Customer Reviews

Winning Habits: 4 Secrets That Will Change the Rest of Your Life

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It never ceases to amaze me how the best teachers and philosophers can take a tremendous amount of wisdom and distill it into a compact sentence or two so it is easily remembered. In "Winning Habits" author Dick Lyles has done an excellent job of doing exactly that. A whole philosophy of life is distilled down into just four sentences which, when they become habits, will propel you forward in life no matter what your goals.

The book doesn't read like a typical self-help book but like a fictional work. The reader sees life through the eyes of Albert and Jennifer as she gets regular promotions at work and he is left wondering why he does not. Albert works hard and does his job well but he keeps getting passed over for promotions. His emotional despair over the situation leads him on a search for answers. The end result is a journey into discovering how to be a success at anything you want in life. Through the storyline Mr. Lyles clearly shows the reader not only the secrets to success but also exactly how to use them to change your life. No complex philosophy or convoluted ideas here, just plain simple truths of life. "Winning Habits: 4 Secrets that Will Change the Rest of Your Life" is a highly recommended read.

This amazing self help book seems to answer Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson and Kenneth H. Blanchard being Dr. Covey of Seven Habits fame. Dick Lyles uses fictional characters to bring across his messages that will remind readers of a cross between the two books above. The characters Albert and Jennifer make it much simpler for readers to follow, apply and adhere to Mr. Lyles four not so secret guidelines through their trials and tribulations that will enable the user to improve his or her group dynamics. The secret foursome is obvious yet often ignored whether it is on the job, with family, or with a social religious group. Mr. Lyles suggests the "winning habits" that successful people foster are

- "Be first on, last off, and add extra value" - If you fail to add worth why does the group need you. My spouse always talks about negative man-hours and vampire employees sucking the energy and time of teammates. Don't be one.
- "Never trade results for excuses" - Don't rationalize failure, go out and get the job done.
- "Solve problems in advance" - Be active not reactive.
- "Always make those around you look good" - People will want you on their team if you help make the group look good and not just hog the glory.

WINNING HABITS: 4 SECRETS THAT WILL CHANGE THE REST OF YOUR LIFE is fun to read due to the parable writings that are easy to use in business, in the community and at home. Now if I can find myself a team, I can double my review production.

Harriet Klausner

Someone in my office suggested I read this book. Consequently, I have not only read it but suggested it to several other colleagues. It is now circulating throughout our office, and everyone can't stop talking about how effective the 4 habits which Lyles suggests are. People tend to take the workplace for granted and Lyles reinforces fundamental priciples which will help people create a positive and more beneficial environment for everyone, not only in the office but in life as well! I can't wait to read the prequel, Winning Ways!

Winning Habits wraps the 4 habits it talks about in a parable. The good news is the parable is easy to follow and helps to gets the habits across. Better yet the author provides suggestions in the parable for introducing these habits into you daily routie so they stick and take root.

Here are the 4 winning habits. They seem to be very common sense, but in reality how many really do these things on a regular basis with discipline?

1. Be first on, last off and add extra value

2. Never trade results for excuses

3. Solve problems in advance (good problem solving approach in this section)

4. Always make those around you look good.

There are some really good templates that are highly leveragible from this book. In fact the templates are really the value of the book, since they are tools to allow you use the template to reach life change. The problem solving template in the Solve problems in advance section is excellent and the format for recording what was done well and what could be improved makes a lot of sense.

Although this book is categorized in the business sections of bookstores, I found it extremely valuable as a junior high school teacher. Teachers must interact with all kinds of people. As I continue to deveop relationships with parents, faculty and students, I will now be able to use this worthwhile advice and continue to develop winning habits! This book was fun, easy to read and easy to understand! Now, after identifying with Albert and Jennifer, I can apply their lessons to my own life!

This book is a very helpful tool for developing a good work ethic. I manage a company and I'm making this required reading for all employees. I read Winning Ways and this was equally as helpful. Can't wait for the next one.

This book was by far the best book I've read in the past ten years. I read a lot of books and some make a difference in my life and some don't. No other book has had as much impact on my life as WINNING HABITS. It reminded me to get back to some very basic principles I thought I had outgrown, and taught me a few new secrets as well.
In WINNING HABITS Dick Lyles reminds us that there are certain behaviors we should never outgrow and that by making them a permanent part of who we are, we can virtually guarantee success even in the most trying of times. I highly recommend this book to anyone of any age, but I especially recommend it as a graduation gift. It may prove to have more compounded value over the years than any other gift you can give. You'll be giving the gift of timeless wisdom.

The 4 "secrets" are helpful, I guess I'm just not used to the story delivery. Made me feel like I was in elementary school. Otherwise, helpful.

Dick Lyles has done it again, proving he truly is one of the top parable writers of our time! The purpose of a parable is to reveal universal and timeless truths through stories and characters that capture the reader's imagination. WINNING HABITS presents a thoroughly enjoyable story with truths that are especially relevant to our generation. Although some readers may feel as though they've heard some of these lessons before (that's often the way it is with universal truths), a fun and interesting reminder presented in this easy-to-read format will benefit all. In my opinion, we simply don't get enough of this kind of reinforcement in the hectic, high-pressure world we work in today.
To combat this pressure our team got together and ordered copies for everyone on our team. We're also giving them as gifts for valued customers and vendors. It's a great way to nurture our relationships on a positive footing. The outcome is that we often talk and kid each other about the habits in a way that helps build meaningful comraderie.
I highly recommend this book to anyone but especially to people who, like the main character Albert, are early in their careers and looking for ways to develop a competitive edge. I've personally seen the difference these secrets make and know from experience they can help everybody.