I received a complementary copy of this book for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.
What if you completely accepted the hand you’ve been dealt by life, in all circumstances, and consider every experience, even the unpleasant ones, an opportunity for personal growth? That’s what author Michael Singer did, and he tells us of his process in his latest book, The Surrender Experiment.
“What we have here is the basis for an amazing experiment,” Singer writes early in the book. “At the heart of the experiment is a simple question: Am I better off making up an alternate reality in my mind and then fighting with reality to make it be my way, or am I better off letting go of what I want and serving the same forces of reality that managed to create the entire perfection of the universe around me?” What follows is a detailed account of Singer’s life, from a backwoods hippie in the 70’s to becoming the CEO of a highly successful computer software company. Singer tells the reader how he resisted life’s challenges at times, but always with his “surrender to whatever happens” philosophy each seemingly negative event eventually turns into a rewarding success.
Being a former software engineer myself, I enjoyed reading Singer’s story of how he entered the computer business. His first computer was Radio Shack’s TRS-80. That was my first computer, too! Unlike me, who majored in computer science in college, Singer had no formal education in programming. Yet from the gift of curiosity he was able to teach himself programming and eventually create a highly profitable medical billing software product, the basis of his company. The description of his computer career and inner workings of his company may be too detailed for some readers. I personally liked it given my technical background. For you non-geeks, Singer mixes in spirituality, too, as he tells of learning about meditation and founding a spiritual retreat center.
For those new to Singer’s work, I recommend reading his first book, The Untethered Soul, to understand the author’s approach to life. The Surrender Experiment is a worthy followup – how he applied some of the principles he talks about in his first book to real life.
What I like best about Singer’s philosophy he sums up in one paragraph in the concluding pages of the book, “My formula for success was very simple: Do whatever is put in front of you with all your heart and soul without regard for personal results. Do the work as though it were given to you by the universe itself—because it was.” I find my life works better when I follow that simple advice, doing my best without worrying about outcomes. Often the outcome turns out to be unexpected and better than what I could have imagined. Read The Surrender Experiment to learn how a sense of surrender led to success in Michael Singer’s life, and it will encourage you to follow the same principles in your own life.
