Customer Reviews

3 Seconds: The Power of Thinking Twice

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I think this is a five star book for two good reasons:

1) The author gives you practical self-talk phrases to replace common thinking that leads to pessimism.

These phrases are the answer to, "How do I become more optimistic?" For example, the phrase "I love a challenge" is useful as an alternative thought to "I don't know how I'll get through this". We know from years of psychological research and analysis that "what you repeat you believe" as long as the thing repeated is not countered with strong evidence. The reality is that by repeating to yourself "I love a challenge" you are likely to begin seeing challenges as positive instead of negative.

2) Chapter 3, It Takes 3 Seconds to Fuel Your Passion, is a ten star chapter by itself.

This chapter is one of the best summaries of developing passion that I've ever seen. I've told my seminar attendees for a decade now that your energy comes from your passion more than your plate. By this I mean that while eating right and exercising are important they do not give you the amazing energy of a driving passion. This chapter gives you the clear steps to creating passion. Get a vision "of the future that gives passion in the present." In other words, don't just envision "a" future, but envision a future that quickens your heartbeat and excites you to action. Purpose is the propelling force behind passion.

I often tell my students that purpose leads to passion. Passion leads to energy. Energy leads to action and actions produce results. It all starts with your vision or purpose.

This book was inspiring and I think you'll find it very helpful.

The essence of this book is not a new message, but the communicative skills of Les Parrott make its development an interesting read as he instructs us to take action and not be passive. It's the first part of the book that hooks the reader has he mysteriously refutes the myth that a person should rely on first instincts in making a decision. He cites studies that say that is bad advice. The "3 seconds" to which the title refers are the second guessing that follows that initial impulse. He says wiser decisions are made in that short time frame.

In the preface John Maxwell gives the book such a sales pitch it's difficult to resist finding out what the big discovery is that Dr. Parrott has made. At the heart of the message is something that is not surprising, be focused in your work. Don't be busy for the sake of activity, but zero in on the desired results and do what it takes to make them happen.

I like Parrott's Christian worldview, however, I am disappointed that authors like him use less than Christian examples to illustrate the principles they're trying to teach. A person can "perserve" for a terrible goal and achieve a result. The principle has been applied "successfully" but evil was accomplished. Knowing how to use a principle doesn't mean something worthwhile occurs.

On pages 171-172 I found the goal-setting method of Lou Holtz to be captivating. I also like the quote from William H. Murray on page 178, "The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too." I would add, provided that the commitment is aligned with God's will.

When I read about a man named "Winter" who was on a quest to consume coffee at a national chain and break a record, I wondered, what's the point? Turns out that is exactly the point Parrott was making, "WHO CARES????"!!! Busyness is not productivity.

I have just finished reading the foregoing book by Dr Les Parrott. Quite an entertaining book, I must say, despite the fact I have to go through all the seemingly endless anecdotes & stories.

In a nut shell, the whole book is all about the significance of a 'momentary pause', just 3 seconds, which can elevate one's entire life.

According to the book, 33 studies over 70 years have suggested that sticking to your first instinctual response (to any event, person or object) is not a smart approach.

It is the second impulse i.e. 3 seconds only, that reveals our freedom to excel - to move from 'whatever' to 'whatever it takes'. This epitomises what the authur calls the 'power of thinking twice'.

The author has very artfully as well as skilfully unpacked his book by outlining the six initial instincts which could sabotage our lives:

1) give up before trying;

2) shun a challenge;

3) settle for the status quo;

4) shirk responsibility;

5) do the mere minimum;

6) avoid taking action;

Reading this book reminds me in some ways of the fun book, '212: The Extra Degree', by Sam Parker. According to this book, when water is at 211 degrees F, it is hot, but when water is at 212 degrees F (equivalent to 100 degrees C), it boils!

The one small extra degree can make the big difference.

In other words, one small extra effort on your personal part can change your entire life!

I can't help bringing up the strategy of the '3 second rule', originally concocted by success coach, Patricia Fripp, as a self-enforced quiet - & yet very powerful prologue, acting just like a statute mime in the street corners of touristic cities - to an opening speech.

If you are a public speaker, you will truly appreciate the potency of the '3 second rule'.

Naturally, I am very sure all the gentlemen out there are already familiar with the '3 second rule' as a potential dating initiation opportunity.

Wow! 3 seconds, that's all we need. To think. To reflect. To realise. To resolve.

