Customer Reviews

Dear Success Seeker: Wisdom from Outstanding Women

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For me, this is a one star product. But I realize that it is a very subjective thing and that for many others, it might be a five star product. That's the reason I doubled my rating and gave it two stars.

I have to say right off the bat - If you are not religious or just not Christian, then the strong Christian leaning of this book will probably be a turn off. It almost sends the message that if you are a Christian, just pray and success will come to you. Heathens will have to be diligent, hard working, and persistent. I feel that such a book should not make any reader feel excluded from being successful because they don't have the same religious beliefs as the author and a good many of the contributors.

Not counting the advice to pray, trust the Lord, etc., most of the advice you've probably already heard from your parents and teachers.

What would have made the book more valuable in my opinion, is to have successful people tell stories of how they overcame obstacles in their lives. To be fair, a few of the contributors did share some of their life experiences, but the great majority did not. The great majority seemed to say, "Work hard, keep your nose clean, and everything should be OK. I hope you succeed!"

If you want to be inspired by people who tell you how they braved adversity, came back when the chips were down, or started at the bottom and rose to the top, you won't find them in here.

If you are looking for people who serve primarily as cheerleaders and well wishers, look no further.

The author of this book set out to write a book which is supposed to give inspiration to women to make a success of themselves in their daily lives. She contacted numerous women to share their secrets for a successful life. Eighty-three (83) women are included, plus an interview with Gayle King (Oprah's friend). Most responses range in length from 1/2 page to a 2 to 3 page essay. Of the 83 women whose letters were published in this book, I only recognized 14 names.

Only a few essays stood out as being halfway inspiring to me. Since I'm not much of a religious/spiritual person, I didn't find much to be inspired about after reading this book - many contributors attributed their success to being in touch with God, and just guessing, and I'm not being racist when I make this comment, 75% of the responders are black women. I just couldn't relate to their struggles and issues when growing up, and how they overcame them, at all.

It was a quick and easy "read" - the book can easily be read in one day and I found one after another to be written much about the same topic - most of the letters all boiled down to making the same suggestions for your own personal growth. Maybe if I would have read just 2 or 3 essays each day, I would have enjoyed it more.

This book might be useful for a recent female high school or college graduate - but not as the only gift - unless you include a $100 bill tucked inside, too.

Reading "Dear Success Seekers" it seems the general target demographic is young black women who have a religious (Christian) background. That's not to say every letter was written specifically for that demographic, or by black women themselves, or that the book has nothing to offer people of different backgrounds or religious affiliations who are open to gleaning the letters for nuggets of wisdom that speak to them.

The book is intended to provide inspiration and advice for the upcoming generation through a series of letters written by successful woman. There is one truly unfortunate flaw, however: The letters became redundant, dispensing the same advice using a guise of altered verbiage. The basic formula came to be:

1. Decide what success means to you (because it's different for everyone)
2. Set your goals (and don't be afraid to dream big)
3. Be passionate about your choices (so boredom doesn't take hold)
4. Roll up your sleeves and get to work
5. Listen and have faith (in God, but if you're not religious, substitute yourself or whatever feels most comfortable)
6. Let the money, power, and prestige take care of themselves when the above conditions have been met

On the other hand, while swimming in that sea of repetition, finding the gems became easy. As I read, I dog-eared the letters which stood out and spoke directly to me or had actionable information. Of the 83, there were only 26. Those letters provided me with something concrete I could use to move forward, such as book recommendations, or a truly inspirational story I could refer to when I feel hapless.

Also, I felt that Shirley Jones's letter, based on its content, should have been the first letter in the book because it offered some sage advice for those reading this book. (Each letter is alphabetized based on the author's last name.)

"Gather up all the [letters] and just read them. Look to "decide" nothing, "weigh" nothing, "choose" nothing. Just read the words and let your visceral, organic machine tell you what "feels" right; not your head, but your gut."

In short order, this book contains inspiration, but not all forms of inspiration are the same to all people, so it's best to read the book with an open mind and let your inner dowsing rod point you in the proper direction.

If you are, this book may be for you.

"I humbly dedicate Dear Success Seeker to the Omnipotent, Omniscient, Omnipresent God..." begins Michele Wright's dedication, and her acknowledgments continue in the same way. This is what dedications and acknowledgments are for, and I skimmed them on my way to the body of the book.

In this case, this is also what the rest of the book is for. Many of the letter writers in this book attribute success to God, and many offer Bible passages to guide you in your career. They also tell you to believe in yourself, work hard, and enjoy the journey. You should also know that you are blessed and you are loved.

If this is the guidance you seek, you may enjoy this book.

