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swalls95's review against another edition
informative
fast-paced
3.0
Common sense with a twist of pop psychology. It's just a reiteration of the earlier surrounded by... books.
daphrose's review against another edition
4.0
Erikson is like that mean professor in college that gives you a lot of challenges because he knows you can handle them. This book is one a lot of people need to read. He stresses taking responsibility for yourself, changing the course of your life instead of merely letting things happen to you, and working to achieve the goals you want. He is honest with the setbacks he has faced, and he emphasizes giving yourself (achievable) goals to progress to where you want to be. This whole book is inspirational not because it is fluffy and makes you feel good but because it is brutal, honest, and encouraging.
It is worth noting that I am not a "businessperson," nor do I ever intend to be, but I still found this book helpful, enjoyable, and insightful. I read through it with a pen in hand, and I actually highlighted a fair bit. This book is applicable to all kinds of people in all walks of life. Erikson spoke about jobs, but also about weight loss, cutting out bad habits, working on relationships and family, and more. Nothing he said was entirely new to me, but it was still a wake-up call I needed. He has a way of putting things down so that you can't ignore them or work around them. He anticipates his audience and walks you through how to build goals that you won't give up on. It was engaging and applicable.
There were some downsides. Erikson could be a bit too harsh at times, in my opinion. There was a time where he implied that a person should leave (much) earlier for work just in case there happens to be an accident that slows them down and makes them (re: his emphasis on responsibility over blaming external circumstances). That felt a bit over the top to me personally, though I mostly thought his harshness was warranted. Perhaps because I was reading with a highlighter in hand, I also noticed some repetition as the book went on. By the end, I was skimming parts because I felt like I had read it before, though it was good advice. Finally, I am not very familiar with the DISC method or Erikson's color-coding, so his chapters on that were a bit lost on me. I could not find a test to tell me what "color" I am, so I just read those chapters and highlighted the parts I identified with. (I guess I must be somewhere in the red, blue, or green range, but how much of each, I don't know; all I know is, I couldn't relate to a thing about yellows!) I have no criticisms of his color scheme, but though he did provide a brief overview, I just am not familiar enough with it to fully enjoy those parts of the book.
Overall, this was probably one of the more enjoyable "self-help" books I've read. Erikson is an engaging, compelling writer. He said a lot of things I needed to hear in my life right now, and I am working on putting them into practice. If you need a swift kick in your pants to get you going on whatever in your life (weight loss, job promotion, gaining skills, overcoming bad habits, etc.), this is the book for you. Highly recommend!
(I received an ARC of this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway. Though I am under no obligation to post a review as part of the giveaway, I am providing my honest feedback to thank the publisher for the free book.)
It is worth noting that I am not a "businessperson," nor do I ever intend to be, but I still found this book helpful, enjoyable, and insightful. I read through it with a pen in hand, and I actually highlighted a fair bit. This book is applicable to all kinds of people in all walks of life. Erikson spoke about jobs, but also about weight loss, cutting out bad habits, working on relationships and family, and more. Nothing he said was entirely new to me, but it was still a wake-up call I needed. He has a way of putting things down so that you can't ignore them or work around them. He anticipates his audience and walks you through how to build goals that you won't give up on. It was engaging and applicable.
There were some downsides. Erikson could be a bit too harsh at times, in my opinion. There was a time where he implied that a person should leave (much) earlier for work just in case there happens to be an accident that slows them down and makes them (re: his emphasis on responsibility over blaming external circumstances). That felt a bit over the top to me personally, though I mostly thought his harshness was warranted. Perhaps because I was reading with a highlighter in hand, I also noticed some repetition as the book went on. By the end, I was skimming parts because I felt like I had read it before, though it was good advice. Finally, I am not very familiar with the DISC method or Erikson's color-coding, so his chapters on that were a bit lost on me. I could not find a test to tell me what "color" I am, so I just read those chapters and highlighted the parts I identified with. (I guess I must be somewhere in the red, blue, or green range, but how much of each, I don't know; all I know is, I couldn't relate to a thing about yellows!) I have no criticisms of his color scheme, but though he did provide a brief overview, I just am not familiar enough with it to fully enjoy those parts of the book.
Overall, this was probably one of the more enjoyable "self-help" books I've read. Erikson is an engaging, compelling writer. He said a lot of things I needed to hear in my life right now, and I am working on putting them into practice. If you need a swift kick in your pants to get you going on whatever in your life (weight loss, job promotion, gaining skills, overcoming bad habits, etc.), this is the book for you. Highly recommend!
(I received an ARC of this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway. Though I am under no obligation to post a review as part of the giveaway, I am providing my honest feedback to thank the publisher for the free book.)
heli_'s review against another edition
2.0
Valitettavasti tämä kirja tuntui vähän turhalta - tuntui, että siinä 1. osassa oli ehkä tätäkin aihetta sivuttu. Kirjoittajan omat ongelmat tuntui aika "keskiluokkaisilta", mikä laittoi epäilemään, toimiiko kyseiset ohjeet edes oikeassa elämässä .