Book SummaryBe Your Future Self Now, by Benjamin Hardy

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Be Your Future Self Now

In Be Your Future Self Now, Benjamin Hardy argues that achieving true success requires living up to your full potential—that is, becoming the highest version of yourself (what Hardy calls your “future self”). Anything short of this is a form of failure. However, becoming the person you want to be is one of life’s most difficult challenges—it requires knowing exactly who your higher self is, identifying the big, life-changing goals that will get you there, and dedicating yourself to those goals above everything else.

Hardy is an organizational psychologist specializing in entrepreneurial courage, transformational leadership, and exponential growth. While working on his Ph.D., Hardy ran an online training program and was a blogger with a readership of over 100 million. Since his graduation in 2019, Hardy has published multiple books, including...

Be Your Future Self Now Summary The Importance of Your Higher Self

Hardy argues that the true measure of success in life is reaching your full potential, or in other words, becoming the highest version of yourself. To attain this goal, all of your present actions must move you toward becoming your higher self in some way, big or small.

As a result, it’s crucial to identify your higher self as soon as possible because your goals and desires for the future drive your present actions. Furthermore, if you have a clear, ambitious vision of the person you want to become, you’ll take productive actions in the present that will benefit you over time and move you toward becoming that self. By contrast, if you lack a clear, ambitious vision of your higher self, you’ll take unproductive present actions that will harm you over time and prevent you from becoming your higher self.

Self-Discipline: The Crucial Element for Success

In The Power of Discipline, Daniel Walter reiterates that success is defined by your ability to attain your goals and reach your full potential. And like Hardy, he believes that [having clear goals and a detailed vision of your...

Be Your Future Self Now Summary How to Become Your Higher Self

In the following sections, we’ll discuss Hardy’s four main recommendations for becoming the highest version of yourself and how to implement them.

Recommendation #1: Clearly Identify Your Higher Self and How to Become Them

Hardy says the first step in shaping your present actions to benefit you long term is to determine who you want to be. Imagine the happiest, smartest, most productive and successful version of yourself. Hardy emphasizes that your higher self must be based on what you desire most in life right now—not what society deems “successful” or what you think you should do.

To make your vision even clearer, identify the big, life-changing goals that your higher self has accomplished—these are what you must attain.

For example, imagine you’re an unemployed student who gets good grades and designs graphics in your free time. Your higher self is a renowned graphic designer who earned undergrad and graduate degrees, got stellar grades, has an impressive portfolio, has designed graphics for major companies, and has numerous contacts in the industry. These accomplishments are the goals you must achieve to become your higher self.

(Shortform...

Shortform Exercise: Identify and Become Your Higher Self

Hardy explains that the first step in reaching your full potential is creating a detailed vision of your higher self. Once you do so, you can determine what it will take to achieve this standard. In this exercise, we’ll walk through Hardy’s process so you can clearly identify your goals and how to reach them.

First, create a clear vision of your higher self by imagining your ideal life and recording the details below. For example, what job would you have? Where would you live? Would you have children? How would you spend your free time? Include as many details as possible.