The Courage to Be Happy: Discover the Power of Positive Psychology and Choose Happiness Every Day

by Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga Narrated by Graeme Malcolm, Noah Galvin, January LaVoy

Overview

In this follow-up to the international phenomenon The Courage to Be Disliked, discover how to reconnect with your true self, experience true happiness, and live the life you want.

What if one simple choice could unlock your destiny?

Already a major Japanese bestseller, this eye-opening and accessible follow-up to the "compelling" (Marc Andreessen) international phenomenon The Courage to Be Disliked shares the powerful teachings of Alfred Adler, one of the giants of nineteenth-century psychology, through another illuminating dialogue between the philosopher and the young man.

Three years after their first conversation, the young man finds himself disillusioned and disappointed, convinced Adler's teachings only work in theory, not in practice. But through further discussions, the philosopher and the young man deepen their own understandings of Adler's powerful teachings and learn the tools needed to apply them to the chaos of everyday life.

To be listened to on its own or as a companion to the bestselling first book, The Courage to Be Happy reveals a bold new way of thinking and living, empowering you to let go of the shackles of past trauma and the expectations of others, and to use this freedom to create the life you truly desire.

Plainspoken yet profoundly moving, The Courage to Be Happy will illuminate your life and brighten the world as we know it. Discover the courage to choose happiness.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

09/30/2019

Taking the form of a Socratic dialogue between a young educator and his mentor, this instructive and enjoyable follow-up to The Courage to Be Disliked extends Kishimi and Koga’s interpretation of Adlerian psychology from the philosopher’s study into the real world. In the three years that have elapsed since the first book, the young man in the dialogue has tried to implement Austrian psychotherapist Alfred Alder’s theories and failed to see their benefit when applied to unruly schoolchildren and returns to confront his former teacher. In a conversation lasting until dawn, the young man repeatedly protests what he sees as the abstract nature of Adler’s ideas and argues they are “divorced from reality.” In order to demonstrate the “self-reliance” that Adler considered the goal of education, the philosopher leads his former student to draw his own conclusions by modeling the methods he prescribes. Witnessing this exchange, the reader follows the young man’s path toward accepting the simplicity of Adler’s exhortation to “love, be self-reliant, and choose life,” however difficult it may be. Thanks to the summaries of key concepts and many digestible, koanlike insights, readers will find this an approachable introduction to many of Adler’s theories on learning and self-improvement. (Dec.)

Marc Andreessen

Adlerian psychology meets Stoic philosophy in Socratic dialogue. Compelling from front to back. Highly recommend.

Quartzy

"A nuanced discussion of a complex theory, with moments of real philosophical insight.... [It's] refreshing and useful to read a philosophy that goes against many contemporary orthodoxies. More than a century since Adler founded his school of psychology, there’s still insight and novelty in his theories."

Hello Giggles

Praise for The Courage to Be Disliked

"Marie Kondo, but for your brain."

Product Details

BN ID:	2940174023413
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster
Publication date:	12/24/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	423,752

Read an Excerpt

Author’s Note

Alfred Adler, the thinker who was a hundred years ahead of his time. Though he stands beside Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung as one of the most important figures in the world of psychology, Adler was for many years a “forgotten giant.” Since the publication of The Courage to Be Disliked, the context of Adler and his school of thought has gone through a remarkable transformation. Adler has been widely known in Europe and America for some time. But now, after our book spent a record-setting fifty-one weeks as a number-one bestseller—having sold millions of copies in South Korea and Japan—I have a strong sense that Adler is present within many people, and no longer needs introduction. There is something deeply moving about his ideals being accepted in Asia after the passage of a hundred years.

The Courage to Be Disliked is a kind of map for informing people of the existence of Adlerian psychology, and for giving an overview of Adler’s ideas. It is a grand map that we put together over the course of several years, with the intention of creating a definitive introduction to Adlerian psychology.

The Courage to Be Happy, on the other hand, is a kind of compass for actually putting Adler’s ideas into practice and leading a happy life. And it may also be thought of as a collection of behavioral guidelines showing how one may progress toward the objectives laid out in the first book.

In The Courage to Be Happy, once more we find the philosopher engaged in a dialogue with the pessimistic youth. Three years after the conclusion of The Courage to Be Disliked, the youth, who has become a teacher with the intention of putting Adler’s ideas into practice, calls on the philosopher one last time. Frustrated with Adlerian psychology and angry with the philosopher for introducing him to Adler’s ideals, the youth has returned to the philosopher’s study to challenge everything the philosopher taught him and insist that he cease to corrupt other young minds with ideals that don’t hold up in the real world when interacting with real people. Calmly, the philosopher invites the youth to join him for one final conversation about having courage not only to take the first step toward happiness, but to continue walking along the path of self-improvement in order to love, be self-reliant, and nurture community feeling.

In what way can we make concrete progress on the path to happiness shown in the preceding volume, The Courage to Be Disliked? How can we put Adlerian psychology into practice in our everyday lives? And what is that conclusion arrived at by Adler, “the biggest choice in life,” that everyone must make in order to live in happiness?

The curtain opens once more on this strong-medicine philosophical dialogue. Do you have the courage to climb the stairway of understanding with the youth?

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