Customer Reviews

Optimal Thinking: How to Be Your Best Self

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

I have been an avid reader of self-improvement books for the past twenty years but I always felt that something was missing until I read Optimal Thinking. This book is revolutionary. It takes you above the flawed "think positive" mindset into a simple, realistic style of thinking that provides you with the best chance of achieving everything you need and want. I was fascinated by the examples of how people make the most of everyday situations with Optimal Thinking.

The book is divided into three sections. The first section, "Help Yourself to Optimal Thinking" begins with a quiz to rate how much of your thinking is in your best interest. You then learn about the advantages and disadvantages of negative and positive thinking. The author explains five shortcomings of positive thinking, and shows you how to overcome them. She then describes Optimal Thinking, provides examples of Optimal Thinkers who have shaped the world throughout history, and offers simple roadmaps to make the best choice in simple and complex situations. You then learn how to use Optimal Thinking consistently to design and live your best life. I was excited by this section. I really resonated with the information on the core beliefs which sabotage our best interests and motivate us to settle for second best, especially "I don't deserve the best in life". I made it my business to do the exercise to overcome this culprit.

The second section, "Optimize Yourself" begins with a quiz to examine whether your self-esteem, purpose and goals support your best interests. You learn to recognize and embrace your suboptimal inner voices and optimize them. This is what loving yourself is all about. You also take an inventory of your assets and liabilities and determine which actions will be most effective in optimizing your self-esteem. You then visualize your best self, define your ultimate purpose and create your best roadmap to achieve your supreme goals.

My favorite chapter in the second section is "Optimize Your Feelings." Disturbing emotions are called "optimization signals" and you are given an incredibly simple roadmap to understand and master them. You are also provided with optimal questions to understand and resolve unpleasant emotions such as helplessness, anxiety, anger, guilt, loneliness, hurt, grief, and envy. I have to admit that since I have been using these optimal questions, I don't need anyone to help me sort out my feelings. I am comfortable and confident that I can take the best possible care of myself.

The third section, "Optimize Others" begins with a quiz to determine where your personal and business relationships support your best interests. The author states that "The purpose of relationships is simply to be your best self, regardless of the circumstances." You explore your obstacles to optimal communication, and how to make best use of non-verbal and verbal signals to overcome these obstacles. My favorite roadmap here is about setting boundaries and minimizing unwanted behaviors.

The last chapter describes an optimal paradigm for the workplace. The positive thinking paradigm is compared with the optimal paridigm, and is obviously suboptimal. You just can't walk away from adopting this realistic optimal paradigm. You realize that you can't function at your peak when you think suboptimally, and every time you think suboptimally you compromise productivity, profitability and your well-being. And you can only bring out the best from others, when you use Optimal Thinking.

What I like most about this book is that suboptimal thinking readers, authors and enthusiasts are always respected by this author, who recognizes all forms of thinking (even negative thinking) as valuable feedback. Dr. Glickman believes that it is unrealistic to expect to think optimally all of the time but it is in our best interest to think optimally as often as possible.

This book is for business and community leaders, coaches, executives, students, homemakers and anyone who wants to live their best life. Do not miss one page of this book!

My wife brought this book home after participating in an Optimal Thinking seminar at her company. Although I was somewhat skeptical, I tried to approach the book with an open mind. I admit that I was interested in finding out how much of my thinking was in my best interest so I responded to that quiz. When I read the part about the strengths and weaknesses of positive and negative thinking, I got hooked and pulled out my highlighter pen. Up until then, like most people, I had been confused about when to be positive, negative or neutral.

During the following week, I tested the templates for simple and complex decision-making and they worked. I made the right choices integrating my heart and my mind for the first time. All that said, this book won me over. Optimal Thinking is a must read if you want to make the most of your personal life and career. Making the most of life means something different to each of us. Optimal Thinking is the vehicle that takes you from a bad, neutral, mediocre or an extraordinarily positive moment to your best moment. From one best moment, Optimal Thinking takes you to the next best moment, and to a life of increasingly more best moments. I am a doer and can feel guilty when I am not productive. I laughed and heaved a sigh of relief when the author said, "If your response to `What's in my best interest?' is `Take a nap,' then do it. You can choose to snooze knowing that it is in your best interest."

This book is easy to read. You will find roadmaps for making the most of a range of situations, instances where people like yourself use Optimal Thinking in day-to-day situations, as well as examples of famous Optimal Thinkers who sculpt their lives with Optimal Thinking as their motivating philosophy, and inspire it in others. Buy it and get copies for the people you care about.

I discovered Optimal Thinking in 1992 when I heard Dr. Glickman address an audience of more than 1000 people at The International Conference on Thinking as the plenary speaker. I was deeply impacted by her presentation and invited her to present an Optimal Thinking seminar to a cross section of employees at my company four months later.

Optimal Thinking is a universal resource that embraces all forms of thinking, all people and all situations. On a daily basis, I have seen what it has done for my secretary, Sandy, whose husband passed away due to a brain tumor. Sandy used Optimal Thinking through their worst days together, always doing her best, no matter how hard it got. She uses Optimal Thinking in the office to guide her decisions, and I can rely on her to make the most of whatever crosses her desk.

As for me, although I am analytical by nature, I used to make irrational, costly decisions when I became emotional. I have learned to stop and use Optimal Thinking to find the best solution rather than dig myself into a hole.

