Customer Reviews

The Most Important Lesson No One Ever Taught Me

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In this book, Newburg used the power of stories to share meaningful life lessons he learned from remarkable people he came to know in his life. These lessons can be applied to all areas in life so you will no longer need a bookcase full of self-help books to tell you how to manage your time, lose weight, find a mate, get the job you love and so on. Newburg helps you answer all the important life questions without telling you what to do or reducing your unique experience down to a score on a questionnaire. It's a MUST read for those who are in search of true meaning and happiness in their lives.

Wow. This book "solves" so many questions people have about their lives so simply, so elegantly it left me wondering why it took "the kind universe" so long to help people understand how to get on the road to and build their own happiness.

Let me attempt to explain: What's wrong with "traditional" self-help is there's no "self" in it. We read about other people's "success patterns". They sell us on why their "patterns" work best. Problem is they don't work for us precisely because they're other peoples'. This creates a nice self-help industry, but doesn't help readers become any happier--or even help them realize what does make them happy! Does this make sense?

Newburg's genius is giving us a "process" for identifying, understanding, and incorporating into our lives what uniquely makes us happy. He has put the "self" back where it belongs, at the center of the process. Warning: he's also put the responsibility (and fun) for understanding and action back where it belongs, with us, not with Dr. Phil, Steven Covey, or Tony Robbins.

I know why he had to publish this himself. It's the last "self-help" book-- the only "self-help" book you'll ever need. Why would an industry that exists because people are searching for "themselves" actually tell you how to find yourself? That's business suicide.

Anyway, thank-you Dr. Newburg, thank-you. If you don't like this book, I'll give you your money back.

Dr. Newburg's book distills meaningful life to its essence: How do you want to feel everyday. He blends a fictional 'answer seeker' with the remarkable people to whom he is connected. The reader walks step-for-step with 'Bob' on a journey into the familiar (ourselves) cast in a light of renewal, setting the stage for self-RE-discovery. When you open the book, he's Dr. Newburg; when you close it, he's your good friend, Doug.

Just as Doug has, I've also interviewed countless athletes, coaches, world champions. Doug Newburg's ideas and performance model is simple yet powerful. He stands out amongst the many sport psychologists I've spoken with. I've recommended his book to many of my clients and I recommend it to you also.

I was introduced to this book in a university class and the story blew me away. One man's journey back to living a more authentic and meaningful life. I continue to reflect on, and apply many of the lesson's Newburg imparts through "Bob's" story. We're talking foundational lessons-- the kind that can lead to what is perhaps best described as transformation of self, more in line with how you want to feel any given moment. I would suggest there are aspects of "Bob" in all of us and as such highly recommend this book to anyone who seeks more out of life but isn't sure how or where to start.

I was sitting in a psych class with hundreds of undergraduates when Doug first asked "me" this question: how do you want to feel? I was stunned. No one had ever asked me that before, not my mother, not my father, not my teachers, not my employers, not my clients, not my deans. It took me eighteen months to answer the question--and I was 50 years old at the time. Doug's next question, "Does how you feel affect your performance?" is equally profound--since the vast majority of managers believe that "professionals will do what they have to do regardless of how they feel," and in so doing, unintentionally but inexorably lock up vast oceans of human energy and productivity. Unheralded, Doug Newburg gets it--and teaches us all--what life is all about. This book describes "it"--and unless you pay careful attention, you still might not get it. If you do, it'll change your life.

Doug Newburg has thought about, researched and analyzed peak performers for more than 20 years. This book distills his findings and makes clear that there is a process, a way of being, common among those who are the best at what they do.

Newburg's ideas are refreshingly different from the mundane claptrap found in most self-help books. His insight is that the most successful and happiest people are those who are most true to themselves. You are good and fulfilled when your work and life resonate with who you are. It sounds mystical and feel-goodish, but Newburg's coherent prose and relevant stories hit home and make sense.

Read this book. At the very least, it will make you think about your own process of performance--and that's always a good thing.

I cannot tell you how impactful the lessons that this book shares have been for me, my family, my friends, and the people with which I work on their relationships, career, and even their health. Not only does Newburg ask Bob seemingly the right questions at the right time, he shows you why these questions are important by sharing his "story". After writing this, I'm going to grab a latte and read it again for the 5th time. The "Most Important Lesson" is a must have.

I felt the author was sincere and thorough but his writing style put me off. Other books were simply written in a focused enough style that I got the message quickly and didn't get muddled in this man's private life.