READ. THINK. SOAR: Nonfiction You Can Use

by Kathy Holzapfel

MY PASSION: PERSONAL GROWTH

Life doesn't come with an instruction manual. This means we get to assemble our own; one that can be customized, updated, and overhauled at will. Talk about empowering! In this column, we'll explore ways to promote positive growth via books and programs on success and personal development.

THE BOOK

The Success Principles - How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be

By Jack Canfield (with Janet Switzer)

Version reviewed: Paperback, ISBN 13: 978-0-06-059489-3

Published by Harper Collins, 2005

Nonfiction category: Success

Note: Published in 2005, The Success Principles is still ranked in Amazon's Top 100 Success Books category as of April 2013.

THE AUTHOR

Dubbed "America's #1 Success Coach," author, speaker, and business founder Jack Canfield has written numerous New York Times bestselling books including The Power of Focus and The Aladdin Factor. He is probably best known as one of the originators of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, which has over 500 million copies in print worldwide. A featured teacher in the movie The Secret, Canfield has also appeared on hundreds of major radio and television programs.

THE SUMMARY

The Success Principles is a compilation of 64 timeless strategies aimed at helping people become top achievers by mastering the various aspects of their personal lives, their careers, their finances, and their relationships.

WHAT'S TO LIKE

Ever wish you had a wise, successful mentor who would openly share the techniques and skills they personally used to master high achievement? Jack Canfield does this with The Success Principles, condensing over thirty years of study and hands-on application, into 64 proven principles of success. In the introduction, Canfield details his own accomplishments from applying these principles in his business and personal life - successes such as writing multiple bestselling books, founding major businesses and training programs, speaking, traveling, and enjoying life while earning a multi-million dollar net income.

Each of the principles is explained with advice that is clear, direct, and immediately applicable starting with Principle #1 - Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life, and ending with Principle #64 - Empower Yourself by Empowering Others.

Weighing in at over 500 pages, (see anatomy below) the book is a hefty treasury. The tone is positive and encouraging, yet straightforward. Graphs, pertinent quotes, examples, and anecdotes enhance the text. Headers telegraph key ideas and break the principle into user-friendly components.

The book is divided into six sections:

·         The Fundamentals of Success

·         Transform Yourself for Success

·         Build Your Success Team

·         Create Successful Relationships

·         Success and Money

·         Success Starts Now

In an interview, Jack Canfield said he had difficulty trimming decades' worth of profitable information down to only 64 principles. That thoughtful condensing shows, too. The text does not sag with extraneous fill but rather directs you in a "here's what you do and why" manner. The book's conversational style conveys the feeling of a series of one-on-one sessions with a personal coach who not only wants you to succeed but also believes in your ability to do so.

Here's a sampling of principles found in the book: Be Clear Why You're Here (#2), Embrace Change (#31), Find a Wing To Climb Under (#44), Keep Your Agreements (#54), You Get What You Focus On (#57), and Master The Spending Game (#59). All the principles are astute and important, but my personal favorite is #63: Start now!...Just Do It!

There's a line in the book that sums up the entire premise: "You and you alone are responsible for taking the actions to create the life of your dreams."

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU

If you diligently apply these principles, this book can help you change and/or improve your life. The key phrase is "diligently apply." What good is knowledge unless appropriate action is consistently taken?

Canfield says in the introduction, "The Principles always work if you work the principle." And a quote from Jim Rohn drives the point home: "You can't hire someone else to do your push-ups for you."

Don't know where to begin? Start small. Pick one principle, study it, use it. Repeat until you own it. Then move on to another.

Another idea: form a group and study The Success Principles with a gathering of like minds, either online or in person. The website www.TheSuccessPrinciples.com has a free Instructor's Manual to help you get started. Other planning forms available include a strategy guide for mastermind groups and an annual calendar.

ACTIVE READING TIPS

Canfield encourages readers to underline, highlight and make notes in the margins. My personal copy is filled with notes. Scribbled hearts and lightning bolts mark significant passages. When I ran out of space in the margins, I used sticky-notes. Here's a photo of one of the pages my book.

 While I've recommended this book to countless people, I won’t lend out my copy.

RELATED PRODUCTS

Canfield has developed other works based on The Success Principles including audio and DVD programs, online courses, and a version of the book for young adults, The Success Principles For Teens.

His latest release, Tapping Into Ultimate Success, co-authored with Pamela Bruner, combines the practice of Meridian Tapping with some of Canfield's success principles.

CLOSING REMARKS

This is the type of book you can open to practically any page, dive in and begin learning. It's also a "total package" book: if you had to choose only one book to study on success, The Success Principles would give you a lifetime of tremendous value.

Your life is a work in progress, formed and reformed by your thoughts, feelings, words, and deeds. One way to fuel positive growth is by reading works that build you up. So be cool: read and excel.

