Customer Reviews

The Imposter - How a Juvenile Criminal Succeeded in Business and Life

5 star:		(122)
4 star:		(44)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have been a book printer by profession for more than 25 years. I have seen most every kind of book on most every subject that has ever been talked about.

Most books make you pause and think. Some books entertain. Some books inform. Some books teach. And then on rare occasions there comes a book that does it all and then simply makes you want to be a better person. Such is the case with Kip Kreiling's THE IMPOSTER.

The author gets personal in a gritty way. Then he graciously offers what he has learned from his experiences in life. These experiences have qualified him to help others. The result - nobody can read this book and be quite the same person again

The editorial reviews, product description and reviews prepared me to expect a good book about personal transformation. Even so, I was surprised by the emotional impact Kip's story had on me.

The memoir itself and research included about Kip's principles made this book impossible to put down once I started. The font size is fairly large, making this book easy from a physical standpoint. One never knows what to expect in this regard, so I often include this element of product description in my reviews.

Whereas the principles could be stated in one short sentence each, Kip's life journey along with his research into historical and scientific bases for his principles gives them real meaning. As each principle is revealed along the way, I had what is commonly called an `aha' moment. I think anybody reading this book would have a similar experience.

This book convinced me there is enough knowledge available about the human condition and how people can make decisions to dramatically increase one's chances for living a healthy and happy life. Apparently, given the dramatic circumstances in Kip's life, he sensed this and was able to figure out by doing a lot of research how this can be done systematically.

I look forward to reading any other books that Kip may be inspired to write. He knows about personal transformation firsthand. Additionally, it would be great to get a list of recommended books from this author.

Kip worked for me in 2005 and 2006. In one assignment, Kip took over a team that was in shambles: the processes that would enable success were either broken or non-existent, the team was understaffed and underpaid, morale was poor and turnover was going up. Kip turned the team around in record time and did so in an extremely difficult political environment. One of the most amazing things Kip did was giving up his own raise so that his team members could get higher raises, a level of compassion that I rarely see in corporate America. Kip is not just a business turnaround expert he is an inspiration to me and to those who have worked for him.

When Kip told me he had written a book, I immediately wanted to read it. The book completely shocked me for two reasons. The first, the transformation that has occurred in his life is one of the most inspiring I have been close to. The second, I was completely surprised by the quality of the writing, the depth of the ideas and how broadly the ideas can be applied. The book is so good that I have purchased copies for several of my best friends and for a person I am mentoring. I am purchasing several more including one for my family Priest.

Thank you Kip for pouring your heart out for the benefit of us all.

Marianne Allen

This is a powerful little book. I say this as someone who is most definitely NOT a fan of the self-help genre, largely because the few books I've read in that area tend to be filled with dime-store platitudes followed by tedious homilies. So I have to confess that when Kip Kreiling contacted me by email to ask if I'd like a copy of his book I gladly accepted because he'd described it as a personal memoir. (Those, I enjoy.)

As it turns out, Kip aptly titled his book. I casually opened to the first page thinking I was about to read little more than memoir written by a successful businesman who overcome a deeply troubled youth. Important stuff, yes, but nothing that would challenge how I personally viewed the world, much less my own life. By the fourth chapter I'd begun turning pages ever more slowly, not only because Kip is an engaging writer, but because he'd blindsided me with his book.

You see, this isn't "just" about how Kip's life turned around. "The Imposter" certainly describes Kip's personal transformation from a defiant and embittered child who'd been arrested 11 times before his 14th birthday (and who'd been a violent drug-user and -dealer before he was even old enough to vote), to a man who graduated from both BYU and Indiana's School of Business before launching into a globe-spanning, high-paying career. But this book does something else: it provides hope that we can each change for the better, along with a blueprint for accomplishing that change.

What I said about turning the pages ever more slowly wasn't an exaggeration. Kip sent me this book several months ago and has graciously checked in on a month-by-month basis to ask if I've finished reading it yet. At first I made excuses about being a slow reader. Truth was, I saw a bit more of myself in Kip's story than was comfortable. Day after day it grew easier to walk past my unfinished copy on which layers of dust grew ever more thick. At one point I thought I'd just fudge a review, rather than ever finish reading the book.

Why? Because, in more than one sense, Kip doesn't hold back any secrets in this book. Some of the descriptions of his youth were downright painful to read, not due to any failing on his part as a writer (he's very talented and, at times, downright lyrical). What made the reading difficult was wondering how a young child -- which Kip was when his problems with drugs, booze and crime began -- could have ever reached the point where he not only had no hope in his own future, but believed he had no right to that sort of hope, either.

