The Skinny on Willpower: How to Develop Self Discipline [Perfect Paperback]

Jim Randel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2009 | Series: The Skinny on

Ever wish you could speed read every book written on a particular topic? Well, now someone has done that for you. The Skinny on Willpower is a substantive analysis of the subject of self-discipline, told in story format. This book is the story of a young couple each with a goal that requires the development of willpower. Each struggles with their challenge but through trial and error and advice of the moderator, find the way to achieve their dreams. The author, Jim Randel, has spent thirty years studying the subjects of willpower and self-discipline. He has read every book or article on the subject, he has listened to all the CDs. He has spoken with the experts. He has interviewed superstars in movies. TV, athletics, politics and business. This book is the conclusion of his studies. In a book that can be read in about one hour, the reader will gain an incredibly valuable understanding of how to boost his or her willpower. Selected as one of the 9 Self-Helpers for 2009, by the New York Daily News. This book will take you to a new level of insight into why some people are able to achieve their goals and dreams and others are not. As said by Teddy Roosevelt:

The one quality which sets one apart from another the key which lifts one to every aspiration while others are caught up in the mire of mediocrity is not talent, formal education, nor intellectual brightness; it is self-discipline. With self-discipline, all things are possible. Without it, even the simplest goal can seem like the impossible dream.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Don't let the stick figures fool you--The Skinny on Willpower is a funny book that offers up some seriously good information on how to declutter your brain and discipline yourself to achieve your personal and professional goals. Jim Randel will have you laughing and thinking at the same time. A very enjoyable read! --Ken Blanchard, Co-author, The One Minute Manager and The One Minute Entrepreneur

Great Book. Quick read and easy to understand. All you will ever need to know about willpower and self-discipline. --Richard Harrington, Former CEO Thomson Reuters

I have known Jim for 25 years. He not only has amazing mental fortitude and lives the life he preaches, he also has an in-depth knowledge of these subjects and plenty of credibility to write this book. --Dwight Stones, 3-time Olympian, 10-time World Record Holder, Broadcaster

About the Author

For many years, I have studied the process of achievement. I have read everything I could find on the subject; I have pestered highly successful friends and acquaintances as to their own path to success; and I have experimented with my own life. Here is what I have concluded: 99% of those individuals who achieve their goals do so not because they are especially talented, intelligent, good-looking or even lucky, but rather because they find the courage and guts to act in pursuit of their dreams and persist against setbacks. One of the reasons I have written The Skinny on Willpower is because I worry that people with dreams have been distracted by authors sending people this message: The Universe is rooting for you. If you ask, put your belief in the Universe and be patient, your wishes will come true. I do not believe that statement. ... if you want good things to happen in your life, you need to get off the couch and make them happen. Whether your goal is to lose weight, make a million dollars, write a best-seller, or become a movie star, you must be prepared to pay the price. Those people who accomplish their dreams are usually distinguished by the strength of their will. You are about to read a book that will help bring you closer to your dreams and goals by giving you insight into the subject of willpower. As Teddy Roosevelt said: With self-discipline, all things are possible.

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Rand Media Co; 1 edition (February 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0981893538
• ISBN-13: 978-0981893532
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #138,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jim Randel, a graduate of the Columbia University College and Law School, has made his living as an entrepreneur. During his 30-year career, Jim has been the lead investor in many real estate and business deals. He has been a guest speaker at Harvard and NYU Business Schools, annual conventions for national organizations, and investor sessions in every large city in the United States. He has also appeared on numerous networks as an expert on investing. Recent engagements include ABC, CBS, Fox, Fox Business and BetterTV.com.

Throughout his career, Jim's passion has been to teach and write. His first book, The Real Estate Game (CCH), was published in 1986 and received national recognition from investors and critics. From 1988 to 1990 he was a daily commentator on the Financial News Network (now CNBC). In 2006 he wrote Confessions of a Real Estate Entrepreneur (McGraw-Hill) which reached #1 in several Amazon categories.

In 2008 Jim founded Rand Media Co, which, under the imprint The Skinny On™, publishes a revolutionary line of illustrated non-fiction books.

