Book Review: How to Fight a Hydra

How to Fight a Hydra by Josh Kaufman is a book for artists, creative professionals, and entrepreneurs with advice given through a story of a warrior learning to face their fears, learning from mistakes, and persisting through a fight with a Hydra, a mythical serpent with nine heads.

I bought this book based on a recommendation and didn’t really research what it was about before I started reading. In the beginning, I started to think about Don Quixote and his adventures but it quickly turned into the meat of the story and I love the whole premise of the metaphor of doing battle against a giant beast because it honestly does feel that way when you are creating things.

The book itself is an easy read and I finished it in one sitting. It is 100 pages, but the book is 4×6 inches so it’s small. Here is a picture of it beside another typical business book.

In the end, this story reminded me so much of all the decisions I’ve made related to creating software, launching products, and of course taking the leap into the unknown.

Overall I enjoyed How to Fight a Hydra and would recommend it. The premise is a fun idea and the story keeps you engaged.