Following Through: a Revolutionary New Model For Finishing Whatever You Start (Paperback)

~ S. Levenson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Creative and practical solutions for important everyday problems . . . revealed with wit, wisdom, and warmth." (John Tyler, Ph.D., CEO, Human Resources Consultants)

"Empowering. Had an immediate impact on my work as a consultant. Gives me a powerful new set of tools for helping my clients get maximum benefit from our work together." (Chuck Phillips, Senior Consultant, Reddy-Phillips Consultants)

"A 'must read' for anyone who's fighting the good fight to lose weight, quit smoking, or improve performance in any way." -- C. Wayne Mitchell, President, Productive Presentations, Inc.

"Following Through will empower you to do more with your life than you ever thought possible." -- Joan Brock, Author, More Than Meets the Eye

"If you have a dream in your heart and this book in your hand, start reading. Each page of this book will take you one step closer to having your dream come true. I guarantee it." -- Rob Gilbert, Ph.D., Editor, Bits & Pieces Magazine

"It's the one book that's been missing from the self-help bookshelf. And it may be the last self-help book you'll ever need." -- Peter Vandermark, Associate Professor of Journalism, Boston University

"Provides the critical missing link between setting a personal goal and actually achieving it." -- Mark Larson, President, Digi-Key Corporation

"Provides the tools you need to truly become the captain of your own ship." -- Ben Benjamin, Ph.D. Author, Listen to Your Pain

"Provocative and ought to be read and considered by anyone serious about continuing self-improvement." -- Dan S. Kennedy, President, The Pscho-Cybernetics Foundation, Inc.

"Talk about practical advice! No motivational mumbo-jumbo here. Cuts right to the bottom line on how to be successful." -- Richard E. McAllaster, President, McAllaster & Associates

"The quintessential book about how to get it done." -- Brian Early, Executive Director of Development, Northwestern Mutual Life, Chicago, Illinois

"Truly a pioneering work . . . filled with fascinating insights and ingenious solutions to a problem that frustrates us all." -- Ronald Young, M.D.

Product Description

This book shines a spotlight into the black hole in inner space where good intentions disappear. It reveals the startling reason why we humans so often fail to follow through on our good intentions and it offers a collection of bold new strategies for finishing whatever you start.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1575663481
• ISBN-13: 978-1575663487
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #475,721 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A solid book, but not magic, November 21, 1998

By	Edward J. McInerney (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you are pretty good at following through already, then you are probably using many of the suggestions in this book without realizing it. If you have follow through problems, then this is probably a useful investment. The authors do a very good job of communicating their message clearly with many examples. I would say the book could be summarized by two messages: (1) Each of us has a conflict between our short term desires and long term goals. We would prefer to eat that donut now and yet we worry about the heart attack we might get in 20 years. (2) To resolve these conflicts and achieve our goals, we need to alter our environment (in creative ways) so our desires and goals are aligned. The first message is important because it provides a useful way to understand our failings without piling on a lot of regrets. The second message provides the tools to achieve our goals.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tools for Follow-Through, October 17, 2001

By A Customer

I like this easy self-help book. It's light and cheerful, but does have a number of tools to outwit the "PGS" -- our primitive guidance system that wants us to stop and grease whatever wheel is squeaking right this moment, rather than continue working toward our goals.

The authors come closer than usual to explaining the psychological mechanisms that actually help us keep on keeping on: instead of simply saying "Do It Now" like an older anti-procrastination book does, they point out that it makes sense to do it right now, this minute, because now is the moment we have the energy of motivation: like a check written in disappearing ink, that energy of motivation won't last and can't be recaptured later. We think we can get the feeling back, but we can't. Use it or lose it.

Another tactic is actually the issue of "Flow" -- the fact that getting into the flow of an activity is often rewarding by itself: one does for the joy of doing. The authors encourage you to let this Flow State happen in the same way an old housekeeping book I read decades ago did --- you should give yourself lots of permission to stop, leave, only do the pleasant parts, the easy parts....but pretty soon the basement is a lot cleaner or the bills are all done after all, because the activity takes on a life of its own. You start to want to keep working. Don't fight this feeling; it's a winner.

There are several other tactics to outwit the part of your mind that knows very well what to do, but not how to make it happen. I recommend this book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Completely new and different ideas about self-improvement ., September 11, 1998

By A Customer

This is the most practical,realistic and and fun to read self-improvement book that I've ever read. Their theory about human behavior especially related to the usual failure around good intentions makes so much sense.It explains inherent mechanisms that when we know how to use them -make following through on good intentions emrarassingly easy.

Years of reading self improvement books had stilted me to the genre. They all seemed to be based on wishful thinking and frankly I never got much results from them.

I read the book a week ago and have already seen my productivity go way up. For the first time in my life I have a clean desk and I know it is going to stay that way.

My only suggestion would be summary pages at chapter ends but I strongly encourage everybody to read this book if you want to finally make some lasting changes. Personally I think its the best thing since Covey's Seven Habits.