Customer Reviews

The Power of Patience: How to Slow the Rush and Enjoy More Happiness, Success, and Peace of Mind Every Day

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Not a bad read. Full of anecdotes, quotes and the like of how patience has benefited peoples lives - or where its absence, has not. I was a little disappointed however by the lack of the subject matter which I bought the book for, which was - how to develop ones patience. If you are like me and are aiming higher than just a warm fuzzy feeling and want practical advice on what it takes to develop this competency, then look elsewhere.


An addendum; If your looking for practical, workable advice see - "Patience Pays Off" by James Sherman PhD or "The practicing mind" by Thomas Sterner.

Mary Jane Ryan's POWER OF PATIENCE puts it all into perspective. Through inspiring quotes, stories, and practical suggestions, she creates an insightful, personal and very useful journey for readers. I've had the book a week and have already read it twice (the combination of a house fire, huge loss and a very bad insurance company are making me a student of patience and perspective...thank goodness for this book!). POWER OF PATIENCE would also make a terrific gift.

The following passage on page 1 precisely describes my mind:-

Dear God,
I pray for patience. And I want it Right Now!
- Oren Arnold

From the above, you can tell it's hard to satisfy an impatient reader like me. However, I must say that in the previous two days when I was reading the book here and there, during various means of transport, I did have better patience or tolerance towards queues, jostlers, neightbourhood annoyances etc etc., though I dont know whether the tranquilizing effect is for long or for short.

No matter what, I love reading it for the author's shrewd writing and clever use of excellent passages from others. I am sure you wont lose your patience for or whilst reading it. Certainly good food for thought. Below please find some of my favorite quotes for your reference.

The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it. - Arnold Glasgow Pg vii

Walt Disney, for instance, was turned down 302 times before he got financing for Disneyland. Pg 11

Genius is nothing but a greater aptitude for patience. - George Louis Leclerc de Buffon Pg 20

Your biography becomes your biology. - Caroline Myss Pg 32

I think and think for months and years, ninety-nine times, the conclusion is false. The hundredth time I am right. - Albert Einstein Pg 79

You cant control anything about someone else, but you have complete control of how you relate to him or her, and that, of course, will drastically impact his or her willingness to receive your viewpoint. - Tim Gallwey, The Inner Game of Work Pg 99

Judging others will avail you nothing and injure you spiritually. Only if you inspire others to judge themselves will anything worthwhile have been accomplished. - Peace Pilgrim Pg 111

If there's a defining characteristics of a man as opposed to a boy, may be it's patience.
- Lance Armstrong Pg 115

Every moment a beginning. Every moment an end. - Mark Salzman Pg 121

This is a great book to learn how to deal with everyday life and being more patient with yourself and others around you!! It has already helped me a great deal and opened my eyes to new options in life! Thanks M.J. Ryan for writing this great book!

This book is perfect for someone who's learning to assert patience in their daily lives. First off, the chapters are short and to the point, which is perfect for the readers of this particular book. Secondly, each chapter deals with a different aspect of life and how patience plays a role. So, if you're dealing with a specific situation, it's most likely covered in this book. Lastly, the author doesn't preach to you. Instead, she speaks of her own struggles with losing her patience and how, even now, she slips up from time to time. I'm very glad I read it.

The book was a little different than what I expected. It gives short stories when patience should be used. I was expecting a little more insight on what you can do when you're having trouble with excercising patience. The book did have some good points and for the price I suppose it was an okay read.

I took my time reading this book. I found it very insightful and motivating. I do believe it has taught me to be more patient.

I really like this book. It offers great insight about different ways to be patient and when to think about it in different, everyday situations. The chapters are really short, so it is easy to read one or two chapters before bed or while waiting (patiently, hopefully!). I also find myself re-reading old chapters to remind myself! I also gave this to my mom as a gift and she loves it as well.

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the advertisement at the top of the page for this book ("in under a minute" is bolded, naturally):

"Start reading The Power of Patience on your Kindle in under a minute. Don't have a Kindle? Get yours here."

All the more reason to read this book! I haven't completely finished it, but I am drawn to keep reading. Her style is quite comfortable and readable, almost conversant. Very inspiring book too!

(would have given it 3 and one half stars)

In buying this book, I must admit I am biased against most "feel good"
self help books in that they offer quick fixes- that occasionally work- with little depth, substance or lasting value. This being said I am a neurotic (very impatient) overly educated person living in arguably the brainiest, and the most positively multi-cultural, cities in the US, Cambridge MA where MIT and, in particular, Harvard rule. Nevertheless, patience has always been a major problem for me and my family.

I searched on Amazon for a book on patience and there were surprisingly
only a couple of responses (any other ideas): this and a classic book on Buddhism (I am a part time Masters Degree student at Harvard extension school who is very into Asian thought and spirituality- as well as a small business owner and a volunteer group therapist).

The good: As many people have said, this is a very well written book.
There a few nuggets of wisdom here; particularly the statements regarding
patience's relation to a need to control and rage.These insights were
"very helpful." I also liked her statements on the socio cultural effects
of impatience, even though they were not particularly original.

The not so good: the very short section format, which I found frustrating and, at times, superficial. Also, the author continuously bemoans the negative effects of the accelerating pace of modern life, yet these
short sections feeds in to her own notion of people's inability to focus on any activity for an extended period of time. Also The lack of detailed techniques, or exercises, for improving patience- most books of this genre are better at giving solutions, even if they are sometimes a bit lames. The author seems to me to not have made a lot of progress in dealing with her patience (she is very aware though). However, her candor on these issues is quite refreshing.

I realize I am not among the target audience for this type of self help book. However, I feel this genre should be subject to the same rigorous critique as other works that espouse life changing hypothesis, and in not doing so I feel that there is a small element of subtle "brainwashing" that permeates the mass media, and celebrates the "dumbed down" worldview that afflicts and paralyzes our culture (sorry to rain on your parade.) I know this may make me sound like an intellectual elitist, which I partially am. Nevertheless,this book is much better than nothing. Also, I am planning to take up life coaching and this gives me an additional insight into how a coach thinks and approaches problems, because that is somewhat the author's orientation. However, a very good book on this topic still needs to be written (like some of the books on procrastination), although the author makes a very sincere and valid attempt.