Dash (Paperback)

~ Eric Aronson (Author) "Recently, while eating at a buffet restaurant, I was struck by the similarities between the buffet and life itself..." (more)
Key Phrases: most remarkable person, fairy godfather, Disney World, Dead Sea, Abraham Lincoln (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Reading a book will not change your life, but using the DASH principles will invoke a sense of purpose that will add value to your life, the kind of life that money can't buy. DASH is based on the principles of Dedication, Attitude, Success, and Happiness, and shows the reader how to apply these attributes to their daily lives.

From the Publisher

Eric J. Aronson, CEO of Dash Systems, Inc. and author of DASH, which stands for determination, attitude, success and happiness, realized his life had spun out of control one night while he was serving his prison sentence, staring at an empty wall and thinking about the shame his three children must have felt for carrying his last name.

"My turning point came in an instant. It happened on June 20, 2000 at 12:06 am in my cell," says Aronson. "At that moment, I realized I had two choices: live or die. I thought about my obligations as a father and a husband. I thought about all the ways my life had spiraled out of control. I said to myself, ‘don’t give up. Life is short. I had better make it count.’"

. . . and he did. For the rest of his sentence, Aronson read over 600 books and gleaned the most valuable traits out of great leaders and motivators like Mother Theresa and Phil Jackson. He lost 60 pounds and dropped his smoking, drinking and gambling habits. He thought about the things in his own life that had worked for him and the things that did not, the ways in which he had succeeded and the ways he had failed. All of this, he compiled into a book called DASH, intended to motivate others to make the most of their time on earth.

As a child, Aronson was very troubled. He suffered from ADHD, endured sexual abuse by his therapist, lost his mother to cancer and was voted "Most Likely NOT to Succeed" by his high school guidance counselor. After high school, he worked odd jobs until he stumbled upon a career in stock brokerage. Soon, his life began to take off. He was making big money and driving Lamborghini’s. He gambled with Hollywood celebrities and became CEO of three separate companies. He also made several individuals in one of his companies millionaires.

But Aronson could not keep up this lifestyle for long. He soon found himself "borrowing from Peter to pay Paul" without worrying about the consequences. At 31, he was indicted for criminal conspiracy, securities fraud and wire fraud in connection with his role in the fraudulent sale of shares in one of his companies and went on to spend three years in prison.

Aronson is now a life coach, motivational speaker and author. When not conducting one-on-one coaching sessions for his company, Dash Systems, Inc., Eric travels across the country delivering the message behind DASH so others can benefit from the principles that have changed his life.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 215 pages
• Publisher: Synergy Books (May 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974764450
• ISBN-13: 978-0974764450
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #957,807 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Will Never Be the Same!, July 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Dash (Paperback)

I will never be the same after reading this book. I've read (or at least, tried to read) a few motivational books in the past but from the first chapter, this one was different.

First of all, the author is not one of those blow-dried, air-brushed guys you might see on QVC. He's a real guy who's had some real problems and some real successes. All throughout the book I kept thinking, "If this guy can do it, so can I!"

That being said, the author is no country bumpkin. You don't have to go through many chapters before you realize that this guy knows his stuff. In the book, he mentions that he has read hundreds of books in the area of personal development and it shows. He doesn't just spout out useless slogans and mantras but he backs them up with statistics and real-life examples. Obviously, this guy earned his Ph.D. from the university of hard knocks.

Another thing I liked about the book is that it gives practical tips that you can start using immediately. For example, he gives a tip on time management that I've already implemented and believe me, it works!

However, the best thing for me was that the book was a much needed wake-up call for me to make the most out of my "dash." From the introduction, it had my mind churning and it never stopped throughout the book. I kept thinking, "Is there really more to life than what I'm living?" and the book kept answering, "Yes! And here's how to get it."

I hope my friends and family like this book because this is what they're getting for Christmas from me this year!

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Guide to Happily Achieving Your Goals, December 23, 2003

By	Professor Donald Mitchell "Jesus Makes Me a P... (Boston) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Dash (Paperback)

I came to Dash with high expectations. I enjoy reading books by those who have turned their lives around, and often feel inspired by their stories. The book was also highly recommended to me.

The book opens with Linda Ellis's Dash poem which describes a eulogy at a funeral focusing on the "dash" between the dates of birth and death. The idea is to make the most of our time on Earth. It's a nice touch.

Mr. Aronson goes on to turn that concept of a dash into an acronym for a way to improve your life: Live with Determination, Attitude, Success and Happiness. The book contains 28 brief chapters that detail those four principles. The chapters employ a number of stories to get across the major points. A particular strength of the book is that Mr. Aronson emphasizes that we will all face hurdles, and provides lots of information about how to get over the hurdles when they arrive.

Several things bothered me about the book, though. First, the material is very derivative. I had either read or heard almost every story in the book before. Second, the stories were often slightly altered in careless ways. Third, attribution was often not provided to the original sources. As an example of this problem, there's a story about riding in a subway car while a man lets his children run wild. That's a story from The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Dr. Steven Covey. Although Dr. Covey is given credit for another story, this one is unattributed. In the story, the person who observes this is a woman . . . although in the real story, the person is Dr. Covey. Rather than read such an inaccurate derivative story without attribution, I would rather have heard more about what Mr. Aronson had learned from his life's experiences. Fourth, the book is filled with typos and misspellings. "Disneyworld" is employed rather than Disney World. In another place "bed" is used where "bad" is intended. In a section on the benefits of hiring Mr. Aronson's firm to coach you, he talks about his top "coahces" at Dash Systems. Fifth, the book ends with a pitch for coaching services from his firm. Although he kindly offers the first session for free, I don't like to read books that end up with an advertisement for their services.

I was also troubled a little by having the book conform to the acronym. My own thinking has led me to see that life evolves best when we focus first on health, then happiness, then peace and finally on prosperity. Without health, happiness is potentially more limited. Without happiness, we cannot find peace. Without health, happiness and peace, we have a hard time creating and sustaining prosperity in serving others. Dash puts happiness at the end of the chain. I'm not sure it belongs there.

Although Mr. Aronson may be sincere in his approach to helping readers, I came away with the feeling that he is either not very competent or is not totally sincere. As a result, the book did not motivate me to want to change anything in my life. I hope in future editions, he will correct the flaws in this book, inject more of himself and clarify his sincere desire to help the reader.

If you like this book, I suggest that you read any of Tony Robbins's books. Much of this material comes from Mr. Robbins in unattributed ways, and Mr. Robbins's books are very motivational.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Principles to live by!!!, July 24, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Dash (Paperback)

Finally something worth reading!! With the fast paced society that we live in, it can be easy to get wrapped up and forget about what is important and especially how to stay in touch with ourselves. This book has changed my life. I never realized that something as obvious as the DASH principles, Determination, Attitude, Success, and Happiness was what I was lacking in my life. I had the power to grasp these concepts all along and now, thanks to this book, I have learned how. It was so inspiring to read how an ordinary guy was able to take charge of his life when he was at the bottom and rise to the top with such pride and confidence that so many of us lack. The author made it very easy to relate to his story and see things from his point of view. The power to change our lives is within all of us, but until now I never understood how simple it actually was. I would recommend this book to anyone. It has made such an impact in my life, I can't wait to pass it on.