Lose Well

by Chris Gethard

Overview

From the host of “Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People” podcast and creator of The Chris Gethard Show, a self-help narrative for anyone who ever felt like they didn't fit in or couldn't catch a break.

Your parents roll their eyes. Your teachers barely care. Your boss hates all your ideas. Do even your own kids make you feel like you’re silly for wanting to pursue your dreams? Sometimes life convinces you that you’re born to strike out, bound to lose.

Well, comedian Chris Gethard is here to tell you that they’re probably right—odds are that failure is imminent. And that’s great. In fact, striking out hard and often might just be the key to a healthier, happier, more successful life that ends with you living free of regret. Failure is an art form, and the only way to discover who you are, what’s most important to you, and how to live and work on your own terms is to learn how to lose well.

Setting flame to vision boards and tossing out the “seven simple steps” to achieving anything, Gethard—host of the wildly popular podcast Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People podcast and creator of The Chris Gethard Show—illustrates his personal and professional manifesto with hilarious and ultimately empowering tales about his own missteps, misadventures, and public failures, from the cancellation of his Comedy Central sitcom after ten episodes to rediscovering his comedic voice and life’s purpose on a public access channel.

With his trademark wit and inspiring storytelling, Gethard teaches us how to power through our own hero’s journey, whether we’re a fifteen-year-old starting a punk band or a fifty-year-old mother of three launching an Etsy page. In the process, he shows us how to fail with grace, laugh on the way down, and as we dust ourselves off, how to turn our inevitable failures into endless opportunities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062691415
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/16/2018
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,009,617
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

CHRIS GETHARD is a comedian and creator of The Chris Gethard Show and host of the popular weekly podcast Beautiful Stories from Anonymous People. His Judd Apatow-produced one-man show, Career Suicide, premiered on HBO and was nominated for the Lucille Lortel award for its off-Broadway run. He lives in Queens, New York.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Lose Well 19

You Are the Chaos 33

But No One I Know Does This Stuff 41

Bye Bye Birdie 47

Why This? Why Here? Why Now? 59

Pfizer Winter 63

When Should I Quit? 75

The Falcon 77

Stop Apologizing 87

Punk 97

Never Let Them See the Scales 109

No Need for Rock Bottom 115

"It's Too Late" 121

Weird N.J. 127

"No One Will Get It" 143

Dusty Bunter: True Scum 149

Bitterness Is the Enemy 161

Greggulation 163

Public Access 171

Red Light Rules 199

The Unusual Things 209

Funny Plus 211

Always Be Terrified 221

Pushing Through Blocks 227

The Current State of Things 231

Acknowledgments 243

Editorial Reviews

10/15/2018
Comedian Gethard (A Bad Idea I’m About to Do) provides uproarious and uplifting advice for those who could stand to have a little more faith in themselves. He draws his wisdom from his experiences growing up as a small, awkward kid in a working class part of northern New Jersey, as well as the many years he spent trying to break through as an actor and comedian. “This is not a book that will teach you how to hit a home run,” he writes. “It shows you instead how to become world class at striking out.” The message is that people should work hard to find their true voices and persist in putting themselves out there. In Gethard’s experience, the act of pushing oneself to the point of failure—and examining what went wrong to improve the next attempt—is the only way to be prepared to take advantage of the luck that’s needed for any success. “It is better to fail on your own terms then someone else’s,” he writes, “so define those terms for yourself.” Gethard’s writing style is effortless and enjoyable, and his beliefs are compassionate and encouraging. Fans of his irreverent comedy will be thrilled to dive deeper into his life and work, and anyone else stuck in a rut will find permission to go out and try—and fail—as often and as well as possible. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

If anyone can get you to give your dreams an honest shot, it’s Chris Gethard, the king of somehow turning defeats into victories.” — JUDD APATOW, comedian, writer, and director

“This is funny, sure, but it’s very much more. Chris speaks inspirational life truths to the outsider in all of us. A pithy road map of the antiestablishment path by which one can succeed in comedy and life. Gethard gets it.” — NICK OFFERMAN, actor, comedian, and author of the New York Times bestselling Paddle Your Own Canoe

“I was on the altar of Chris Gethard’s wedding, when he was waiting a really long time for his bride to show up. Like, so long. I figured, based on his past life experiences, that it wasn’t going to end well. Anyway, that’s what this book is like.” — MIKE BIRBIGLIA, comedian, actor, and author of the New York Times bestselling Sleepwalk with Me—and Other Painfully True Stories

“…Gethard’s writing style is effortless and enjoyable, and his beliefs are compassionate and encouraging. Fans will be thrilled to dive deeper into his life and work, and anyone else stuck in a rut will find permission to go out and try—and fail—as often and as well as possible.” — Publishers Weekly

“Chris Gethard’s Lose Well will change the way you think about failure. It’s funny, heartfelt, and full of advice that every creative person needs to hear.” — Hello Giggles

“…the sort of vulnerable, honest, and spoken-from-experience material that’s earned him such a strong online following… and qualifies him to write a book like Lose Well.“ — A/V Club

From the Publisher

Chris Gethard’s Lose Well will change the way you think about failure. It’s funny, heartfelt, and full of advice that every creative person needs to hear.

Hello Giggles

I was on the altar of Chris Gethard’s wedding, when he was waiting a really long time for his bride to show up. Like, so long. I figured, based on his past life experiences, that it wasn’t going to end well. Anyway, that’s what this book is like.

MIKE BIRBIGLIA

…the sort of vulnerable, honest, and spoken-from-experience material that’s earned him such a strong online following… and qualifies him to write a book like Lose Well.“

A/V Club

If anyone can get you to give your dreams an honest shot, it’s Chris Gethard, the king of somehow turning defeats into victories.

JUDD APATOW

This is funny, sure, but it’s very much more. Chris speaks inspirational life truths to the outsider in all of us. A pithy road map of the antiestablishment path by which one can succeed in comedy and life. Gethard gets it.

NICK OFFERMAN