Everybody seeks success. Everybody. I have never met a person who was not interested in accomplishing a list of goals. Those goals can vary from anything like cleaning the kitchen floor to becoming an astronaut. But the big problem that stops most people from achieving everything they want to do is the issue of time. Nobody seems to have enough time. Why? Because every activity in our culture is divided into two categories: what you want to do and what you have to do. And the result from this way of thinking is a population of go-getters who don’t have enough time to actually go get what they really want. 

If you feel like your life doesn’t have enough hours in the day to fit in your personal goals, then a book like Seize The Day by Danny Cox might be exactly what you need. The book is essentially a field guide to success, performance, and optimal living. Step by step, from “Selecting the Desired Rewards” to “Moral Building,” the the book takes you through the different stages of the high-performance process. There are useful tables and charts you can fill out, bullet-by-bullet explanations, and even motivational quotes.  

The first quote is by George Bernard Shaw: “People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.” Makes you want to keep reading, eh? I must admit, as a girl who loves to be told how to do things (i.e. how to lose weight, be popular, wear heels, etc.) I was immediately intrigued by the title of the book and the inspirational quotes from famous writers and thinkers. I figured this book would finally turn me into the power-house female I always dreamed of being.  

Unfortunately, after 246 pages of “planning performance,” I realized that (much like a horoscope in a tabloid magazine) the book didn’t tell me anything I didn’t already know. It sneakily grabbed my attention by asking questions that I was most likely to identify with — like “Do you want to be successful?” and “Do you need help managing your time?” — and then answered these questions with personal tales about the authors stationed overseas, watching a ballet, and flying on a hot air balloon. All of which seemed irrelevant to my own personal goals.  

Conclusion? This book is about as helpful as a heater in an ice-cream truck. Think of this book like a personal trainer. Sure, you would want someone to tell you exactly how to work out and when, but 90% of the effort is going to come from you deciding to actually get up and exercise. And for that, you honestly don’t need a trainer.  

Although the idea of a guide to success is great, the book is of no use to you if you didn’t already know the steps to success. And if you do know the secrets to achieving your goals… then why did you buy the book?

Chicsters, if you really want to be Extraordinary in an Ordinary World then all you have to do is channel your inner-entrepreneur, focus, immerse yourself in the things you love, and go get what you want!