BOOK ANATOMY

Page count:     Main text: 435 pages (approx.)

Front matter: 33 pages (Table of Contents, introduction, etc.)

Back matter: 38 pages (Suggested reading, index, etc.)

Chapters:         64 - one principle per chapter.

Chapters range in length from 16 pages (only 2 chapters) to 3 pages (6 chapters.) Though the average chapter length is about 6 pages, only 8 of the chapters contain 10 or more pages.

Formats:          Hardcover, paperback, eBooks Kindle/Nook/Apple, Audiobook

Library:           Widely available.

WorldCat.org lists over 1200 libraries in the U.S. with copies.

DISCLOSURE  

The copy reviewed was purchased by Kathy Holzapfel. No material connection.

CONTRIBUTOR BIO 

Award-winning novelist and life coach, Kathy Holzapfel is passionate about creativity and personal development. Please visit her website and blog: www.BodaciousWords.com

Daved Beck: Setting Fire to the World Through Love

by Cyrus Webb

In a world that is full of darkness it is a real pleasure to introduce individuals who are all about sharing light. One of such examples is author and life coach Daved Beck.

It's been a real pleasure to watch Daved touch the world through social media and his daily posts, and I recently invited him back to Conversations LIVE to talk about what it has been like to impact the lives of individuals in a positive way. "It's a dream come true," he told me with a laugh. "To help someone live in their passion and be the gift they were meant to be while here (on earth) is an honor."

As a life coach Daved has opened up the door for individuals to learn how they can get out of their own way and live life free. He wants them to know, however, that they are not alone. "I still go there," he told me when discussing the emotions we all feel and situations that we all face. He shared that he has pondered the value of life for himself. What has helped him? Love! "To come to that place of what it is I love doing and what people get out of it" helps to keep him inspired. "It's not for us to judge what is right for someone else." How do you know when something is right for you, you might ask? Daved's answer is this: "Whatever it is we're doing it has to ignite our soul. It's like a fire. It's that passion within that calls to you."

We've all been there: feeling as though no one understands what we are going through. Daved says that just the opposite is true. "We're not on this planet alone. We're all working together in some capacity. It's about becoming aware of if we're living in fear or in love. Life is about treating ourselves with respect, dignity and honor."

This means that we have to learn to embrace the gift of being able to help others. That's exactly what Daved is able to do through coaching. "Life coaching is about being that reflection back," he explains. "For me it's about supporting someone in accomplishing their goals and dreams from the inside out." Before he could help others, though, Daved had to recognize who he was. "It began by doing my own personal work," he says. "It's not about fixing or saving someone. It's being there to support someone in moving through their fears in a place of love."

Though he does in-person events and counseling the platform that is the internet has been a huge tool in helping Daved accomplish his work. When talking about what he is able to do through social media he shared this: "If one person has read my post and it has touched them then I have done my job." He says it's all about "having a vision and following the whisper of love."

So where do we begin in our own lives? Daved says it starts with a simple truth. "Every day we are a work in progress and the work continues," he says. "Knowing that we're all the same and we're so unique" is another part of the process. "We all have our own heart, soul and spirit. It's becoming aware and walking the talk." David says we have to 'own our own stuff and then move forward.'

Regardless of where you might be in the process, Daved Beck wants you to know that success is yours to have. "My hope is for everyone to stand in the truth of who they are and to speak. We are all teachers as well as students. To share your voice is to speak truth. It's ok to work on those challenges to become a better you, becoming more of the gift that you are in the world. "

For more information about Daved and his upcoming projects visit http://www.davedbeck.com.

What Would Michelle Do?: A Modern-Day Guide to Living with Substance and Style

Embodying style, class, and intelligence, Michelle Obama has quickly become an American icon. Yet, she still faces the same issues as most women today. As they watch her juggle kids, marriage, and a seemingly nonstop calendar without breaking a sweat, American women are asking, What Would Michelle Do?

Award-winning Newsweek journalist Allison Samuels, who has interviewed the First Lady numerous times, follows the trajectory of Michelle's life to illustrate the determination, intellect, and charm that drive her success-and reveals how women can incorporate those same attributes to get everything Michelle has, from her toned arms to her grace under pressure to her happy marriage. Covering a range of lifestyle topics-from creating a distinctive style to conquering obstacles to managing a household-What Would Michelle Do? combines solid advice with a fun package that will appeal to style mavens, soccer moms, and career women alike.

Conversations' Review of WHAT WOULD MICHELLE DO?

I could tell from the very title of the book that WHAT WOULD MICHELLE DO? was going to be something fun and entertaining for individuals looking for examples of what was possible in life---and Allison Samuels didn't disappoint.

The book uses the example of the First Lady of the United States to show how you can be the best of yourself, regardless of where you are from, just by making smart decisions and knowing who you are. Though there are fun tips inside the book such as things to help you in shopping smart, looking your best and even going for what you want, there is really more on the level of showcasing the importance of making yourself noticeable and using your gifts to get where you desire to go.

