This book was a real eye-opener for me. I've always thought of myself as someone without much charisma, and I believed that likable people were simply born that way. I was so glad to find that someone had actually studied this subject, broken charisma down, and shown us its elements.

The second surprise was discovering that this book is much more about your inner state than your outward appearance. The idea that "your mental state affects your facial expressions, and if your mental state isn't right, you can't possibly radiate charisma" was a true revelation. I think after reading this book, I'll be better at taking care of my feelings and living a happier life, a bonus I never expected at the start!

The last surprise was that I'd already come across many of these ideas in other books. For example, "don't try to prove the other person wrong" is exactly the main message of "The Next Conversation"! "Don't believe every thought that pops into your head" is exactly the main message of "I May Be Wrong"! This kind of cross-validation makes me trust these theories even more, and I can't help but look forward to it: just how much could these mindset shifts change my life?

All in all, I highly recommend this book. I suggest buying a copy to keep, and then going further by watching the author's own talks. I've put the link in the "Other summaries" section below. They're fantastic!