Customer Reviews

Jump Start Your Brain

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

It seems to me that this book could have had a lot more impact and would have proven much more credible if the author had spent more time on the real subject and less time on the subject of himself. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of good ideas in here. The message gets really bogged down though, with all this talk of "I did this...I did that....I'm Ben Franklin reincarnated...yadda yadda yadda". Hall ends up spending so much time off of the subject that it's easy to get lost and discouraged with reading this book. I'm glad if anyone finds something great in here, but I would have been happier with a shorter, leaner, and therefore, more effective version. If I were to write a book and get as far off of my subject as Hall has with this one, I would hope my editor would have the sense to hit me in the face with a humble pie.....oooh, now wouldn't that be creative!

The book is garbage, one big fat self-serving ad for his own products and services (I've never seen so many "TM"s and "R"s per page -- all for other stuff he wants to make money from -- along with endorsements from corporations like Disney). Basically, the guy says that in order to be creative you should act like a child and be random. His favorite tool to encourage the former is the Woopee cushion, which he mentions half a dozen times in the first half of the book, as if it were some sort of brilliant new invention. (Maybe he has stock in the company.) Here are a few of the other ways to release your inner child so as to be rich and successful: throw water balloons and shoot people with squirt guns; spin until dizzy; play catch in the office hallway; blow bubbles in the faces of your fellow concert-goers; let food dribble out of your mouth next time you go to a restaurant; give your boss a wedgie... you get the idea. In other words, be a big fat pain in the ... and accuse anyone who doesn't think you're funny of being brain dead (one of his favorite terms for people who don't see things his way). Dude, get a clue. There are other reasons people might not to want to get a water ballon thrown at them. Anyway, this is pretty much his one insight, repeated over and over, interspersed with trite comments about the magic of childhood and quotes about Doug Hall from his family members and former bosses. Of yeah, he also has suggestions for stimulating creativity by being "adventurous," such as "Take a different route to work or school" (gee, I've never heard THAT one before) and "Purchase the #1 paperback on the best-seller list." Anyway, once you've learned how to fart at will and do daring things like eat at a restaurant you've never eaten at before, you'll start getting lots of "wicked good" ideas (another of his favorites) and make lots of money, just like Doug Hall.

Disjointed book - incomplete sentences; too much talk about self; jumps all over the place; much of it is poorly written; very difficult to follow because he doesn't write in complete sentences; his goal seemed to be how many words he could use so that the book will be "big or long."

I tried to follow his line of reasoning or rationale but he lost me after page 262.

If you want the book you (or anyone else) can have the book for free if you'll pay the shipping cost.

Jump Start Your Brain teaches us how to maximize our brainpower and apply creativity to invent ideas that lead to results while having fun. The author has built a successful business called Richard Saunders International that applies this technique, which he calls Eureka! Stimulus Response. He had used this technique to create new products for companies such as Pepsi-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Nike, AT&T and Walt Disney Consumer Products. As you'll read--they worked!

The author indicates that his Eureka Stimulus Response system is the best way to hold creativity sessions where high-energy brainstorm techniques allow us to think more effectively in less time. Throughout the book, he recommends techniques that will help you accomplish this.

The Cramer-Krasselt book club took the author's advise to heart. We rented a bowling alley/bar and decorated the room with mounds of candy and toys. Our task was to first think of what type of businesses were missing from the building in which we are located. Then we had to identify the type of services it/they would provide, name it and then promote it.

Our creativity session was a huge success! In only 1-1/2 hours we managed to identify four types of businesses that were missing in our building, named them, determined services they would provide and developed a publicity campaign to promote them. And most importantly, we learned that using the author's brainstorm techniques allowed us to obtain the results we wanted in half the time it would take in a "normal" brainstorm while still having fun.

The author indicates that his Eureka Stimulus Response system is the best way to hold creativity sessions where high-energy brainstorm techniques allow us to think more effectively in less time.

Although the author uses about half of the book to boast his claim to fame, the other half provides noteworthy tips and techniques that can be used in almost any brainstorm. The techniques are not limited to any particular profession. Thus, the book is highly recommended for anyone in any profession.

On page 7 of this book:

.."beware: once you've opened your brain and realized your potential, you'll never be satisfied with mindless mediocrity again... you'll be filled with discontent and anger at the thought of averageness, normality, and head-in-the-sand scaredy-catness..."

I read the book with skepticism and 80% into the book, I realise that I'm holding one of the *best* self-help books I'd ever bought! I believe that anyone who'd read this book and APPLY what this book has to offer would become more creative. I have become a person described in the above extraction.

The first 15% of the book don't make you creative, they set the environment! So please, those who'd read the first few chapters of the book and decided to discard this *bible* away, give yourselves a second chance. This is one of the few books that I'd keep with me.

The book has a value it that it might inspire some to learn more about the creative thinking process. It would have been better if the author had added depth instead of superficial comments.

Although this book was intended to improve corporate America, I found that the ideas were just silly enough to appeal to students of all ages from kindergarten through college. As a teacher, I found that the strategies Doug Hall presents in this book are valuable tools to be used when students need to develop their own projects.

Couldn't finish it. Much of the book is the author telling us what a smart guy he is. I didn't get anything useable from it.

Doug Hall's book on boosting creativity tosses people out of their box to think differently. The best way to sum up the book is a quote that he provides by Aldous Huxley. It states:

"The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm."

The book starts out with the subjects: Recapturing Innocence, Recapturing Adventurousness, The Birth of Eureka! and more. It continues with many decent sections on how to stimulate the creative sides of our brains.

Overall, Jump Start Your Brain is a decent book on creativity for people trying to climb out of their box first time. A fair amount of repetition, but this is needed for people to re-engage in creativity. Other books like: A Whack on the Side of the Head have more meat on the bones.

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide to: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

The stars giving here should be NEGATIVE 5 stars!! I was excited for this book to arrive, only to be horribly disappointed. I thought this book was totally stupid and immature ! I could only get through the first couple chapters than started skimming through the book only to find that each page after page was excatly the same thing.....there's nothing creative about it.....unless you like going back to kindergarten and acting childish, not sure how that improves one mind in the adult world.
Do you seriously think that giving your boss a "wedgie" or throwing water balloons at someone is going to help one "climb the corporate ladder" ......just how does this "jump start your brain" ?????