With Kip's book in hand I sat on my deck more than one evening watching my own young son playing and think how Kip had been arrested 3 times before he'd reached my little boy's age. Sometimes I found myself fighting back tears for both: tears of sorrow for the boy that Kip was, and tears of gratitude that my son is nothing like Kip was at that age. In other words, the memoir portion of Kip's book kept reminding me that the problems he'd lived through could happen to anyone.

Anyone.

But the transformational portion of his book delivers the same message: the changes, both spiritual and psychological, that Kip went through can ALSO happen to anyone. You don't have to be a drug-user, an alcoholic or a criminal to find meaning in this book, though I do think its message of personal change might resonate best with people struggling with those bleak situations; to them, Kip's personal experiences can serve as a beacon.

Even those of us facing less life-threatening troubles can find wisdom in the principles for personal growth that Kip sets forth. Those principles build on each other, one at a time. That, too, is why I wound up reading so slowly: each of his principles seem so deceptively easy at first yet ultimately prove more powerful than I'd realized. As the weeks -- and then months -- passed after I received "The Imposter", I began looking at my life and my own behavior differently. Over that time span a certain difficulty in my own life kept rearing its ugly head, and I'd find myself increasingly thinking about Kip's principles for change. Slowly, his message began sinking in. Slowly, I identified the change I wanted to see in my life, and how to go about bringing that change about myself. Slowly, I worked my way through the rest of his book.

That expression "saving the best for last" applies to Kip's principles, too, though I'm not sure his final one would make as much sense had he not previously shared both his life story and the other principles. Simply put, Kip's final principle explains WHY so many other 'self-help' books left me disappointed: they focus on identifying what you DON'T want your life to look like and taking steps to keep those things from happening. The result? Every little deviation is a failure, and the sense of failure only sparks more despair that feeds the negative cycle.

Though there's far more to Kip's approach, one of his most powerful concepts suggests we imagine what kind of person we DO want to be (even if it seems impossible at the time) then focus our energies on becoming that person. Gone are the nagging feelings of failure, the critical self-measurements, and the guilt-fueled self-sabotage; in their place we see ourselves transforming, taking positive steps, and growing into the person we want to be living the life we want to lead. As a previous reviewer pointed out: that's sublime.

To this day I don't know why Kip tracked me down (we'd never met in person or online before) and asked if I'd like to read a copy of his book. I don't know what little voice warned him not to tell me it's a self-help book. I don't know why he's been so wonderfully patient about follow-up emails asking if I'd read it yet. I know only two things: that I am so very grateful to have read "The Imposter", and that now when I open the front flap of his book where Kip said "I hope this opens up doors of opportunity in your mind and your life that you do not yet see" I can assure him that yes, yes indeed, it did.

Kip's life story is a testament to me that change is possible! When I first became acquainted with Kip in 1980, he was still using drugs, a high school dropout, and lived in shambles. His life appeared to have very little meaning and direction. His long term drug addictions had taken a toll on his body; his teeth were yellow and his hair was unkept. At seventeen, he had an 8th grade vocabulary, poor writing skills, and struggled to read. It was obvious that Kip had reached the bottom in his life. Few individuals could have looked at this young man and believed change was even remotely possible.

People may wonder if the "rags to riches" transformations can still occur. Kip provides a powerful example that it can. Kip successfully reached down deep and entirely changed his life. The Imposter is a roadmap on how he did it. I was so intrigued with this book that I could not put it down - I read it in two nights.

THE IMPOSTER? is what its author Kip Kreiling calls a "transformation memoir." Reading this, I was put in mind of Jackson Browne's song "The Pretender" which, though very different, addresses the same issues of self-awareness.

Kip Kreiling had a terrible childhood. He came out of a nexus of historical domestic abuse, alcoholism, and failure. He was what the authorities today call "an incorrigible," arrested many times as a pre-teen for shoplifting and property destruction. By the time he was sixteen he was living on his own, often on the streets, sometimes in others' 'heated apartments,' and for a while with an exotic dancer. He was an habitual drug abuser, a drunk, a thief, a pusher, and prone to violence.

Today, he is a successful, well-educated corporate consultant with a home and a family.

Why?

Primarily due to Kip himself. His life is an illustration of the trite but honest truism that no one can be helped who doesn't wish to be helped. Kip wanted to be helped. Even in the deepest depths of his searingly sad early life, Kip was able to recognize life lessons. A nearly fatal drug overdose provided a wake-up call. Although he backslid for a time, Kip was able to take what he learned and move past himself. The strongest thread in this tale is Kip's own sincerity.