The 3-second book is very easy to read because of the succinct writing. What I also like about the book is the 'Questions for Personal Reflection' at the end of each chapter, which helps the reader to unpack the illustrated tools & strategies for immediate application in your life.

On the whole, this book may not be truly great or ground-breaking stuff, so to speak, but it has some strong learning points for the reader.

I picked this book up and read it. I would say, the first 20 or so pages, I found quite intriguing. But after that, I found the book to be one of the typical "just do it" books. An admonition of this book is "be more optimistic". But the author doesn't really tell us how to get there. There isn't enough hard science in this book. For instance, there is increasing evidence that optimism is genetic (they can PET-scan people's brains and show how optimistic thinking is centered in one brain region,etc.). No real mention of that. We are told to "be optimistic". This to me is like saying "be happy". Hey, if I could already do that, I would not be reading this book ! The rest of the book to me reads like a corporate seminar on emotions or on "productivity". I was actually disappointed. I thought the book had a lot of promise. I was expecting some hard science, and got a Timothy Robbins corporate escape type thing.

The book of the week was 3 Seconds by Les Parrott. Parrott does a good job explaining the importance of thinking twice in this book. Generally, people's first reaction is to keep the status quo, it's good to take a few extra seconds and conjure a success driven answer to any question you might have in life.

This book reminds me of another book given to me a few years back. The book was Keys to the Vault by Keith Cunningham, my friend met Cunningham and had the book signed for me. Cunningham wrote, among other things "Whatever it takes." I say this because it's been somewhat the motto of my life since I received the book years ago, and the book I read this week has three words at the end of the first chapter (as well as several other places in the book).. "whatever it takes." In life, it's easy to say "maybe next time" or "there's nothing I can do about it" or I've done what's required and that's enough or, last but not least, "whatever." This books main goal is to change the attitude of "whatever" into "whatever it takes."

There are many situations you may stick to average; six of them are laid out in this book. The idea is to identify the six situations and train yourself to react differently than you normally would. Just like learning any type of behavior, it takes time and practice. But once you get it down you are bound for success in each area. Additionally, you may have the correct, success-driven reaction for a couple of these situations, that's wonderful, but until you have them all down, you are not doing "whatever it takes." So let's get started...

The first situation deals with Empowering Yourself... Often you will hear people say, "There is nothing I can do about it"... That is just a defeatist attitude. What you should be saying in any self-doubting situation is "I can't do everything, but I can do something." Say it to yourself, or say it to others... but then take some action! Do "something" and do whatever it is and then go on to the next thing. Ask for help if you need it, but empower yourself to take action instead of mope around.

The second situation is Embracing a Good Challenge... Your first impulse when you have something challenging ahead of you is "It's too difficult to even attempt." That is just weak. I do not appreciate giving up, there is nothing admirable about giving up in a tough situation. With time and the right tools anything can be done. If you see yourself in a difficult situation you should say to yourself "I love a good challenge." Then tackle it head on!

Parrott's third situation is Fueling Your Passion... There are a lot of people in the world that just "Do what happens to come their way." It most often happens right out of high school or college. They take the first job that they are accepted into or do what their family pressures them to do. It's very upsetting for me when I see someone doing something that doesn't make them happy. My passion is to lead people and help people make a best of who they are, so clearly this is one area that really hits me deep. I talk to friends quite often about their futures and what they should do... It's a very very difficult question to answer for anyone but yourself. You have to take a few seconds when you are faced with a life decision and say "I'll do what I'm designed to do." Every single person has a God-given passion in life and you need to teach yourself to go for it. It might be being a loving mother, joining the Peace Corps, writing poems, or being a stock-trader. But do "whatever it takes" to get there and fuel that passion.

The fourth situation is Owning Your Piece of the Pie... The popular phrase is "It's not my problem, somebody else is to blame." I'm not sure why this is the gut reaction for people. I suppose it comes down to pride, but regardless, pushing around blame solves nothing. I can't think of a single situation in life where I would be satisfied if I was upset with a situation and everyone I talked to kept passing the blame to someone else. Anyone that has grown up in Missouri, like myself, knows of Harry Truman's line "The buck stops here." It's a really great line. Don't pass around the blame. The best organizations in the world empower even the lowest person on the totem-pole to make the decisions to make the customer happy. Generally, the line that makes everything better and costs little-to-nothing is "I'm sorry."

