Customer Reviews

The Courage to be Brilliant: How Five Acts of Improvement a Day Will Make You Shine

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This book is now required reading in both my home and office! Monahan's thesis is simple: Most of us spend a great deal of our time living in mediocrity and THAT is what causes the pain and dullness that many of us privately suffer. There is a very powerful exercise in the first chapter that makes it easy (and painful) to find the source of our own mediocrity -- and the rest of the book is about how to move out of it. Some may find this too tough and controversial because the focus is on personal responsibility and character, but Monahan is a gentle teacher who clearly is teaching from experience. Overall this book is tough yet charming, simple yet profound. The writing style is refreshing and smart for a self-help book -- this one is a gem and I am grateful for the message. After a few days of using the "Five Acts of Improvement" that Monahan writes about, I became addicted to improvement and everybody who knows me can see the difference.

I am compelled to take an unpopular stance on this book. The author's writing is clear and engaging, and I delved into the first few chapters, wielding a yellow highlighter with gusto. But then... The overall tone--rise higher, shine brighter--devolved into an elitist manifesto. You want to be one of "us"--the wealthy, the accomplished, the admired--because you certainly don't want to be one of "them"--the average, the mediocre, the common.

The implied caste system no doubt has a certain appeal, provided one is not among the majority of human beings. One is only brilliant if one is stellar. One telling quote from the book seems to be highly representative of the author's view of people: "Since the largest group of people live in the mediocre or inferior levels of thought, the vast majority of the impressions we are exposed to are negative. Most people come across as weak, dull, or offensive."

Most people... Those who do not rise to breathe the rarified air of superiority are not average--they are "mediocre". Monahan's superior people are (from one of her own lists)wise, inspiring, and successful. The mediocre are imitative, self-serving, and stagnant. And woe indeed to "inferior" thinkers who can only be predatory, violent and evil. Ironically, one of the author's later statements was: "We are not attractive when we speak badly of someone." No kidding.

The overall gist of the book--strive to excell, pay attention to how you interact with the world, set goals--are the bread and butter of self-improvement guides. Hoewever, any book professing to be a pull yourself up by the bootstraps guide is seriously weakened when the author seems to be sneering at the average person whose boots came from Payless or WalMart.

In my view, self-improvement is not achieved by self-satisfaction or self-congratulation; it is achieved by blooming where you are planted. Monahan's bloom is a rare orchid--beautiful and coddled by ideal conditions. It is admired and fussed over by others. Far more common--and infinitely more accessible--are the wild profusions of flowers that spring up in rocky soil along the roadways. They are varied, hardy, spirited, joyous, a celebration of life in no uncertain terms. Alas, poor daisies--they are mediocre. Monahan's overall purpose with this book has merit. But I believe many in the great field of daisies, those hoping to improve themselves in some way, will detect, as I did, a not-so-subtle undertone of snobbery. Debasing the average only serves to widen the gap between the majority and the "superior".

I had the honor to have access to the contents of this book before it was ever published. Its teachings, together with the infinite compassion, patience, generosity, and wisdom of the author changed my life forever. Marta Monahan's gift to you is comparable to what a perfect set of parents and guides would teach you in an ideal world; comprehensive, practical yet spiritual, tools for a life of high standards. If I had only one self-help book in my shelves it'd be this one.

It is easy reading and you discover things that are right there in front of you when Ms. Monahan graciously calls your attention to them and shines a new light. I am a better person for reading this book. I know that I have handled situations far better than I had before with some of the points that I have learned through reading this book. I have started making notes in the margins, it is a welcomed gift to whomever I have given it to. Do yourself a favor and get this for you and anyone you care about. Great book club book!

The Courage to be brilliant is a book that gives us insight to our own life changing abilities. Reading and following Marta's excersies will make changes in your life that work and the ability to set goals that work daily, weekly for life. Continued use will give your life a brilliance that stays shining forever.

While attending a series of seminars led by Marta Monahan I saw her commitment to continuous improvement for herself and her students. As a result of her work I experienced a leap in my progress in both my professional and personal life. In her book "The Courage to be Brilliant" Marta presents ways to bring out your brilliance--five daily acts. The book is written in a straightforward manner and filled with wonderful examples. I found it deeply thoughtful and insightful. I was inspired by it and have been working on my five daily acts. They work! I've sold two books and have two publishers interested in others. I highly recommend this book.

Marta Monahan's "The Courage to Be Brilliant" tells you how, you too, can have the courage to take hold of your life, break out of mediocrity, and reach out to be the very best you can be, brilliant, through her "Five Acts of Improvement a Day".
Everyone should read her book and apply her "Five Acts of Improvement" so they too can be brilliant and shine.

Madeline Frank,Ph.D. author of "The Secret of Teaching Science and Math Through Music",how to have brighter children through music and "Musical Notes On Math", teaching fractions and decimals through the rhythm of music. www.madelinefrankviola.com

In a time when self-improvement, spiritual and philosophy books are in abundance on the shelves, this is a book not to be missed. In fact, "The Courage to Be Brilliant" is one of those rare masterpieces that will take you on a comprehensive journey of understanding. With a sensible and effective approach to improving your daily existence, while heightening your thought and spiritual levels, it truly lends truth to it's title. After just a few pages, I quickly reached for my highlighter and soon found that on every page there would be something marked which had great significance. This book, in just one short week, profoundly changed my way of thinking, but more importantly, has been a daily guide in allowing me to truly shine. Marta Monahan, indeed, displays only brilliance and her work will teach you how to join her amongst the "shining stars." I commend everyone who had a part in making this book a reality and I look forward to Ms. Monahan's future works. Laura Peralta Jones, LPJ Productions.

I found Marta Monahan's book to be inspirational and thought provoking. Unlike many self-help books, it is well grounded in wisdom and common sense and doesn't pander to the reader. A person who studies this book is serious about making changes or they'll put it down. Honesty is the beginning of improving one's life and Monahan won't let you off the hook on this one. I recommend it, especially for men and anyone in corporate environments.

Marta has brought forth a learner's manual for self empowerment. "The Courage to be Brilliant" is a step by step guide that gently teaches a new way of being-through love. I highly recommend this wonderful self improvement and life changing tool.
ElanthRa Maitreya