Book Review: The Magic of Thinking Big

Magic Of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This one has some good ideas in it, but I guess I expected more from a classic. First published in 1959, the book appears on many "must read" lists, and is sometimes quoted by modern authors. I enjoyed it, but maybe not as much as I expected to. 

There is something very appealing about the simple idea that we can all direct the course of our lives by choosing thoughts that lead us toward achievement and happiness.  Napoleon Hill wrote about it in the 1930s (see last week's blog) and Wayne Dyer has churned out a couple dozen books around this theme.  It is compelling.  In 2007, Rhonda Byrne's book The Secret did the literary equivalent of going viral.  At least it did in my social circle.

One of the most helpful of Schwartz's chapters is called "Think Right Toward People" in which he links success with likeability... and links likeability with authenticity.  If there is someone you don't like, or who you disagree with, they know it.  So when we smile and fake a pleasant demeanor, we can be immediately spotted as insincere, which damages our trustworthiness. Since we really cannot fool people, the solution has to be in adjusting our attitude: we have to go in to every encounter with an intention to genuinely like the other person.  Easier said than done, of course, but clearly worth the effort.

All in all, I am glad I read this one, and glad I have good notes to refer back to.  The two-page summary I developed is available for free download here.  I like to think that I have substantially improved the quality of my own life by adopting many of Schwartz's principles, though there is still much internal work to be done. I'd recommend The Magic of Thinking Big to anyone looking for a way out of a rut of their own making.

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Book Review: Think and Grow Rich

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Classic and anachronistic.  Those are my two favorite words to describe this long-time favorite, first given to me by the fellow who published the book-related column I used to write each month.  Though the main ideas here are hardly new to a modern audience, Think and Grow Rich was hugely influential in its time... and continues to motivate today. 

With the notable exception of the chapter called "The Mystery of Sex Transmutation," most of Hill's concepts (first published in 1937) have stood the test of time.  In fact, they are often repeated.  The Secret, Manifest Your Destiny (and several follow-on volumes by Wayne Dyer) and The One Minute Millionaire all assert that any of us can achieve whatever we truly set our minds to.  The Law of Attraction is real. We get what we focus on, for good or ill. 

Hill's primary contribution, at least in my educational process, has to do with the power of the subconscious mind.  He speaks of it as an empty container, just waiting to be consciously filled with the positive energy of the motivated thinker.  To Hill, the subconscious is where humans communicate with spirit... and where the power of spirit is engaged on our behalf. 

I like the idea that we can all positively affect our circumstances and the course of our lives by choosing what to think about.  Napoleon Hill may not have meant to include women in the category of people who can think ourselves prosperous, but we can add ourselves in.  I have no doubt that I manifested the house (on the lake, easy to care for, affordable for me) that I live in now. And I know that I am currently reinventing my own career with little outside interference.  So in the words of Mattie Stepanek: "Why not believe? It feels good to believe."

For a two-page summary you can download for free, click here.


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Book Review: Prisoners of Our Thoughts

Prisoners of Our Thoughts: Viktor Frankl's Principles for Discovering Meaning in Life and Work by Alex Pattakos

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


My copy of this one is stamped "discarded" across the bottom of the pages... a no-longer-circulated library book I purchased at a discount. (For those of you who don't know the secret, visit www.abebooks.com and prepare to be wowed. It will take you to a network of discount booksellers offering new and used books at super-low prices.) 

But taking this one out of circulation is a shame.  It's a relatively young book, published in 2004, and it strikes an excellent balance between old-world philosophy and new-world quality of work life.  Pattakos made it his life's work to make Viktor Frankl's life's work more accessible to more of us, and that is a wonderful service.  Most exciting, Pattakos read Frankl's extensive bibliography with the purpose of synthesizing and presenting the best bits about meaningful work.  Prisoners of Our Thoughts is the result of that effort.  What a fantastic idea. 

Here's the big "Aha" for me: "Meaning is also flexible. What makes sense for us at one time in our working lives might not make sense at another time. When we are awake to life's meaning inside us, we too can be flexible. If we are rooted in meaning, we can sway much more flexibly, be it in a breeze or a hurricane."  Phew!  To me, this means that the work I obsessed over 15 years ago, work I cannot imagine doing now, was not wasted.  I was pursuing what I found meaningful then.  What is meaningful to me now is different, and may well change again in the future.  I am truly blessed to have the opportunity to pursue my life's passions - plural - and as I am learning from Frankl and Pattakos, we can all do that, no matter our external circumstances.

I thought a lot about Viktor Frankl during the days leading up to my grandmother's death and even mentioned his work in my eulogy.  No one I know of better embodied the ability to choose her own reaction to events and be liberated through self-mastery.  Posting this review at this time seems like a fitting tribute.

