A few years ago for Christmas my mom gave me a book called ‘Good Vibes, Good life’. Don’t judge a book by its cover? Well I did, and I immediately brushed it off as some nonsensical self-help book that I was never going to read.

As time passed, the book sat unread. It moved around through various reorganizations of my bookshelves, and sometimes I wondered why I bothered to keep it if I never intended to read it.

But in the first few weeks of my self growth journey it caught my eye and I decided maybe I could learn something from it after all. So I sat down one Sunday with a cup of ginger yuzu tea, a green highlighter, an open mind, and Vex King’s best seller and I read.

The book begins with the story of King’s troubled childhood. His father died when he was young, and in the years that followed King and his family went through many hardships. The point of this story isn’t to make the reader feel bad for King, but to help see that he came a long way and no matter your circumstances, you can, too.

Early on in the book he mentions the Law of Attraction, which almost made me put the book down for good. If you’re unfamiliar with the Law of Attraction, the premise is ‘what you think about, you bring about.’ And to put it bluntly, I think it’s a load of shit. I had a partner once who, while I was suffering through a rough depressive episode, told me I just wasn’t trying enough to be happy and said if I think about being happy then it would come to me.

Guess what? It didn’t work. So when King referenced the Law of Attraction I was ready to quit reading. But there were still 266 pages to go so I told myself I’d read a little further.

King then introduced the Law of Vibration. The Law of Vibration is about more than just thinking – it’s about being. It’s about the Universe returning the energy that you put out. “To receive good vibes we must project good vibes,” King writes. This idea resonated with me, and from there I was hooked.

Part Two of the book was centered around positive habits to embrace in your lifestyle. He talked about the power of surrounding yourself with positive people who are vibrating higher than you, and who add something to your life. He urges the reader to steer clear of drama, which sends negative energy out into the Universe when engaged with. The more negative energy you put out the lower your vibration, and the Universe will respond to that low vibration in negative ways.

“The Universe is abundant in all areas; the illusion of fear is the only limitation we have,” King writes as he explains the importance of counting your blessings and in turn having more to count. Focus your energy on the solutions to your problems, rather than directing all your energy towards your fears.

The power of positive relationships, though mentioned earlier in the book, is explored in more depth in Part Three. King explains how sometimes less is more when it comes to relationships. Don’t value the quantity over your friends over the quality, as, “Less is always more when your less means more.” He cautions against staying in romantic relationships, friendships, or even familial relationships that lower your vibration. It can be hard to let go of people sometimes, especially people with low vibrations who you feel rely on you for emotional support, but there is nothing more important than protecting your peace and keeping your vibrations high. After all, “increasing the number of unhappy people in the world doesn’t benefit anyone.”

Part Four is titled ‘Accepting Yourself’ and dives into embracing you as you are. In relation to physical beauty, King says, “You’re a reflection of the wonder of nature.” There are no rules to beauty despite what socially constructed ideas may say, so King encourages the reader to love themselves and all their imperfections, and to never stop appreciating their beauty.

Just as important, King notes, is valuing your inner beauty. Bodies can change, but internal beauty lasts a lifetime, so it’s important to make sure you project kindness that can satisfy the hearts, minds, and souls of others, and in turn – yourself.

The next section of the book talks about mind work, and one thing King highlights is the power of positive thinking. Despite my experience with my past partner, at this point in the book King had convinced me that it was worth hearing him out on this topic.

“Positive thinking is the act of choosing ideas that empower you over those that limit you,” King says. I thought back to my past partner, and how King’s message was different than what they told me to do. Sitting around thinking, “I’m happy!” when I wasn’t didn’t do anything for me. But allowing myself to focus my energy on what empowers me gives me strength I didn’t know I had.

But achieving a higher vibration and manifesting your goals goes beyond what just the mind can do. You will get nowhere if you don’t also take action.

“It’s not about where you’re at,” King writes. “It’s about what you’re doing about where you’re at.” This struck a chord so deep in me that I put an image of the page at the top of this review, and shared it on social media. Change requires action, and while you can take the easy route, growth only takes place when you are challenged. The difference between ordinary and extraordinary people comes down to the commitment to their goals, and to getting things done even when they don’t feel like it. Watch out for procrastination, King warns, as it will only delay your dreams.

In the last section of the book, King breaks down pain and purpose. Pain shapes people and gives them power if they don’t allow themselves to play victim every time adversity strikes. Lessons will repeat themselves, but all of these experiences are leading you to find your greater purpose in life, and when you do you will feel complete.

After I turned the final page, I felt a profound sense of satisfaction. I had put off reading this book for so long and though that might seem like a negative thing, I realized I just wasn’t ready when my mom gifted it to me all those years ago. I would have approached King’s lessons with skepticism and likely wouldn’t have gained anything from reading it. But reading it now as I’m forging a new path and learning to be a better version of myself, I feel like the Universe knew what it was doing the day this book caught my eye on the bottom of my bookshelf.

If anything I’ve said in this review has resonated with you, I encourage you to pick up your own copy. You can find it on Amazon or at major retailers like Target and Barnes and Noble.