Get Out of My Head: Creating Modern Clarity with Stoic Wisdom

WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER

LOS ANGELES TIMES SOCAL INDIE BESTSELLER

Are self-doubt and other negative feelings living rent free in your mind?

If so, you’re not alone. It’s common, even for the most accomplished among us, to let people, circumstances, and worries take up valuable headspace.

Get Out of My Head is a lifeline for overwhelmed professionals seeking direction and tranquility in turbulent times, whether navigating daily stressors or experiencing defining moments.

Author M. Andrew McConnell, CEO of RENTED, INC., shows you it’s possible to achieve clarity, make good decisions, and rise in your career, by illustrating that the human mind is not unlike real estate: adopting an owner’s mindset can make all the difference.

Drawing on ancient Stoic philosophy, modern science, and remarkable stories of contemporary innovators in business, sports, and more, Get Out of My Head demonstrates how to effectively allocate your mental resources, set mental boundaries, and overcome challenges by seizing ownership of your own mind and channeling adversity as a vehicle for growth.

The ancient Stoics recognized that the mind is a human’s most precious and finite resource—that it is the only thing of value anyone can truly possess. The Stoics also understood that the default human state is to waste our mind on trivial things. When we lend our mind to things that do not serve us, we are left with only remnants of our potential.

Throughout this book, you’ll find stories of high-achieving modern Stoics who have successfully reclaimed their headspace, as well as the tools you need to develop better resilience—a remedy to chronic stress—so that you, too, can transition from “mind rentership” to “mind ownership.”

Andrew McConnell’s story is not your typical Silicon Valley fairytale. Born in Birmingham, AL, he was raised in a neighborhood built on a former tobacco field, population ~50,000. Through Stoicism and Southern grit, he managed to graduate Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and University of Cambridge with honors, all while becoming a member of the USA Open Water Swimming National Team, and earning an international Bronze Medal in the process. Entering the work world, Andrew took a while to find his footing, bouncing from banker (Merrill Lynch), to attorney (Eversheds Sutherland), to consultant (McKinsey & Co.), before finally striking out on his own.

By deploying the ancient philosophy of Stoicism, Andrew McConnell eventually took the company he founded, Rented.com, from less than $200,000 in revenue to nearly $10 million in under three years, a 50X increase. Today, Rented.com is a two-time Inc. 500 winner, with more than $25 million raised. Andrew has tracked this perilous journey as a regular contributor to Inc., Forbes, USA Today, Huffington Post, Betterment, Skift, and Curbed, where his writings on Stoicism, the access economy, and the highs and lows of contemporary work-life find an eager audience of thousands of readers. Still, in true Stoic fashion, Andrew’s commitment to making an impact has always extended beyond business. He’s a Board Member of Georgia’s oldest charity, Sheltering Arms, a founding Board Member of Atlanta Technology Leaders, and a TechStars Mentor for Social Impact Startups. He’s also an attendee of the invite-only Yale CEO Summit as well as the Renaissance Weekend conference attended by astronauts, past-presidents of the US, Supreme Court Justices, and other world-class thought leaders. His drive to share encouragement, resources, understanding, and techniques have led to the creation of this book.