Have anyone of you read one of those books and changed your life for the better? There are millions of self-help books in the bookstore, ranging from the old ("Think and Grow Rich") to the new ("Rich Dad, Poor Dad"), from interpersonal skills ("How to win friends and influence people") to negotiation skills ("Getting to Yes"). However, it doesn't seem that the successful people have increased due to these books. The poors are still poor, and the riches are still rich... Do you have a personal story to shared in relation to these self-help books?
I have a friend who reads a lot of those books and has listened to a lot of the tapes and whatnot, and he's not managed to change a single thing about his life. I've heard him complain that they aren't specific enough. He feels he needs a step-by-step, very specific plan that would lead to success 100% of the time and, in his case, which wouldn't require doing any work. I've been personally inspired by life stories of successful people and that's helped me achieve some things in life, but those aren' t really self-help books as much as they are biographies. (i.e. they just tell their story rather than trying to give a plan on how others can be successful). For example, I probably could never have made a movie in the first place if not for Robert Rodriguez' 'Rebel Without A Crew' book. Not so much because of the technical instruction he put in the book, but because seeing how a regular person with very little connections or money accomplished something that was seemingly impossible (making a film).
I haven't read the two books you listed, but there is one book I strongly recommend: Psycho Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz. This book literally changed my life, in so many ways. The book details how your beliefs, attitudes and actions are controlled by your self image or the way you look at yourself. Maltz gives detailed explanations on how to change the way you look at yourself. There are more concepts he teaches about for example how you as a person are not your actions or behaviors. I have made it a goal in my life to recommend this book to as many people as I possibly know. Alot of my friends who have read the book will testify to its power. There are over 30 million copies of this book sold worldwide since its original publication in 1960. There is a new edition of the book called: The New Psycho Cybernetics by Dan Kennedy and Maxwell Maltz which I would suggest you read first. Its a very easy read written in plain English. Here is a good review of the book: Review of book You can read some more reviews of the book on Amazon as well. There are some other self-help books which are really good. I will list them in another post, because I feel this book really deserves its own space. Pick it up tommorrow, you wont be dissapointed.
My wife job made them go see John Maxwell a so-called motivational speaker. We have the CDs but he says thing that I already know or that are common sense. He just words them better. The Art of War is a good read.
Thanks alot for the input. After reading your story, I'll make sure I pick one up next time I go to the bookstore. So, in what way did the book change your life? I mean, are you more positive? More desciplined? More motivated? What are some of the "other" books you've read and what do you think of them?
Covey lives very close to where I live. He's a quite remarkable man and well respected locally(and national, of course).
I read some John Maxwell books. The first couple ones are good, then he just rewrote the same idea over and over again in many books.
I've been to his house and met him, and am good friends with his son. He's a really great guy. His book comes off a little preachy, though, and it's filled with modern business cliche's, even if he was the one who really pioneered them. (how many people really used the word "paradigm" before Covey?) Anyway, in terms of understanding relationships, friendship or intimate, I really like "The Color Code" by Taylor Hartman. I think it's very insightful, and it's been a big help for me to understand how others think, and how to deal with them.
