YOU CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN: A NINE-STEP PLAN FOR SUCCESS CASSETTE (Simon and Schuster Sound Ideas) [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Stedman Graham (Author)

Book Description

Series: Simon and Schuster Sound Ideas | Publication Date: March 1, 1997

Oprah Winfrey calls Stedman Graham, "a pillar of support in my life, not only in our relationship, but also as a trusted advisor."

To see Stedman Graham today, it may be hard to envision a time when he was held back by self-doubt. But he was.

He grappled, also, with his share of daunting obstacles to the success he has worked at length to enjoy. Graham explains, "You are not your circumstances; you are your possibilities". Drawing candidly on his experience as a professional athlete, Graham reveals his nine-step plan for success through revealing anecdotes from his own life and the experiences of others, explaining how the negative effects of a poor self-image can be incapacitating at worst, and limiting at best.

Step by step, "You Can Make It Happen" tells you how to:

Decide who you are

Create a vision

Take the high road even if it is the hard road

Build your support team

Step out of your comfort zone

Commit to your vision

An inspirational as well as instructional book, "You Can Make It Happen" is a moving message of hope from a compelling new voice in our culture.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Motivational tips from a renowned minority business leader?and Oprah's once and future love.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Stedman Graham is best known for being Oprah Winfrey's boyfriend. Even he knows that, and it bugged him for a long time. But Graham, a businessman and civic leader, got beyond that designation just as he got beyond the difficult times in his life. Born into a working-class minority family and teased about the mental difficulties of his two younger brothers, Graham hoped to be an NBA star but never made it quite that far in professional sports. But when the going got rough . . . well, you know the rest. His secret, revealed here in detail, is a nine-step plan for success whose precepts are familiar from the works of numerous other motivational authors. Graham is articulate, and his book will provoke readers of all backgrounds to take a look at their own lives and perhaps adapt the author's blueprint for success. With so many personal anecdotes, the book functions as autobiography as well as motivational guide. And yes, Oprah makes a few appearances here but only when absolutely necessary. Ilene Cooper --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Sound Ideas (March 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671575333
• ISBN-13: 978-0671575335
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,052,337 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #88 in Books > Books on Cassette > Business > Personal Finance

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Inspiring Book For Anyone, January 2, 2001

By 

Washington Toapanta (Glendale, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: You Can Make It Happen: A Nine Step Plan for Success (Paperback)

You Can Make It Happen by Stedman Graham is a book based on improving your life by using a nine-step process that Graham developed himself. Even though this book is intended to be inspirational and motivational, I recommend it for anyone, not just people who are going through rough times and need motivation. The book was quite easy to comprehend and definitely serves it purpose. Graham used examples of his life to show the reader that he truly understands the feeling of despair, loneliness, and lack of motivation. Once Graham establishes confidence with the reader he begins to offer truly inspirational solutions and once again uses examples of his life to show that it is possible to become successful, self-motivated person.

In You Can Make It Happen, Graham describes various scenarios where lack of motivation plays a key role in the situation. What really intrigued me about You Can Make It Happen is that for every scenario Graham offered an easy to understand solution that made sense. This makes the book not only interesting and helpful, but makes it great.

For example, Graham mentions in many occasions his frequent insecurities while playing basketball professionally. He often thought that he was not playing well and suffered lapses of confidence. These lapses caused him to not take certain shots when he was open and things of that nature. Finally he concluded that he had to solve this problem. What he did is, he took shots before practice that he knew he could make. This would get him on a role and before he knew it he was making most of his shots. This gave him confidence that he needed for the game and told him that he could make the important shots in the game. So his good shooting would continue on to the game. These are the types of simple solutions that Graham gives to problems throughout the book. He emphasizes that us humans make problems seem much bigger than they really are.

Some more reasons why I feel the book is so great and Graham wrote such a great book is its clearness on messages Graham tries to get across. Graham sometimes uses techniques that at first I thought were strange, but as the book goes on I understood more and more. For example, Graham gives the reader reasons why people often get depressed and tells the reader that this is the mentality of a quitter. By calling the reader a quitter I thought Graham was going a bit too far but then I realize that Graham uses such a strong word because it wakes the reader up. The biggest reason I think this book is so great is because of its helping nature. You Can Make It Happen was written specifically to help people who suffer from low self-esteem and lack motivation but I recommend it for anyone who wants to be successful in life. This book shows you how to push yourself when you think you have nothing left in you. This book is for achievers and those who want to be. The book teaches you how to set goals for yourself but most importantly how to stay on track to achieve your goals.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book, August 20, 2004

By 

P. A Lewis "[e-mail]" (St Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: You Can Make It Happen: A Nine Step Plan for Success (Paperback)

I saw this book in a store for about $2.50 and thought to myself what could it hurt to purchase "You can make it happen". Well purchasing Mr. Graham's book turned me around to the point that I see my vision for the future and what it has to offer me. I started by purchasing a day planner and already positive results have come into my life along with some positive thinking people. There are still many areas in my life that need to grow and improve, but we have to start somewhere. I would like to thank Mr. Graham for giving me the blueprint to success.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT BOOK ON SUCCESS WHILE HAVING BALANCE IN YOURE LIFE!, December 15, 2000

By 

Mark Llewhellin (Haverfordwest, Wales, Great Britain.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: You Can Make It Happen: A Nine Step Plan for Success (Paperback)

If you want to create a better life for yourself and help others then this is the book for you! This book goes into Stedmans own story, the background he came from and the challenges he went through in his persiut of a better life. Rather than just saying "charge towards success with the blinders on" Stedman talks about keeping a balance in your life and checking who you are in the proccess. As he says in chapter 8 of his book " do not become so focused on your own journey that you cannot stop occasionally and help others along the way." It is an easy to read and down to earth book.

Mark Llewhellin (U.K)