Customer Reviews

The 7 Hidden Secrets of Motivation: Unlocking the Genius Within (Your Coach in a Box)

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

 

 

If you have done a lot of self help, and didnt take any action get this book. This man learned from the best in the marketing industry, people who influenced millions to spend billions. He truly understands what is needed to create the drive inside of you to CAUSE action.

I say CAUSE because if you follow the program dilligently, and listen actively, you wont have to MAKE yourself take action. It will just happen as a natural process of your new thinking. Heres an example;

I always wanted to hit the gym. Im a skinny guy, and I know that working out will give me more energy and muscle. After reading the first two chapters, I stopped and did every exercise, answered every question he mentioned. This took me an hour, and at the end of the hour I literally got up and went to the gym.

Im not big on hype, but if you really want to change your life pick this book up. Its filled with ideas that will shift your reality far beyond what you thought was ever possible for you.

I was quite excited while listening to the first 2 parts of the CD series, when Todd promised that he can increase the listener's motivation and gave numerous references to back up his claims. These references seemed very reputable, they include Peter Drucker, Steve Covey and numerous famous psychologists such as Jung and Marslow.
Well, that is as far as he goes, dropping names. When I carefully listened to what he said he actually didn't quite answer the real question here: how to increase your motivation. I really doubt that he even read the abstract of the researches he named, let alone the entire research. Because if he did he probably would have provided a lot more content then this. The one recurring theme of this audio program is: according to this research and according to that research... then that is as far as it goes.
Another criticism of Mr. Peeler's work is that it lacks integration. He probably dragged the results from various researches and just piled them into his CD. It simply jumps from one idea to another. This made me quite annoyed when I need to, as a listener, do the editing for him in my own head and put the various ideas in the right places.
Furthermore, it has a very heavy religious overtone. In the third part of the CD it talks mainly about why you need to commit to religion to be motivated and implying if you don't you have no chance. I am not against his religious conviction here, however I am against his deceptiveness. What I mean by this is that I am listening to this CD to get a scientific point of view of motivation and not to seek some biased spiritual guidance from Mr. Peeler.
I have graduated with a business and psychology degree and have read widely into the fields of human development and self improvement. I find this book/audio CD to be sub-standard and you are much better to not wasting 5 hours of your time listening to it.

I was trying to make the most of my time by listening to these CDs while commuting to and from work. I found the first CD uplifting, but when I went on to listen to the second one, I quickly became lost in a never-ending series of lists of 7 reasons for this, 6 ways to look at that, 3 factors of something else, etc. It became so confusing and demotivating that I just quit right there and haven't gone back.

I have listened to this book twice and I am starting on it a third time. Particularly valuable is Beeler's presentation of the idea of "Rowing vs. Sailing" toward your goals.

I'm currently looking for a print version, because the book is crowded with citations and a few silly exercises, some noted in other reviews. The entire first disc I skip through upon subsequent readings. These minor irritations should not take away from the value provided in the rest of the book.

My top takeaway is the material regarding how to write down your intentions and goals using appropriate wording/syntax to create a valid, believable intention or goal for yourself. In the end, you cannot fool yourself into thinking something you do not internally believe. Beeler provides good points to follow as you set quality intentions and achievable goals.

I truly believe the author made a game out of taking about 45 minutes' worth of content and stretching it out to several CD's in length. There is some good material here, but it gets covered up by endless anecdotal and honestly, dumb stories. I kept thinking, "Get to the point, man!".

I'm about three-quarters of the way through and I'm ready to say uncle. I seriously doubt that I'll bother to finish it.

The author seems to enjoy telling you (many times) how much work he has put into researching and translating these insights from those goofy academics so that you can understand it. Then, after giving you the most basic first insight (you need to understand WHY you should be motivated) he proceeds to come up with the most ludicrous illustrations for his points. For example - if you have a bad attitude, that's like having a negative 10. To get to positive motivation, you have to MULTIPLY that negative 10 by another negative 10 (i.e., tear down the shaky foundation and start with a stronger foundation). Then - you have POSITIVE 100! Do you see the obvious connection between emotion and mathematics? Well, neither did I. Combine that with his faux motivational speech patterns and I stopped listening before the end of the first CD. It's mostly just silly.

First of all, I am surprised to see the negative reviews about this book. However, after actually reading some of them I am not so surprised. A few people talk about using previous authors ideas or regurgitating. Well isn't that what he should be doing after all? It's like Jim Rohn says, be weary of anyone claiming to manufacture antiques! Motivation is an "old truth" in my opinion. Nonetheless, this piece does offer a LOT of research.

With that out of the way, if you want to gain anything from this audio book you've actually got to DO it. While that may seem like a big step for someone who is presumably unmotivated, this book really isn't worth much if you simply listen to it. I wouldn't put 2 cents of confidence into a person's opinion of this book if they didn't put pen to paper throughout the book. There are numerous good questions, insightful quotes, and generally a lot of wise words from an array of people from different walks of life.

I have quite a few pages of notes from this book already after listening once. I didn't expect a miracle just by listening to this book. We all need to understand the only miracle comes from us acting on what we know, what we believe, and what we are willing to actually work for.

I give this product 4/5 of stars because it is good. You can gain a lot of insight about yourself, and this can help you with motivation in general. The only reason I "detract" one star is because it didn't have that IT factor. Perhaps it was because it felt repetitive, but the flip side of that is that it's very thorough. Regardless, I would recommend this audio book and I will listen to it again.

As with many such books this one starts with the regurgitation of other motivational authors' ideas with a few original and thought provoking passages of its own. Then part way through, the author chooses to inflict upon us his right wing, Christian fundamentalist views.

Now, most motivational authors mention spirituality in some context, but Beeler evangelicises for chapter after chapter.

If I want a book about Christianity I will seek one out. I do not appreciate having the hard sell for Jesus sprung upon me in this way.

The content is largely a compilation of the thoughts and ideas of many brilliant minds (Covey, Jung, Maslow) and there are some gems included that will almost certainly be of value for those who aren't already familiar with them. Personally, I was disappointed by the lack of original thought by the author and felt that he mainly had just re-packaged what has already been. The "hidden" sales pitch for his coaching, and for coaching in general, and the infomercial tone were also turn-offs. If you're interested in the content, I would say to try to get it from your library first. If you find it's worth it for you, then buy it.

I listened to the audio version. The author seems to have done his homework when putting the book together. References one study after another. However it is painfully boring. It comes across like a dry college lecture. I didnt hear anything I havent heard from other motivational speakers. I put off listening to the last 2 CDs. Disappointed and would love to have my money back. It wasnt for me.