The Nerdist Way Review

when I was growing up I didn't have cable and therefore no access to MTV, so needless to say I had no idea who Chris Hardwick was. I really became familiar with him through his website www.nerdist.com where he is apparently a titan of podcasts. I like to have stuff on the background while I work so after going through the rest of my favorite podcast I stumbled across the treasure chest of podcasts. the format I have become familiar with is much like radio and I always saw podcasts as a place where radio djs went after they got fired to continue creating a portfolio. the thing that got me listening and kept me listening to the nerdist was his large array of diverse and surprisingly well known guests. Another thing that really stood out to me is his extremely positive attitude and advice he gives to people wanting to be creative,  His most helpful advice to aspiring podcasters was "just press record and post it and you'll get better with time" so that's part of the reason I decided to do this.

I found out about Chris's history listening to just about every podcast I could on his site, from him being on singled out to his fall shortly after transforming into a overweight out of work alcoholic. so after he kept mentioning his book I figured it would be a interesting read to hear about how he went from TV celebrity into a downward spiral and rose up as a stand up comedian and creator of one of the largest podcast networks currently out there. "The Nerdist Way: How to Reach the Next Level(In Real Life)" is partially about his life but was mostly written as a self help book with steps Chris had to take to get to where he is today. those of you that are familiar with his work know at times he can be rather pretentious and uses many jokes he's used in his podcast to describe different levels in his life. So I'd like to say some of the I did find certain parts of this book to be helpful and I will be using some of them in my everyday life. the book is broke into three sections this book is broken into three sections mind, body, and time. I don't want to really go into a ton of detail on it because it is pretty humorous and I just wouldn't be able to  explain the way he does or do his book justice so I'll just give an overview of things he has included and if you think they could help you great! give it a read. if not but you are still interested i picked this up from Barnes and Nobel for 15 dollars.

mind: the mind portion of this book really focuses on positive thinking and believing in yourself. It gives a lot of tips on things to do if you overthink things and not letting  your mind talk you out of doing things you're passionate about, he also has a lot to say about the way you put yourself out there and present yourself to people with the vibe you give off and your personality.

body: This is pretty self explanatory, there is a lot in there about working out and different work outs you can do in different places. he also goes through some of the problems he had,
one being panic attacks and worrying to much, which I definitely do. I took his advice and completely stopped drinking caffeine and it actually has helped me no worry so much and calm my mind down. Chris Hardwick takes this section as an opportunity to also share his struggle with addiction and how he managed to get passed them, while I don't feel I suffer from addiction (most addicts don't though...oh shit!) I could definitely see how this would be helpful and all the things he had to go through to get past them.

time: this section I found very helpful as I am not very organized and I've been trying to figure out a way to make things easier on myself. I've taken his advice on writing notes for things that I may forget as well as setting calendar alerts for myself which he suggests. there is as well a portion he dedicates to financial problems and all of the things he had to go through to right his credit after he had destroyed it with bad financial habits.

if any of that seems helpful to you I strongly suggest you read this book I also suggest you if you enjoy comedy you maybe take a second to pick it up and maybe even if you don't find anything helpful about it, maybe you'll find it humorous as I have.


-Mike