Customer Reviews

Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway

5 star:		(138)
4 star:		(36)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(46)

 

 

This won't be a popular review because it will go against the flood of praises. Actually, I wanted to like this book. I came to it with very high hopes only to be greatly disappointed and even somewhat irritated. Despite its enormous popularity, I have difficulty recommending this book because it buries one of its main agendas in the later chapters, and that agenda undercuts the value of the whole.

I intend no negative comments against the author, and certainly, the 12 chapters have useful information. I especially liked the Pain to Power chart concept in chapter 3, and there are other useful things as well, especially in the first 7 or 8 chapters.

However, starting on page 154 (chapter 9) the book begins a gradual descent into a hazy cave of vagueness in which metaphysics, the universe, fate, life, intuition, the Laws of Universal Energy, and other such things emerge as if living entities. Actually, a good summary of the book's solution to fear is this: "With the Law of Universal Energy on your side, you can learn to trust not only the universe, but yourself." (p. 196) Further, the author states outright a goal to "whet your appetite, so you will be eager to learn more. I urge you to look at the laws of the universe as postulated by metaphysicians." Instead of hiding this on p. 204, this statement should have been on p 1.

If you're into all the metaphysical stuff, you'll probably love this book. If you're not, you might have trouble with it, like I did. When I started the book, I was eager to learn. By the end, reading statements like the following, I was eager to get to another book:

"The way I use the word [spiritual] will be acceptable to you whether you are religious or an atheist" (p 191). Also, "For those of you who are religious and/or believe in God, you will see how these ideas can be incorporated in your beliefs. And, as I said, earlier, if you don't believe in God, these laws apply as well" (p 205).

At best, these statements show a bit of naiveté; at worst, they are an attack on one's intelligence. The word "spiritual" is defined as little different from "emotional," and the attempt to be all things to all people by essentially claiming that whether one is an atheist or a theist of some sort will be irrelevant to "the Law of Universal Energy" is not only annoying, it is almost incomprehensible.

Had I known the last 4 chapters were going to ground all of the "get over your fears" in the metaphysical stuff, I would not have bought or read the book. It seemed to me a back-handed way to drag people into dubious philosophy. For me, it's a deal-killer.

An over-simplistic approach - the title says it all. The author doesn't help you or tell you how to overcome your fears - she just keeps telling you "you can do it". She also refers to herself too often as her primary topic of research without taking into account that just because something worked for her it is not necessarily universal.

This book was about as valuable as those horoscope scrolls you used to see at the grocery store. The only fear I have is that I won't be able to sell this book and recoup a single dollar of its cost.

Don't see any reason for you to buy this book. Nothing new. Old recipes.

I read the book, and found it very opinionated, and less factual. I wasn't about to put a comment about this bad book here, until I found out others were outraged. I highly recommend to look elsewhere for reading material, that is, [...].

The only problem this book is going to help you solve is what to do with that extra $[...] in your pocket. If you have real problems with fear [...] then you should seek qualified and competent professional help, but if you have the sort of fear this book can help you with then everything you need to know is in the title.
[...].

The author continually repeats obvious points, offering few interesting or useful points. Don't waste your time.

Just another uninspired and original self help book that you can help yourself by not buying.

A poorly put together book with limited ability to actually help someone who requires concrete ideas and facts to bolster their understanding and knowledge of a situation in order to help. The authors delves too much into the metaphysical, pseudo-science, faith-based world and fails to flesh out the more interesting details.

The book comes off as superficial and incapable of helping someone who is not faith-based. The author attempts to coin awkward phrases to explain otherwise helpful intuitive concepts. There are better self-help books that actually teach as opposed to coddle the reader with benign phrases and ideas.

I do not understand how anyone could find this book remotely helpful. This book is pure trash. I have no respect for this author's writing. Reading this book was like an odious task. I would not recommend this book. It makes me feel the need to become an hero.