Real-Life Examples of Motivational Applications of 'You Are a Badass'

Everyday Examples of Motivational Applications of You Are a Badass

Most people don’t change their life in one dramatic movie-montage moment. They change it in Tuesday afternoons and boring commutes and awkward Zoom calls. That’s where the best examples of motivational applications of You Are a Badass actually live.

Instead of talking in theory, let’s look at how people are using Sincero’s ideas in real, messy, modern life—from 2024 job market chaos to the rise of remote work and the creator economy.

Career Confidence: Using “Badass” Energy to Change Jobs

One of the clearest examples of motivational applications of You Are a Badass shows up in career pivots.

Take the classic mid-career professional who’s miserable in a stable job. They’ve highlighted half the book, but nothing changes—until they apply two specific ideas:

• Noticing the stories: Sincero talks about how we repeat limiting beliefs like background music. In 2024, career coaches and therapists echo this idea, often calling it “cognitive reframing” (you’ll see similar concepts in resources from the National Institutes of Health discussing behavior change). The reader starts catching thoughts like, “I’m too old to switch careers,” and labels them as stories, not facts.

• Acting “as if”: Instead of waiting to feel confident, they begin acting like someone who is already capable of landing a better role—updating LinkedIn, sending messages, booking informational interviews.

One real-world example: a marketing coordinator in her late 30s used Sincero’s “act as if” principle to start applying only to roles that scared her a little. She made a rule: if the job description made her think, “That’s too big for me,” she applied anyway. Within three months, she landed a remote role with a 28% salary increase.

This is a textbook example of motivational applications of You Are a Badass: not just “believe in yourself,” but change your daily actions to match the life you say you want.

Money Mindset: From “I’m Bad with Money” to Earning More

Money is where a lot of readers either roll their eyes or finally wake up. Sincero’s point is blunt: if you keep treating money like the enemy, it will keep running away from you.

Here’s a real example of how that plays out.

A freelance designer in Austin had been charging the same low rates since 2019. She loved the creative work but dreaded invoices, felt guilty raising prices, and constantly told friends, “I’m just not good with money.” After reading You Are a Badass, she did three very specific things:

• Wrote down every negative belief she had about money—“rich people are greedy,” “no one will pay me more,” “I’m bad at numbers”—and challenged each one.
• Set a new minimum project rate that felt slightly uncomfortable but not absurd.
• Practiced a Sincero-style affirmation daily: “People are excited to pay me well for my work.”

Within six months, she had raised her average project rate by about 40%. That wasn’t magic; it was mindset plus action. She stopped pre-discounting herself in proposals, stopped apologizing for her prices, and started saying, “Here’s my rate,” instead of, “Is this okay?”

Financial psychologists and behavioral researchers have long noted that beliefs and emotions around money affect real-world outcomes (the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has written about financial behavior and mindset). Sincero just packages that idea in a loud, entertaining voice.

When people say they want real examples of motivational applications of You Are a Badass, money stories like this are usually what they mean: not winning the lottery, but finally charging what you’re worth.

Side Hustles and Creative Projects: Starting Before You Feel Ready

Scroll TikTok or Instagram in 2024 and you’ll see a wave of people turning hobbies into income—Etsy shops, coaching offers, digital products, newsletters, you name it. A surprising number of them credit You Are a Badass as the shove they needed.

Here’s one example that captures this perfectly.

A teacher in Ohio had been talking about starting a tutoring side business for years. She was burned out, underpaid, and constantly sending her friends long rants about the education system. After reading Sincero’s chapters about fear and procrastination, she made one simple commitment: launch something imperfect within 30 days.

She:

• Created a basic one-page website using a template.
• Posted in two local Facebook groups about online tutoring for middle school math.
• Told five parents she already knew, “I’m taking on three students this month.”

That was it. No elaborate business plan, no brand colors, no fancy logo. Within two weeks, she had her first three paying students. A year later, she had enough clients to cut back to part-time teaching.

This is one of the best examples of motivational applications of You Are a Badass: lowering the bar for “starting,” and raising the bar for what you’ll tolerate from your own excuses.

Social Confidence: Using “Badass” Tools for Anxiety and Self-Doubt

Self-help books aren’t therapy, and they don’t replace mental health care. But they can complement it, especially when it comes to confidence.

Psychologists and organizations like the Mayo Clinic talk about using positive self-talk and exposure to manage social anxiety. Sincero’s version is more like having a hype friend in your ear.

Here’s a real-world scenario.

A software engineer who’d always avoided speaking up in meetings decided to try Sincero’s “fake it till you make it” approach. Before each weekly standup, he:

• Spent three minutes in what Sincero would call a “high-vibe” state—music, deep breaths, quick walk.
• Repeated a short mantra: “I add value when I speak up.”
• Committed to saying one thing in every meeting, no matter how small.

He didn’t suddenly become the star of the show. But over a few months, colleagues started asking for his input. His manager noticed. When a team lead role opened up, he was recommended because he had become “more visible” and “more engaged.”

That’s how small mindset shifts turn into tangible career outcomes. This example of motivational applications of You Are a Badass shows that the book isn’t only about big life changes—it’s also about micro-bravery in everyday situations.

Health and Habits: Tiny “Badass” Moves for Physical Well-Being

Sincero isn’t a doctor, and You Are a Badass isn’t a health manual. But the mindset she pushes—believing you’re worth taking care of—lines up with a lot of what health experts say about behavior change.

The CDC and other health organizations emphasize starting small with physical activity and building habits gradually. That’s very much in the spirit of Sincero’s “just start” philosophy.

