Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
`Your brain, much like the rest of you, has fundamental needs.', August 19, 2010
This review is from: The Winner's Brain: 8 Strategies Great Minds Use to Achieve Success (Hardcover)
What enables some people to succeed in life, while others simply survive? Is our maximum potential predetermined, or do we have the capacity to push beyond what we perceive to be our limitations? The authors of this book say that the workings of the brain make the difference, and that it is possible to train the brain to perform at a higher level. How? By identifying and employing the same strategies as high-achieving individuals use to overcome obstacles and reach their goals.
Perhaps the key message is that `the brain is active and subject to change no matter what you do'. This provides an opportunity: `what sets the owner of a Winner's Brain apart is the desire and the know-how to take charge of the process.' The authors have identified five `BrainPower Tools' commonly used by successful people: seeing opportunities where others don't (`Opportunity Radar'); accurately gauging and being willing to take risks (`Optimal Risk Gauge'); being able to stay focussed on a goal (`Goal Laser'); possessing the energy to take action (`Effort Accelerator'); and being able to accurately assess one's strengths and weaknesses (` Talent Meter').
Of course, we don't all share the same goals, and we will each have different definitions of success. But whatever your goals, it is likely that one or more of the eight strategies listed below will provide the keys to greater achievement. The eight strategies ( `win factors' ) are: self awareness; motivation; focus; emotional balance; memory; resilience; adaptability and brain care. In this book, the authors give examples of how each strategy works and share techniques to enhance brain function. The theory is strengthened by the inclusion of stories such as: London cabbies who have increased the size of their hippocampus by memorising city routes; a teenage chess master whose memory of previous games enabled him to predict where a game was going; and a rock star turned rock climbing instructor turned medical student.
All of this is geared to make you believe that change is possible - if you are seeking it - and if you are prepared to make some changes to achieve it.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
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35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book!, April 21, 2010
This review is from: The Winner's Brain: 8 Strategies Great Minds Use to Achieve Success (Hardcover)
I recently picked up a copy of The Winner's Brain at the bookstore and didn't realize it was so new. I was particularly interested in the approach - combining psychology with neuroscience and putting it in practical terms and accessible language. I wasn't viewing it as a self-help/success book and probably wouldn't have picked it up if I was. I expected to pick up some helpful tips that I could incorporate into my life but was more interested in the science behind it.
The book is so much more than I expected it to be. Unlike other success/self-help style books that provide you with a program and tell you to follow it and all your dreams will come true, this book is organized in such a way that it allows me to cherry-pick. After reading the book and understanding what elements constitute a Winner's Brain, I went back and reviewed the chapters and concerns that I felt applied most to me. Everything is well laid-out and straightforward. It's not filled with rhetoric. There's science behind the program and that makes it all the more compelling. I really like the wide array of individuals whom they interviewed for the book. It speaks to me that they don't define winners as people who achieve monetary or athletic success and it makes you realize how the book back help me ain so many areas of my life.
At the end of the day, the effectiveness of any program depends on your level of commitment and belief. The book pushed all the right buttons for me. It's great. I'd recommend it for anyone who needs a little lift or is even just interested in the brain science like I thought I was.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
One the one hand I loved it, on the other...., October 15, 2010
I'm in two minds about this book. On the one hand I loved it and certainly got my money worth but, on the other I didn't learn anything of practical use that was new. Maybe that's an unfair statement since for years I have been a keen study of these types of books, and I am a demanding reader.
Back to the positive, this book was really well written and very interesting. I thought all the "tools" and "win factors" were very valid and certainly would help someone move towards success (see the table of contents for a summary). There were no Ra-Ra moments, instead there were solid and convincing scientific arguments which were new to me.
This discussion on what functional MRI's (and other studies) show about brain functioning were fascinating and really helped to illustrate and support the points made. They went into the right level of detail, good solid discussions without getting too long. As an example, I already knew that labelling emotions helped to calm myself down but I didn't understand why. The book gives an interesting discussion of a study showing how labelling emotions calmed down the amygdalae while brain areas involved controlling behaviour lit up. To quote "By simply labelling what they were feeling with words, they were better able to control the parts of their brain responsible for overreaction and call upon greater neural resources to help them stay in Emotional Balance'.
The other aspect I liked were the examples of people who demonstrate the "win factors" eg Whoopi Goldberg "the Queen of Resilience". Typically I don't enjoy these types of digressions, but they we un-usually well written and well integrated in this book.
If this is an area that is at all new to you, I would highly recommend this book.
For those of you like me it's still a useful book. It is a great re-cap and maintains interest due to the new discussions regarding brain function. I personally got an unexpected benefit from reading it. I am currently in a very long term project and I have been aware that I've recently lost my way/motivation. While reading this book and revising the "win factors" I realised that I have not been applying what I already knew to that particular project. Since reading this book I've started to apply the strategies and now it's all back on track.
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