Book SummaryHappy Sexy Millionaire, by Steven Bartlett

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Happy Sexy Millionaire

In Happy Sexy Millionaire, Steven Bartlett calls out the myth that you can find happiness, love, and wealth if you just follow three simple steps and a hack or two. Bartlett says the internet, social media, and algorithms have dazzled us into believing that we can have the perfect life if we just chase the “right” dreams—a lie that pulls us off the path of genuine contentment, meaning, and fulfillment.

Bartlett, a social media mogul and public speaker, was born in Botswana to a Nigerian mother and British father and was raised in a predominantly white area in England. A university dropout, once so poor that he scavenged for food, Bartlett founded the successful internet company Social Chain at age 21 and was by all objective accounts “living the dream.” But when wealth and fame didn’t bring him happiness, Bartlett reevaluated his priorities. He wrote Happy Sexy Millionaire to warn others against chasing false idols and to encourage them to find contentment and success by following their true path.

Our guide discusses...

Happy Sexy Millionaire Summary Part 1: Reclaim Yourself and Your Life

Bartlett says that chasing after inauthentic, meaningless goals has left us lost, and that to feel content, successful, and loved, we have to first find ourselves again. He argues that society has brainwashed us into wanting things that were never our goals in the first place, and we then feel inferior when we don’t achieve them. In this first section, we’ll examine how warped societal pressures have led us astray, and how you can find your way back to your true self by pursuing goals that are actually meaningful to you.

Know That You’re Enough, Even When Society Tells You Otherwise

Bartlett says that fulfillment is something that exists within you here and now—it’s not some elusive thing you achieve when you reach a certain level of success. He argues that we’re born “enough,” but society bombards us with messages that say we’re inadequate and need to fix ourselves. For example, corporations sell us things they say we need, schools and universities tell us we have to ascend to a more elevated level, and social media influencers say that we should do what they do to have a better life.

(Shortform note: In _[You Are a...

Happy Sexy Millionaire Summary Part 2: Bartlett’s Best Practices for Pursuing Happiness and Success

We’ve discussed Bartlett’s arguments about how social forces have warped our sense of ourselves and our goals, and how reclaiming your true self and your own goals will increase your levels of contentment and feelings of success. Next we’ll look at Bartlett’s best practices for pursuing happiness and success.

Recommendation 1: Be Consistent

Bartlett argues that consistently taking steps to achieve your goals is the under-acknowledged and underrated key to success. The more time and energy you regularly put into doing things that will help you reach your dreams—even if the steps you take are small—the more growth, momentum, and progress you’ll experience.

Bartlett credits consistency over time as the factor that enabled him to build a global business at age 21, get in the best shape in his life, and have millions in the bank. He also says it was the key to his hitting the million-follower mark on social media, explaining that with each post he made and each follower he gained over a five year period, he learned, grew, and moved steadily closer to the six-figure number.

(Shortform note: Bartlett points to his social media numbers and financial status as markers of...

Shortform Exercise: Consider Your Happiness

Bartlett says that the internet, social media, and algorithms are selling a false dream of happiness and success that don’t actually exist. Contentment and fulfillment in life, love, and work come from being true to yourself and pursuing things that are meaningful to you.

Reflect on a time you saw something online or on TV that made you feel envious or bad because you didn’t have it. Describe what it was, how it made you feel, and what, if anything, you did to try to get it.