Consider a remote worker in her 40s who felt tired, achy, and glued to a screen all day. She read You Are a Badass and realized her self-talk about her body sounded like an enemy, not a teammate. So she tried a “badass” experiment for 30 days:

• No more calling herself “lazy” or “gross” in her head.
• A single, non-negotiable 10-minute walk every workday.
• A Sincero-style affirmation taped to her monitor: “My body is my ally in building the life I want.”

The result wasn’t a dramatic before-and-after photo. It was something quieter but more powerful: she began sleeping better, had more energy, and gradually extended that walk to 20–30 minutes. That’s behavior change 101, and you’ll see similar habit-building ideas echoed in resources from places like Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health—start small, repeat often, be kind to yourself.

Again, this is one of those subtle examples of motivational applications of You Are a Badass: changing how you talk to yourself so you can change how you treat yourself.

Relationships and Boundaries: Saying No Like You Mean It

One of the more underrated parts of You Are a Badass is how much it encourages readers to stop living for everyone else’s approval. In 2024, with burnout, “quiet quitting,” and boundary-setting all over social media, this message hits differently.

Here’s a concrete example.

A people-pleasing project manager realized that her calendar was a graveyard of other people’s priorities. After reading Sincero’s thoughts on boundaries and self-respect, she decided to treat her time like money.

She:

• Started pausing before saying yes to anything new.
• Practiced a simple line: “Let me check my schedule and get back to you.”
• Asked herself, “Would Future Me thank me for this?” before agreeing.

Within a couple of months, she had:

• Stopped volunteering for every extra work project.
• Reclaimed two evenings a week for herself.
• Reduced that simmering resentment that comes from constantly over-giving.

Therapists and relationship experts often stress the importance of boundaries for mental health; you’ll find similar themes in resources curated by the National Institute of Mental Health. Sincero’s version is more colorful, but the core idea is the same: you teach people how to treat you.

This is another strong example of motivational applications of You Are a Badass: using its bold language as training wheels while you learn to protect your time and energy.

Digital Age Twist: Applying You Are a Badass in 2024–2025

The world in which You Are a Badass is being applied now looks very different from when the book first came out. Remote work is normal. AI tools are everywhere. Side hustles are practically a second language.

Here are a few modern examples of motivational applications of You Are a Badass that fit the 2024–2025 landscape:

• Content creators using Sincero’s “just start” approach to finally post their first video, podcast episode, or newsletter instead of endlessly consuming “how to” content.
• Remote workers using “act as if” to show up on camera as leaders—turning cameras on, speaking up, and asking for promotions even if they still feel like impostors.
• Career switchers using the book’s mindset work alongside upskilling platforms and online courses (many universities, like those in the U.S. Department of Education ecosystem, now offer flexible professional programs) to pivot into tech, UX, data, or healthcare.

In other words, the book’s ideas plug neatly into a world where you can learn new skills online, pitch clients globally, and build an audience from your living room. The mindset is old-school; the opportunities are very 2025.

How to Create Your Own “Badass” Action Plan

Reading other people’s stories is inspiring, but the real power comes when you turn those stories into your own experiment.

If you want your life to be another example of motivational applications of You Are a Badass, you can start with a simple three-part framework:

Pick one area. Career, money, health, relationships, creativity—choose a single domain where you’re most frustrated.

Catch the story. Write down the loudest negative belief you have in that area. Maybe it’s, “I’m not leadership material,” or, “People like me don’t make that kind of money.” Don’t argue with it yet—just expose it.

Design one bold-but-manageable action. Ask, “If I already believed I was a badass in this area, what would I do this week?” Then do the smallest version of that. Apply for one role. Raise your rate for one client. Say no to one request. Go on one 10-minute walk.

The point is not to perfectly follow Sincero’s advice. The point is to use her voice as a catalyst—to nudge you from insight to experiment, from “someday” to “this week.”

When you look at all these real examples of motivational applications of You Are a Badass—career changes, higher income, better boundaries, more courage in social situations—they’re all built from the same raw material: a slightly braver thought, followed by a slightly bolder action.

That’s the real magic of the book. Not that it changes your life for you, but that it convinces you, sometimes for the first time, that you’re allowed to.

FAQ: Real Examples of Applying You Are a Badass

What are some simple, everyday examples of motivational applications of You Are a Badass?
Everyday examples include speaking up once in a meeting when you’d normally stay silent, raising your freelance rate for a new client, saying no to a favor that drains you, taking a 10-minute walk instead of scrolling, or sending a message to someone you admire on LinkedIn. None of these are dramatic, but they’re all small acts of backing yourself.

Can you give an example of using You Are a Badass to change careers?
One example: a customer service rep used the book’s ideas about self-worth and “acting as if” to start applying for entry-level marketing roles. She took a short online course, rewrote her resume to highlight transferable skills, and aimed higher than she felt ready for. Within a few months, she landed a marketing coordinator role with better pay and clearer growth paths.

Are the motivational applications of You Are a Badass realistic in 2024–2025?
Yes, as long as you treat the book as mindset fuel, not a magic spell. In a world with remote work, online learning, and global job platforms, the combination of Sincero’s confidence-building approach plus practical skill-building is very current. The mindset helps you take bolder actions; the modern tools help those actions actually pay off.

How do I avoid turning the book into feel-good inspiration with no action?
Give yourself a rule: every time you underline a sentence or feel a surge of motivation, you must write down one action you’ll take within 48 hours. That might be sending an email, making a call, updating a profile, or scheduling a walk. The difference between reading the book and living it is always that next concrete step.

Is You Are a Badass enough on its own, or should I combine it with other resources?
It’s usually most powerful when combined with other supports—therapy or counseling if you’re dealing with deeper mental health issues (you can explore resources via the National Institute of Mental Health), skills training if you’re switching careers, or financial education if you’re working on money. Think of the book as your mindset coach, not your entire support system.