Useful book for encouraging us to do what we already ...
934600
Useful book for encouraging us to do what we already know as parents of teens... stick to what you say as a parent, make sure it's coming from a loving place that makes sense and employs natural consequences for the child's actions.  I feel many of the examples are a little extreme in the book.  Might be nice to have an in-between set of examples for parents whose kids haven't quite gone off the deep end... maybe a book for parenting preteens and middle schoolers, who have a brand new set of hormones, somewhat milder temptations, and maybe different sets of risk factors. Also, one example advocates misleading a child as to the "natural" consequences of their actions, which involved getting a police officer to tell a fib on the punishment for the child's crime.  This will not get the kid to follow the parents' directions once they find out that part of the threat of consequences was a sham.
4900666
212 The Extra Degree by Sam Parker and Mac Anderson is a small book with some big ideas and a great way of simplifying the notion of taking action and achieving more.

The premise is:

"At 211 degrees, water is hot.  At 212 degrees, it boils.  And with boiling water comes steam.  And steam can power a locomotive."

So, it's about the power of one degree, or that tiny bit of extra effort that can make all the difference in our lives.

It's about raising your awareness and understanding that one extra bit of effort, one additional bit of action, can totally change your results.  To that end, they have included some quite interesting stories, statistics and quotes throughout the book.

Some of these you will be familiar with, particularly if you are a student of motivational literature.  But, some, you might find worth learning about.

One of these is that the average margin of victory in the Daytona 500 and the Indianapolis 500 over the last ten years has been 1.54 seconds (how quick is that?) and that the winner--the driver who got there 1.54 seconds faster than the one behind him won more than double the prize money.  That's an expensive couple of seconds.

The book is divided into five sections/chapters.

1--Introduction - What 212 degrees is all about.
2--Thoughts and Facts--quotes and examples that illustrate the concept.
3--Stories about Success, Attitude, Leadership, Kindness, Commitment, Belief, Focus and Perseverance.
4--Actions.  Sample action steps which will help you heat things up to 212.
5--Reflections.  Information about using the 212 information to improve your life--with examples on such ideas as practicing kindness, stopping complaining, and more.

Maintaining motivation can be difficult.  Inertia overtakes us and we dig ourselves a rut and hunker down in it, or we burn ourselves out trying to do and be everything and dig ourselves a hole and crawl in.  Having resources like this book on hand can help you climb back out and get back to work on what you are supposed to be doing. Then, you'll find yourself climbing mountains and raising the bar.  The view is so much better up there!

This book and/or DVD are great for gifts, too--particularly graduations, or for people just starting new adventures such as new jobs, new businesses, enrolling in college, or training for a marathon or 5K.
3004681
If you are new to the self-help genre or just starting out in your journey of self-improvement this book may be a great buy for you.

Personally,as someone who has read A LOT about affirmations, positive self-talk, visualizations, etc, I felt that it was repetitive and ultimately, didn't really expose me to anything I hadn't come across before.  Still, repetition is often what helps us learn and for that, this book has been of value to me.  I am especially enjoying his specific examples of how to talk to yourself about facing problems and changing inner attitudes.

If anything, reading this was a reminder to me of how good I feel when I support myself with positive thoughts and it's something that is worth my time and effort everyday.  If you too need that kind of reminder than you also might enjoy this.
612776
A catchy title is a mixed blessing.  Some will be inspired by it; others will dismiss it as hype. Of course, reading the book alone won't significantly increase your achievement, but putting in place some of the suggestions can certainly help.

I've skimmed through the book, just to get a sense of the layout, content and suggestions.  This book is designed to be read one page per day over a year.  Each page contains a quote, some questions and an assignment.  The objective of each page is to learn to make small daily choices that will help you to get the most from your life.  Will it transform your life?  I guess that depends on how much change you think you need or want to make and how motivated you are towards making those changes.

I like this book, and I think the format is useful.  Will I work through it, as suggested, each page in order at the rate of one page per day? I'm not sure.  I've already incorporated a couple of suggestions, and I'm keen to explore some others.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith
2692641
We all have habits in our lives created consciously or not. Joyce Meyer's book help us to separate the good from the bad and gives practical suggestions on how to eliminate those that are not helpful to us. Her main point is that we should focus on what we want to do, rather than obsessing on what we no longer want to do. Controlling our thoughts (reprogramming our internal computer) is a forceful tool to accomplish this. Other salient points are repetition of good habits, teaching yourself to be organized, and being active in doing the right thing.

She gives us hints on breaking habits such as hurrying, having to be perfect, and being irresponsible. The book encourages us to create worthy habits such as:

* Making wise decisions
* Becoming physically healthier
* Being happier
* Cultivating generosity toward others
* Addressing our addictions whether they be to cell phones or artificial stimulants.

The book is conversational and encouraging in tone. The author is a prolific writer in the Christian evangelical world. Much of the book is devoted to scripture references and how to commune with God.

