Breaking WHY: Hacking and Rebuilding Strategic Emotions for Authentic Success

by Frankie Russo

Overview

In this edgy follow-up to Frankie Russo's The Art of Why, readers are asked to redefine their meaning of personal success in order to tap into a deeper and more meaningful definition of their purpose. Breaking WHY interrogates what our true WHY really is, and in the process, Russo adapts his earlier work and disrupts the rules he set for himself in order to more fully achieve authentic success. Sometimes, we have to shatter something in order to rebuild it.

This book breaks down the steps needed to achieve a more substantive version of ourselves, in both our personal lives and in the realm of business and entrepreneurship. By exploring the role that emotions can play in both hindering and empowering us, Russo ultimately argues that pursuing a singular, self-driven "I" is the ultimate misinterpretation of success. A champion of authenticity and a proponent of harnessing "strategic emotions," Russo aims to debunk the common conception that emotions are anathema to having a successful life. Using the tools and hacks in Breaking WHY, people from all walks of life will come to realize that it can be just as important to break the rules as it is to make and follow them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781645438236
Publisher:	Amplify Publishing
Publication date:	02/01/2022
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Frankie Russo, through his Russo Capital firm, has developed a portfolio of companies across multiple industries, including technology, advertising, marketing, automotive, music, agriculture, publishing, and finance. The beneficiaries of his investments have offices in the United States and India and serve 128 US markets. Russo and his team have led two of his companies to become some of America's fastest-growing, privately owned organizations for eight years in a row. The Art of WHY (2016), Russo's first book, was on Amazon's best seller list in the self-help category, and has been readapted and expanded into the rules-defying Breaking WHY. Frankie's highest calling is his family, and he happily lives with his wife and six children in Louisiana.

Table of Contents

Preface i

Introduction v

My Story xv

Step 1 Break Your Why 1

Step 2 Make (Or Break) A Plan 13

Step 3 Believe and Commit 27

Step 4 Build-And Rebuild-Your Team 39

Step 5 Restart 55

Step 6 Relearn Patience and Persistence 65

Step 7 Accept or Adapt 79

Step 8 Hack Your Failures: Turn Mistakes into Opportunities 93

Step 9 Celebrate Milestones-And Make New Ones 105

Step 10 Reconstruct Yourself And Give Back 113

Afterword What to Expect After Step 10 125

Acknowledgments 129

About the Author 131

Editorial Reviews

2021-12-26
A manual offers an intriguing approach to pursuing purpose by breaking the rules.

On the road to entrepreneurial success, Russo experienced his fair share of business and personal failures, including divorce and struggles with substance abuse. Rising above such challenges made him realize that his first book, The Art of WHY(2016), required reexamination: “I’ve learned our WHYsometimes needs to be broken so that we can grow as we put the pieces back together.” The notion of rule-breaking is not new, but the author’s briskly written guide skillfully details a set of 10 sensible self-improvement steps—five “start-up steps” and five “lifestyle steps.” Step 1, “Break Your Why,” isn’t so much about breaking down as it is about building up, for it starts with the ability to “know our WHY.” Similarly, Step 2, “Make (or Break) a Plan,” can be viewed through two opposing lenses. While this make-or-break language may lead to some confusion, Russo weaves in his own story of regeneration to clarify the text. Steps 3, 4, and 5 seem to refine the concept. Step 4, for example, stresses the importance of building a support team of advisers and mentors to optimize success. The second half of the book concentrates on the five “lifestyle” steps. Here, Russo delivers some valuable counsel about learning patience and persistence, discovering how to accept or adapt, turning “mistakes into opportunities,” celebrating milestones, and recognizing the importance of giving back. In fact, giving back is the author’s overarching message; he poetically proclaims: “I don’t really own anything until I give it away! Think of it as philanthropy of the soul.” Each step constitutes a chapter in the book and is enriched with numerous anecdotes, many from Russo’s own experiences. The most helpful addition to every step is an interactive section at the end of each chapter entitled “Contemplate,” which encourages readers to “formulate” written answers to key questions and “activate” a strategy. The author writes with sincerity and passion, reflecting on his own life with pragmatic maturity while instilling a sense of confidence in readers that success is achievable.

An uplifting and succinct collection of life lessons.

Kirkus Reviews