In the case of Mrs. Obama she was taught early on to make a difference. Don't just follow the trends. Be a trailblazer yourself. You can be your best professionally and still be able to be the mate and parent that you want to be. You can have it all, but you have to be willing to work for it.

Men can learn alot from this as well. You have to surround yourself with individuals who want the best for you, that will be honest with you at all times and want to see you prosper. Along the way difficult choices will be made, but you have to be willing to rise up to meet them in order to get to the next level.

All of this is included in Samuels' book that should prove inspirational to anyone who has a desire to be the best of themselves. It's not about a political party. It's about a belief in yourself and what is possible. If you can focus on that, there is no way this book won't prove a resource for you.

WHAT WOULD MICHELLE DO? is available wherever you buy your books online and at a bookstore near you.

Tony Lindsay Presents...James Alan McPherson

James Alan McPherson’s short story collection, ‘Elbow Room,’ won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 1978. He was the first African American to win the Pulitzer for fiction. The collection is composed of a dozen practical and reality based stories with each causing the reader to evaluate the everyday. The stories are easily read, but yet the themes are profoundly expressed.  One quickly understands why the collection garnered serious literary attention.

The characters in the collection stand from the page and walk into the imagination. None of stories have a predictable ending, and ironies vine through and around the lives McPherson created. Issues of societal perceptions: race, sexism, and caste span through the work with the touch of a writer who lives and observes.

One of the most startling character descriptions in the text refers the scared face of a woman:

"The scar still fascinated me. It was a wicked black mark that ran from her brow down over her left eyelid, skirting her nose but curving over and through both lips before ending almost in the center of her chin. The scar was thick and black and crisscrossed with a network of old stitch patterns, as if some meticulous madman had first attempted to carve a perfect half-circle in her flesh, and then decided to embellish his handiwork. It was so grotesque a mark that one had the feeling it was the art of no human hand and could be peeled off like so much soiled putty. But this was a surgeon’s office and the scar was real. It was as real. It was as real as the honey blond wig she wore, as real as her purple pantsuit. I studied her approvingly. Such women have a natural leaning toward the abstract expression of themselves. Their styles have private meaning, advertise secrete distillations of their souls. Their figures, and their disfigurations, make meaningful statements. Subjectively, this woman was the true sister of the man who knows how to look while driving a purple Cadillac. (119-120)"

This except is from “The Story of a Scar” a passionate tale of forlorn love, prejudice, and jealousy, but the prejudice is not the prejudging of a race but of image and appearance. As with every story in the collection, the reader is taken to an unexpected end and coaxed into looking at everyday life a bit different.  ‘Elbow Room’ is a must add to any fiction collection.      


Tony Lindsay is an award-winning author and adjunct professor at Chicago State University. His book ONE DEAD DOCTOR was chosen by Conversations Book Club as one of its Top 100 Books of 2012. Lindsay was named Conversations Author of the Year 2012-2013.  His new book EMOTIONAL DRIPPINGS is available now on Amazon.com. He can be reached at tonylinsay7045@sbcglobal.net or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tony.linssay2.

Living Without Impossibilities

by Jerome Cooper

Life is filled with challenges and test each day of our lives.  It is up to each of us an individual how we respond to those difficulties.  How we respond to those daily challenges and tests in our lives began from with ourselves.

I like the scripture in Mark 9:23 that say, “If you can believe, all things are possible”.  The power is in your hand to live life without and beyond impossibilities.  How is that so? It is embedded in your belief.  What do you believe?  Do you believe it is possible to live life without impossibilities or not?  Should you as an individual say yes or no, your belief and saying is demonstrated by action.  Your belief builds on your surrounding environment.  If the environment you are surrounded with says no, you will actually believe that.  If your environment says yes, you will believe that and be determined about it.

If living without impossibilities is influenced by your environment; therefore, it requires you to hang around individuals that are strong and positive.  Luke 8:18 says, “Consider carefully how you listen”.  You have to be careful in your environment to protect how and what you hear.   It affects your belief as to how you think even when it comes to living without impossibilities.  You to have the Apostle Paul attitude when he told the church at Philippi, “I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me”.  People will often say that it is ultimately up to God.  They fail to realize that God is not going to do anything without their help.

I say to you, dare to live life without impossibilities!

Jerome Cooper is the author of A DUAL BLESSING: Body and Success, the Battle with Self: Inner Strength and A Spiritual Compilation: Body, Success, and Love. You can find out more about Jerome at http://jeromecooper.simplesite.com/.

Tony Lindsay Presents... A Tribute to Maya Angelou

The Black Arts Movement combined arts and politics, and power was identified in non-traditional sources by talented writers of the era. In Maya Angelou’s autobiography, I know Why the Caged Bird Sings, power is held in the hands of a very memorable woman.

