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41 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's Likely You Won't Actually DO The Work, December 7, 2011
This review is from: The Flinch (Kindle Edition)
Please know that I am biased. Julien and I wrote Trust Agents together, and we are writing another book due in 2012 together. But if you are willing to accept that I'll write this review for you, the reader, and not on behalf of Julien, my friend, then we can get along. Otherwise, skip and read what others will say. The Flinch is a book of action. As such, I'm skeptical that you, the reader, will actually do the actions that Julien recommends, even though that's the big reason to read a book like this. But, let's say for a moment that you DO step into the icy cold shower or throw your coffee mug to the ground. Let's say that you DO learn what it means to take on the difficult work of reprogramming some behaviors that have been with you since you were a child. The rewards are phenomenal. This book is brief. It is also free. But neither detail means that it's an "easy" read. Julien Smith is essentially challenging you to change your perceptions, alter your habits and reflexes, and then reap the rewards of doing this. It's a book that will push you to be brave. It's a book that challenges you to be more honest. It's a book that, if executed, will give you a chance at pushing ahead of those around you because you'll be facing everything with a much more open stance. Please prove me wrong. Please do the work. Please dare to attack your behaviors and embrace the flinch.
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34 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An unblinking look at universal fears ... and how to overcome them, December 7, 2011
This review is from: The Flinch (Kindle Edition)
What is "the flinch"? Author Julien Smith explains: "It's a reaction that brings up old memories and haunts you with them. It tightens your chest and makes you want to run. It does whatever it must do to prevent you from moving forward. ... Whatever form it takes, the flinch is there to support the status quo." Julien's thoughtful, zero-B.S., examination of this fear is well worth the download and read. The very fact he was able to give such a powerful force an instantly-recognizable name is worthy of your peepers, too. But let's not kid ourselves: Naming a fear makes it easier to identify and discuss ... but calling something "the flinch" doesn't provide much backbone in overcoming it. Thankfully, that's what the rest of Julien's ebook is about. I dare not reveal the steps Julien suggests to address and rise above the primal fear of the flinch ... or the simple yet revelatory "homework" assignments he gives readers. That stuff, you can easily discover on your own. However, I will promise that by reading The Flinch, you'll learn something about yourself ... and you might see that you have far more gumption than you ever imagined. Highly recommended.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Face your fears, December 7, 2011
This review is from: The Flinch (Kindle Edition)
Take a cold shower. Even the thought of taking a cold shower is enough to make most people experience "the flinch", according to Julien Smith in this book. The flinch is the instinct which tells you to run, the reaction which causes you to refuse a challenge and prevents you from moving forward. It urges you to avoid risk and hard work, and it pushes you to choose the safe and easy options. Some of the author's thoughts on the flinch: * The flinch is why you don't do the work that matters, and why you won't make the hard decisions.
* Over a lifetime, those who listen too much build a habit of trust and conformity.
* Avoiding the flinch withers you, like an old tree that breaks instead of bending in a storm.
* The anxiety of the flinch is almost always worse than the pain itself.
* Flinch avoidance means your everyday world becomes a corridor.
* Train yourself to flinch forward, and your world becomes a series of obstacles to overcome, instead of attacks you have to defend yourself from.
* If you aren't willing to sacrifice your comfort, you don't have what it takes to make a difference. It is hard to argue with the author's arguments. Many of our failures to act which we explain away as being part of our personality or wise choices designed to minimise risk are in fact little more than an ingrained lack of courage, a persistent failure to face up to our fears. The book provides a number of homework assignments designed to train the reader to avoid flinching, but it seems to me that the battle against flinching is one which lasts a lifetime.
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