Pre-optimization in our company, our sales force consisted of senior sales people and newcomers, some jaded, some fresh and realistic, others who were generally optimistic. When I introduced Optimal Thinking into the sales force, we saw an 18% increase in gross sales within six months, which is unprecedented in our industry. Our sales force is now a bonded Optimal Thinking team. They collaborate to define and achieve optimal results, and they are realistic in their appraisals of resources and opportunities.

When this book became available, we purchased copies for all our employees. We optimized our mission statement by including our policy of "working together as a team of optimizers with the best interest of our customers in mind and heart."

I recommend Optimal Thinking to anyone who wants to make the most of themselves, and bring out the best in others. Optimal Thinking is superlative but simple. The challenge is to use it consistently. This revolutionary book describes Optimal Thinking, explains how to use it proactively, and in conjunction with all forms of thinking. It contains specific roadmaps and concrete examples to make the most of ourselves, day to day situations, feelings, communications with others, and leadership skills. Optimal Thinking earns five stars!

I have been a top executive for two Fortune 100 companies during the past 23 years. Prior to reading Optimal Thinking, I managed to stay ahead of the internal competition by improving my leadership skills and working on myself to be a better person. I have read most of the best-selling business and self-improvement books.

Optimal Thinking is the best book I have come across--an essential universal resource. Optimal Thinking IS the missing link to peak performance. Having read this book, attended an Optimal Thinking for Leaders seminar and implemented Optimal Thinking in my daily life, I am now proud to call myself a "senior optimizer." I rely on my team of Optimal Thinkers (they have read this book and have been trained in Optimal Thinking) to optimize resources and opportunities -- indeed, every situation.

If you are performing poorly, just getting by or even doing great, you will be empowered by this practical book. I give it 6 stars.

I discovered Optimal Thinking while I was browsing in the self-improvement section of my local bookstore and couldn't put it down. Before I read this book, I would wake up every morning feeling hurt, furious and disappointed with myself, people and life. I won't go into detail but I'd been through some heavy losses and betrayals. This life-optimizing book helped me to understand my feelings, and made it possible for me to take my power back, and get my life on the right track. Optimal Thinking is realistic, and shows you how to integrate thoughts, feelings and situations and OPTIMIZE (not just improve) them. You learn how to let go of what is not in your control, choose the best options in your control, and lay disturbing issues to rest. Optimal Thinking is simple, and universally valid. In good and bad situations, I can now be my best and bring out the best in others. I feel blessed to have found Optimal Thinking.

I am the V.P of Human Resources for a Fortune 100 company. My CEO read this book and recommended it to me nine months ago. In a nutshell: Optimal Thinking is a realistic universal paradigm for individual and corporate optimization. Once you read this book, you can't settle for good or great because you have the mental resource to achieve the best outcome in every circumstance.

For the past six months, we have been educating our people in the art of Optimal Thinking with this book and a series of Optimal Thinking seminars. The results have exceeded our highest expectations. Take my advice: Optimize yourself, your career and your relationships with Optimal Thinking.

I have read this life changing book three times. This book shows you how to your best, how to help others to be their best, and how to get the most from life.

I heard Dr. Glickman present Optimal Thinking at the International Conference on Thinking about ten years ago. As an engineer, I was impressed with the practical nature and universal application of Optimal Thinking and have attended several of her seminars since that time.

Ten years ago, I was a mediocre manager who was unsympathetic toward my staff and dreaded hearing their problems. Now I am an optimizer. I am one hundred percent committed to my staff and have their best interests at heart. Optimal Thinking has helped many of my staff members feel secure enough to drop "fake it until you make it" positive thinking. They are now able to honest with me, and we work together to find optimal solutions. I recommend this book wholeheartedly.

It doesn't matter what stage of life you are in, what temperament you have, or in what circumstances you find yourself, you can take control and use Optimal Thinking to instantly make the most of your situation. Optimal Thinking is easy to use and definitely the successor to suboptimal positive thinking. Buy this book and give yourself the mental resource to optimize your career, life, leadership and people skills.

I decided to read this book because a friend told me that it had turned his life around. Before I read it, my best self was in charge about 20% of the time. I used optimal thinking questions like "What's the best use of my time right now?" but most of my thinking was suboptimal and I was settling for second best. I was overly self-critical and always felt I wasn't doing enough.

An important consequence of immersing myself in Optimal Thinking and being a part of the optimalthinking.com community is that I have made peace with myself. I have received other benefits in my business and personal life. Optimal Thinking showed me how to consistently choose the best in any situation and let go of what is not in my best interest. I know how to bring my best self to any situation and bring out the best in others. I am using Optimal Thinking more each day, and especially when the going gets tough. This book should be in every home and in every business.

A friend of mine recommended Optimal Thinking after he attended a seminar presented by the author at his work. His 25 year marriage had deteriorated and he was considering divorce. He told me that Optimal Thinking saved his marriage. I bought the book six months ago, hoping that it would help me with my career. I had been living off a severance package for five months, and my many attempts to find a new position in an established company had been unsuccessful. When I was reading the book, I came up with several new options and the "optimal" strategy to achieve my objective. Three months ago, I signed a contract with the company I had primarily targeted. I recently began the 100-day Optimal Thinking audio- CD Program which I am enjoying immensely. I have already overcome some suboptimal exercise habits and am working on optimizing every area of my life. I definitely recommend Optimal Thinking.