Success: Why Not You? [Perfect Paperback]

There are two huge mistakes people make when it comes to making their dreams come true. The first is obvious- some people never even try. Before they even step out of the gate, they decide that their dream is silly or they don't have what it takes. Then, they simply give up.
For those that do try, many fall prey to thinking that success is something that will be handed to them. Perhaps, they believe that they have talent or see others who have made it seem easy to succeed. Then, once things get tough, they run for the hills.
The Skinny on Success looks at success realistically. If you don't try, you won't succeed. If you believe success is your birthright or that your talent will give you a leg up on the competition, you are just as likely to abandon your dreams when the real work begins. Being successful is like anything else in life- you have to work very hard, keep focused, and get a little lucky.

Essentially, do what you love and put yourself into it fully. Be open to the opportunities. Make mistakes and learn from them. There are no guarantees, of course, but if you're doing what you love you'll be a lot happier for it. I believe that's success in and of itself.

"The Skinny On..." books are easy to read, entertaining, well described and more importantly what's in those books is true. Better yet the author of the books is very smart by knowing that many of us don't have time to read a really big book on a certain subject; therefore his books can be read in under two hours. Jim Randel studied financial literacy, personal achievement and the way people learn and puts his experiences to good use by writing these books. By the way, I was sent a book by the publisher and I thank him for it! The reason Skinny Books are great reads is because they take a complex subject and explain it in a simpler way without being too much in one little book. This particular one is on success, something we all aspire to in some way. Randel goes into details on how hard it is and how much work needs to be done, gives advices, examples and what makes a person successful.

The Skinny On... is a series of books designed to give share knowledge with others, there are many subjects available and these books go into great details on them and are presented in a direct, yet simple way so everyone can understand. I like how the book uses many examples to get a point across for example on practicing a pianist quoted in the book said: "If I don't practice one day, I Know it. If don't practice two days in row my wife knows it. If I don't practice three days in a row the audience knows it". This is just one of many and it uses many celebrities and successful people. With careful advices, some facts and suggestions "The Skinny On" is an excellent staring point; it offers a realistic view of success and the many paths leading to it. The way it is presented with stick figures and with another story about Billy and Beth is simple and very clever at the same time. Because of the format it doesn't seem like a big book and it isn't, but its filled with interesting content.

A message the book gives the reader is that there are many people with talent who are unsuccessful and some who aren't talented who are very successful. To quote the book: "The most common thing is unsuccessful men with talent", talent is overrated; desire, action and persistence are key words. Everyone has the potential to do something but there has to be a true will to it. You can develop that potential, take a chance and perhaps do something big with it or you can stay still and wonder what it could have been all your life. If I could resume this in a sentence I'd quote Randel and say that "4 out 5 people regret something they DIDN'T do instead of something they DID".

Skinny books don't take a long amount of time to read but afterwards you feel better about yourself and more educated on the subject you're reading about. You did something for yourself, reading this book is an hour of your life that will affect you and will not be a wasted one. I'm not saying the books are 100% accurate, I'm saying they could serve as a model in some way and give you both motivation and advice from you can learn a lot from these books. The idea of the books is to help you not to do it for you, after all there is no easy way to achieve success. If it was easy everyone would be doing it right?

I'm not saying "The Skinny On Success" changed my life but it changed many of my perceptions of success and failures and I'm sure it will change yours too. It opened my eyes about some aspects of success and I think that this 1 hour and a half read was a very informative one and worth it. It's not the size of the book it's the content that matters. I would recommend any of the books in the Skinny On collection.
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