Author: Jack Canfield, Mark V. Hansen, Les Hewitt

Publisher: HCI

Pub. in: March, 2000

ISBN: 1558747524

Pages: 300

Measurements: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches

Origin of product: USA

Order code: BA00555

Other information:  

The authors also wrote The #1 New York Times bestselling The Chicken Soup for the Soul series.

Long ago when I was a child, I purchased a large box of Crackerjacks and the prize within was a small plastic magnifying glass. I recall using it to burn holes in leaves which demonstrated the power of focus. I thought about that as I read this book. Here is one of its core concepts: "Negative habits breed negative consequences. Successful habits create positive rewards." I agree. However, as the authors fully understand, replacing negative habits with successful habits is very difficult. A sincere and sustained commitment is imperative. However, as the authors of this volume correctly point out, something else is also needed: focus. "You must invest most of your time every week doing what you do best, and let others do what they do best....When you focus most of your time and energy doing the brilliant things you are truly brilliant at, you eventually reap big rewards." Within organizations, this is the essence of alignment: getting the right people in the right places, doing what they do best to achieve whatever the organization's goals may be.

Canfield, Hansen, and Hewitt recommend and then explain ten different strategies to develop and sustain successful habits, focus on strengths, see "The Big Picture," balance career with personal life, build excellent relationships with others, eliminate (or at least significantly reduce) fear and anxiety, ask for what you want (the authors provide a seven-point system to achieve prosperity), sustain consistent persistence, take decisive and appropriate action, and finally, how to simplify one's life without compromising one's purposes. A set of specific "Action Steps" is provided at the end of each chapter. If implemented effectively, the ten strategies can enable almost anyone to "hit" their business, personal, and financial "targets" and in many (if not most) instances "with absolute certainty." First, however, each reader must determine what her or his "targets" are. My own experience suggests that, over time, people change their targets. Also, whatever they may be at any given time, the little rascals tend to be moving.

In their Final Words, the authors note that "there are no shortcuts to building a life of substance. It's an ongoing process. It takes time, real effort and a desire to become more than you already are. It's a worthy challenge. However, your biggest challenge starts tomorrow. How will you apply what you have learned between the covers of this book?" As suggested earlier, reading this this book reminded me of a large box of Crackerjacks. The material it provides reminded me of that little plastic magnifying glass. Both the box and the book offer the same "gift": an understanding and appreciation of the power of focus. I join with the authors in wishing their readers "an abundance of health, joy, and prosperity in the years ahead."

If at all possible, read this book in combination with Bossidy and Charan's Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done; Hammer's The Agenda: What Every Business Must Do to Dominate the Decade; Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People; and finally, Connors, Smith, and Hickman's The Oz Principle: Getting Results Through Individual and Organizational Accountability.

(From quoting Robert Morris, USA)

Target readers: General readers

Better with QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability in Work and in Life :

			2 Buy with : ¥ 376.00
			Quantity:  +112345678910