Customer Reviews

Three Feet from Gold: Turn Your Obstacles into Opportunities! (Think and Grow Rich)

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The book reminded me in some ways of the One Minute Manager books. Rather than simply laying out the content in a text book format or a series of short anecdotes, it's written as a novel. What I love about this style of teaching is that it is both educational and entertaining. Once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. Stories are generally easier for people to remember than mere facts.

In this story, a man named Greg is going through personal adversity in his business and his personal life. Greg meets a super-successful businessman, Jonathon Buckland. During his personal journey, he meets with a series of real life successful men and women who share their secrets of success--particularly the value of persistence through adversity.

While the story is fictional, most of the people he meets along the way are real people with real lessons that they have learned from their own experiences. This helps bring the ideas and lessons they share out of the "ivory tower" of theory and into the real world of everyday men and women.

I liked the way the main character has very real and contemporary problems, but learns how to overcome them with positive persistence and a commitment to self-improvement. As a big fan of Napoleon Hill, I loved the way Hill's teachings are woven into the story. While Greg receives a helping hand from his friends, it's clear that the reason they are helping him is because the gradual improvement in his own attitude and a sincere desire to help improve the lives of other people.

I believe that a great book is worth more than it's weight in gold. That is because wisdom and relationships are more valuable than money. Wise thought is the "stuff" that is used to create wealth and success. One of the points made in the book is that "you're the same today as you will be in five years except for two things: the people you meet and the books you read."

I think that with the adversity that many people are experiencing today, the message from "Three Feet From Gold" is especially timely. Keep moving forward. Keep growing and learning. Serve others with sincerity. Consistently and persistently apply the proven, timeless principles of success and you can achieve your goals.

Since you're reading this review, you are clearly thinking about getting this book. Go ahead, buy it, read it, study it. You won't be disappointed.

Before writing this review, I did something I very rarely do; I went in and read a few of the other reviews. I purposely don't do that because I don't want the other reviews to influence my own words, but I had already made up my mind on what I wanted to say and something caught my eye in the reviews. So anyway, THREE FEET FROM GOLD, by Sharon Lechter and Greg Reid has some mixed reviews, to say the least.

I'm going to give some credibility to the nay-sayers first. It is quite a stretch to believe that a total stranger, after a one-time meeting of only a few minutes, would put up thousands of dollars of their own money to send someone on such a pilgrimage as what is described here. I love parables, but even as parables go, that is a bit of a stretch. So we can certainly settle on this; the story is a little hoaky and more than a little unbelievable.

Now, putting that aside, let's look at the content and relevance of this book. The book begins by taking it's namesake from the story Napoleon Hill tells of in "Think and Grow Rich" about R.U. Darby, the man who sold his gold mine to a junk dealer, only to learn later that he was only 3 feet from a major vein. The moral being, never give up, you may only be 3 feet from gold.

From this lesson, the subject of the story, Greg, goes on a once in a million lifetimes journey to meet some of the most incredible mentors and successes of our time. The cast of characters in this portion of the "parable" are 100% real, their stories are real, and their message is real.

If you destroy books the way I do, you'll end up with highlights, underlines, arrows and margin notes of virtually every page. The cast of mentors is broad and obviously a lot of work went into gathering this information. The story may not be all that, but the information contained within the story is worth it's weight in gold.

If you judge your reading material solely on the basis of believability, you will be disappointed here. But if you judge your reading material on the value of the content, then you want this on your "must read" list. From that aspect of it, this is one of the best books I've read this year. If you're looking for a great story, read "To Kill a Mockingbird". If you're looking for a great message, read this book.

This book gives the personal success secrets of how a number of people have achieved success. It's not written like a text book. It's not lecturing you. It's telling you in story form how to succeed. I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking the ability to persevere. Having lived 89 years, I've seen in a lifetime how perseverance and determination pays off. I think so highly of this book that I bought 2 copies; 1 for each of my grandchildren.

F Crerie (Phoenix)

In 1937, Napoleon Hill wrote the classic Think and Grow Rich after spending twenty years interviewing the wealthiest and most successful men of his time. Although this book is still as applicable today as it was when it was written, Greg S. Reid felt the need to update some of this wisdom, accounting for changes that have happened since Napoleon Hill's day.

In Three Feet From Gold Reid and his co-author Sharon Lechter share the success secrets of some of today's business leaders. Don Green, CEO of the Napoleon Hill Foundation, assisted and supported this venture in carrying on its founder's tradition.

Although it's told as a story, with several fictional characters added to give it some depth, the wisdom Reid and Lechter impart in this book are profound. Nuggets like "A dream is just a dream until it is written down -- then it becomes a goal" and "Never make a major decision in a valley" are scattered throughout the text, as the main character learns from his new mentors.

