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A review by papidoc
The 5 Second Rule: Transform Your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage by Mel Robbins
1.0
I've read a fair number of personal and professional development books over the years, both for my own sake and to take any valuable ideas into my classes. Some have been very good - think Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Covey), Mindset (Dweck), Crucial Conversations (Patterson, et.al.), Man's Search For Meaning, and many others. Unfortunately, Mel Robbins' The 5 Second Rule isn't one of them. It is essentially an extended brag rag and advertisement built around a very simple technique that she bills as the solution to everything under the sun. It puts me in mind of snake oil and Carter's Little Liver Pills.
The simplistic idea is, when you have a productive idea, to take action within the first five seconds, or watch your brain put the idea to rest. Knowing that, there is no need to read the book. And there are all sorts of problems with telling people that if they don't act on a good idea within five seconds they might as well give it up.
I have two other problems with the book that reflect my own personal preferences, but may be shared by others. First, it is written in an amateurish style, very informal and conversational, much like I might expect from a high school writing assignment. Second, her language is atrocious -- unprofessional and crude. Hearing it read in her own voice as an audiobook just made it worse. I found both off-putting. YMMV.
The simplistic idea is, when you have a productive idea, to take action within the first five seconds, or watch your brain put the idea to rest. Knowing that, there is no need to read the book. And there are all sorts of problems with telling people that if they don't act on a good idea within five seconds they might as well give it up.
I have two other problems with the book that reflect my own personal preferences, but may be shared by others. First, it is written in an amateurish style, very informal and conversational, much like I might expect from a high school writing assignment. Second, her language is atrocious -- unprofessional and crude. Hearing it read in her own voice as an audiobook just made it worse. I found both off-putting. YMMV.