The No. 1 business book to read in June: 'Hope for Cynics' on a surprising mindset shift that can boost your success and income

CNBC

28-05-2025

As Kermit the Frog recently told University of Maryland grads during his much anticipated commencement speech, "Life is not a solo act. It's a big, messy, delightful ensemble piece, especially when you are with your people." After all, "life is better when we leap together."
With that excellent advice in mind, CNBC Make It is launching a book club! Because books are better when we digest them together.
Every month, we'll choose a book that aims to help aspirational professionals be smarter and more successful with their work, money and lives. We'll plan to discuss it in our private LinkedIn group the last Wednesday of each month.
Here are our picks for the summer:
Our first book, which we'll discuss on Wednesday, June 25, is "Hope for Cynics" by award-winning Stanford psychology professor Jamil Zaki. It feels like the perfect pick for these complicated times, in which many Americans feel divided and distrustful of institutions — and of each other.
The book's central question: Is it foolish to believe that people remain fundamentally decent?
No, declares Zaki. In fact, he makes clear, the more optimistic view is borne out by the science — and holding that more optimistic view is actually better for you, too, in the long run.
A mindset shift towards "hopeful skepticism" actually aligns with better outcomes, he writes. And that's a way of thinking that "anyone can learn."
Zaki got a bachelor's degree in neuroscience at Boston University before going on to study psychology at Columbia University and Harvard. He now runs the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, where he researches human connection.
Many people believe that the more intelligent and successful you are, the more jaded you must be. Zaki admits he's made that mistake too. Diving into the research at his lab, though, he discovered that "cynics end up sicker, sadder, poorer, and more wrong."
You might assume a more suspicious attitude towards the world could protect you from various kinds of disappointment and harm. Yet "cynics are more likely to suffer heartbreak — and heart disease," he writes.
The impact of that mindset on health, happiness, and longevity can be profound, he finds: "Dozens of studies demonstrate that cynics suffer more depression, drink more heavily, earn less money, and even die younger than non-cynics."
By contrast, more hopeful people tend to be both happier and healthier, as well as more financially successful, as "non-cynics earn steadily more money over their careers." In other words, putting in the effort to adjust your mindset can pay real dividends, Zaki argues.
So how do you shift your mindset from cynicism to "hopeful skepticism"? That's what we plan to find out by reading and discussing "Hope for Cynics" in June.
Request to join the LinkedIn group, and check back on Wednesday, June 25, for our first-ever CNBC Make It Book Club discussion. Any questions for the author? Email them to us at [e-mail].
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