chances are, it will change your life as it did mine.

What an incredible book

Other reviewers aren’t exaggerating when they claim this book can change your life. I have just finished hearing it (the audiobook is a fabulous was to experience the conversation between the curious but frustrated youth and the wise and kind philosopher).
I already want to start it again from the beginning and I usually never do that with a book.
Buy it. Savour it. And start living it today. This isn’t self-help. This is true human wisdom.

Amazing!!

This book helped give language and a system to becoming more comfortable in your own skin. The idea that all of life is divided into tasks was very help to imagine. No need to try and complete any task that is not your own. This book talks about how “trauma” doesn’t exist. Don’t let that deter you. The lessons learned from that idea are helpful, but I don’t think I’ll be walking around telling myself or others “your trauma isn’t real” any time soon. It just helps to give power to the here and now. Overall great book! I will probably listen to it again just to make sure I remember everything.

Great book in an excellent format

This is an incredible book that is digestible, understandable, and still profound. I've heard many of these ideas before but never attributed to Adler. The ideas in this book truly have the potential to change people's lives for the better and help them live a life of freedom without constraints of the past weighing them down and without living according to others' needs. Some people complained about the format but I found that it was a great way to express the ideas and also harkens back to Socrates/Plato dialogues that are the foundation of philosophy. A++

Fabulous. A must read!

Listened in almost one sitting. It is life changing. Complex concepts simply explained. Loved it.

Good read to clean up your internal thoughts

I'm going to focus on the narration and not the content itself (other reviews have done a great job). The elder/philosopher's message was clear and the narrator's performance fit with the message. The youngster's narration on the other hand was very forced and HORRIBLE to listen to. It almost wrecked the whole experience for me. The narrator tried too hard to sound "young" and "brash", that made for many cringe moments.

drawing a definitive line between you and the rest

this great book will definitely help the listener/reader achieve own goals. it draws a very clear line between yourself and everyone else. this will help you and whoever around you to live in peace and harmony. eventually everyone around you will benefit from it. I can recommend it enough for anyone who wants to unravel the questions about life and who we are.

one thing about the audio is, after a while, I started to predict the dialouge and to be honest, I got a little irritated by the narrator's voice. just my two cents.

Life-changing Perspective

If you're ready to break away from a life influenced by others and pursue your specific life path of joy, I recommend this book. It challenges the social norms and establishments that have influenced us and why we may look outward for answers. Self-love and acceptance are described in a way that simplifies why we do not see our own worth. This book will make you think and see every aspect of your perceived world differently. Amazing.

Narrating is a killer

I'm sure the overall lesson of the book is good but the narrator's voice is quite irritating. I just couldn't stay interested. I stopped at the second chapter.

Good Ideas Delivered Inefficiently

I loved many of Adler's ideas but the Platonic dialogue device is a huge time-waster.

Also, the kid often struck me as an irritating brat. For instance, he kept shouting, "That's so hypocritical!" like it's the worst sin in the world but what he really seemed to mean was "contradictory." Maybe it was a translation problem.

Also, at times the old man's affection for the young boy he just met seemed a little creepy/pervy. Perhaps that's partly a performance problem and/or a cultural difference between Japan and America.