Denis Waitley

While I enjoyed listening to this programme, and the interviews with the older people are particularly interesting, I just couldn't agree with its message.

I read a lot of self-help literature and listen to a lot of programmes, and everything this programme preaches seems to fly in the face of everything that's been written about achieving what we want to achieve and, importantly, everything else the author has ever written! Don't want too much, don't work too hard, don't go after material show more possessions- pretty much the opposite of the 'dream it, believe it, achieve it' mindset that almost everything else I've read teaches.

It's interesting to hear an older person's perspective on things, but I think there are much better and more inspirational programmes out there. show less

Let me begin by stating that I believe planning (i.e. setting goals) to be important in achieving what you want in life. I truly do.

That said, I ended up putting this book down after reading about two-thirds of it. I simply got too tired of Mr. Waitley writing about how many people he consults, his many seminars, and his rash of generalizations on the benefits of goal setting and his approach.

In short, my problems with this book came down to three things:

1. Waitley's oversaturation of the show more text with typical self-improvement book garbage to the detriment of providing something that is valuable to the reader. For example, "While it's important to follow your dreams, it's equally important to exert all your energy to transform your dreams into reality." I don't know whether to laugh at that statement or feel like my intelligence has been insulted.

2. Waitley expects you to jump through 500 hoops, maintain a daily journal, and do all kinds of other nonsense as a part of his goal setting "program". I don't have the time nor the intention of keeping a daily journal on my goal progression just because Mr. Waitley thinks it's important. I simply don't buy into his approach. I think it's overkill to a ridiculous degree.

3. Of course, he also says that all successful people do this sort of thing. I must call bullshit on "all successful people do this." All successful people don't even have stated goals. Again, I think goal setting is a good idea but this sort of hype is what gives self-improvement books a bad name.

I'm still looking for a book on goal setting. I will find one... show less

I just listened to the audiobook version of this, and I can't recommend it enough. I've read a few self help books, but this my favorite so far. It's not very long, and I will definitely end up re-reading it before long (and I don't do that very often). Denis touches on all important topics such as motivation, self-esteem, and having a positive mindset. It is really straightforward, and has absolutely had a positive impact on my perception of life and other people.

This book languished on my shelf for over a decade before I realized that I hadn't quite finished reading it. So, I started over & read it through. I already had quite a bit of it highlighted. The last third of the book didn't get as many highlights.

There are lists in each chapter of suggested action steps. To my mind, the biggest action step is to plan, do, and don't take myself too seriously.