Product Description
Ever wish you could speed read every book written on a particular topic? Well, now someone has done that for you. The Skinny on Willpower is a substantive analysis of the subject of self-discipline, told in story format. This book is the story of a young couple each with a goal that requires the development of willpower. Each struggles with their challenge but through trial and error and advice of the moderator, find the way to achieve their dreams. The author, Jim … More >>
The Skinny on Willpower: How to Develop Self Discipline
#1 by Sweet Pea on September 5th, 2010
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Although I love the concept of this book, I think the book fell way short of its goal. There was too much “cutsie” and not enough information. The hard information of the book could have been stated in about one sentence: Your level of motivation to stick with something is determined by your level of desire to actually accomplish the goal.
Don’t get me wrong, I do love the concept. I just think this was way too light on information.
Rating: 2 / 5
#2 by Israel Drazin on September 5th, 2010
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Jim Randel has published eight books entitled The Skinny On. All are clever, humorous, and entertaining. All teach vital need-to-know lessons in an informal, non-pedantic, concise, and engaging fashion by generally using drawings of stick people engaged in dialogue. This volume shows how people can improve their will power by self discipline. As in other books in the series, Randel shows how to develop willpower by giving his readers more than a hundred examples and quotes from famous successful people.
The stick figures in this volume, who serve as humorous examples of Randel’s teachings, are a married couple. It is New Years and the husband wants to lose ten pounds. But how can he develop the discipline to do it when he loves to eat fattening foods such as marshmallows? How can he make sure that he will exercise? How can he control himself not to go overboard, eat too little or over-exercise? What should he do when he slips up and overeats or becomes distracted from his goals because of stress at work?
The wife wants to start a business, but she has to do several things before she can start, such as write up a plan for the bank so that the bank will lend her money. But she never did such a thing before and feels stymied. How can she develop the discipline to move ahead?
Among fifteen points and Randel suggests and explains are: set for yourself a clear, concrete, specific goal; divide the goal into manageable parts; and become totally committed.
Rating: 5 / 5
#3 by Steven Stewart on September 5th, 2010
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I am what many would consider a classical cynic. I look at every event and consider and apply the worst possible outcome. I usually avoid doing things I’ve always wanted to do because I think it will be hard, or there will be a negative or undesirable outcome. One thing I will say from the offset is that, I realise how much I’ve been holding myself back. When I finished this book, I was literally overcome with goosebumps at how simple it all seems to turn things around for the better and to put it in one simple phrase; it just involves a positive mental attitude. I feel like I’ve been inspired to make a change instantly, but I know that if I just jump right in there, then I’ve not learned much from this.
Running through 15 tips on how to improve your willpower, this book adopts a casual and comic approach as to how YOU can improve YOUR willpower and ultimately achieve the things you have always wanted. It doesn’t sugar-coat events or possibilities with the idea that the minute you adopt the positive mental attitude, everything will change for the better. It promotes the idea that gradually and consistently moving towards your goals is much better than thinking what if, even if you’re faced with difficulties. Although I’m naturally quite a cynical person, due to my disability, I’ve developed a personal saying which is “Whenever there’s an obstacle, there’s always a way to overcome it”; and I do truly believe that. My problem is usually not being that bothered to work hard enough to do it.
Consider the old Homer Simpson saying “if something’s hard to do, then it’s not worth doing”. This is me all over, and although I do believe there’s always a way to get around an obstacle or to defeat it, my problem is having the willpower to really work at overcoming the more difficult life obstacles. I hope that I will be able to really take a lot from this book in the coming weeks and months. Talking from personal experience, I enrolled in university last year which was a big step for me. For the first few months I was on top of the world for making this massive change in my life, but gradually I have grown more and more negative and have began to think negatively as to whether I can really handle University life and studying a degree. When I begin my second year in September, I will really put the tips this book gave me into action and pray that I notice gradual changes in my overall motivation.
Let me put it this way. If this book got through to me, then it can get through to anyone.
Rating: 5 / 5
#4 by Harkius on September 5th, 2010
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It is important to know what you are getting with this book. In many aspects, this book could be something like thirty pages long. When I opened the envelope containing my copy, I was a little intimidated. Without looking inside the book, I was floored by the fact that they thought that most people could read a book this thick in an hour. Then I found out that it is a picture book, with an average of 4 sentences per page. When I saw that, I was much less surprised, but perhaps a bit disappointed. Lest you think that the low review is a result of the format, I enjoyed the book from this series on Persuasion, this one just didn’t live up to the standard.
Too much of the book focuses on telling and retelling the same points, and it never really gets around to making itself worthwhile. Essentially, the book states that willpower is about practice, it is about making choices, and it is about wanting the result more than immediate gratification on the way. Most of these are things that any eight-year old could tell you.
So, if you want a book on willpower and are busy, visually oriented, or have ADD, this is probably your best bet. For many people this will not give comprehensive or particularly helpful advice, and what is need to develop willpower isn’t a book, so much as practice.
In compliance with 16 CFR Part 255, I hereby disclose that I was given a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Rating: 2 / 5
#5 by Urban Sprawl on September 5th, 2010
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This is a great book. It is easy to read, very informative, and above all does what it has set to do. The book is an easy to read summary of a lot of research on the subject. Granted, it does not get into all the depth that other books on the subject get. But it does tell you most of what you need to know and has references for further reading. It can be read in a day or two while commuting to work, which is great because then you can come back to it and reread it again so the it sinks in better
Rating: 5 / 5