The fifth situation you may face deals with Walking the Extra Mile... The average person says "I've done what's required, and that's that." I clearly don't agree with this mentality. To be the best you need to do what no one has done. If you do the minimum, that's all you'll be. Take every task you are given and do better than anyone ever has with that. Be proud to put your name behind a task. The best of the best are the ones that say "I'll go above and beyond the mere minimum."

The sixth situation is Quit Stewing and Start Doing... I think a lot of people have these big worldly goals, but when asked about them they say "Someday, I'm going to do that." What they need is a fire to be lit under them. And no one can do that better than themselves. This book makes reference to the very first book I wrote about on this website... The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz (a genius book, which helped inspire the goal of this website)... A 28 year-old man named Lou Holtz was given that book in 1966 while he was out of a job and had no money in the bank. In the book it says you should write down all the goals you have in your life and Holtz did just that, making a list of 107 goals. Some of these goals seemed completely unachievable like dinner at the White House and Appearing on the Tonight Show... Well Holtz accomplished 81 out of the 107 goals on his list. He has a picture of him eating with Ronald Reagan at the White House and he was on TV with Johnny Carson. I think the single most important part of setting a goal and getting it done is to write it down and look at it every day. Do "whatever it takes" to accomplish your goals and say to yourself" I'm diving in... starting today!"

It takes a mere 3 seconds to change a "whatever" lifestyle into a "whatever it takes" lifestyle. This book is a great tool to help you make that life change. Each chapter has a great section dedicated to training you to change your first impulse. I recommend this book to anyone. It's a great one and it's easy to read. If you have any questions on the book don't hesitate to ask. I would be more than happy to help anyone that wants it.

I enjoyed this book so much I have bought more to give away as gifts.

What a book! Oh how I wish I could have had a resource like this thirty years ago. I have read many of the author's other books dealing with relationships, marriage, etc. 3 Seconds is very insightful and a great read. The main theme of the book for me was the difference between being someone that settles for "whatever", and a person that thinks and does "whatever it takes". Since I read the book I have ordered 12 copies and gave them away. New York needs to push this book for a best seller.

I liked this book.

The author's primary point is many a times we just give into our first impulses without thinking twice. But if we paused for a moment - 1 to 3 seconds, we can let the impulse pass and walk a higher path.

He tackles the following 6 impulses in the book:

1. It takes 3 Seconds to Empower Yourself. - I can't do everything but I can do something.
2. It takes 3 Seconds to embrace a good challenge - I love a challenge. I am willing to step up and give it
an honest shot.
3. It takes 3 seconds to Fuel Your Passion - I will do what I am designed to do.
4. It takes 3 seconds to own the piece of the pie - The buck stops here.
5. It takes 3 seconds to Walk the Extra Mile - I will go above and beyond the mere minimum.
6. It takes 3 seconds to Quit Stewing and Start Doing - I am diving in starting today.

Most of us, if not all of us are way too familiar with these impulses. We experience them every now and then.
The authors tackles each of them in details in the book.

It was a quick read. Practical and applicable in life.

A great small, important book. Read it- and find the strength to be who you were created to be- no longer bound by the six assumptions that kill us!

Synopsis:
Three seconds is all that stands between those who settle for "whatever" and those who insist on "whatever it takes." Award-winning author and psychologist Dr. Les Parrott reveals six common impulses that sabotage greatness in our lives. We can unleash our full potential and excellence when we learn how to give our first impulses a second thought.
Description:
Just three seconds. The time it takes to make a decision. That's all that lies between settling for "Whatever" ... or insisting on "Whatever it takes."

3 Seconds shows how to unleash the inner resources that can move you to a whole new level of success. It comes down to six predictable impulses that most of us automatically accept without a second thought. You can replace them with new impulses that lead toward impact and significance. For instance, it takes Three Seconds to ...

Disown Your Helplessness: The First Impulse: "There's nothing I can do about it." The Second Impulse: "I can't do everything, but I can do something."

Quit Stewing and Start Doing: The First Impulse: "Someday I'm going to do that." The Second Impulse: "I'm diving in ... starting today."

Fuel Your Passion: The First Impulse: "I'll do what happens to come my way." The Second Impulse: "I'll do what I'm designed to do."

Inhale ... exhale ... the difference of your lifetime can begin in the space of a single breath. The decision is yours. Start today.