Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Wake Up Happy with Advice by Michael Strahan

michael strahan
Image used with permission by copyright holder
For centuries, social constructs have compiled a million ways on how to be a man.

None, however, really guide you there. Former New York Giants defensive end and current Good Morning America contributor, Michael Strahan takes on the life’s toughest obstacles with a winning attitude that every man can respect in his new book, Wake Up Happy: The Dream Big, Win Big Guide to Transforming Your Life ($13.80 on Amazon).

Wake Up Happy by Michael StrahanPart memoir, part roadmap to happiness, Wake Up Happy delves into Strahan’s transition from boyhood to manhood and everything in-between. Along the way, Strahan offers some rules of life to finding success–but it’s not a money and fame type of success. It’s a success that is rich with ambition and happiness.

Success, by definition, is the accomplishment of an aim or purpose. Each person possesses their own perception of what being successful really means and it’s worth noting that success can come in more ways than one. Wake Up Happy details Strahan’s upbringing in a reflection of this classic storyline, as he compiles some the straightforward wisdom his father passed on into a simple list of 18 rules for everyone to live by.

“Growing up, my dad always used to say, ‘when’ not ‘if.’ When you get a scholarship to college…,’ ‘When you make it into the NFL…,’ ‘When you get into the Hall of Fame….’ He taught me to believe that my dreams were not only possible, but that they were inevitable with hard work and dedication.” (Rule #9, Wake Up Happy)

This positive attitude and desire is at the forefront of Strahan’s overall wake up happy method. As a man who owns over 50 suits (and even has his own personal line, Collection by Michael Strahan), adopted workout routines from Jane Fonda to lose weight as a kid, and co-founded a management and branding company, the Texas-born juggernaut epitomizes the look good, feel good, do good mentality.

From starring on the gridiron, to his almost seamless transitions to television, radio, and the world of fashion design, Strahan inadvertently painted a path to becoming a man. Or more simply, with grit and determination, he made his life into what he wanted it to be. Here are some of our favorite rules to help you wake up happy.

Rule No. 1: Help can – and will – come from the most unexpected places. Be open to everything around you.

When you live with an open mind, a strong sense of self-awareness is accrued. As a result, you allow yourself to gain confidence as you learn more and more about the world around you without your blinders on. Whether it’s your coworker offering to help you move or your Lyft driver setting up networks with people in your field, this willingness to be open is contagious and others around you will follow suit.

Rule No. 3: Grit, desire, and discipline are free and the only equipment you need to start just about any endeavor.

Pioneering psychologist Angela Duckworth discovered that the secret to exceptional achievement and growth in a field isn’t directly correlated with talent. Rather it stems from a special quality psychologists call, “grit,” which she explains in her New York Times Bestseller.

Rule No. 5: Too many of us count ourselves out before we even give ourselves a chance. Do the work. Be excellent. You’ll find your place, and it may just be where you least expect it. 

It’s true that we are the harshest critics to ourselves when it comes to success and failure. But if you don’t believe in yourself, how can you expect others to believe in you? Confidence and hard work will get you closer to excellence than any makeshift entry on your resume.

Rule No. 7: “Am I the man or the woman that I hoped to be?” If you want to be more, you’ve got to do more.”

Self-reflection is an important aspect when gauging growth and setting goals; but it’s also one of the hardest things to do. Too often we rely on others to measure our purpose when the power to fill that void rests entirely on us. The car wont move unless you put it into drive and press on the gas.

Rule No. 17: There’s more power in your attitude than in your bank account.

Along with Strahan, I’m a firm believer that you can control your own attitude for the betterment of life. A positive attitude will provide you with stress security when your bank account is low and will eventually lead you to find something productive to do to change your situation. Remember Rule No. 3: grit, desire, and discipline are free.

Images courtesy of Simon Schuster.

Topics
Bryan Holt
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Bryan Holt is a writer, editor, designer, and multimedia storyteller based in Portland, Oregon. He is a graduate from the…
From Gilda Radner to Ali Wong, these are the best female comedians of all time
These women from all generations will make you laugh out loud
Ai Wong comedian 2017 Moontower comedy festival

Hot take: I don’t care for straight male comedians. It’s not that they’re not funny, they’re just … I don’t know, boring? Maybe that’s reductive of me, but I never seem to leave a straight male comedian’s set feeling particularly inspired. And though some may argue that it’s not important for a set to "inspire" its audience, I’d actually argue that the opposite is true. For me, I want to see a comedian use humor to address real issues and say real things about the world, even if they do it in a completely goofy way.

Therefore, I tend to prefer female and female-identified comedians. They’re sharp, tough, and have often seen shit that makes their comedy feel raw and true. Undoubtedly there are male comedians who do this, too, but to a much lesser degree, in my very humble and very personal opinion.

Read more
12 classic sci-fi books everyone should read
If you love science fiction and reading, these classic sci-fi novels are a must
Man reading a book and drinking coffee

It may feel like we were recently living in a science-fiction dystopia life -- and in some ways, we were -- but that doesn't mean that we should simply avoid an entire genre of writing. Hardly. In fact, this is probably the perfect time to explore classic sci-fi books, to see what the masters have written, and maybe even see if someone predicted anything like this. Many, though, simply ignore sci-fi wholly and completely because of an association with robots, aliens, and the like.

Long story short, if you think you don't like sci-fi, you have never read great books from the genre. But indeed, many such books abound, including a number that has delighted generations of readers going back well over 150 years. In fact, one of the best things about so many sci-fi books is their very timelessness. As by definition, this type of fiction breaks away from the norms of the everyday world -- whether slightly twisting things or taking place on entire other worlds -- the stories often feel as fresh and relevant today as when they were published decades ago.

Read more
The 7 best classic fantasy books to get lost in
Even adults can enjoy entering the fantasy world
Man reading a book

Using the term "fantasy" when it comes to fiction, we are admittedly casting a pretty wide net. After all, think about just how many shows and movies could technically be considered fantasy, too. If. we're talking about classic, canonical fantasy, though, the net shrinks considerably. If a book is to stand the test of time to be considered a classic -- regardless of genre -- it has to be damn good. At the risk of offending plenty of authors and fantasy fans both of yesteryear and today, most fantasy writing ... how should I put this? In a few decades, it won't be on some future writer's list of fantasy classics.

I say all that as an absolute fan of fantasy writing. From the Game of Thrones books, our era's Lord of the Rings, to the novels of Neil Gaiman, to the Twilight series (except not that), there is a plethora of great fantasy writing being produced today. But if you're looking to get into the genre or are already an aficionado with a few gaps in your reading list, classic fantasy novels are always a fine choice, as are classic mysteries, classic adventure books, and on it goes across every genre of literature.

Read more