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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Quotational, February 19, 2003
During my last battle with procrastination, lethargy and anger at not making headway upon my goals, I purchased Peter McWilliams book "Do It!". I had reached a point where I was stagnant, and hoped that this book might do like the title suggest and get me off my butt. The book looks huge, clocking in at over 500 pages, but don't let that fool you. It is barely half of that because there must be 300 quotes blocked out throughout the text. I read the introduction and became interested in what McWilliams had to say.McWilliams breaks the book up into six larger sections full of small chapters. He tackles his topic quickly and abundantly. The book begins by explaining the reasons why we procrastinate, working through finding a goal, achieving that goal, and what to do after the goal has been achieved. The most helpful section to me was the first as he explains the reasons why many of us do not achieve our goals. His belief is that going against our comfort zone is the hardest thing to do, and it is this comfort zone that prefers us to procrastinate. I think that the book is above average in motivating you. McWilliams has a way of writing that excites you to the point where you think you can do what you need to accomplish your goals (even if finding a goal is your goal). He provides tips to help you achieve your goal, like needing to work on your goal two hours a day. He uses a handful of exercises to help you identify your goal, but otherwise there is not much interaction for the reader. He also provides a lot of quotes. Some may find quotes motivational. I found them entertaining. There are more quotes than just those that appear in boxes. McWilliams tends to write by using a quote, and then interpreting it and expanding on it to get his point across. So, you need to like quotes before reading this book. I feel like I got something out of this book. It's not the best motivational book, as it didn't make me dive into achieving my goal, but it did get me to think about my goal and what I need to do about it. It also gave me ways to combat the comfort zone. Overall, I think if you have strayed slightly from your goal this book will help you get back on track, or if you are looking for a goal to pursue it may help you identify one.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally!, September 2, 2001
I have read a lot of self-help books, but this is the first one that actually helped.First off, I would say DO THE EXCERCISES!!! There aren't many of them, they are simple -- though not easy. They force you to focus, to confront yourself and your assumptions about your life. The main thing I took away from this book was a more realistic outlook. The world does not owe you a thing. As Mark Twain said, "The world doesn't owe you anything; it was here first." I think a lot of people are like me -- it's not that we don't have any dreams -- it's that we have too many. this leads to a sense of not having enough time. It's like being in the perfect library -- there are so many books you want to read, you have a hard time decding which one to start with. Our dreams are often like that. What is needed is a plan. What do you really want to read. Not, I want to read Moby Dick, and then Madame Bovary... the trick, when confronted with too many choices, is to find a more overarching dream -- I want to have read the best American Novels of the 19th Century. Then, as sad as it may make you feel, you drop Madame Bovary. BUT that doen't mean you cvan't come back later. The trick is to START! Often you will find that when you pursue one dream, other dreams you had take care of themselves in the process. Buy this book. It's a quick read -- even with the excercises, and you will come away with a sense that it really is never too late, and that with work, your dreams are possible.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Arms you with the motivation to do it!, January 13, 2001
I spend a lot more time reading about how I should go about achieving my dreams, rather than actually achieving them. I have read a disgusting amount of self-help books in the area of motivation and realising and making dreams come true. And here I am, in the process, but perhaps taking more time to make them come true than is really necessary.This is the be all and end all of motivation books. The research that has gone into this piece, the endless and inpsiring quotes, the humour of the authors and the fabulous and down-to-earth method in which the book is written make it the finest of thousands of books on the same topic. Perhaps there is nothing really new in this book that you won't find elsewhere, but the authors work to make the readers realise their power, and the possiblity of their dreams. Granted, I am not one to carry out time consuming exercises in discovering my true passion, which this book contains a few of. I personally have never had the patience for them (perhaps the very reason my dreams are not yet a reality) but I believe they are important, and the authors present them in a way that simplifies the process of motivation. I found this book to be astonishingly good, wonderfully presented and researched, simple, and inspiring, much like 'You can't afford the luxury of a negative thought', another of their impassioned and humourous pieces. I feel like going out there and doing it right now; working to make my dreams come true, and after reading Do It!, I know it is not as hard as I have been led to believe. I cannot recommend this book enough.
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by Peter McWilliams
