I enjoy reading motivational titles, and this is one that I enjoyed quite a bit... Become Who You Were Born to Be: We All Have a Gift. . . . Have You Discovered Yours? by Brian Souza. If you've read more than a couple of titles on life improvement, you will have seen much of what's in here. But the packaging and style is excellent, and readers new to the genre will benefit tremendously.
Contents:
Part 1 - Discover It: How This Book Can Change Your Life - My Story; Find the Fire Within; Are Your Life Patterns Holding You Hostage?; How to Give Meaning and Purpose to Your Life; Have You Been Listening to the Voice?; Discover the True You You Never Knew; What a Face-Lift Can't Hide; Discover Your Gift
Part 2 - Develop It: What Really Separates Winners from Losers; The Secret of Top Achievers; The Unglamourous Side of Becoming a Celebrity; Are Your Dreams on Life Support?; Avoid the Goal-Setting Trap; Develop Your Gift
Part 3 - Appreciate It: These Are Extraordinary Times; Has America Lost Its Way?; A Little Perspective; Avoid Premature Aging with One Word; Appreciate Your Gift
Part 4 - Use It: Learning to Deal with Change; For Better or For Worse; Confronting Life's Struggles; How to Face Your Fears; How You Can Succeed by Failing; Get Your Groove Back; Use Your Gift
Part 5 - Give It Away: Follow Your Compass; The Essence of Success; The Secret to Happiness, Joy, and Peace of Mind; Are We Here to Serve or to Be Served?; Give Your Gift Away
Bibliography
Souza looks at the "gift" process as a five step approach. First you discover your gift, then you work at developing it. Appreciating what you have to offer and actually using it comes next, followed by giving yourself away through the use of your gift. Each chapter deals with a discrete component of the process, and involves looking at the life story of someone who has excelled in that area. The chapter wraps up with an applicable quote, the person you should remember for inspiration, and questions to contemplate in relation to what you've just read. With a clear and engaging writing style, Souza pulls the reader in and the meat of the content becomes something that just makes sense.
What I appreciated most about the style of his book was the biographies of the particular individuals. Granted, in all the examples the outcomes are what you'd expect with hard work and perseverance. But I didn't get the feeling that I was reading "revisionist history" that so often happens when you read the life stories of well-known individuals. Souza makes it clear that many "overnight sensations" and people who have everything had plenty of hard times where it would have been very easy to give up (and I'm sure many others have). Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Warner are but two of many that overcame stacked odds and still succeeded. Seeing how others have struggled helps put your own situation in perspective.
This is one of those books that I'll be re-reading a number of times. No matter how many times you see this material, you are always adding new experiences to your application of it. A very enjoyable read, and one that pays dividends...
I found Brian Souza's book to be very well-organized, inspirational and full of concrete examples. I know that others have a different orientation in terms of wanting or needing a stronger practical focus. However, I also know that many people need inspiration and a vision that will give them the drive to move toward worthwhile goals. I know this because I am a personal and professional coach and help a lot of people precisely with these types of issues.
I imagine almost everyone who is reading this has heard of the right and left brain split. The left brain is more linear and the right brain more specialized in synthetic type thought. What I find in career counseling and finding a path is that most people neglect the first part, which is a right hemisphere process that looks inward for values and a vision. This is precisely what this book focuses on. There are many books out there on "how to do" the left hemisphere tactical part of executing on a vision. My guess is this book was published because it meets a need in the market for more of this type of information.
Another thing I really enjoyed about this title was that it sticks to a simple formula. Just like in music or sports, mastering fundamentals is the key to high performance. The book also takes the important key concepts and illustrates them through interesting vignettes from the lives of high achievers such as Oprah and Lance Armstrong. This brings the concepts alive and seems to have a lot of value. Culturally, we have been telling stories to each other for 7,500 years and its probably the most natural way for concepts and principles to land deeply.
I get the sense that this author believes in what he says and most likely embodies the principles he is talking about. Some of the more useful topics covered are finding your passion within i.e. finding a personally meaningful vision, looking at the habits and patterns you might have that are self defeating, how to develop your abilities via self discipline, appreciating what you have and your unique gifts and exercising your capacities in the world. He also talks about giving and how you will get what you want in life by having something worthwhile to give that is connected to a meaningful purpose.
While I agree that means are as important than ends, you can't hit a target you can't see or that is fuzzy. This book will help you to get clear and give you a roadmap if you feel stuck. It will help you to find a way to combine your gifts and passions in a way that will meet the needs of others without abandoning your true values.
Another added value of this text is that it is riddled with excellent quotes, which you can use as affirmations. Personally, I think this alone makes the book worth its price. A few examples are:
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, this, is not an act, but a habit." Aristotle
"The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in service to others."
Mahatma Gandhi
"We are always getting ready to live, but never living."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with success unexpected in common hours." Henry David Thoreau
This book is also filled with many powerful inquiries that will lead you to a deeper knowledge of yourself, such as:
How do you want to be remembered?
How can you use your gift - today - to make a positive difference in someone's life?
How can you set up your rules for success so that you feel like a winner everyday?
I have some recommendations for more left hemisphered linear people who feel they don't need inspiration or this type of approach. [[ASIN:0140195998 Zen and the Art of Making a Living: A Practical Guide to Creative Career Design (Arkana)]] provides both perspectives, [[ASIN:1580087299 What Color Is Your Parachute Workbook: How to Create a Picture of Your Ideal Job or Next Career]] and [[ASIN:0963625551 How You Do Anything Is How You Do Everything: A Workbook]]. Something even more skewed toward a linear approach is [[ASIN:0743525078 Goals : Setting And Achieving Them On Schedule]], [[ASIN:1565547063 See You at the Top: 25th Anniversary Edition]] and [[ASIN:0060763280 Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth]]. I also like [[ASIN:B00008ANZW The Beginner's Guide to Finding Your Perfect Job: How to Discover Your Real Life's Work]] although this is strongly right brain focused with lots of visualization type exercises. You can also see more recommendation on my listmania lists under career and business categories.
Finally, I agree with the other reviewer that Stephen Covey's materials and [[ASIN:0743201140 Now, Discover Your Strengths]] are excellent resources. I feel they complement rather than replace this particular book and I respect that everyone is different and has different needs. I'm glad everyone's opinion is counted on Amazon and I appreciate the credibility and opinions of other reviewers who I sometimes agree with and other times do not.
