Learn how to think differently and overcome anxiety in a difficult world in this livestream event with the legendary star of stage and screen.

“Derren Brown is a mine of wisdom, humanity and kindness – everything we need to sustain and nourish ourselves.” – Alain de Botton

Since he introduced us to his singular and inimitable brand of psychology, stagecraft and magic in 2000, Derren Brown has played Russian Roulette on live television, convinced middle-managers to commit armed robbery in the street, led the nation in a séance and exposed psychic and faith-healing charlatans. His live shows astonish audiences across the country and have captivated the West End and Broadway.

Now he joins How To Academy to teach a lesson none of us can afford to miss: what we can do to be a little happier and less anxious in a difficult world.

We should be wary of goal setting: long-term goals fixate us on a future that may not happen and we may not wish for when we get there. Life is hard, messy and complex; our friends will probably let us down; most of what has got us here is blind luck and a series of false starts. But if we can learn to separate what we can control – our thoughts and actions – from all else beyond our control, we can find a surer footing with which to greet the world.

Praise for Derren Brown:

“Brilliant. Really brilliant and just crammed with wisdom and insight. It will genuinely make a difference to me and the way I think about myself. I’m going to recommend it to everyone I know.” – Stephen Fry

“Brown tries to resurrect the original Stoic ambitions here: not just to live well but to die well, too. His book is thoughtful, insightful and ultimately, well, helpful.” – Sunday Times Books of the Year

“Til now, we’ve known Derren Brown as a supreme illusionist and magician. Now he surprises us with a new and brilliant identity: as a philosopher. Not just any philosopher. Brown takes philosophy back to its truest task: that of helping us to live and die well. His book is deeply informative, moving, wise and full of love. It sets out to change lives – and it will. Derren has pulled off a properly implausible trick: that of making the deepest ideas relevant, humane and urgent.” – Alain de Botton

“In this wise and perceptive book Derren Brown has conjoined personal experience, profoundly sensible psychology and the magic of philosophy to produce a really excellent account of how to be happy – really, maturely, properly happy. This is a wonderfully educative – and enjoyable! – book, and should be on everyone’s reading list, always.” – A.C. Grayling