Book Review - Three Feet From Gold by Sharon Lechter and Greg S. Reid

Three Feet From Gold by Sharon Lechter and Greg S. Reid is a book about empowerment and not giving up. The three feet from gold in the title is a reference to a prospector who gave up on looking for gold when he was only three feet away from it. This book takes a different approach than most self-help books of this nature. Yes, it gives you tips on not giving up, pushing yourself to succeed, working hard, keeping a positive mental attitude, helping others and paying it forward, etc. But what made this book stand out for me is that instead of listing things you should do it tells the story of how one man follows these principles, principles originally outlined in Napolean Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, first published a hundred years ago. While I like the approach of this book, I have to be honest in the beginning, when I read about this narcissistic, obnoxious jerk, Greg, I did not want to read about him becoming successful. He was rude, cared about no one but himself and his image and purposely walked over everyone he could. How can you root for someone like that? Why should we care about his redemption? That man, if he were truly deep down that person, we shouldn’t. However less than halfway through this book, you see how hard he works to become a better person, at first because he wants, power, money, success but he begins to grow as a person and his search for success becomes a a search for himself. He learns how to be a better man, how to be humble and how to share with others even when there is no obvious gain for himself. As we see his journey progress we do start rooting for him. Not only do we find that we want him to succeed but we find that we want his words of wisdom and we feel blessed to be able to share this journey with him. Greg could have left out that first chapter, the one that makes us not like him, but then we wouldn’t have appreciated his journey as much and his words would hold less meaning for us. It takes courage to show the world your bad side. Not everyone can be that honest. And yet Greg does just that, not to show the world how brave he is or to say “you didn’t want me to succeed but I showed you”. He shares that side of himself with us as a gift. A gift of humility and to show that no matter where a person is in their life, they can change and make a difference. It is a valuable lesson and one that is worth sharing.

This book shows us some of the most powerful and successful people in the world and the humility they have held on to. They share with us their wisdom, their stickability and the lessons and setbacks they have faced on their own roads to success. This book is a wonderful roadmap to finding not just success in life but in finding yourself. I highly recommend it and below, am providing several links to not only the authors and book websites but also to the Napolean Hill Foundation, his inspiring quotes and where you can download a pdf version of the book Think and Grow Rich that inspired this book. Five out of five golden nuggets.

http://www.threefeetaway.com/

Greg S. Reid:  http://www.gregsreid.com/

Sharon Lechter:  http://www.slechter.com/

The Napolean Hill Foundation:  http://www.naphill.org/

Think and Grow Rich: Free PDF : http://www.2ezbiz.org/TGR.pdf

Napolean Hill Quotes: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/n/napoleon_hill.html

Free Download & Blog: http://think-and-grow-rich-ebook.com/

This book was provided by the author.

Book Review - What's He Really Thinking? by Paula Rinehart

Professional counselor and author, Paula Rinehart uses her experience to delve into the male psyche in What's He Really Thinking? How To Be A Relationship Genius With The Man In Your Life. She takes a biblical look at understanding the men in our lives by understanding what motivates them, what hurts them, how they learn and what influence women play on them. She then delves into what we need and expect from men and why they react to these challenges and conflicts the way they do.

I've grown up around men and often feel more in tune to them than I do to women. I chose this book to see if Rinehart had some new insight into the minds of men. I was disappointed to read the same old "words of wisdom" that dozens of other authors, therapist, people in general provide. The only new perspective she offered was the biblical references. While I enjoyed this new perspective and the stories she provided as examples, I think she simplifies man too much. Men are definitely less complicated than women in many mental aspects; however, they can still be quite complex. It would be interesting to see how a man would review this book and if he would agree with her conclusions. The book may be helpful to women who have very little contact with men, but I don't feel the average woman will find it useful, although they may be able to relate to some of the examples given. I would only give it two out of five stars.

*This book was provided by Thomas Nelson.