I’m not a pro reader, but I can binge read books that are really good - Simple, fun, and teach you something you can immediately apply. Surrounded by idiots caught my attention from the first few pages. It is one of those books that make you wonder how different society would be if everyone read it once. After I finished this book, I made a list of all the closest people I interact with (family, friends, coworkers, lovers) and tried to identify their “colors”. My perception of these people went from being “aggressive” or a “pushover” to “Red” and “Green”. It subconsciously became second nature to me to quickly identify what colors someone I am talking to falls under and so naturally you start understanding why people are the way they are and how YOU can adapt to them better to make the most out of that interaction/relationship. One area in which I found this information to be quite amusing and helpful to analyze is in the context of romantic relationships. I started seeing the “true colors” of my past partners and inherently saw why the relationships were either great, or not, and where they went wrong and how knowing this information now and applying the knowledge in the next relationship will be drastically life changing. I realized why as a Yellow, Red with hints of Blue I was having problems with someone that was Red and Blue - My “yellow side” clashed with their “blue side” while actually complementing their “red side”. Our common "redness" led us to fall for each other as we both like someone with the same qualities, but also played a role in weakness as it brought some subconscious competitiveness that is not good in a romantic partnership, especially if one or both partners aren’t emotionally mature enough to see things for what they are instead of falling prey to the supposed societal norms and perceptions that are unfortunately being reinforced in everyday social media content. It’s truly remarkable once you realize how humans self sabotage and this book definitely helps you realize that. I can also now see the downfall of my past relationship with a mostly Green person. My Red side could not only not tolerate being with a Green person, but it made my redness go into overdrive and into survival model (instinctual human behavior) which ultimately caused the imbalance that led to a breakup. In my personal view, It’s important to not see this as a lesson of « I can’t entertain a prospect with a color that challenges mine » as 1) though challenging, it is actually *goals* to be with someone that has some opposing qualities so both partners can adopt traits that can help them become a more upgraded and newer version of themselves that will open new doors in life. Remember, a partner should ultimately make you grow, not just make you feel comfortable. As a yellow, you want and need to become more blue, and as a blue you would most definitely benefit from being more yellow; in fact, it’s exactly those lack of yellow traits that have you somewhat stuck in your life and same goes for the yellow person - they both represent the characteristics that are needed to take their lives to the next level! and 2) because you come to understand that unless yo are both 100% one color, everyone (~85% of the population) will have a mix of colors and that you will have to learn to adapt to each other. I think couples needs to read this book more than anybody! In summary this book is a 9.5/10. Fun, simple, and impactful. Must read! Read more