Nine Things Successful People Do Differently (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
A good, fast read. Kindle quotes:To seize the moment, decide when and where you will take each action you want to take, in advance. Again, be as specific as possible (e.g., “If it’s Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, I’ll work out for thirty minutes before work”). Studies show that this kind of planning will help your brain to detect and seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by roughly 300 percent. - Read more at location 74It’s called if-then planning, and it is a really powerful way to help you achieve any goal. Well over a hundred studies, on everything from diet and exercise to negotiation and time management, have shown that deciding in advance when and where you will take specific actions to reach your goal (e.g., “If it is 4 p.m., then I will return any phone calls I should return today”) - Read more at location 82 One of the clearest illustrations of the dangers of unrealistic optimism comes from a study of weight loss. Psychologist Gabriele Oettingen asked a group of obese women who had enrolled in a weight-loss program how likely they felt they were to reach their goals. She found that those women who were confident that they would succeed lost twenty-six pounds more than self-doubters, as expected. But Oettingen also asked the women to tell her what they imagined their road to success would be like—if they thought they would have a hard time resisting temptation, or if they’d have no problem turning down free doughnuts in the conference room and a second trip to the all-you-can-eat buffet. The results were astounding: women who believed they would succeed easily lost twenty-four pounds less than those who thought their weight-loss journey would be no walk in the park. She has found the same pattern of results in studies of students looking for high-paying jobs after college, singles looking to find lasting love, and seniors recovering from hip replacement surgery. Realistic optimists send out more job applications, find the courage to approach potential romantic partners, and work harder on their rehabilitation exercises—in each case, leading to much higher success rates.- Read more at location 184 Some books fail to reach their potential to be great because they are too long. Their content is good, but it is either spread out or repeated in order to make the book longer. This is especially true for most personal development books. Nine Things Successful People Do is great because it’s so short. The ideas are concise and important (like #4, “Be a Realistic Optimist” and #6, “Have Grit”), and the book doesn’t waste a lot of time trying to pad its own length. Each section contains a short summary of a concept, citations of several studies that support it, and some tips for implementing that concept. At just under 40 pages, reading this book is the first thing that successful people should do.
What do You think about Nine Things Successful People Do Differently (2000)?
Great, realistic book. No mention of 'magnetic laws of attraction' or any other spirituality junk.
—qfarmer555
Great book, supported by lots of scientific research and concise. A book well written.
—jessica990790
Really impressive, a must read.Short, clear and to the point.
—Elysebender
A short, crisp read to get your ass moving. I like it.
—Haerot
Nice, short piece with some useful productivity tips.
—Danaj96
