Your Own Worst Enemy: Breaking the Habit of Adult Underachievement (Hardcover)

by Kenneth W. Christian (Author) "I was driving home from my friend Mark's wedding weekend after spending the night with his family..." (more)
Key Phrases: demand avoiders, procrastinate right, specific operating instructions, All-out Push, Maximum Potential Project, Fifteen Tasks (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
"Underachiever, and proud of it," read millions of Bart Simpson T-shirts in the early 1990s. But lots of adults aren't proud of their underachiever status, and Kenneth W. Christian has written Your Own Worst Enemy: Breaking the Habit of Adult Underachievement to help them overcome this habit. People who have a fear of failure and commitment, organizational difficulties or a tendency to misjudge success's demands will benefit from Christian's 15-step program, which focuses on visualizing and achieving goals. Christian is the founder of the Maximum Potential Project, an organization designed to help underachievers, and his book offers case studies and tried-and-true advice.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Christian does a good job describing self-defeating behaviors and pep-talking readers through groundwork for defeating them..." -- Mike Maza, Dallas Morning News, November 17, 2002

"People who have a fear of failure and commitment, organizational difficulties or a tendency to misjudge...demands will benefit..." -- Publisher's Weekly, September, 2002

"This is a life-changing, life-saving book. [It] is the best self-help book I have seen in...20 years..." -- John Porter, Gallery, Virginia National Public Radio

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 286 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1 edition (October 8, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060393920
• ISBN-13: 978-0060393922
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #730,518 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I've been meaning to read this, May 26, 2004

By	L. Garcia (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

And when I finally did, I have to say I learned a lot. The part that frightened me was his descriptions of different types of procrastinators. I saw myself using a variety of delay tactics. I had to put down the book and compose myself.

Chapter 4 was probably the most difficult to get through. It was a little too "text bookish" for me and didn't make all that much sense. As a recovering procrastinator, I almost used this chapter as my reason to justify quitting. I've completed most of the activities and found areas that I needed to drastically change or explore further. It has been a very good experience.

There were a few negatives about the book. This includes Chapter 4 and the many errors in writing. Some editor should be put on probation. One of the examples referred to someone named Litton and in the very next paragraph and a few pages later he was named Lifton. And why people write 280 page books on how to stop procrastinating is beyond me... A good summary at the end of each chapter with the main points would have been helpful for going back to review. The 15 Tasks were helpful, but close to the end of the book he summarizes 10 of them. What happened to the other 5? Are they not that important? Plus, at the end of the book he talks of meditation and few other things... He hadn't mentioned these throughout the book! The book appeared to be pieced together rather than one cohesive piece of work.

Again, the information was very helpful, but someone please have a talk with the editor.

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that will make a difference for anyone., October 23, 2002

By	Susan Froemke (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews

I love this book and have found it of great value. Until I read "Your Own Worst Enemy" I'd never seen the phenomenon of underachievement so clearly identified and explained. So often creative people fail to corral their gifts and use them in a productive way. I've encountered talented people who begin to make a film, but when they run into a few obstacles or get scared, they give up, and inevitably become bitter.

Dr. Christian's analysis of the reasons why people don't fulfil their potential and his practical suggestions for
re-orientation are excellent. He's absolutely right when he speaks of the pitfalls that can still occur even after you meet with success. He tells Stacy's story: how she would always derail herself. But then she applied his exercises and got herself on track, cultivating her deepest interests. This led to her making a documentary film. Along the way, she was filled with exhilaration but also with fear. What if she failed? But she didn't bail out; she kept working hard and along the way got offers of help. For the first time in her life, she was taken seriously as an artist.

This book shows that change is truly possible and tells you how you can bring it about if you follow the specifics. It's inspiring: you learn that it's never too late to break old, negative habits and consciously form fresh, productive ones. He offers a concrete guide that anyone can apply: sensible, unique, in-depth exercises for jump-starting your career.

I think this book is useful for everyone. Whether you're just starting out or have hit a roadblock, this book makes you ponder your unique answers to essential questions: "What do I really respond to? What gives me joy and passion?" I recommend this book to anyone who has a dream but whose self-defeating habits have interfered with making it come true.

Susan Froemke
Chief Administrator and Principal Filmmaker
Maysles Film Inc.

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally! Someone who knows what hes talking about., October 18, 2002

By	Jon D. Lindjord "wally235" (Tampa, FL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book from Amazon.com at the recommendation of a lifelong friend who has done her best over the years to shake me out of my comfortable lethargy of just "getting by". While I have never doubted the sincerity of her support or her good will, I always harbored the secret pride/shame that my failure to grab life and make the most of it was unique to me -- special, since no one else was really in my situation.

Dr. Christian has ripped the lid off my complacent excuses in his compassionate and wonderfully compelling book. While I have always found a kind of perverse satisfaction in excusing my unwillingness to truly engage in my own life, at the same time I have always felt a pervasive disappointment in my failure to do so.

For the first time since I was young, I have the feeling that it may not be too late for me to accomplish some of the things that I at first "put off" and then did my best to convince myself (and those around me -- except for my friend) were beyond my reach.

What I liked most in reading Dr. Christian's book was his down to earth humility in relating recent incidents from his own life to the principles he espouses.