Stubborn Bastard: A Field Manual for People Who Refuse to Stay Down

By Ryan Bardyla

The world doesn't need another book telling you to "believe in yourself."

You've tried the positive affirmations. You've heard the billionaires explain how they "just didn't give up." You've watched the motivational videos at 3 AM when sleep wouldn't come and nothing else was working.

None of it helped.

Stubborn Bastard is the field manual for people who are past the point of inspiration. For veterans staring at the bottom of a bottle. For first responders watching the ice creep into their hearts. For anyone who has been fucked over by an institution-military, corporate, religious, or family-and had to rebuild from rubble.

This book will help you see:

The difference between Stupid Tenacity (grinding yourself to death for the wrong cause) and Strategic Persistence (knowing which battles actually matter)Why your brain is lying to you-and the neuroscience of how to catch itWhen quitting is the bravest thing you'll ever doWhat the research actually says about "grit" (hint: the TED talk version is bullshit)A crisis playbook for when everything falls apart at once

Ryan Bardyla isn't a life coach. He's a former Canadian Special Operations Regiment soldier who was called stupid until he believed it, became an elite military "attack dog," and then had to figure out how to be a human being again when the war was over and his body was broken.

He's fallen into every trap this book warns you about. He figured out what actually works by failing at everything else first.

This isn't a book for people who want to feel good. It's for people who want to get back up.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GDQB8163
• ISBN13: 9798242221260
• Release Date: January 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 172 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"