Customer Reviews

The Student Success Manifesto

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The Student Success Manifesto is an exceptionally mature and well-thought-out look at life from the perspective of a college-attending 18 to 20-something-year-old. I have read widely in the success literature and was impressed that Mr. Simmons seems to also be. He makes excellent use of key ideas from many sources and puts them into a young person's framework.

Mr. Simmons was born with what we called an "old head" when I was young. Many people I know who are about to retire never get it together like Mr. Simmons has. That's a shame . . . because their lives could have been so much better for them and those they love.

Several qualities of this book really stood out to me. Mr. Simmons points out how you should seek to gain many different kinds of advantages (such as learning, networking, visibility, access and reputation) from every activity you seek out. Most young people don't realize that point and misdirect their efforts as a result.

Mr. Simmons also uses graphs and charts to make brilliant points much more explicit than I have seen them done by other authors in the same subject areas. Bravo! You're ahead of the older generations here.

Finally, Mr. Simmons is able to relate to a number of different kinds of life goals and explores them thoughtfully. I was very pleased to see that he emphasizes goal setting in many different ways. That's the most important thing that college students should be doing.

What are the book's weaknesses? First, the book appears to have originally been an e-book. The text refers to my soft cover copy as an e-book and mentions red lines that appear nowhere in the book. So a little copy editing was missed here. Ignore that. Second, Mr. Simmons is at his best on starting businesses. Many college students have no interest in that possibility and won't find the book to be compelling for them unless they get to near the end of the book where the paths he describes branch out quite a lot. Third, he doesn't really follow through on some of his best ideas. For example, he points out that Kinko's got started by a student. Now, I have been watching students start local copy services for years, and most of them never built a lasting business or a decent career (after having harmed both their business and their education). Why was Kinko's such a big success while tens of thousands of others wallowed in a blind alley? There would be important lessons there.

Three of my children are well along in their careers now and seem to like what they are doing. But my daughter is a college freshman. She dislikes business so this book isn't one that she would ever read. But she would surely benefit if she did.

Perhaps Mr. Simmons will write another version of this book that my daughter would like to read. I would be delighted to send her a copy. But it would be better if a friend suggested it to her.

I wish this book had been available when I was 18 and someone had given it to me.

Pick out your goals and start achieving them, no matter what age you are.

It is an unfortunate reality that authors often feel the need to talk down to students. The typical college "advice" guide is defined by condescending tips, corny humor, and a fear of offering anything more substantive then simple survival advice. Michael Simmons's Student Success Manifesto is the remedy to this sad state of affairs. Mr. Simmons offers unabashed advice, culled from years of personal experience as a phenomenal young man, on how to take control of your life. The Success Manifesto is not about how to survive as a student, but how to succeed as a young human. Reading this book gave me a jolt of inspiration, and exponentially increased my dedication to creating, in the words of Mr. Simmons, a life of passion, purpose, and prosperity. If you are still a student, this book is a must read. It won't help you get better grades. It will change your life.

Michael Simmons' THE STUDENT SUCCESS MANIFESTO is exactly what I needed right now. It reveals that success later in life does not depend on your performance in school, that many of the wealthiest and most successful businessmen and women did not do well in school. Further, there are different standards of success. Maybe your idea of success is different from that of the next person. What I appreciated the most, however, is Mr. Simmons' revelation that we are our own teachers - each individual is his own best teacher. That puts a hole in the notion that success in later life is gauged by how well you performed on your SAT test.

I also appreciated the multi-cultural aspect to Mr. Simmons' work: within the first few pages of the book he references a tribal ritual in Africa. This is not typical in books about success. Only a few pages later he references the scholastic performance of inner city African American students, noting that according to statistics African American students do not perform well in school - but that doesn't mean they aren't smart! This point resonated deeply with me because I graduated from Jefferson High School in Portland, Oregon, which is the high school with the highest percentage of African American students in the entire state - something like 70-80%. I can honestly say that in many ways I received more education from the African American student body than I did from the teachers at Jefferson High School. School, in my opinion, and I believe in the opinion Mr. Simmons expresses, tends to teach you how to follow rules, and then you graduate and realize that life itself does not follow any rules. And, by the way, school didn't teach you anything about life! On the other hand, many students at Jefferson who were African American did teach me a lot about life, and one of the few teachers at my high school who actually taught me about life was the teacher of the class on African American History, a class I was not required to take, but elected to take on my own. (And it was actually one of the only classes where I felt the teacher actually cared about his students.)

THE STUDENT SUCCESS MANIFESTO is exactly what I needed right now because lately I have been battling with regret. In a little less than a year I will turn 30, and I often regret that I did not do well in school, that I didn't study harder and didn't take the whole process more seriously. But as Mr. Simmons points out, your school performance does not really guarantee anything after school. And there are different meanings for the word "success." One type of success is happiness, and I'm relatively happy with my life.

The reader may also be interested in John Taylor Gatto's DUMBING US DOWN and Noam Chomsky's UNDERSTANDING POWER.

