Powerful ideas from top nonfiction
Try Blinkist to get the key ideas from 7,500+ bestselling nonfiction titles and podcasts. Listen or read in just 15 minutes.
Start your free trial
Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
Get It Together summary
Jesse Watters
Troubling Tales from the Liberal Fringe
15 mins
Table of Contents
Get It Together
Summary of 4 key ideas
Audio & text in the Blinkist app
Key idea 1 of 4
Your problems aren’t our problems
One day, Jesse Watters’s back went out. He needed emergency surgery at only 43 years old.
It came as a shock. But as the doctor told him, “sitting is the new smoking,” and in his work for Fox News, Watters was sitting all day – before, during and after shows. He was destroying his back.
While in recovery from the surgery, Watters changed his routine, and started walking everywhere – doctor’s orders.
And it was while he was limping down the street, in a lot of pain, that he became aware of something. He started to notice others who limped – others in pain.
Perhaps Watters was becoming a bit more empathetic? A little less self-absorbed?
Well, whatever it was, he realized that he was interested in going deeper.
By this stage, Watters had made a career out of interviewing extreme people. He was drawn to wild characters – people with maverick ideologies, out of the mainstream.
And he’d noticed that their beliefs were often rooted in a personal struggle. Chaotic childhoods were particularly common.
As Watters interviewed these people, he found himself thinking things like, “Well, of course you believe that – you’ve clearly got daddy issues.”
But while he used to judge these oddballs, he now started to feel sorry for them. He wanted to understand them better.
So, he interviewed a whole bunch of people whose beliefs he disagreed with – nihilistic academics, radical activists, and attention whores.
Watters listened to them – really listened. And what he realized is that these people have issues – serious issues that are just getting bigger, and crazier. Then what happens is that these people project their problems onto the rest of society.
It’s not surprising that people vote the way they do, and hate the way they do, when you look at their pasts, and their issues.
Watters has a message for these people. Your problems aren’t our problems. So, please, don’t make your problems ours.
Why should we turn society upside down because you want to take revenge on the father you never had?
Just . . . chill, says Watters. If you’ve got issues with your parents, here’s an idea: Why not try to be a better parent to your own kids? It seems like for many people, that should be easy.
In the following blinks, we’ll meet some of those people, and their problems.
Because at the end of the day, no matter how different our beliefs, there’s still something to be gained from trying to understand each other.
Next, let’s meet one of Watters’s most surprising interviewees – a man named Joe.
Want to see all full key ideas from Get It Together?
Key ideas in Get It Together
More knowledge in less time
Read or listen
Get the key ideas from nonfiction bestsellers in minutes, not hours.
Find your next read
Get book lists curated by experts and personalized recommendations.
Shortcasts New
We’ve teamed up with podcast creators to bring you key insights from podcasts.
What is Get It Together about?
Get It Together (2024) is based on a series of interviews with radical activists in the US, including a vocal supporter of Black Lives Matter. While these people’s beliefs vary, there are some common factors in their backgrounds.
Get It Together Review
Get It Together by Jesse Watters (2021) sheds light on how to navigate the complexities of modern life effectively. Here's why this book is worth your time:
- Containing a plethora of practical tips and strategies, it helps to streamline and optimize daily routines and tasks for improved efficiency.
- The book delves into essential life skills like budgeting, organization, and communication, offering valuable insights for personal growth and success.
- With a blend of humor and wisdom, the author keeps the content engaging and relatable, ensuring readers find the journey to betterment both enlightening and enjoyable.
Who should read Get It Together?
- People intrigued by the beliefs of radical activists
- Conservatives who want to understand the other side
- Anyone interested in the current state of US society
Categories with Get It Together
Book summaries like Get It Together
People ❤️ Blinkist
Sven O.
It's highly addictive to get core insights on personally relevant topics without repetition or triviality. Added to that the apps ability to suggest kindred interests opens up a foundation of knowledge.
Thi Viet Quynh N.
Great app. Good selection of book summaries you can read or listen to while commuting. Instead of scrolling through your social media news feed, this is a much better way to spend your spare time in my opinion.
Jonathan A.
Life changing. The concept of being able to grasp a book's main point in such a short time truly opens multiple opportunities to grow every area of your life at a faster rate.
Renee D.
Great app. Addicting. Perfect for wait times, morning coffee, evening before bed. Extremely well written, thorough, easy to use.
People also liked these summaries
4.7 Stars
Average ratings on iOS and Google Play
32 Million
Downloads on all platforms
10+ years
Experience igniting personal growth
Get It Together FAQs
What is the main message of Get It Together?
The main message of Get It Together is about personal responsibility and self-improvement.
How long does it take to read Get It Together?
Reading Get It Together takes a few hours. The Blinkist summary can be read in 15 minutes.
Is Get It Together a good book? Is it worth reading?
Get It Together is worth reading for its practical tips on organization and productivity.
Who is the author of Get It Together?
Jesse Watters is the author of Get It Together.
What to read after Get It Together?
If you're wondering what to read next after Get It Together, here are some recommendations we suggest:
- The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing by Mel Lindauer
- Knife by Salman Rushdie
- Atlas of AI by Kate Crawford
- Bad Therapy by Abigail Shrier
- New Cold Wars by David E. Sanger
- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
- Think by Simon Blackburn
- The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton
- The End of Race Politics by Coleman Hughes
- The Technology Trap by Carl Benedikt Frey