January 2026 – how to become nobody

This is what Pavel Pola, CEO of Etnetera Activate and a member of the Red Button network, says about the book.

At a time when we strive to build a stronger ego, career, and identity, Jiří Charvát comes with the book "How to become nobody," which, as its subtitle suggests, aims to awaken all skeptics. Instead of building the "self," the author guides us to uncover a fundamental truth – what we consider our "self" is actually just an illusion, a construct created by our mind. And this realization can be the key to liberation from most human psychological suffering.

Charvát, a former copywriter at Seznam and two-time Czech slam poetry champion, who has experienced the psychedelic 5-MeO-DMT, connects the latest findings in neuroscience with millennia-old spiritual wisdom. He shows that we do not have free will in the way we commonly think – we cannot choose our next thought, which means we cannot control our ambitions, actions, or reactions. Everything simply appears in consciousness based on prior causes.

The book is very well sourced – every claim is supported by studies, videos, podcasts, and references to other authors. Yet it remains incredibly readable thanks to Charvát’s refined language, humor, and ability to transform complex topics about the neurobiology of the mind, mechanisms of world mapping, and the effects of psychedelics into an accessible and often witty form. It offers practical tools like meditation and observing one’s own experience, which allow switching from constant rumination inside the head to an observational mode.

"How to become nobody" is not another self-help book about becoming a better version of yourself – it is a guide on how to awaken from the dream of the "self" into the fullness of who we truly are. It is a book for grounded skeptics seeking a rational path to spiritual awakening without any woo-woo.

Who is Pavel Pola?

Pavel Pola is the CEO of Etnetera Activate and a transformative coach focused on self-discovery.