Customer Reviews

Discipline: Six Steps to Unleashing your Hidden Potential

5 star:		(79)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

As someone who has struggled mightily over the years with self-discipline--inability to get out of bed when I want, countless broken resolutions and promises to myself, procrastination--I wanted to learn HOW to develop what I lacked. Instead, this book is basically a testimonial/memoir of someone with super-human discipline, someone who has seemingly had NO trouble motivating himself to the max at least since he was 13. For those already with pretty good self-discipline, I imagine that this could be inspiring (as evidently it was to other reviewers here). But for someone like me who feels he has very little to build on in this area, Kern's basic "failure is not an option" approach does little good.

The book promotes itself as a self-help book--the subtitle is "Six Steps to Unleashing Your Hidden Potential"--but really these so-called "steps" seem to be thrown in haphazardly on top of all the stories of Kern's amazing achievements. There's no real program here, no clear set of guidelines of what to do to get from where you are to where Kern is. Concepts such as "goals," "contracts," and "priorities" are introduced as if they're important elements of a comprehensive program, but their definitions are vague, contradictory, and overlapping. The book would be much stronger, I think, if it were to shed the misleading self-help trappings and just be a memoir of someone with tremendous discipline.

One final note: the writing in this book is quite poor. If the underlying message were of greater value to me, I would have been better able to overlook this. But as it was, I found myself continually annoyed by bad grammar and vague meaning. I'm all for someone like Kern (an accomplished man who openly admits that writing a book is a big challenge for him) publishing, but I wish he had more fully recognized his limitations and made better use of good editors/copyeditors/proofreaders.

Kern is very good in pointing out the problems with self-help books. It is not enough to know what one has to do, the question is how to go about it (think the case of losing weight).
However, Kern does not dwell on the reasons for lacking will, or self-discipline and on how to excercise self-discipline. The big problem of self-discipline is the conflict between the conscient and the sub-conscient. A better book for this is that from Theodore Bryant (Self-discipline in 10 days).
Some readers may be annoyed at the narcissistic style of Kern's book and at the shallowness of his goals.

It's great to read a book from someone who isn't an author by profession & just does their best to share their knowledge with others. It's that raw appeal that drew me to it in the first place, as well as recommendations from a couple friends who also wanted some real insight for once. He speaks to you as someone who really just wants you to understand how much better your life could be if you make a serious effort to embrace discipline. I found his experiences, and anecdotes true to life and although some of it isn't anything new, finding a truly disciplined person is very uncommon anymore. If he was able to discipline himself and attain his level of success and happiness then I'm sure I can do much better for myself using his suggestions. I've heard Mr. Kern may have another Discipline book out soon. If this is true, I'm looking forward to reading that one as well.

Wow, what an amazing book. I've been searching for a book that gives it to the reader straight. DISCIPLINE is just that book. The author really made a nice blend of resources to complete the concepts illustrated. I especially found the making of a contract with yourself to be a completely different approach to awakening the inner being so that one could tap into their full potential. I would recommend anyone struggle with goals and how to obtain them to read this book.

I just love Harris' book and could not put it down. I wish I could meet the genius behind this book. It is packed with so much useful information. I've read it twice and already see an improvement in my attitude and outlook on life. Harris said it all when he wrote that it's not about material things, but rather professional accomplishments. To me, that's where it's at. From business to personal relationships, this book is like an owner's manual on life. Thank you Harris for sharing your wisdom with the world.

If you believe that reading a book is all it takes to add Discipline to your life, and hope that this book is the magical pixie dust that solves your problems, you are sadly mistaken.

However, if you are sick of a haphazard lifestyle, are determined to whip yourself physically, mentally, and professionally into shape, but don't know how to go about doing it, you will find this book to be a valuable guide.

Part self-help book and part memoir, Discipline is written in a reflective, stream-of-consciousness style that takes you through the six steps: (1) Making a Contract with Yourself; (2) Setting Goals; (3) Avoiding Complacency; (4) Maintaining Values; (5) Uniting the Body and Mind; and (6) Compare Yourself to No One.

While much of the author's anecdotes center around his professional and athletic life and not enough (in my humble opinion) on how Discipline can also help relationships with your family, the stories illustrate very clearly how Discipline can benefit anyone, regardless of his/her priorities and life goals.

Bottomline: Discipline is acquired through hard work and a constant avoidance of the path of least resistance. You've got to want it to get it. Without that inner drive, no book in the world can help you. But if you're eager to unleash your hidden potential, and you're willing to work hard at it, then you will find this book invaluable.

After reading the first few chapters of Discipline I quickly realized that this could be a bit much for me to swallow. Kern's view of the world is very regimented. It's like being in boot camp.

Did I just flush my money down the toilet for this book? As I kept reading I realized that he's telling it like it is. It's a very simple read with a very simple message. Nothing good comes without a price tag. The price tag is the sacrifice one must make to make their life more efficient. We all know that we need discipline to succeed but most of us think that discipline is an ugly four-letter word.

Before I purchased this book I read all the reviews. In my opinion the negative reviews are from people that want an easy and quick fix for all their problems in life.

It's really up to you to make a difference in your life. Don't bother going to seminars and buying more self-help books - PUT YOUR DUES IN and get some discipline into your life.

This book compares favorably with other books on self-discipline, such as Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. But Kern provides a very step-by-step methodology for developing self-discipline, which will be particularly helpful for those whose own lack of self-discipline derives from a fundamental lack of organization. You should definitely get this book and see if his techniques will work for you. It probably will!

Having read my share of self help books, I was reluctant to attempt another. A friend's tenacity however, induced me to read Mr. Kern's Discipline book. I am eternally grateful to him for his persistence. A contract with yourself, what a concept. The discipline to live up to your own expectations and dreams. This concept has created such sense of lucidity that I can not imagine ever being without it again. The book is well written and concise. I continue to recommend it to any one I know with as much tenacity as my friend exhibited towards me.

I travel 75% of the time and I always tell people how difficult it is to get any exercise when you're on the road consistently. I used every excuse in the book (no pun intended). About 5 months ago someone had lent me a copy of your book discipline six steps to unleashing your hidden potential, since then I bought your second discipline book and I no longer take escalators or automated walkways through the airports - it's always stairs, I park a bit further out in parking lots to get a bit more walking in everyday and eating better (not great yet). I push myself a bit more everyday. I will never be like you but then you made that very clear in the beginning of your book. Your books have made a positive impact on my life. I thank you and so does my physician who happens to be a close friend of mine.