Book Review

Setting and achieving goals is perhaps one of the most important aspects of any self-development or success programme.  So for this month's review I have selected three books about goal setting and achieving.

The first is a Kindle book called "How to Set Goals".  A good starting point!  The others are "normal" books rather than Kindle versions.  The second takes you through the most important step once you have set your goal, and is called "Write It Down, Make It Happen".  Finally, a book focussed on ensuring you achieve your goals, called "Living in Your Top 1%".


Click on the title of any book that particularly interests you and you can buy it right away from Amazon.

How To Set Goals: Ultimate Goal Setting Guide to Having Your Best Year Ever

by

Craig Ballantyne

Here is what some readers of this Kindle edition thought about it:


"This is a quick read, yet a great one. I wish I had found it sooner.

Most goal setting books just tell you to aim high and the magic will happen. This doesn't. It tells you HOW AND WHY you'll achieve your goals and makes you think about ALL the areas of life. Some of them were difficult for me...I realized that a lot of my goals were one-dimensional and I was forgetting about setting goals outside one area.

The author also has some free videos at the end that make it interactive. Great stuff.

Now...onto achieving what I just wrote down."

-    JR


"I love this book. I am a big fan of Early To Rise, so I had to pick this up because anything by Craig Ballantyne is amazing. This book is in depth yet easy to read. I love the part about making SMART goals and also the importance of visualization. Craig provides great advice and actionable steps to achieve whatever goal you are striving for. I also picked up The Ultimate Fat Loss Secret which I love too! My main goal right now is fat loss and I believe this Goal setting book will help me to achieve my fat loss goals as well as any thing else I pursue. So thanks and I highly recommend this book to anyone that wants to reach their goals sooner rather than later. "

-    Susie Schmidt


"Really great book. I got the kindle version and read it on those many sleepless nights. Craig Ballantyne really knows goal setting. As a personal trainer and huge online business success, his latest acquisition is one of my favorite websites - ETR (Early To Rise), he is a man who walks his talk. No-nonsense, down to earth stuff. This book is literally a steal to PRIME members, and to the rest of us, it's still a steal at ninety-nine cents for a kindle edition. HIGHLY recommend. "

-    InfoFish

Write It Down, Make It Happen: Knowing What You Want And Getting It

by

Henriette Anne Klauser

"The reason I am giving this book five stars is that I followed it to the letter and made what I wanted to happen happen. I wanted to take a solo summer road trip from Florida to New England, stay up there for a few weeks, and visit DC and Atlanta on the way back. I was scared to do it and needed the financial means. This book motivated me to work an extra job, work extra hours at the two jobs I had, to make the arrangements, make it possible to take five weeks off, and psyched me up to actually GO. I had a BLAST. That trip will be a jewel in my heart for the rest of my life. I am married with two kids now, and won't be able to do anything like that again, so I am grateful to this book and to myself for the experience. It's been eleven years. I should redo it with a new overwhelming goal!"

-    Musical Mama


"I'm a medical-surgical nurse and at the same time a business woman. I manage my own online store and it's now even bigger where I'm unable to manage and balance everything. My nursing career is very stressful and every time I went home I'll just sleep for the rest of the day leaving some of my customers online waiting for me to check their pending orders. I finished reading read this book last month, I'm happy to say that this book is just what I need to balance everything in my life. I totally agree that we should write down our goals in order for us to achieve it. I started writing my goals right after I finished this book. I set goals for my career; I set ways on how to divide my time to achieve the success I wanted and guess what? It worked!

I realized that reading this type of books is definitely helpful. I was so happy with the results that I bought another book to inspire myself and be on track all the time. Here's another powerful book that may help you,by Martin Gover Leadership,Authority & Influence - Creating a Life of Value-knowing the top of the mountain isn't even halfway.  This book also recommends writing down your goals and to mentally commit to it. Now, I have a collection of these types of books and I can't wait to finish everything. My online store is earning more than I expected and my nursing career is blossoming at the same time! "

-    alone0615!


