Customer Reviews

The Heart of Success: Conversations With Notable Achievers

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Thank you, Mr. Tripps, for a book that encourages, motivates and inspires. Reading the book has helped me to see the potential in everyone and, more importantly, that I can accomplish whatever I set out to do. The book was easy to read either straight through or by putting it down and picking it up whenever I felt like it. It is definitely a book I will add to my bookshelf and re-read many times. I especially liked the last phrase or paragraph which summarized each interview. They always captured the essence of what the person was trying to say.

This is a very insightful book. There is an easy-to-read depth in Tripps' portrayals of the people he has interviewed. I also appreciate that Tripps has a good balance in the people he has presented. Some of those profiled are conservative while others are liberal. Tripps does a good job showing how people who can't meet in the center can still share attributes that allow them to succeed in reaching their dreams.

I am impressed by the literary quality of the writing. There is delight in the discriptive words Dan Tripps selects so that his portrait of each of his subjects is unique. He has a gift for setting the place and time and for making his subjects three-dimensional. Tripps introduces us to the person behind the scenes, behind the celebrity. Like a coach, he shows empathy for his subjects' struggles while applauding their achievement and encouraging us likewise to achieve. I highly recommend this book not only for its uplifting content, but also for its aesthetically satisfying language.

The Heart of Success is an intriguing book for any of us who are fascinated with success and achievement. The book takes an honest look at how a select group of incredibly gifted individuals have triumphed in the arts, athletics, business, and politics. Forty short success stories about the likes of Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, NBA coach Red Auerbach, kidney dialysis inventor Belding Scribner, and the six-time Grammy-nominated opera star Frederica von Stade. While the individuals hail extremely different success stories, it is the underlying themes of will, discipline, intuitiveness, perserverence, and risk that ties these people together and makes thier stories cohesive. The Heart of Success is an easy read and one that answers questions for those of us who look at the great "achievers" in life and have always wondered how they did it.

I think what strikes me the most about Dr. Tripps' book is the fact that he allows it to appeal to everyone. In addition to being well-written and well-organized, the book invites each reader to take what they need from the interviews and to determine for themselves what the definition of success is. It is rare to find a book on this topic that is presented in such an unfiltered and unbiased manner. He has provided a unique collection of opinions and life stories that is fascinating to read. As a teacher, I appreciate the fact that this text provides my students with the opportunity to discover for themselves the qualities of leadership and the true characteristics of achievement.

If you want to be successful, you need to associate with people who already are successful.

Through Dan Tripps' book, "The Heart of Success" you can "associate" with a number of notable achievers in all walks of life.

Part of the success I have achieved in my own life is a result of some very important associations I have formed with people who are in life where I want to be.

I found "The Heart of Success" to be an invaluable addition to my list of important associations.

I am a student from Nigeria who heard Dr. Tripps give a guest lecture at my university. I was impressed with him, especially because he had spent years in Africa helping the people, and because he seemed to understand people from other cultures. So I wanted to know what he thought is the Heart of Success. After reading his book, I have learned that The Heart of Success is the same for people of all nationalities, cultural backgrounds, races, and economic conditions. In the conclusion of THE HEART OF SUCCESS, Dr. Tripps claims that not all celebrities are successful and not all successful people are celebrities. To be truly successful, we have to develop inner qualities. Dr. Tripps describes these qualities in the profiles. It was very encouraging for me to read these inspiring profiles, especially the ones of people who overcame difficulties of abuse, failure, family problems, and race/ethnic misunderstandings. I learned that even though I am new to this country, I can be successful in American because I can develop these same qualities to overcome my difficulties.

As a teacher, I found this work to be particularly illuminating and inspiring. Often young people equate success with fame. Dr. Tripps' book is instrumental in upsetting the balance of that equation. Through his conversations with people from all walks of life, we learn that success comes from hard work, determination, dedication, talent, and, frequently, goals that extend beyond self-gratification to humanity in general. It had not occurred to me that success could have a spiritual connection, but a strong and beautiful spiritual thread ties many of these stories together. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is questioning whether success is present in his/her own life. While most of us may not achieve fame, The Heart of Success will help you evaluate the real measure of success in your own life and provide insights for understanding exactly what success can be. Read this book for information, inspiration, and guidance.

Dr. Tripps brings together a collection of interviews that will touch and inspire you in some way or another. It gives you a rare "behind the scenes" look at what it takes to be successful. One constant theme that arose through reading the interviews, is that you have to take the setbacks that are thrown to you, deal with it and move on. I have also learned that personal and professional success has a price tag. In one form or another, the interviewees gave up some part of their lives, in order to advance another. I have experienced a number of setbacks and disappointments in my life. But after reading this book, I realized that in order to make it to the top, you have to deal with the obstacles that you encounter along life's path...no matter how difficult they seem. This book has given me a whole new outlook on life. I have now come to realize that your life is what you make it. Dr. Tripps states in his dedication that if you "...[make] a contribution to just one life, you have left the world a better place...". And that is just what Dr. Tripps has done for me. He has inspired me by sharing the stories of individuals who have inspired him.

The concept for the book is great, and the author has interviewed some very interesting people that have done amazing things. The only problems I found with the book were that the author sometimes injected his own world hypotheses into the text, and that he often added a pithy quote and/or a lauding comment at the end of a profile, when a simple quote from the person would have done just fine. Overall, worth reading, though.