Customer Reviews

Self-Help Stuff That Works

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I had recently moved to the State of Washington in January of 1998. I joined a local fitness club in Bellevue Washington, where I met Adam Khan. I told him I recently suffered a devastating divorce and loss of career in a single blow. My personal life outlook seemed bleak. Adam told me he had just published SELF-HELP STUFF THAT WORKS and suggested I read it. While I read its contents, I discovered my attitude began to change as I applied his concepts. Each chapter captured my attention and allowed me to see the world, however changing, from a different perspective. Adam conveys simple steps the reader can digest easily and use at ones own pace. Adam even suggests, the reader only apply two concepts at a time so personal growth can develop and mature slowly. While I read the chapters involving work relationships, my co-workers respond differently to me as I changed my attitude toward work and my supervisor. The time spent at work is more positive and up lifting. People have told me they like it when I smile more and I now do it without thinking about it. The research involved in writing this book had to be extensive but easy for any reader to enjoy. The cost of the book doesnt compare to the priceless information on it pages. Adam Khan has helped me be the happy person I was once before, infact Adam Khan has allowed me to be a new person all over.

I suggest SELF-HELP STUFF THAT WORKS not for bed stand reading but for your own personal life application!

But wisdom does. Anybody can write a self-help book if they have a double-digit I.Q. and periodic hallucinations. Oh! And a degree from a good dog trainer with a fancy name. And manic- depression also helps. This guy has none of this. And I do believe he is wearing a crew cut? He's marvelous! Simply marvelous! The cover of the book looks like an Army manual. On the cover, it states "No Bull", "No Frills", "No Hype". And Khan even reduces Time Management to 1 or 2 pages. I thought that this book was just another come-on. But why not give it a try. Right? I was boiling with anger. I tried one of his "instant remedies". And my anger was completely gone in less than 90 seconds! Autosuggestion? No. I understood. To understand what I mean, buy this book. Khan has gotten rid of all the "peacock garbage". I don't think he has really contributed one original idea to the book. But what he has done, and so brillantly, is distilled all the ancient self-help books (99% garbage), extracted the 1% that works, and put it together for you to work with and study with. Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography was one of the first truly helpful self-help books (books that can help people). Either Steve Jobs or Picasso said that "true artists don't copy art, they steal it"). Khan has done so in such a brillant fashion. 117 techniques for the new millinium. All condensed into "pill form". Now I can get rid of all my other self-help books with their "neat" diagrams and convulescent but impressive theories. Maybe a "psychobabble yardsale". This is nothing more than less than a Boy Scout Manual for Sanity. Buy it and put it under your pillow!

There are so many 'self help' books available today, all of them offering you the answers to life's challenges, that you almost need a self help guide just to choose which one is the right one for you!. You could be forgiven for regarding 'Self Help Stuff that Works' by Adam Khan as just another book to be added to the list. But wait a second!! This book is different, very different. Adam Khan has successfully made a distillation of all of the best self help theories, wisdom and ideas, and the final concentrate is a book that has the most practical, funny, easy and enjoyable to read advice that you will find today! The author has a natural gift for writing in a style that is very much as if he is talking directly to you. That, coupled with his ability to take ideas, extract the good bits and make sound practical advice out of it that is easier to apply, make it 'pound for pound' the best book on the shelf! The book is written in the form of concise chapters. Each cover an idea often in the form of a short story that contains wisdom and practical advice on how to approach problems, handle situations, strengthen relationships, choose your direction in life, develop inner strength - the list is endless. The chapters are divided into 3 sections entitled attitude, work, people and the whole concept of producing a book in this format makes so much sense and allows you to use it as a constant source of reference. No longer do you have to spend time sifting through a book to find that 'pearl of wisdom' that really struck a chord when you read it last time. With this book you can quickly refer back to ideas and advice. This also helps you to concentrate on absorbing one or two key ideas over a period of time so that you can really integrate them into your life before moving on to the next idea. As Adam says, 'too often we try to change too many things at one time'. I can tell you from my own personal experience that there are ideas and suggestions contained in this book that you can apply instantly, without any difficulties that have the power to make considerable and lasting changes in your life. I did it myself by taking one particular idea from this book. After applying it, I have changed not only myself but affected to way people behave towards me in a very positive and empowering way. That is what's so great and so different about it. The ideas are so practical and easy to apply but yet give real tangible results immediately as soon as you start using them! I cannot rate it highly enough and I would just say, go and buy this book if you want to make positive, practical changes in your life!!

It's about time somebody contributed to this valuable subject without polluting or diluting. Self help gets such a bad rap sometimes, it's really too bad. I've met many people who have no problem admitting they're not complete, but when presented with the opportunity to find real counsel, balk at the chance to help themselves. Undoubtedly, it's because a lot of greedy people make a living out of preying on people's fears and write magic bullet book store flotsam.

The information presented here is concise, and quite frankly human. Khan pulls no punches, but doesn't beat you up either. It's just the right approach. The best part is that he has obviously done extensive research and names his sources, unlike many Ph.D.'s who DO NOT name their sources and give the impression that they conceived some time honored proven principles all by themselves.