(Corrected 8/18/09 -nsv)

Author Michele R. Wright, PhD, had a good idea when she decided to get letters of inspiration from women who are successful. It is interesting reading the thoughts and comments from the contributors, but I think the information is a little simplistic and repetitive.

Work hard, pray, have balance in your life and keep you eye on your dream at all times is pretty much cliché. One reviewer mentioned this volume would make a nice graduation gift for a young woman just beginning and I think that's an excellent idea.

The letter written by The Reverend Johnnie Coleman is one of the better letters. Reverend Coleman bullets her suggestions for success; the points made just seem stronger when presented like this.

Most letters are mini biographies about the contributor. That's okay and interesting, but I think readers will want to know more about the journeys of the successful women, and in more detail.

This is a nice book and would make a very welcome gift, I'm sure. I would just like to have read stories with more "how to," and "meat," so to say.

It's funny but not surprising how we never really hear about successful women. This book does its part to solve that little dilemma. I was impressed that so many women are in (or were in) top leadership positions at very well known companies.

I found myself having a hard time reading this whole book, though. I don't think it's a `sit down and read cover to cover' kind of publication. It's more so a `read one chapter a day' kind of thing. It is simply a book of letters, short blips of knowledge in a much summarized fashion. I found myself really getting into some of the letters, then wishing there was a lot more content from that author to read. Sometimes the writing jumps around so much in just a single letter; it's just painfully hard to get through. I know it's because these are letters, written in the author's authentic style, but still!

It did make me aware of how different cultures use motivation. In one letter, Leann Chin writes that whenever she did well, her father would ask her if she could do better. That was her motivating force. If my parents told me that, I'd be bummed! But most of the letters are typical, American style inspiration. My favorites were from women that came from little and still made it very far. There are more than a few good quotes in this book, and some of the time it did make me feel very motivated. The rest of the time I was pretty bored.

If you're looking for a success manual, this isn't it. If you want inspiration in different voices, this would do the trick. I also wasn't impressed that Oprah's friend Gayle had the opening chapter as an interview. I know that you can't talk about successful women without Oprah being somehow involved, but I just thought it was too predictable to be charming.

I give credit to the woman who collected these letters and published them; there is merit in what they accomplished with this book. This book may have more historical value than anything. Although I'd love to give anything that brings attention to women's success 5 stars, I just didn't glean anything from this book.

This book is a compilation of letters written to the "success seeker" by many prominent, powerful and thriving women. The letters are short and simple and are less "a map of how I got to where I am" and more full-of-clichés like: "believe in yourself" "stick to it" and "have faith." It's not that the clichés are bad advice, but they are cliché.

There is also an overarching theme of Christianity (not from every contributor but from way more than a few) and that can be a bit grating if you don't happen to be a Christian because it's not obvious from the title or synopsis but the book does have a heavy slant that way.

It's not the type of book you read cover to cover but more like a nightstand stack book or one you pick up and read for a minute or two if you need some motivation or encouragement. I prefer the books of SARK for a quick pick me up, but this book is uplifting regardless and worthy of a place in my pile of life affirming "you can do it!" books.

This is a great inspirational book by Michele R Wright PHD for sucess seekers. This book contains letters from 83 remarkable sucessful women, which will inspire you to great sucess in what ever you choose to accomplish in life. It tells of stories where these remarkable women of all walks of life and backgrounds have become sucessful no matter what obstacles they were faced with. The forward is by Camille O Cosby, EdD, with letter from Gayle King, Shirley Caesar, Mildred Carter, Leeann Chin, Johnnetta B Cole,Katherine Dunham
Patti LaBelle, Joyce Meyer,Susan Taylor, and many more inspiring women. This is a great book for sucess seekers young and old. I recommend this book for an uplifting view of the human spirit of what can be achieved with the will to achieve.

I loved the beginning of this book, an interview with Gayle King, but then I started sensing a theme-- Very godly, and mostly aimed at the African American community as well as the educational field.

So, yes, there is a lot of wisdom in this book, but it is not written for people from all walks of life, which is what disappoints me, since I am not the target audience. I'd have like to read a women's wisdom book that is written for ALL women, including women who are not godly and women from all backgrounds.

Therefore, I give it 3 points as the review.

This is a good book to pick up and thumb through for encouragement and inspiration. The quality of the writing and the advice varies. For instance, I don't find American Idol analogies for success particularly inspiring.

One problem I had was that it was very religious. If I had known it was so religious I would not have requested it. I wish it had been more clear in the description. I ordered it based on the credentials of the two author/editors of the book: Michele R. Wright, Ph.D. and Camille O. Cosby.