Why Haven't You Read This Book?: Flipping the burden of proof to open up a world of possibility

by Isaac Morehouse, Zachary Slayback (With), T.K. Coleman (With)

This book is about the simple practice of flipping the burden of proof from ‘why?’ to ‘why not?’.What would happen to your life if you stopped assuming you know all the reasons why not to do things differently? Have you ever really, seriously demanded of yourself good reasons to not start a business, move to a new city, dropout of school, quit your job, write a book, travel the world, climb a mountain, fly first class, audition for American Idol (or whatever the newest version is), or have a bunch of kids?You probably assume you have good reasons for not doing these things. We all do. It’s called status quo bias. The dominant path isn’t scrutinized much, while deviations are. That’s the line anyway. We think the deviations are scrutinized, but maybe they’re scrutinized even less.Would your life look different if you asked ‘why?’ of all the things that don’t get questioned, and ‘why not?’ of all those that do?This is a collection of stories from diverse authors. None of the authors are experts. Instead, this book is a collection of ideas and stories from people who have lived these out-of-the-norm decisions, sometimes with wonderful results, sometimes with great difficulty. But every single author has put their life where their words are and asked ‘why not?’ of some big, crazy decisions.

170 pages, Paperback

Published December 26, 2015

Reviews

[c4ss1us [l1f3] · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this quick read.
It's a thought-provoking and entertaining book, about flipping the burden of proof: ask yourself why you haven't done something, instead of why you should do it. If by answering honestly, you don't see any major obstacles, do it! At least you'll have some funny stories like the ones told in this book.
Stop lying to yourself in order to satisfy your ego or not to get out of the status quo. Think a little further, re-analyze your premises. It's wonderful how this brief action of stopping and questioning yourself can change your perspective on many topics.

[Brad Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent quick read. Even if you think you 'get it' and accept the premise outlined in the intro regarding flipping the burden of proof to ask "why not?", you probably don't. At least not fully. Not to the extent that the stories and journeys make you radically question and introspect on the kinds of things you're doing in your daily life unthinkingly.
But beyond that, the stories are just so interesting and well written. Each author is exceptional at painting the picture to convey the topic/question in the context of their own experience.
The enlightenment is definitely worth the hour or two.