Book Review: ‘Do Epic S*it’ by Ankur Warikoo

 

Ankur Warikoo is an author who later became social media influencer after a stint in entrepreneurship (he cofounded several companies and websites). He is highly educated (MBA from ISB-Hyd) and well versed with the ecommerce and startup space. “Do Epic S*it” is his first book which came out in 2021.

The book comes close to “self-help” space and since thousands and thousands of books are already written in this area by both foreign and Indian authors, Ankur has chosen to build this book heavily on his own life experiences. After reading this book, we get a very clear idea about the author’s life journey, including his parents, wife and kids and it seems the author has used this book for his personal “branding” (after all, he is a social media influencer now). And when it comes to the “content” of the book, it comes across as genuine and written with a good intent to help others.

In this book, the author reflects on what is success and what is failure. He says that most of the time, it is “others” who decide for us what is success and what is failure. We need courage to define these two for ourselves, in our own ways. We need not do things to please others, but we should do things which make us happy, because if we are happy doing things, we do not need any external push or motivation. 

The author says that most battles are won or lost in the mind. Ego is a major roadblock to learning and growth. Money offers freedom, but only with discipline. Avoid taking loans for expenditures that your income doesn't support. Holding grudges drains energy. Treat people with respect, empathy, and then sympathy. The way we can identify true friends is that true friends celebrate our success and are not jealous of us. You are the average of the thoughts you spend time with, not just the people.

To summarise, this book is a natural summary of all good things the author learnt in his life till the time. And he has expressed those very well and with a good intent. I found many of his key points from this book are already out in the domain. But as we know, every Guru teaches the same lessons, but the manner in which those lessons are taught makes a difference. It feels that the book is by and large targeting young readers who have just started their professional journey. I would definitely recommend this book to these readers. 

- Rahul