Living an Uncommon Life: Essential Lessons from 21 Extraordinary People [Hardcover]

John St. Augustine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 31, 2006

At the lowest point in his life, living in a motel room with his wife and two children, John St.Augustine undertook a journey of a thousand miles, walking from northern Michigan to Chicago—and back—a journey that became one of discovery, and a chance for St. Augustine to reinvent himself.

It was on this walk that the inspiration was born for a radio show that would be a positive voice in a world saturated by cynicism. Upon his return, despite having no prior radio experience, a local station gave him a chance: one hour a week for five weeks . . . .

Ten years and 5,000 guests later St.Augustine is living his dream, and, like The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People®, Living an Uncommon Life offers a roadmap for reaching your own dreams.

St.Augustine discovered a pattern in the lives of the exceptional personalities with whom he has crossed paths including Oprah Winfrey, John Denver, Walter Payton, Wayne Dyer and others. Each of them refused to let negative circumstances dictate their life. Instead they found the inner strength to achieve great things. St.Augustine insists we all share these remarkable traits and in Living an Uncommon Life he offers powerful principles for unlocking your strengths and achieving your personal best.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[John's] experiences with the leaders with whom he has spent time and the personalities he interviews reveal a path that others can follow. Real success and happiness come from personal growth, meaningful contribution, and the opportunity to love and be loved by others. These are the subjects John tackles and the goals he can help us achieve." —Catherine Crier, TV host and New York Times bestselling author

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing (August 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1571745262
• ISBN-13: 978-1571745262
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #412,203 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is what everyone should be reading, December 15, 2006

By 

David Kuo (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Living an Uncommon Life: Essential Lessons from 21 Extraordinary People (Hardcover)

I didn't know what to expect from the book or the author.

I saw the subtitle about lessons from 21 extraordinary people and feared it might be some exercise in genuflecting to celebrity. That is a most subversive notion in this day and age of conformity where aspiring to wealth seems the highest goal.

John St. Augustine's name didn't mean much to me either. I'm an east coast guy and though he was a succesful radio talk show host that was mostly in the middle of the country - plus, I'm not much of a talk show guy. I find the radio stuff so jarring and controversial that it leaves me uncomfortable. Would that his show had been on everywhere.

Then I cracked the spine. What a book. It is bold - it respects its readers and doesn't try and sell them on three ways to achieve success or 2.5 ways to live a get thin and achieve a lasting tan - because it challenges readers not to go to the comfortable wings (left or right) but to dig down deeply in their own lives. The book challenges our humanity and confronts us with the reality of our mortality and does with passion and enthusiasm and gusto because John St.Augustine looks at life and shouts, "YES!" It can be a bit intimidating because it is so radical.

At various points I found myself reading and thinking to myself that I could live the kind of rich, full life he writes about here -punctuated with stories of famous (and anonymous) people he has known - and wanting to live that kind of life but realizing that to do so I had to follow his most serious lesson...that living takes work and determination but that it is so worth that work.

I could go on and on in writing but frankly I am more interested in now going back through some of the chapters - like the one in which he talks about learning the power of living in the moment through the late Chicago Bears star Walter Payton - to learn what I have already forgotten.

I've never written an Amazon review before and perhaps I haven't done the best job - my enthusiasm may be getting in the way of my writing - but don't hold that again this uncommon book. It is remarkable and must, must, must be read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendously inspiring and valuable work, March 12, 2008

By 

Jeff Maziarek, author of Spirituality Simplified (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Living an Uncommon Life: Essential Lessons from 21 Extraordinary People (Hardcover)

As an avid reader of books related to spiritual and personal growth, in only a handful of instances have I come across a book that touched me as profoundly as this one did. It may sound cliché, but this book did indeed arrive in my hands at the exact time I needed to hear its messages. At two particular points in the text, tears literally filled my eyes as I experienced an "ah ha" moment. There truly is so much wisdom in this work and an incredible amount of inspiration as well. While the stories of the "21 Extraordinary People" the author writes about are all interesting and compelling, I also found great value in the heartfelt and very honest manner in which he shared very personal information from his own life experiences. In addition, his very conversational writing style actually makes you feel as if he's sitting in a café talking to you from across the table. This book is truly a gem in many respects. I loved it, and I really feel that you will as well.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inherently engaging, unusually candid, and occasionally inspiring, and highly recommended read!, November 4, 2006

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living an Uncommon Life: Essential Lessons from 21 Extraordinary People (Hardcover)

At the lowest point in his life the John St. Augustine began a walk across the country, embark on some thousand miles from northern Michigan to Chicago and back, which allowed him to reinvent himself and embark on a new career in radio. Best known for his 'power thoughts' vignettes, "Living an Uncommon Life" covers more than his experiences and awakening: it includes patterns form other exceptional personalities he's met along the way, and reveals how these personalities uncovered strength from adversity. "Living an Uncommon Life" is an inherently engaging, unusually candid, and occasionally inspiring, and highly recommended read!