"Your personal growth is your core asset and therefore has the most leverage. Making a small investment in your growth can lead to extremely large dividends over time in both personal growth and your other assets." ~Michael Simmons

Michael Simmons founded his first business, Princeton WebSolutions when he was only 16. He has written numerous articles about student entrepreneurship and they have appeared in College Bound Magazine and Whizteens in Business. His unique perspective appeals to young audiences and in The Student Success Manifesto he guides students towards a success frame of mind.

The list of successful college-age individuals is worth the price of the book. He lists companies like Hershey Foods, Dell, Federal Express and Subway. There are many more examples and he also includes a list of statistics like: "Over 50% of millionaire entrepreneurs never finished college."

Some of the highlights include:

The Fifteen Endeavors
Core Challenges
Elimination of Obstacles
Competitive Advantage
Rituals you can ignore to Excel

Michael Simmons seems wise beyond his years as he explores possibility and writes about following your passion and embracing learning for personal growth. The Student Success Manifesto contains some of the best ideas I've ever seen for pursuing a life of prosperity and success. The ideas are logical, the points well organized and the format intellectually appealing.

~The Rebecca Review

The Student Success Manifesto is one of those rare books written from the perspective of a successful young adult. The valuable advice available on every page is a must read for anybody who seeks to achieve whatever they want in life. While the title of Michael's book obviously targets the younger crowd from 15-25, the strategies and concepts laid out in the book would definitely apply to all.

To top it off, each "EXTREME" concept is clearly explained and backed up with credible sources. Making the reading much more convicing compared to the other flak out there.

For those who are confused, at a loss or desperate for success. Read this book and I wish you EXTREME Success!

The Student Success Manifesto is about training your mind to think like an "Extreme Entrepreneur". It is about not settling for less and taking control of your future by making proactive decisions today. In life you need both Passion and Direction. Many youth/students have one or the other. Michael's book can help you fill in the missing link. I highly recommend this book to any all youth/students looking for an edge to achieve their goals.

I was fortunate to have received one of the first copies of this book while in Boston in July. I read it initially a year ago in ebook form and found it very valuable. I have put many of Michael's 'extreme entrepreneuer' tips to use in the mean time including shadowing and building my own business. It wouldn't surprise me if Michael ended up the next Covey, Kiyosaki, and Napoleon Hill combined. I would highly recommend this book to any person young or old, but especially those 15-25. 5 Stars!

I read this book first nearly a year ago when it was only available in digital format. I found it to be very well written and I gained many valuable tips from it. I especially liked Michael's "Extreme Entrepreneurship" theory and specific actions for success he highlights. I'd highly recommend this book to any student or recent graduate. You will not regret your purchase. I would not be surprised if Michael is the next Napoleon Hill, Stephen Covey, and Robert Kiyosaki, all rolled into one.

This book is simply incredible. For a 21 year old mind to have so much insight, is simply remarkable. Anyone who is even considering an alternate future must read this book. Michael explores the different ways to achieve success by taking the road less traveled. He backs up his information with credible sources, exquisite detail, and a vast pool of personal accomplishments. This book will change lives, and is in line to be a best seller.

As I read the Student Success Manifesto things seemed to fall into place for me. Although a cliché, it was as if the words on the page were speaking to me. Growing up, so much emphasis was placed on getting high grades to get into a good school so I could eventually get a good job. About half way through my college career I realized that there was more to life than that. I realized that I did not NEED a job, if I could create my own business. I quickly learned many lessons running my own business and through my business experiences was able to create a vision for myself. Although I went off in this direction, I felt very alone because I did not know many entpreneurs and everyone I spoke to kept telling me the same thing... go to school, get good grades and get a job and that was how my success was measured. I wish I had this book at my disposal at the time I was going through this because this book measures student success in other ways and encourages students to pursue what they are passionate about. While society tells you to pursue what society deems "normal" and "acceptable", the Student Success Manifesto encourages students to create and pursue their OWN vision.

The Student Success Manifesto points out how significant it is that students think of themselves as ME, Inc. I never really thought of it this way before but everyone understands that a business is a financial asset yet often we do not look at ourselves as an asset. This book illustrates the importance of thinking of yourself as an asset and building your Brand. The book describes many different ways to build your Brand through relationships, personal development and growth, money, health etc. I think this is one of the most important messages addressed in this Manifesto. You can build your own brand and Me, Inc. to unreachable heights through networking, building relationships and continuous self development.

The Student Success Manifesto is for the student who dares to be great. So often students have great ideas and visions which may appear as extreme endeavors. As a result, when they share these ideas with others they often receive negative feedback and are deterred from their vision. The Student Success Manifesto embraces extreme endeavors and encourages you to pursue these activities. The book shows many ways that you can leverage yourself and your assets to achieve what you want in life. In a nutshell, the Student Success Manifesto will inspire you to create your own vision, and pursue your passions which will enable you to lead a life of prosperity.