Read this stuff and use it, not just because some so-called "self help" author says so, but because the great minds it references applied the principles successfully themselves.

* * * The Good Things:
This is an excellent self-help book for some people. It depends on what you're looking for. On the plus side ...; this book is "written in a clear, entertaining style, and is full of interesting facts, quotes, and stories." If you haven't read many books about self-help this is a great intro book that covers a lot of material. For someone with little experience reading self-improvement books this book deserves 5 stars.

* * * The Problem:

However, the chapters are short, very short- often only 2 or 3 pages, and the advice is often simplistic. The author rarely goes into any amount of depth on a particular topic. For example, in one 3-page chapter the author makes the point that you should "Become More Optimistic" while another 3-page chapter covers the importance of honesty.

Because the chapters are short they lack something important, content. Each 2-3 page chapter has an uplifting story with a moral: smiling is a good thing, and will make you happier. For some readers of self-help this is enough information and for others it is not. Some wonder... How can I make my smiles look more sincere? How can I smile more effectively? Should I show my teeth? How long should I smile and maintain eye contact? None of these questions are answered or dealt with in this book.

* * * The Conclusion:
In some instances less is more. If you're looking for a brief, light, and fun overview of self-help this book is for you. If you've read other books in this area you may find that this book is too simplistic to be of much use. ...

Suppose you are an intelligent human being that until now has been thinking: all these self help-books ... can they be really working? There are so many of them! I'm sure all these books repeat the same old tired cliches! And all these screaming covers look so tasteless!

Ten years ago I was thinking that. As I am a very curious journalist and writer (in Amsterdam, the Netherlands), I started to read self help-books. I thought: there are so many!, I'm sure all these books repeat the same old tired cliches!, all these screaming covers look so tasteless!

After my ten years of reading these books I know: there are indeed lots and lots of these tasteless, screaming cliche-books. But don't let that scare you. You are doing yourself a disfavor if you abandon the whole genre. As in every genre there are brilliant exceptions.

One of these is the extremely practical and sensible book "Self-Help Stuff that Works - How to become more effective with your actions and feel good more often" by Adam Khan. It specters the whole genre of self-help. Mr Khan read all these (scientific, serious and not so serious) books, thought about them all, selected the worthy thoughts and theories and wrote in 117 chapters and 368 pages everything there is to know, everything you need to know. It's easy to read (because it's well written), it tells great stories and it is concise. It made my life better.

It makes promises and delivers. The 117 chapters are divided in three parts: Attitude, Work and People. It tells you THE thing to know (and to do!) about, for example: how to be a sensible optimist, the best way to criticize, what to do with failure, when you are too polite, how to improve your self-esteem, how to find a lifemate and 100 more necessary things to know. This book tells you things that are not a luxury to know. In a modest, intelligent, moving, funny and easy to read-way.

Indeed, no bull, no frills, no hype.

Adam has a very cheerful and optimistic outlook which just has to rub off on you if you spend any time at all with this book. The chapters are short so you don't get bogged down in a long boring saga of things that may not apply to you, and they can be read in any order. The reader actually has control over what part of life's many struggles he or she can seek help with. If you buy a self help book for yourself or as a gift, you can't go wrong with this one.

Based on the reviews for this book on Amazon.com, I bought Self-Help Stuff That Works and I'm glad I did. This is a super book who's title says it all. It is no bull, no frills, no hype. I've read hundreds of self-help books and the majority of them are tired rehashes and vapid puffery. This book is different. It's a collection of 100 or so short articles gathered under three different headings: Attitude, Work, and People. The articles, which can be read in any order, are short, too the point, and extremely useful. Adam Khan has a gift for being able to distill something down to it's essence. There are dozens of useful tools and techniques that one can apply immediately. It's the kind of book you keep coming back to, and I believe that's why it's bound like a textbook, to be able to handle the stress of many readings. High quality 'stuff' all around. Do yourself a big favor, help yourself to Self-Help Stuff That Works.

Ladies and Gentlemen, This book is a very helpful to the common joe with not much time but a strong desire for self improvement. We all have days where we just want to be uplifted, yet we dont always have 45 minutes to read a chapter on how to improve self esteem and happiness. The most important thing in self help, in my opinion is that you have a good mental coach, a good concience rooting you in the right direction. When your feeling down, a good mental coach (aka your mind if you haven't gotten that yet), will tell you how to direct your life. The length of the chapters is just a nice little meal for your mental coach to help you learn without having to completely smother your mind with extra information that isn't very helpful. So ladies and Gents, buy the book if you want the help without sacrificing all the time. It really is worth it.

THIS IS ONE OUTSTANDING SELF-IMPROVEMENT BOOK.IT HAS IT ALL AND I WOULD RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE LOOKING TO BETTER THEMSELVES.THE AUTHOR HAS NAILED ALL THE PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT SUBJECTS AND HAS BRILLIANTLY CONDENSED THEM IN A VERY ENJOYABLE,READABLE FORMAT. I WOULD GIVE IT 10 STARS IF I COULD.