"This book was a gift from my mother on Christmas. After 6 months, I decided to pick it up and read it. It was as if it was calling me.
I am so glad I did. This book was addicting! It taught me so much, writing in a journal, positive outlook and tools to help stay focused. She uses real life experiences to show the way to getting what you want. This book was amazing and taught me so much, perfect timing for what I was feeling in my personal life and it truly helped guide me back to a positive outlook and set me free of my fears for new journeys in life. Again, I couldn't wait to read it every morning and write in my journal afterwards. I have referred this book to many of my clients. "

-    Desiree Ashby

Living in Your Top 1%: Nine Essential Rituals to Achieve Your Ultimate Life Goals

by

Alissa Finerman

"This book was given to me by my friend, Aisha, as a gift. Wow! I have read many, many self-development books and this is actually one of the BEST - well-organized, down-to-earth, good examples and phenomenal stories, and I feel like I can not only understand what to do and why, but also HOW to get into my own top 1% success zone. This book is truly phenomenal; I HIGHLY recommend it! I wish everyone great success in your lives and I'm sure this book can play a huge part in that!"

-    Rosemarie Goodman-Urszuy (BALTIMORE, MD, US)


"Alissa Finerman wastes no time in this instructional self-improvement book. Upfront she dedicates it to "Every person who has overcome or will soon overcome the word impossible" - this concise but powerful intro sets the tone for what is to come: a series of 1st hand and 2nd hand stories of triumph over some of life's difficulties (especially the difficulties we erect for ourselves), combined with a near recipe like set of principles and instructions (presented as 9 'rituals') on how you can move from where you really are in life to where you really want to be.

Unlike many tomes from self-help Authors, Finerman's book does not take a long and winding road toward instruction. The book is organized as a set of true stories of transformation: Each person's story is concise, simple, and direct. Finerman's mixture of famous and ordinary people in these stories makes for engaging and interesting reading. A common thread of self-realization, mindset change and corrective action (or in Finerman's formula: Assess, Create, Implement) weaves each tale together to form a narrative of the book's theme: Successful self-change is possible for anyone willing to follow a proven plan.

A stirring, motivational quote from a bevy of famous achievers (from Aristotle to Anthony Robbins) establishes credibility for, then launches each new chapter while you as the reader begin to envision your own 'success story' unfolding vicariously through a combination of the tales of others' triumphs over doubt, debilitation or circumstance.

Finerman underscores her intent to help you drive toward results by integrating academic textbook like assignments, recaps and note-taking sections at the end of each chapter. This is what the book tangibly delivers: A real formula for self-transformation. For me, the textbook like instructions at the end of each chapter were a bit distracting--I prefer to read without interruption, digest the totality of a book, then review. But the point of this book is not to make you ponder or to merely be inspired-- the point of the book is to instruct and guide you through a thoughtfully developed regimen where the eventual outcome is the realization of your dreams. With that outcome in mind, Finerman's academic like instructional approach is tough to argue against.

Like any effective self-improvement process, Finerman's "9 rituals" aren't easy to complete-- nor is her process a quick one. But as any successful person can attest to, her 9 prescribed rituals absolutely do work. This book is written clearly and offers basic (yet powerful) evidence based instruction on how you can win in the game of life-- and be happy along your path to victory.

My favorite thing about LIVING IN YOUR TOP 1% is that for me it serves as a reliable 'pick me up' whenever I run into the inevitable obstacles along the path toward my realizing my own dreams and I need a healthy recharge of self-confidence. In this sense, the book is a wonderful motivator as it reliably restores my confidence and dutifully guides me back on the path toward achieving my ultimate life goals."

-    James McDonald


"Living in Your Top 1% is refreshing! Alissa skillfully provides an actionable blueprint for achieving goals and living your truth. Her book walks you through some thought provoking exercises as it helps you sketch out the actions and habits necessary to produce goal shattering results. This book focuses on iterative processes necessary to assess and reassess goals. Her personal story is inspiring and liberating. She places emphasis on redefining how one looks at life. Prioritizing yourself as the CEO of your life gives context to the meaning behind the goals you set. Alissa provokes you to challenge the status quo and invoke new feelings of self-esteem and belief. I love the way she rejects a microwaved approach to change and stresses the importance of forward progress and little victories. A must read for anyone looking for more out of life!"

-    Aisha D. Da Costa