Wild Courage

Go After What You Want and Get It

De: Jenny Wood

Narrado por: Jenny Wood

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A bold, empowering, and energizing guide to embracing your ambition and chasing after what you want from an executive who spent nearly two decades climbing the ranks at Google.

"Extraordinary."—Kim Scott

"It's about pushing past fear and daring to be yourself."—Dan Pink

What if the traits you need to get ahead are the exact opposite of what you’ve been told?

To be successful you need to be Weird, Selfish, Shameless, Obsessed, Nosy, Manipulative, Brutal, Reckless, and Bossy. And that takes courage.

As a former Google leader and top career coach who chased an attractive stranger off the subway and later married him, Jenny Wood knows her way around courage. In this book, Wood shatters conventional wisdom about achieving your goals. She gives you permission to ditch your fear and chase after what you want, unapologetically.

Wood reclaims nine traits from their negative shackles and teaches you how to apply them in a savvy and sane way to supercharge your success, whether you’re trying to impress your new boss, snag a stretch promotion, or land a life-changing deal.

Wild Courage will teach you how to be:

Weird: Win as you or lose as “who?”

Selfish: Be your own champion.

Shameless: Kick impostor syndrome to the curb and self-promote with ease.

Obsessed: Push, persist, and perform at your highest level.

Nosy: Get curious to network confidently and learn from others.

Manipulative: Build influence with empathy and manage up like a pro.

Brutal: Draw lines and stick to them. Embrace the power of no.

Reckless: Err on the side of action and take healthy risks.

Bossy: Steer others to success, even if you’re not in charge yet.

Wild Courage coaches you to smash through your fear of discomfort, failure, and the judgement of others, to embrace your boldest self in pursuit of what you want. To be successful, you need to have courage. Wild amounts of it.

©2025 Jenny Wood (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A fresh, fearless approach to achieving your goals. This book is both a guide and a cheerleader for anyone on a mission to make things happen."—Gretchen Rubin, New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project

“The secret behind Jenny’s powerful debut is that this is actually a book about generous action. Creating the conditions for others to get what they need takes courage.”—Seth Godin, bestselling author of This Is Strategy

Stand Out for Goodness Sake

Book is completely right. We are indoctrinated nearly from birth NOT to stand out. Sit quietly, do your work, don’t speak. But that’s not what successful people do. They do the opposite.
An enjoyable and engaging read. Thank you.

Permission to Be Bold

Wild Courage is a must-read for anyone pushing the boundaries of their career or tackling ambitious goals that feel just out of reach. Jenny boldly reclaims leadership qualities that typically get criticized—selfish, obsessed, manipulative, bossy, etc—revealing them as essential ingredients for those who achieve remarkable success.

The book couldn't have come at a better time for me as I embark on a new journey in my career and am struggling with imposter syndrome and self-promotion. Jenny offers practical tools and mindset shifts that are easy to use but make a huge difference.

I now catch myself using mantras from the books message– "stay shameless," "be selfish," and "it takes obsession" – whenever I need that extra push to put myself out there.

If you're working toward an important goal or trying to advance your career, "Wild Courage" gives you permission to go after what you want, unapologetically. Thanks Jenny – this book is a game-changer!

Excellent Content—Great for aspiring leaders

I had been searching for a book that emphasized the importance of courage (especially in the workplace). This was the perfect antidote to anyone experiencing imposter syndrome, especially in a leadership role. Thank you for the excellent and inspiring content!

Actionable Advice

I can accomplish these things as a young mom, in my line of work. This is all do able. It didn't change my life, but is a great help.

Deeply disappointing and Alarmingly Toxic - Simply Bad Advice

I have never rated a book this low before, but Jenny Wood's Wild Courage was truly terrible. The advice given in this book glorifies being selfish, manipulative, brutal, reckless, and bossy—qualities that are not only unprofessional but completely counter to the values of teamwork and collaboration that make workplaces thrive. It felt like the author was trying to stir controversy in an already saturated genre of professional growth books, but instead, she missed the mark entirely.

The entire premise of the book seems to push the idea that success in an American corporation is solely about climbing the ladder, no matter who you hurt or what damage you do along the way. This toxic mindset is neither empowering nor practical. I even mentioned this book to my boss early on, saying parts of it reminded me of him (at least in the beginning), only to have it backfire badly when he confronted me during a one-on-one meeting about why I viewed him as such a bad manager.

This wasn't just bad advice—it was offensive. While it did shed light on the cutthroat behavior of toxic executives in certain industries like tech, spreading these ideas as a norm or something to aspire to is wrong and harmful. I know the author appreciates the value of candid and constructive feedback, and in this case, my advice to Jenny Wood is to go back to the drawing board and start over. If writing is your passion, please find a way to offer insights that align with integrity, practicality, and ethical values rather than encouraging reckless and damaging behaviors.

Wild Courage left me deeply disappointed, and I cannot recommend it to anyone.

Liberal Views

You lost me at kids having the courage to get your parents to use your pronouns.

Little depth

Very shallow, but presented as if insightful. A bit too self-serving to my taste.