The most powerful woman in the work is Angelou’s paternal grandmother: affectionately known as Momma, neighborly known as Sister Henderson, and formally known as Mrs. Henderson. This grandmother held enough power to save a racist dentist’s building and to instill enough mother wit within her children and grandchildren to last a life time. Angelou writes,

People spoke of Momma as a good-looking woman and some, who remembered her youth, said she used to be right pretty. I saw only her power and strength. She was taller than any woman in my personal world, and her hands were so large they could span my head from ear to ear. Her voice was soft only because she chose to keep it so. In church, when she was called upon to sing, she seemed to pull out plugs from behind her jaws and the huge, almost rough sound would pour over the listeners and throb in the air. (46-47)

Beyond her powerful physical presence, Momma’s personality drew respect and admiration, but Maya recalls, “Knowing Momma, I knew that I never knew Momma. Her African-bush secretiveness and suspiciousness had been compounded by slavery and confirmed by centuries of promises made and promises broken.” As her grandchild, Maya was protected from much of what her grandmother knew and experienced. Even when they shared experiences her grandmother would shield her.

When Maya was refused services by a dentist, who owed Momma a favor, her imagined recollection of the event differed greatly from what Momma said occurred;

Dentist Lincoln got right uppity. Said he’d rather put his hand in a dog’s mouth. And I reminded him of the favor, he brushed it off like a piece of lint. Well, I sent Sister (Maya) downstairs and went inside. I hadn’t never been in his office before, but I found the door to where he takes out teeth, and him and the nurse was in there thick as thieves. I just stood there till he caught sight of me . . . He said, ‘Annie, I done tole you, I ain’t gonna mess around in no niggah’s mouth.’ I said, ‘Somebody got to do it then,’ and he said, ‘Take her to Texarkana to the colored dentist’ and that’s when I said, ‘If you paid me my money I could afford to take her,’ He said, ‘It’s all been paid.’ I tole him everthing but the interest had been paid. He said, ‘Twasn’t no interst.’ I said, ‘Tis now. I’ll take ten dollars as payment in full.’ . . . (93)

Mrs. Henderson was not to be denied respect from any person, and if disrespect was attempted, she was able manipulate and balance the injustice to her favor.

It was the writers of the Black Arts Movement who offered readers characters like Sister Henderson who added power to the movement. Maya Angelou’s literary portrait of her grandmother is that of a powerful black woman, which was what the movement required. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is an exemplary autobiography of the Black Arts Movement.             

Tony Lindsay is an award-winning author and adjunct professor at Chicago State University. His book ONE DEAD DOCTOR was chosen by Conversations Book Club as one of its Top 100 Books of 2012. Lindsay was named Conversations Author of the Year 2012-2013.  His new book EMOTIONAL DRIPPINGS is available now on Amazon.com. He can be reached at tonylinsay7045@sbcglobal.net or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tony.linssay2.

"The Sound of Les Getrex"

by:  D.C. White (with Tiffany Calhoun)

Les Getrex is considered one of the last bluesman.  His profound and authentic sound comes from his New Orleans roots as well as being one of the true musicians that still keeps the culture embedded into his music.  Although many have come before him and many will continue to follow after him, Mr. Getrex's style of performing sets him apart.  You may catch him walking through the audience as he sings "Alvina" while wooing all the ladies or he just may be sitting on the stage playing his guitar with every emotion running through his body, including the pain of the blues.

The sound of Les Getrex is a must hear and the Les Getrex show is a must see.  Sharing the stage and recording studio with the likes of Fats Domino, Walter "Wolfman" Washington, Barbara George, Marva Wright and Rockin' Dopsie, you can truly say that Getrex has come a long way.  Les tours overseas twice a year performing hits from his latest album entitled "Les Getrex Sings The Classics".  This album is a tetestamentf how gifted and talented he is.  He covers songs from Ray Charles to Otis Redding, two of his favorite artists.  You will also find traditional New Orleans Mardi Gras songs such as "Indian Red".

Getrex is simply unpredictable when it comes to his ranges and styles.  Recently, I caught up with him during his Saturday afternoon set at the Gazebo Cafe, located in the famous French Market / French Quarter area in New Orleans.  His performance, along with the cool breeze and great food, was like a breath of fresh air.  He was in his element and was truly having a great time.  When asked if he has any plans on retiring from the business anytime soon, Getrex answered "What is time? I am time.  I will continue doing what I love until I die.  There is no retiring for me."

D. C. White is a contributor for Conversations Magazine and the founder of History Records and Entertainment. White also serves as a Producer for "Conversations with Cyrus Webb" televisions how. You can reach him at dwightcalhoun@yahoo.com and find out more information about him at www.dchistoryrecords.com.