Prisoner of Our Thoughts is worth the effort at reading it and now that I am through the book, I will go back and do some of the chapter-ending exercises.  I may even use one or two of those to assist client groups working on their organizational mission or vision. Watch for more in 2016 as I work my way through The 8th Habit.


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Books with Tools, Part 2

Last week I wrote about the tools and exercises found in some of my favorite books.  Such tools can allow for self-assessment, create a means for solidifying learning, and point people in the direction of positive change in a way that narrative alone cannot do.  Here are some more of my favorites, perhaps a little different from what we ordinarily think of as business books. As always, I am writing about books that I highly recommend picking up and reading.  But - if you want to know more before investing the money or time, you can access a free download of a two-page summary written by me. Just click on the title of the book.



Overcoming That Pessimistic Outlook.  Too often in organizational life we can succumb to the least hopeful of the strands of thinking around us.  It seems the person with the upbeat style is the one regarded as out of touch. But Professor Martin Seligman is here to tell us in Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Change Your Life that the people with the most optimistic viewpoints are the most successful among us.  In chapter after chapter he reviews the evidence and makes the case that in sports, offices, school, politics, and families, optimism is a winning strategy.  The second half of the book is for those of us who struggle to be optimistic.  With a 48-question self-assessment, each reader can get a sense of their own starting point.  Then, by imagining our own scenarios and following Dr. Seligman's worksheets, we can gain practice at challenging our initial reactions and choosing better ones.  Over time, if we follow the formula, we can make the optimistic perspective more natural.  Then, look out world!



Overcoming a Penchant for Poverty.  What a service Barbara Stanny has done for all of us who were told as little girls that talking about money is not nice and that we should be focused on taking care of others!  The exercises and resources she packs into The Secrets of Six Figure Women: Surprising Strategies to Up Your Earnings and Change Your Life are a great boon to all of us struggling see our value rewarded properly in the workplace.  After interviewing dozens of women who earn good incomes, she sets out to help us all understand what they have in common... and offers their wisdom to the rest of us.  I never thought about how I was contributing to my financial troubles until I took the Am I an Underearner? quiz.  And now I know... the solution to balancing my budget is on the income side. Go to work with an intent to make money, sister!  You're not selling out your soul... you are taking responsibility! 


Overcoming Motivational Barriers:  Carrots and sticks don't work.  I think most of us knew that about sticks... but carrots?  Nope... they backfire too.  Offering a kid a dollar for every A on his report card might get you a flight of A's in the short term... but in the long term you are diminishing that kid's natural desire to do well.   Well-meaning as we are, we just can't motivate others.  But, with practice, we can learn to tap the powerful internal motivations of those around us.  That's the chief lesson in Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us, the last 65 pages of which is a Toolkit chock-full of ideas and strategies for awakening our internal motivators and helping others without harming them.  Well-written, charming, fun and, yes, motivational, Drive is a must-read for every leader or manager who is swimming upstream against under-performing co-workers. 


Overcoming Indecision:  Of all the "glad I read that one" books on my shelf, the one I mention in conversation most often is The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less by Professor Barry Schwartz.  It changed my life... and it can change yours, too.  With some little quizzes and self-tests the author guides us to an understanding of our natural tendencies toward satisfaction with the choices we make... or our proclivity to beat ourselves up after decisions.  After making the case that we often make ourselves crazy with all the options we have (straight leg or boot cut? big deductible or higher premium? 1% or skim?) Schwartz gives us a series of strategies for learning to be more sanguine about our choices.  Learn to accept that good enough is good enough and move on!  What an important concept!

Book Review: Learned Optimism

Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life by Martin E.P. Seligman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I always appreciate it when an author can take a difficult, highly scientific or technical topic and make it readable and easy for a lay person to understand.  Professor Seligman has accomplished just that with Learned Optimism.  Even those of us not trained in psychology can follow along with the narrative, enjoying the key insights as they have come to Seligman over his distinguished career. 

Even more important than easy and pleasant reading are the practical applications for the research Seligman weaves into every chapter of this how-to book on improving our sense of optimism.  After making a compelling case that optimism is better for our health, careers, relationships, and ability to learn, he goes on to provide a method for making optimism a more natural part of our lives.  There is a process for challenging pessimistic thoughts and replacing them with optimistic ones.  Anyone can learn it and practice it until this way of thinking embeds itself in our minds and bodies. 

I like it that Professor Seligman does not blame or judge people harshly for being pessimistic, even skeptical or cynical... but he does make it clear that this way of life is a choice, same as living happily in hope is a choice.  By making the option ours, Seligman gives us a great deal of power to control the quality of our lives... at home and at work.  Along the way, we can use the tools he provides to assist our children, work colleagues, even fellow players on our sports teams to achieve more and experience more happiness.  What more can anyone want from a book?

Still not convinced? Check out a two-page summary, written by me. Just download it here for free! 

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