Kip presents THE IMPOSTER? as a kind of guidebook for readers trying to actualize change within their own lives. Each brief chapter illustrates one (or more) of Kip's essential beliefs: First, that people CAN indeed change; second, that this desire for personal change must be an imperative; third, that our beliefs about ourselves determine who and what we are; fourth, by changing our beliefs we change who we are; fifth, that changes to our outer environment reinforce changes to our inner environment; sixth, that change does not have to be an isolated process---we can call on help and resources to effectuate change; seventh, that we need to create positives rather than battling negatives; and eighth, to be an optimist.

Each essential belief builds on the others, much like a sonata. Kip also credits intuition and a belief in higher powers as aids in making the transformation, though he refrains from overt religiosity. This is a book for everyone, no matter what their relationship to the Infinite.

The truth is that all of us are like Kip. We all have had traumas in our lives, dark spots, bad actions and destructive thoughts. We are all Imposters going through life trying to make good despite our own personal struggles. Viktor Frankl in Man's Search For Meaning observed that suffering is like a gas. No matter how little or how much of it we experience, it tends to distribute itself evenly throughout the space we give it. We don't all have to have had Kip's struggles to be like Kip Kreiling. And he is like us.

I was most impressed with Kip's focus on building and reinforcing positives rather than on battling negatives. Fighting negatives is often a form of attachment to them. As Richard Bach said in Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah, "If you want to make a cloud disappear, simply remove it from your thinking. That's all."

THE IMPOSTER? could be a life-changing book for some. It should be an essential read for all.

Let's face it; there are hundreds of "self-help" books out there. Everywhere you turn, some "expert" wants to tell you how to improve your life. Want to lose weight? Quit smoking? Drinking problem? No sweat. For a low-low price of $29.99, you can learn how to break your bad habits, become an instant millionaire, learn how to be a better husband/wife/lover/parent/friend, and even learn the secrets to the universe that only the ancient Chinese knew and that have been hidden from us for thousands of years.

Let me tell you, The Imposter is NOT that book.

Foremost, Kip Krieling is one of the most candid and open authors I have ever met. And I say "met" because we have exchanged emails regarding his book. Yes, he has been successful in both business and life. But it hasn't always been that way for him, and that is clearly conveyed in his writing. Kip holds no illusions with regard to the reader's station in life. He does not assume that you are looking for help overcoming addiction, weight loss, smoking, abuse, etc. He also does not assume that we are all out to get rich or famous. Instead, he simply tells his life story. He shares with readers what many in his position would try to keep under wraps. Kip experienced more heartache and trials by age 13 than many folks will find in a lifetime. His hope is that you, the reader, will be able to learn, through his experience, how to improve your own situation. And to reinforce his personal experiences, Kip provides insightful stories relative to some of history's greatest minds. We learn that we are not alone in our struggles, and even those whom we now regard as "great" had to struggle to reach that pinnacle.

And Kip is on to something. If you are someone who is seeking a turning point in your life, and especially if you are in a situation where you feel the world is against you and things are only getting worse, then you need to read this book NOW. I believe this book would be a fantastic gift to a young adult who may be on a destructive path, because sometimes all you need to know is that someone else has been there and that you are not alone in your experiences. Will you instantly be a "better" person? Will you be more organized, focused, and ready to take on the world when you turn the last page? It depends on your frame of mind. This book may take a little while to "sink in". But at least you will have an honest perspective on the steps necessary to improve your life. Through the telling of his story, Kip lays out some major principles that will inspire you to change those things you feel are holding you back. And while Kip gives due credit to God and His role in his transformation, he does not over-focus on it. Yes, God played a major role in Kip's success. But inevitably it was up to Kip to take the wheel and drive the bus.

Too many people sit idly by and wait for the world to change around them. If you are open to it, The Imposter will show you how to change your world.

Kip Kreiling is a corporate consultant on transformation. As such, it is interesting that despite all his references to trauma, he choses not to mention that real change for adults comes from trauma. In his case, the critical moment that shifted him from a lifestyle that was taking him to an extended incarceration to a path that would take him to college, graduate school, and a professional life was a massive drug overdose. A traumatic drug overdose set him on a better path, and he describes it as eight steps.

"#1 You can completely change."
The realization that change is possible.

