Post: #1

The full title wouldn't fit:

Book Review: John T. Reed's Succeeding - How to Choose the Right Goals and Increase Your Chances of Achieving Them

This is a book written by a self-published author named John T. Reed. I did a forum search and it doesn't appear that this guy has ever been mentioned here thus far. The book is not available in libraries (I tried), online, amazon, or in bookstores. You can only order it through his website. It is written from the perspective of an older man giving younger people advice the way a loving grandfather would. It is notable in that it is completely "devoid of motivational or promotional filler" (quoted from his wiki page). In setting my life goals, I would say that this book ranked just as highly as other more popular books such as Think and Grow Rich, Anthony Robbins Stuff, Robert Kiyosaki, The Way of the Superior Man, The Art of Money Getting, How to Win Friends and Influence People, etc. Anyone who has read Anthony Robbins know that his material is intense. For example, Awaken the Giant Within teaches us about making decisions, being totally committed, understanding the values which drive you, how to change these values, how to set goals, how to take massive massive action, how to tap into unlimited power to achive massively. This is all good stuff. John T Reed has a very different perspective on life, and the things he asks the reader to think about and consider in Succeeding, can be very deep and contemplative.

The only thing I found slightly annoying is how he mentions over and over again his achievements of graduating from West Point and graduating from Harvard with an MBA. Try and overlook these repetitions and absorb the useful advice he gives in this book.

This self improvement book is different from any other that I've read, simply because not only does he talk about the benefits of things such as wealth, fame, relationships, self-employment, etc., he also talks about the disadvantages and drawbacks as well, which enables the reader to make an informed decision. Again, I have to contrast this with the one Anthony Robbins technique: "Magnificent Obsession - Create a Compelling Future," where you think really big, but the aspect of potential drawbacks or probability of success, is skipped entirely.

I decided to write this book review after reading the thread "Fuck minimalism" over in the Everything Else section of the forum. I consider myself a minimalist. I was very intrigued about the wide range of responses to The Captain Power's original post, and I believe that this book would be especially helpful for those who do not firmly have a grasp of what they want in life, and are still in the process of setting goals. For those who are very young, this book is invaluable. For those who have decided on a life path, this book could also be of benefit. For those who believe they know exactly what they doing, this book may change your perspective, or help you fine tune your goals some more so that you don't waste any time no other unnecessary things. I think it's useful to explore some of what was in that post before the actual review to see how this book might be applicable. There were a lot of knee jerk reactions, and I got the sense that a lot of people hadn't thought things through thoroughly (or it just didn't come across that way in a post).

The thread starter from TheCaptainPower:

Do I want to drink wine from a golden chalice? YES - WHY? Does drinking from a golden chalice make wine taste better? Is this something you've tried and are sure about? Are you trying to impress an audience while you're drinking wine from this golden chalice? "Many a great man was driven to the heights of accomplishment by the whip of an inferiority complex."
Do I want a Ferrari? YES - Will I be depressed if I never become rich? NO. But I'd like to make an good honest effort in improving my life while I still can. - What is rich to you? Do you have to be able to buy your Ferrari in cash? It comes back to time. Let's say you want to buy it in cash. You're going to need to use the fuel of life - time - to earn enough cash to buy this thing, and while you're getting to that lump sum, you're not driving a Ferrari. There's the possibility that you never achieve that lump sum, and thus, never get to drive your Ferrari. Perhaps it would be a better use of money to rent one once in a while, starting now? It takes appx $1,000 to rent one for a day - the probability of saving up $1,000 to rent a Ferrari for a day is much greater than saving up one hundred times that. Succeeding helps with setting goals like these.

If you go through the rest of the thread, it has many useful and contemplative responses, but it's all over the damn place. Succeeding address everything systematically. I'll give a snapshot of the topics covered to help you determine if this book is something you want to buy:

Overview - help you figure out where you belong then help you get there as early as possible. Most people never find out where they belong, or they don't figure it out until they are in their late forties or later. Many Baby Boomers wish their lives were more meaningful and may did not really love their jobs. You belong with someone - how to find that person. Wealth and fame - the advantages, limitations, and disadvantages. "Succeeding is being where you belong with whom you belong and being healthy enough to enjoy it. Wealth and fame may be part of your success, but not necessarily. You can have great success and happiness without either. And many who possess both fame and wealth are unhappy." "Goal selection - your chances of succeeding are greatly increased by choosing the optimum goal for you. Succeeding at the wrong goal is a collosal waste of your time and resources and requires taking unnecessary risk." Identify your strengths and weaknesses, avoiding colossal failures, goals at different stages of life, health, companionship and family, independence, the grass is greener syndrome,

Things you cannot change - height, relatives, IQ, uncorrectable unattractive features like the location of your eyes, irreparable physical handicaps, talent or lack of a particular talent (running speed, performing fine arts), age, race. Things you can change - weight, friends, career, knowledge, certain physical features, stamina, physical fitness, sleep habits, exercise, whether you acquire children and how many, etc.
Find your medium - everyone does best in something - face to face, radio, telephone, TV, print, theater, motion pictures, painting, drawing, cartoon, computer, sculpture, seminar, singing, operating a vehicle, arguing in court, making a speech, politics, cooking, etc.
Self-employment vs employee. Advantages, limitations, and drawbacks of each. Small vs big organizations, governent vs private sector.
Wealth - are you setting goals that are too high? What is enough for you? What to consider when determining this number, frugality, risk, comprehensive financial plan, asset protection, investment, savings, allocation.

Finding information, education, having children, vices, health, appearance.

The topics above are a small sample of what is covered in Succeeding. Almost everything that I've ever thought about as a man, has been discussed in one way or another in this book (some topics are more emphasized than others). I'm not saying that you'll agree with everything the author says, but it is definitely a goldmine of perspective coming from a seemingly stern but genuinely caring person who seems to have succeeded in life.

Post: #2

Yeah this is a great book. The layout is weird and the material doesn't flow well at all but tons of great advice. I underlined more stuff in this book than any other book I can think of. The author is kind of a strange guy keeps repeating his success stories throughout the book but that stuff is easy to ignore. I especially liked the chapter talking about selecting a spouse and how haphazardly most people go about this - I first read this book before learning about game and the book impressed upon me the need to get out there and go through a ton of girls to find a handful of good ones to select from for relationship material. He says "date at least several dozen true spouse candidates before you get married", wow says that? His also makes good points about setting good realistic goals, the point of diminishing returns on success (you probably don't need as much money as you think to live quite comfortably), studying new subjects, etc. I highly recommend the book.

Post: #3

Thanks!! I'm going to check it out for sure.

EDIT: I was browsing through Amazon. And though I didn't find a book with that title, I found this one. Different title but customer photos look the same to me.