Nothing can ever take the place of Hill's classic work, but Three Feet From Gold is an inspiring book that picks up where Think and Grow Rich leaves off. This new classic belongs in every positive thinker's library.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

I heard about the release of Three Feet From Gold last weekend. I picked it up on Tuesday and read it cover-to-cover on my flight from Minneapolis to Los Angeles on Wednesday. This insightful book captures the key points of Think and Grow Rich and is a terrific refresher. And while the principles of Think and Grow Rich are timeless, the style of writing and examples are understandably a bit dated for today's readers. Three Feet From Gold is written for 2009 -- it is the right book at the right time. You will learn and be inspired as you find encouragement and ideas to persist in the pursuit of your professional dreams. The challenging economic times have created doubt and difficulty for many entrepreneurs. Sharon Lechter and Greg Reid share principles and wisdom from some of the most impressive entrepreneurs and business leaders today, reinforcing and expanding on the Think and Grow Rich concepts. The ideas I received for further improving my own business and myself were invaluable. Thank you for this wonderful book. I am motivated and energized to take my business to a whole new level. I loved Three Feet From Gold and recommend it highly.

Let me first say that I've NEVER read a book in a day!!! As an aspiring leader in my direct sales company, I've often been told to read my way to success and having read Think and Grow Rich, The Magic of Thinking Big and other motivational books, NONE of which laid out the plan as directly as Three Feet from Gold!! I picked the book up at 8am Thursday morning and finished the entire book by midnight the same evening. I was so thrilled that I reached out to Greg personally to offer the readings as part of my leadership training in March of this year and can you believe his answer was YES!!! There is something special about knowing just how close we've all come to quitting. This book has helped me to stay focused on what my life's soul purpose is and that is to enrich the lives of people I meet and to help them fulfill their own soul purpose.

Thanks Greg and Sharon for your inspiration and the humor that was also included in the text. To you both, I am forever grateful. Warmest, Chiezda Washington

So, I unloaded about $100,000 on my son's college education. He was a business major with a focus on entrepreneurial studies. Of course, like a lot of kids, after graduation a few months ago he wasn't sure what to do and so a soft couch and the TV looked pretty inviting. I heard about this book and gave it to him, and it really inspired him. He now has landed three jobs, including a gig as a ski instructor out in Colorado. That's his passion, and the book got him to realize that with some effort he could make some money out of his passion. So, for my money this book works! it's an entertaining read, and it has valuable information on every page. The success formula is one of the simplest and most useful things I've ever read in a self-help book.

While reading Three Feet from Gold, I kept highlighting the quotes Greg and Sharon shared that I could use in my everyday life. Messages of not quitting, rising up to the challenge and succeeding in life! The leaders of today shared amazing knowledge and insights of life that is useful today, especially in the current economy. A must read for most all of us, would also make a great holiday present for that special someone. Very quick and enjoyable read - two thumbs up!

If you read Think and Grow Rich, you'll enjoy this read, and if you haven't read Think and Grow Rich, you'll enjoy this read.

The authors have tied facts, real people, fiction and time tested principles of perseverance into a well done story about changed lives.

Those of us who don't know when to quit will love this book because it will fuel our fires, those don't persevere so well can gain some insight.

I gave the book four stars because;
1. it reads well and has a great story line
2. I believe the authors did a fair job accomplished their objectives with the book
3. it is a book I'll recommend
4. it is likely a book I'll purchase for selected others
5. I like the historical fiction aspect



To that end.....

Though the principles of Napoleon Hill's classic "Think and Grow Rich" are timeless, Greg Reid and Sharon Lechter update his examples and interviews. Consulting entrepreneurs, athletes, scientists, and poor kids who made good, the authors rebuild the frank truths and incisive advice that have kept Hill's original in print for over seventy years. But as valuable as these pointers are, I'm distracted by the authors' intrusive storytelling format.

This book is written in the form of a novel, in which Greg Reid, at the end of his rope, finds an unlikely mentor in a local business mogul. Suddenly gifted with a mission at his lowest ebb, Greg dives headlong into discovering what lets some people succeed. But he finds his own struggle to write and publish his book as much of a Napoleon Hill story as anything from his interview subjects.

Our authors' points about determination, high standards, perseverance, attitude, association, and more, are all well taken. Though they seem like common sense ("Find and use your advantage or someone will take it away"), but as the authors admit, the difference between success and failure isn't necessarily in what you know, it's how you use your knowledge. This book urges you to learn, and then to actually use what you learn out in the larger world.

Much as I appreciate the pointers, the novelistic format actually makes reading tough. Our authors are not novelists. Their invented dialog is awkward, and the verbal gymnastics they employ to avoid the word "said" are really weird. I understand that they mean to present their subjects in the most human light, but I'd prefer a straight interview transcript intercut with essays distilling the most important points. That would be far more readable.

But if you can see past this single limitation, this book will provide you the advice you need. Even if wealthisn't your greatest goal, it helps you set your sights on what really matters to you. Hill's original came out in 1937, at the height of the Great Depression, so this sequel, blessed with the same intelligence and spirit, also has the same timing. If you need help setting and reaching your goals, or just want more meaning in your life, give this book a try.