Reviewed by Holly Weiss, author of Crestmont.
1891193
The purpose of the book is to help us see that we are created with a unique dream and vision in our heart and we need to discover our purpose and plan and live the life God has called us to live. Groeshel believes we can discover our personal vision or chazown by discovering our core values, spiritual gifts, and looking at our past experiences. Once we discover our purpose we need to create a plan and begin living it. As we pursue our dream we need to keep our life in balance by paying attention to 5 areas of our life: our relationship with God, our relationship with people, our finances, our health, and our work.

Groeshel says that if we surrender our life to God and his chazown for our life, keep these 5 areas in balance, establish goals, work to accomplish them, and be accountable - then God will take care of the rest.

This is a good self help motivational book. I think his principle are good and wise.

I received this book from WaterBrook Multnomah in exchange for writing a review.
4547326
This inspiring book illustrates just how God calls us to serve right where we are. It provides helpful advice from a diverse group of authors on just how to live fearlessly through faith, and to life to your FULL potential!  The authors share their personal stories of listening for and aligning with God's purpose, stepping out on faith, and moving forward to take action with a positive mindset.
1923794
It was helpful and motivational. This book reminds you that you have a lot to offer to others and God.
922907
Feeling a little lost, wondering where your life is going, want to do something about that but not sure how or where to start? If thats you  check out this book.

A simple yet inspirational read around how you can address the questions above quite quickly and motivate yourself to take some action for positive effect. The plan inside will help you with that too  go through that honestly and youll be on your way.

Its the sort of thing you can keep on your device and read again whenever you're feeling a bit low to give yourself a bit of a boost.

Thats what Ill be doing with my copy.
4809728
I really enjoyed the challenge set forth in this book. It addresses many of the reasons why people get stuck and fail to live to their potential. The philosophy isn't perfect, but it's close enough to get the point across. If you need to find your purpose, this will help.

I am going to add this to my recommended reading list on my web site.

Now get going!
2900158
Jim McKnight's book is interesting, thought-provoking and a great motivation to anyone who wants to simplify their life but doesn't know where to start, or to people who know what they want or need to do, but somehow can't seem to actually do it. He thoroughly and convincingly covers the reasons why change is necessary, as well as outlining some of the things that stand in the way of moving to a long-term, more sustainable way of life: the problems facing us are usually presented by the Green movement with an emphasis on urgent and radical change. This is supposed to sufficiently scare us and stir us into action, but more often than not, it only makes the task seem insurmountable, and most of us resist change because - let's face it - going with the flow is just easier.
McKnight is fully aware of these problems, and as a psychologist, he also expands a little on the nature of procrastination in general. I found this discussion useful as I have a definite tendency to procrastinate. He goes on to offer practical suggestions and applies them to aspects of the voluntary simplicity movement.
I must confess that I skipped most of the chapter where he goes into an indepth discussion of interest debt - it seems a little too complex and heavy for inclusion in the book, and my guess is that anyone who was a chronic procrastinator would probably get bogged down and then just put off finishing the book. In fact, I knew that if I kept trying to plough through it, I'd just get disillusioned, so I skipped it kept going. I also skimmed the next couple of chapters on housing and communal living, not because they weren't interesting, but mostly because I felt it was a fair way beyond where I am at the moment (only finished studying recently, barely employed, still living at home and probably not cut out for living in a commune).
Overall I found the first two and the last two chapters the most interesting, relevant (to me), and easy to read. There are, of course, numerous other books that deal with the various problems we face associated with overconsumption and environmental degradation and the people that seek to solve them, but this book looks at the issue from a slightly different but worthwhile angle.
3369580
This book was a thought-stirring delight to read, and it opened my eyes to often very simple ways to solve problems (or get on the road to solving them) just by turning thinking around.  It's a useful guide for parents and people who work in any kind of organization.  It's quick and fun to read but it delivers an inspiring message and contains many examples that I will go back to.
2914396
I like Andrea Raines Waggener's fresh approach to taking responsibility for changing my life.  Inspired by Ben Franklin's 13 virtues for positive living, Andrea expands and redefines those virtues and calls them 'qualities,' then offers a weekly format for developing those qualities within one's self.  She also illustrates with personal glimpses how she acquired the qualities which improved her own life.  Sharing our stories allows others to relate and feel less alone, and structuring ourselves to meet a daily task commands committment.  Some of us need that structure, and this book affords the opportunity with a coach in the background who has lived the experiences herself.

Isa "Kitty" Mady, writer/artist
25857
Pretty good book to remind us of looking for the virtues in others rather than the failings. The first two chapters really do the teaching.
32896
This book offers helpful strategies to enable one to learn how to be present in the moment.  It also contains many common sense ideas that one can embrace to improve his or her life.
1645281
I found this book helpful in my personal life cause I really needed some motivation, and as u will see there is a lot of encouragement, self-motivation tool described halping you to achieve you're goals as an athlete, but also as a purpose driven person.. !! :)
4887994
Good read when you need a reminder of living with purpose.