The first book in this series, The Skinny on the Housing Crisis, was awarded First Prize in the prestigious Robert Bruss Real Estate Book competition sponsored by NAREE, a group of 600 journalists who cover business and finance. This was quickly followed by 8 more titles: The Skinny on Willpower, The Skinny on Credit Cards, The Skinny on Success, The Skinny on Real Estate Investing, The Skinny on Direct Sales (also available in Spanish as The Skinny on Venta Directa), The Skinny on Time Management, The Skinny on the Art of Persuasion, and the newest in the series, The Skinny on Networking.

Jim lives and works in Westport, Connecticut with his wife Carol. They have four grown children and two grandchildren.

For more information on Jim Randel, go to: www.JimRandel.com.
For more information about the Skinny on series, go to: www.TheSkinnyOn.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important information that people need to know, April 19, 2010

By 

Israel Drazin (Boca Raton, Florida) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Skinny on Willpower: How to Develop Self Discipline (Perfect Paperback)

Jim Randel has published eight books entitled The Skinny On. All are clever, humorous, and entertaining. All teach vital need-to-know lessons in an informal, non-pedantic, concise, and engaging fashion by generally using drawings of stick people engaged in dialogue. This volume shows how people can improve their will power by self discipline. As in other books in the series, Randel shows how to develop willpower by giving his readers more than a hundred examples and quotes from famous successful people.
The stick figures in this volume, who serve as humorous examples of Randel's teachings, are a married couple. It is New Years and the husband wants to lose ten pounds. But how can he develop the discipline to do it when he loves to eat fattening foods such as marshmallows? How can he make sure that he will exercise? How can he control himself not to go overboard, eat too little or over-exercise? What should he do when he slips up and overeats or becomes distracted from his goals because of stress at work?
The wife wants to start a business, but she has to do several things before she can start, such as write up a plan for the bank so that the bank will lend her money. But she never did such a thing before and feels stymied. How can she develop the discipline to move ahead?
Among fifteen points and Randel suggests and explains are: set for yourself a clear, concrete, specific goal; divide the goal into manageable parts; and become totally committed.

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I've Learned A Lot From This, May 30, 2010

By 

Steven Stewart (Liverpool) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Skinny on Willpower: How to Develop Self Discipline (Perfect Paperback)

I am what many would consider a classical cynic. I look at every event and consider and apply the worst possible outcome. I usually avoid doing things I've always wanted to do because I think it will be hard, or there will be a negative or undesirable outcome. One thing I will say from the offset is that, I realise how much I've been holding myself back. When I finished this book, I was literally overcome with goosebumps at how simple it all seems to turn things around for the better and to put it in one simple phrase; it just involves a positive mental attitude. I feel like I've been inspired to make a change instantly, but I know that if I just jump right in there, then I've not learned much from this.

Running through 15 tips on how to improve your willpower, this book adopts a casual and comic approach as to how YOU can improve YOUR willpower and ultimately achieve the things you have always wanted. It doesn't sugar-coat events or possibilities with the idea that the minute you adopt the positive mental attitude, everything will change for the better. It promotes the idea that gradually and consistently moving towards your goals is much better than thinking what if, even if you're faced with difficulties. Although I'm naturally quite a cynical person, due to my disability, I've developed a personal saying which is "Whenever there's an obstacle, there's always a way to overcome it"; and I do truly believe that. My problem is usually not being that bothered to work hard enough to do it.

Consider the old Homer Simpson saying "if something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing". This is me all over, and although I do believe there's always a way to get around an obstacle or to defeat it, my problem is having the willpower to really work at overcoming the more difficult life obstacles. I hope that I will be able to really take a lot from this book in the coming weeks and months. Talking from personal experience, I enrolled in university last year which was a big step for me. For the first few months I was on top of the world for making this massive change in my life, but gradually I have grown more and more negative and have began to think negatively as to whether I can really handle University life and studying a degree. When I begin my second year in September, I will really put the tips this book gave me into action and pray that I notice gradual changes in my overall motivation.

Let me put it this way. If this book got through to me, then it can get through to anyone.

58 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too skinny on information, January 30, 2009

By 

Sweet Pea (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Skinny on Willpower: How to Develop Self Discipline (Perfect Paperback)

Although I love the concept of this book, I think the book fell way short of its goal. There was too much "cutsie" and not enough information. The hard information of the book could have been stated in about one sentence: Your level of motivation to stick with something is determined by your level of desire to actually accomplish the goal.

Don't get me wrong, I do love the concept. I just think this was way too light on information.