Setting Goals for Success - A Book Review

Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals

Author: Michael Hyatt

Publisher: Baker Books

Publication Date: January 2, 2018

Length: 272 Pages



About the Author
Michael Hyatt is the former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, now part of HarperCollins. He began his career at Word Publishing while a senior at Baylor University. In the 30 years since then, he has worked in nearly every facet of book publishing.

A 5-Step Plan 
This book was released on January 2nd, but it is not just another book about New Year's resolutions. This book is a comprehensive guide on how to write, monitor and achieve goals for all areas of your life.

The author presents the following plan for achieving your most important goals;
1. Believe the possibility - Your beliefs shape your reality.
2. Complete the past - Gratitude makes the difference.
3. Design your future - Achievements and habits work together.
4. Find your why - Your what needs a why.
5. Make it happen - One journey is many steps.

"Based on decades of practical experience and the best current research on goal attainment and human achievement, this program is designed to help you find the clarity, develop the courage, and leverage the commitment you need to accomplish your most important personal and professional goals."

The Act of WRITING Goals Boosts Achievement by 42 Percent
I have a problem with writing down goals. I think about all the goals I want to accomplish this year, but they are soon forgotten. "Goals poorly formulated are goals easily forgotten." The author states that goals MUST be written down and suggests the following SMARTER model:

Specific
Measurable
Actionable
Risky
Time-Keyed
Exciting  
Relevant

This book is loaded with case studies and action steps that help you develop goals in all life domains; financial, spiritual, intellectual, emotional, physical, marital, parental, social, vocational and avocational.

The author provides examples of goals written in his Full Focus Planner at the end of the book. I found this format very helpful and it can be implemented in any planner or notebook.

This is the kind of book you read and then you go back and really study it in depth. I know there are many resources available on the subject of goal setting, but I believe this book provides exactly what you need for planning your best year ever. Highly recommended!

RATING: 5 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I purchased a digital copy of this book with my own funds.

Thank you for reading this book review. Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Book Review: Pulling the Wool Over Your Eyes - Understanding Why We Keep Getting Scammmed by Al Craig

Pulling the Wool Over Your Eyes, Understanding Why We Keep Getting Scammed and the Role You Play

Author: Al Craig

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

Date: February 25, 2014

Length: 107 Pages



About The Author
Al Craig is an independent businessperson who has spent most of his life involved in various businesses and investments. From his investment experiences, he has learned to spot the con artists and cheats who take our trust and hard earned money. He has read countless books on how scammers work and what causes them to do what they do.

The Role You Play
Have you wondered why you keep getting scammed?

Have you asked yourself why you can’t spot a con-artist until it’s too late?

The purpose of this book is to create awareness about the part we play in helping the con-artist take our money, trust, and self-worth.

The author lists the following four traits that most scammers have in common:

• Lack of conscience.
• Massive egos.
• Wafer thin emotions.
• Deceitfulness

"You earn honesty and trust in your actions, not with oral hot air."

"A wise man proportions his belief to his evidence."

Scammers are professionals. They know exactly how to identify a likely victim and what to say to make a sale. The author describes how con artists work and explains why they are so successful.

My Thoughts
This is ebook #3 in my quest to read as much material that I can find on Internet scams.

This book explains how our thinking patterns and emotional states make us a target for scammers. Yes, the way you think and feel could make you a victim.

One example of a thinking pattern that can help get you scammed is a pride consciousness. This is a pride that wants to feel superior or special (typically found in a person with a low feeling of self-worth). This attitude allows scammers to spot you immediately and start flattering you. Scammers cast their spells of specialness, exclusiveness and secretiveness to start pride burning.  Before you know it...you have been scammed!

The author does a very good job explaining why a victim MUST take responsibility for his thinking and actions. The important thing is to learn from the mistakes of the past. This book explains how that can be done.

The editing in this ebook is a bit rough around the edges, but the content is well worth the time and effort it will take you to read it. If you have been the victim of a scam, this will help you understand why it happened and how you can make better choices in the future.

My Rating: 4 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I borrowed this book with my Amazon Kindle Unlimited membership.

Do you know someone who has been scammed? Please share your story in the Comments Section below.

Book Review: Maximum Brainpower; Challenging The Brain For Health And Wisdom

Maximum Brainpower: Challenging the Brain for Health and Wisdom

Authors: Shlomo Breznitz and Collins Hemingway

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Date: June 26, 2012

Pages: 288


About The Authors
Shlomo Breznitz is the founder of CogniFit, a company devoted to the goal of improving cognitive fitness. The author of seven books and many scientific articles, he has been engaged as a visiting professor by numerous leading institutions, including the University of California at Berkeley, Stanford University, and the London School of Economics.

Collins Hemingway is a writer and technologist who has co-written several books and written innumerable articles for the general public.

Challenging The Brain
Most people realize that a fit brain is likely the most important contributor to a long, healthy and active life. "Maximum Brainpower" discusses the brain in a way that is understandable, interesting and challenging. The book provides a lifelong strategy to keep the mind active and the brain healthy.

Did you know that?

• Mental stress can have more devastating impact on us than physical stress.
• Experts are often less mentally agile than jack-of-all-trades.
• Hope is a major healing agent.
• Mental exercises such as crossword puzzles and Sudoku are of minimal help in building brainpower.
• A college education can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's by two-thirds. The main benefit of college is it provides more interesting and challenging career choices. The more challenging our life work, the more stimulated our brains become and the greater the cognitive reserves we build.

Dr. Breznitz states that we can't change what happened earlier in our lives, but at any age we can begin to engage our brains. We can take college courses NOW. We can learn new skills...a musical instrument or a new language. We can engage in new activities...especially those involving physical exercise, which helps build the brain. The greater the variety of our activities, the better it is for the brain. Every different thing we do stimulates our brain in different ways.
 
My Thoughts
 I learned a great deal of information from this book. The book grabbed my attention in the first few chapters when it explained that it is very difficult for us to "unlearn" something that is learned from past experience. The author stated we learn early and quickly but then tend to settle into relatively fixed attitudes for the rest of our lives. The problem is that experience often teaches us the wrong lessons.

This book will be life-changing for all who read it, study it and apply the principles that are presented. It is time for us to change our thinking if we want a long and healthy life.  I recommend this book to all who are interested in complete body health and fitness.

My Rating: 5 Stars Out Of 5

FYI ~ I received a complimentary print copy of this book from the author's publicist to read and review.

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