"#2 Turn your transformation goal into an imperative - turn it into a compelling desire."
This is where trauma is usually a critical influence, but he talks about people using tricks to maintain their awareness of the source of the trauma and using trauma as a motivation.

"#3 By changing what you believe, you change who you are."
An individual is defined by their schema; change the schema and change the individual.

"#4 By changing your actions, you change who you are - mind to muscle to metmorphosis."
Put the changed beliefs into action.

"#5 By transforming your environment, you can transform who you are. The fire precedes the bloom."
Choose better enviroments to reinforce the desire to change.

"#6 Do not make major changes in your life on your own, get resources to help you..."
This chapter rambles a bit, but the lesson is subtle and open to debate. An individual must take complete responsibility for their own success and failure, and it would be easy to interprete this priciple as a source of excuses; "Well, I didn't have the resources..." What did you do to get them? How did you plan for the resources?

"#7 & #8 Learn to focus your energy on creating positives and learn to be an optimist."

I suppose books like this have their place. It is a good thing to have stories of how drug addicts can reform and juvenile criminals can break out of the cycles that keep most addicts and criminals in that pattern. However, it frustrates me that some people will use stories like these as an excuse; "See, I can hit it big. Now let me get back to my dope smoking." Kip glossed over the most fundamental aspect of personal transformation, personal responsibility. Without a resolute and unconditional acceptance of responsibility for one's actions, transformation won't even begin.

Overall, "The Imposter?" isn't bad, but it is a very personal account, and doesn't develop a more rigorous path to transformation. The plan laid out by Kip isn't bad, it just isn't clear.

E. M. Van Court

Kip Kreiling's "transformation memoir" fits nicely into the self-help genre made popular by Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer, Steven Covey, and even Ken Blanchard. Kreiling has much to learn before he can rival Tony Robbins, who has a similar message of transformation. Both Kreiling and Robbins begin their stories by telling the reader that they had hit bottom and had nowhere to go but up. Both use tried and true principles of organizational psychology/behavior to reform their lives. Both believe that they can help others emulate their success. Robbins has travelled the world to deliver his message of hope and transformation and has published a variety of highly successful self-help books. Kreiling might learn much from the master about how to refine and develop his message and move beyond the mean streets he vividly describes to the board rooms and living rooms of a public eager for a game plan for personal success, wealth, and well being. Kreiling has made a good start. We will watch with interest his progress as he continues to share with his readers his Horatio Alger rags to riches story.

`A Transformational Memoir' is the perfect subtitle for this autobiography. Well presented and easily read, the story is heart-breaking and heart-mending with stinging visceral tales of hardship and hopelessness transformed into impossible success. Kip Kreiling describes his youth in Denver, surviving a broken home, drug abuse, child abuse, thievery, incarceration, multiple arrests, anger and self-destruction. Sometimes the descriptions are enough to make you ill. As the author suggests, he should have died long before adulthood. Living a drug fueled life as a dealer and user with no real family, it seems that it would simply be a matter of time before this individual runs into irreparable harm. In fact, the description of one particular overdose is so positively descriptive and frightening, it will alarm you.

Mr. Kreiling discovers eight principles of transformation that he shares with the reader. These are not necessarily placed forward as general self-help suggestions, but merely what he discovered along his path that helped him survive and thrive. It isn't magic. Its perspective. Carefully balancing viewpoints to avoid being pigeon holed into one belief, the author touches upon his experiences with religion, non-belief in God and personal inspiration. Initially it might appear as if he will dive into detail about how the Mormons and his `missions' might be the answer, but that is placed in perspective along with his personal spirituality and choices. A telling quote: "If I had to choose between believing in a God, and an associated religion, and believing in my mind, then the choice was clear to me: I had to believe in my mind". He also makes it clear that his mind is the receptacle of intelligence and not the source. There is no room solely for religious prothelytizing.

Discovering this positive mind-set and trusting in his own personal instincts, Kip Kreiling advances in his personal world and business world with remarkable success. Often he still doubts himself, but maintains that positive inspirational outlook that has served him so well. The reader is also caught possibly being manipulated or in disbelief only to discover that the stories and results are not that difficult to realize. Mixing descriptive past stories with what he has learned is a nice format, but Kreiling goes further to analyze what instincts, and inspirations were necessary to reach the positive ends. Many famous people's stories are included, but one stands out more than others. Abraham Lincoln invited all his enemies to the White House for dinner. When asked by a northern woman why he was inviting them to dinner instead of destroying them, Lincoln responded, "Madam, don't I destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" I had to think about that comment a while. It's perfect.