The Hidden Power of F*cking Up

The Try Guys · Keith Habersberger · Zach Kornfeld · Eugene Lee Yang · Ned Fulmer

Jun 2019 · HarperAudio · Narrated by The Try Guys

About this audiobook

The four co-creators of The Try Guys, one of the Internet’s most popular and viral sensations, deliver their first book—an inspirational self-improvement guide that teaches you that the path to success is littered with humiliating detours, embarrassing offenses, and unexpected failures.

Best friends and social media stars Eugene, Keith, Ned, and Zach are admired for their curiosity, humor, bravado, and fearlessness. But that self-confidence came from their willingness to take big risks—being open to try something new or unusual, even if they failed spectacularly in the attempt. To be our best selves, we have to challenge ourselves. In dedicating ourselves to embracing fear, foolishness, and embarrassment, we can learn to recognize the ways in which we often hold ourselves back.

In The Hidden Power of F*cking Up, they swap some of their best stories and offer encouragement and hard advice to help you become a Try Guy too. Whether they’re experiencing what it’s like to be in labor with a pain simulation machine, marching on the streets of Los Angeles in heels, learning to dance ballet (with a professional dancer and some talented tots), replicating the ancient Olympics, or trying to bake bread without a recipe—their hilarious escapades are embolded by their “throw caution to the wind” attitudes, encouraging readers to become their best flawed and f***ked up selves.

Throughout, Eugene, Keith, Ned, and Zach open the doors to the past, showing their fans how four nerdy, timid, self-conscious boys grew up into four super-hot-mega-babes secure in their insecurities. They offer key advice on what to do when faced with impending failure—and how to push through to the other side—provide anecdotes about their experiences curating their sure-fail philosophy and introduce each of their new challenges to the reader for the first time (Ned’s impossible challenges as a first-time father and Keith’s goal of curbing his fried chicken habit by going vegan).

Ratings and reviews

This book is a fantastic inside view showing the struggles and rises of four best friends, from meeting at Buzzfeed, to starting a company, to having a baby, The Try Guys have lived very interesting lives and it's a privilege to read the tips and advice and personal stories they've chosen to share. I would recommend this book to all my friends, whether they're in a hard place, or just need a good book to read.

I don't usually like self help books. So many of them are way too generic to actually be helpful, or too out of touch to be personally applicable. This book has a wonderful outlook on life that I think subconsciously I've always been striving for. As the title subjects its about trying new things without fear of failure- embracing failure as a part of experiencing new things. I've already been trying to make the best of my life, for so long, but this book has contextualized it for me in a tangible way. A new way for me to put my philosophy into words- adding onto my philosophy actually. I spent a good portion of my childhood waiting for something to happen, for something to get better. My biggest regret in life is not trying. Not trying new things, not trying to make my situation better. My favorite quote from this book is one of the chapter names. To paraphrase, "There is only Try. Yoda was wrong."

amazing book. but listening to ned makes me sick lol especially during the love chapter. had to sick him ngl

About the author

The Try Guys is an Internet comedy series made up of Ned Fulmer, Keith Habersberger, Zach Kornfeld, and Eugene Lee Yang, who all write, direct, produce, and shoot each of their episodes. Their viral videos have garnered over 1 billion views across social media platforms.