Book Summary: “The Pivot Year” by Brianna Wiest
Table of Contents
I had a chance to read Brianna Wiest’s new book, The Pivot Year, this week before it was officially released on April, 25th, 2023. Like her other books, The Pivot Year is one of those books that leaves you stunned with wisdom and inspired to change, and realize your highest potential.
It’s a poetic and powerful book that synthesizes much of her previous work into actionable guidance on how to set goals, overcome obstacles, and cultivate positive habits in order to achieve lasting change.
Summary + Important Lessons
The Pivot Year is a book that defies summary in many ways because it is written as a personal journey. The Pivot Year is designed to be read as a daily guidebook for personal transformation. Each day of the year includes a short essay or exercise designed to push you forward.
To read the book, you can start on any day of the year and read one entry per day. Each entry is relatively short (usually no more than a page or two), so it’s easy to fit into your daily routine. You can also use the book as a reference guide by flipping to specific entries that address topics or challenges you’re currently facing.
The Pivot Year is meant to be an interactive and engaging tool for personal growth and transformation. By reading it consistently and applying its insights to your life, you can make meaningful progress toward becoming the person you truly want to be. Everyone will take something different from it.
That said, here are some really important lessons that stuck out to me on my first read of the book, given my station in life at the moment.
- Page 5: Personal transformation requires a shift in mindset, from external validation to internal fulfillment.
- Page: 85: Fear and discomfort are natural parts of the personal growth process; learning to embrace them can help you overcome obstacles and achieve your goals.
- Page 171: Consistency is key to achieving your goals; small, daily actions can add up to significant progress over time.
- Page 215: Personal transformation requires both self-awareness and self-compassion; learning to be kind to yourself can help you overcome setbacks and stay on track.
I could probably write a bullet point for each page, if not an essay, but those are some of the more broad insights that I found from the book. Ultimately though, The Pivot Year will help you live a more authentic, fulfilling life by aligning your actions with your values.
The Pivot Year Quotes
Within you lives a great vision for your life, quieted over time by the world. It is once again time to listen. It is once again time to live.
Brianna Wiest, The Pivot Year
Success isn’t just about achieving external goals; it’s also about cultivating inner peace and contentment.
Brianna Wiest, The Pivot Year
The only way to truly know what you’re capable of is to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and see what happens.
Brianna Wiest, The Pivot Year
Maybe you don’t need to find more energy, maybe you just need to find a dream that makes you actually want to get up in the morning. Maybe you need to find something that gives back more than it takes. Maybe you need to stop trying to be good at the hundred things that do not light up your soul, and finally choose the one that does—the one that asks you to risk, to lay your heart bare, to try again, even though you’re scared. You’re not failing because you’re not motivated. You’re not supposed to get far on a path that was never yours to walk.
Brianna Wiest, The Pivot Year
Your life is a reflection of your thoughts, beliefs, and actions. Change any one of those things, and your life will change too.
Brianna Wiest, The Pivot Year
To truly pivot in life is not to move from one external path to another but to stop navigating your course solely from the blueprint given to you over the years. It does not mean to turn in a new direction, but to first go inward, to learn how to hear your own moment-to-moment instructions. It is to learn how to trust yourself, how to listen. It is to lead your life with a deeper degree of integrity. It is not to reconstruct your identity with pieces of what the world may deem more acceptable but to deconstruct the notion that you must fit within a mold at all.
Brianna Wiest, The Pivot Year
You must learn that you exist far and beyond the opinion you have of ourselves, and maybe, just maybe, if you stopped to look around, you’d realize that you are far more brave, far more powerful, far more beautiful, and far more loved than your smallest self would let you believe.
Brianna Wiest, The Pivot Year
You cannot change what you refuse to confront.
Brianna Wiest, The Pivot Year
PDF of The Pivot Year
Since I run social media for Thought Catalog Books, I know one of the questions we get all the time is “can I see a free PDF?” The answer is yes, and here is the link to the PDF preview. Please do support the author and creators behind the book by buying a real copy from an authorized seller like your local bookstore or Shop Catalog.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I buy the physical version of the book? The best place to buy the physical book is through Shop Catalog. Shop Catalog is the primary and authorized reseller of all Thought Catalog Books. You can also buy at your local retailer.
Who is Brianna Wiest? Brianna is the best-selling author of multiple books including 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think and The Mountain Is You. She started her career on Thought Catalog and gained international recognition due to her books that have now been translated into over 20 languages. Brianna went to Elizabethtown College and is now a partner at Thought Catalog. She lives in Big Sur, CA.
When will the audiobook of The Pivot Year be released? The audiobook of The Pivot Year is currently in production. It won’t be released until late 2023. In the meantime, you can find all of Brianna Wiest’s other books in audio form here. Brianna also has audio content hosted on the Thought Catalog YouTube channel.
What about international versions? The cheapest way for Canadians to buy the book is through Indigo. You can also buy the USA version from anywhere in the world on Shop Catalog. However, please note since the book ships from the United States, shipping prices can be quite expensive. Shop Catalog only charges what it costs to ship the book, and can’t control the pricing or timing of international shipments.
Is The Pivot Year being translated into different languages? Yes! The first translation of the book was released June 29. You can buy the German edition here. Other translations are in the works and if you’re a major publisher interested in foreign rights, please contact Thought Catalog Books directly.
What is the best way to get the eBook of The Pivot Year? You can find a free PDF of The Pivot Year online. The official retailer for eBook version is Apple Books. You can find it here.
Besides The Pivot Year, what other books has Brianna Wiest published? Brianna Wiest has published several books. She has four recent books of non-fiction:
- 101 Essays That Will Change The Way You Think
- The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery
- When You’re Ready, This Is How You Heal
- The Pivot Year: 365 Days to Become The Person You Truly Want To Be
Brianna has also published two poetry books:
How many books has Brianna Wiest sold? Brianna has sold now over 2 million books and her sale count is growing ever day. 2023 will mark the release of several new translations of her books, bringing in a brand new global audience.
Will Brianna Wiest be on a press tour for her the release of The Pivot Year? Brianna Wiest is currently doing press for the release of her book and will start a USA-based tour May 1. You can see all dates and locations on her website here.