Review of “Becoming Fearless” by Dr. Benjamin Ritter

​Score: 94+/100 (9.4+ out of 10)

Becoming Fearless is an empowering, inspiring, and thought-provoking self-help & motivational book by Dr. Benjamin Ritter!

It is an excellent read for those interested in personal & professional development, full of positive principles, affirmations, mottos, mantras, and practical advice. In other words, this book is full of words to live by!

Here are a few of our favorite/key takeaways:

* “The greatest lie we tell ourselves is that avoiding fear keeps us safe when it actually limits our potential.”

This passage sums up the core essence of this book: not letting fear control you, limit you, and keep you from reaching your full potential as a professional and a human being.

* “When you aim 10 times higher, you push yourself beyond your limits and open doors to new possibilities you never thought you could reach.”

This is an alternate, enhanced version of the more popular saying “Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars” by Norman Vincent Peale, which is also mentioned in the same section. Basically, this is about setting your expectations higher and not limiting yourself with things like fear and apprehension.

* Shift from a victim mindset to a creator mindset

This was our favorite part of the whole book! In this particular section, Ritter talks about how playing the victim or adopting a victim mindset hold you back. It's true! It's along the lines of what we often say in our reviews when authors complain excessively about being a certain race or having a certain living situation. What are you going to do about it?

A victim mindset is also a defeatist mindset. It doesn't accomplish anything positive, it just keeps you down and holds you back. Instead, adopt a creator mindset! Creators find solutions to problems and ways to improve their situations, even if those situations seem bad initially. They take responsibility for what they can control and make the best of it.

* "If you look back at what you cared about 10 years ago, you'll probably laugh at how little it matters today."

Priorities change. What you cared about 10 years ago is likely not going to be a priority for you now. This is from one of the most thought-provoking and eye-opening parts of the book, and it really got our noggins working! It's true! Anyone who has gotten married and/or had kids know that your significant other and/or kids naturally begin to supersede a lot of your old priorities like diet, exercise, showering, shaving, watching contact sports, and working overtime. So, consider the bigger, long-term picture.

* "Stop when you're 75% full. The remaining 25% is for comfort, reflection, and readiness for what comes next."

This is a variation of the more popular “80/20 rule” in which you commit 80% of your effort toward work and 20% into enjoying and relaxing. Notably, Ritter puts an even higher priority on enjoying and relaxing life than other advocates of the 80/20 rule do, even giving an extra 5%. In later sections, he even talks about working less and delegating responsibilities to people even if they do worse than you at the tasks.

Don't burn the candle at both ends. Your mental health and well-being is important too.

* Be open to feedback and ask for it to improve yourself. Interestingly, later sections concentrate on ignoring critics, which made us wonder, What about constructive criticism and feedback? The author seems to advocate for filtering our negativity and the opinions and criticisms of people who make us feel worse and hold us back. This leads to the next point...

* Cut out the toxic people and things in your life. If something makes you feel uncomfortable or triggers fear, ask yourself why. Curate an environment that builds you up instead of drags you down.

* Create new beliefs, even temporary ones that get you from situation to situation and keep you headed toward your goals. This reminded us of fitness and dieting advice like:

- I believe that I don't eat junk food
- I believe that I exercise 3 days a week

These could also be things like:

- I believe that I am good enough
- I believe that I can do it

* Every issue presents an opportunity for growth, development, and learning

* Fear is like information. It is a response to information. You can use it positively, but don't let it hold you back and control you. Use it like information and take control of it.

* Before you give up on a problem, acknowledge it and brainstorm 5-10 solutions

* Treat everyone like it's their birthday

This was an interesting bit of advice! It resonated with us. We do tend to treat people a bit differently on their big day, making them feel special. It is often said that people always remember how you make them feel.

* There are three components of job satisfaction:
Intrinsic Motivation, Extrinsic Rewards, Work Environment and Relationships

Evaluate these. If one (or more) of these is off, then it may be time to talk to your manager about improvements that could be made. There's no harm in asking.

This is an excellent overall book. There are certain aspects of this book that keep it from being even better. It's highly idealistic and generalized. We wouldn't exactly call all of the advice in this book realistic, specific, or even practical. For example, the author constantly talks about working less and going home (from work) early.

A lot of this advice would work in an ideal world. However, sadly, this is not an ideal world. You can't just magically wave your hand and work less hours and leave work whenever you like. You've got duties, responsibilities, and bills to pay.

In any case, this is still a great read for some inspiration and words to live by.

Check it out on Amazon!