Review: Helped me become a "hoptimist".
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 25, 2013
I decided to read this book to challenge the way I think. I tend to be somewhat pessimistic/realistic, someone who gives up too quickly and has a very negative outlook. This book didn't change my life but it showed me a new approach. I agree that "life is about what you do in the face of failure," and this book forced me to be honest with my myself. The author uses a great example of how one man is lied by someone and suddenly thinks everyone is a liar. I also learned that to change my limiting beliefs, I must make a commitment. When I lost 65 pounds, I made a commitment to lose weight, it became an obsession, but when I lost my commitment, I ended up gaining 40 pounds. I also learned a lot of things I did not know, like how Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC faced rejection by 1009 different restaurants, how Edison failed 10,000 times, how the founder of the Honda car company had his motor rejected by Toyota, how Martin Luther King never gave up hope in spite of seemingly impossible odds. My only criticism is that I wish the author had used some conservative examples, Andrew Breitbart, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, and many of my favorites also overcame great odds to become the people they are today. Regardless, it's still a great book.