Your Own Worst Enemy and over 360,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle – Amazon’s new wireless reading device. Learn more

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
Sorry!
X
More Buying Choices
55 used & new from $0.01
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Your Own Worst Enemy: Breaking the Habit of Adult Underachievement
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book
Start reading Your Own Worst Enemy on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

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

~ (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...)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
List Price: $24.95
Price: $19.96 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $4.99 (20%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Only 1 left in stock--order soon (more on the way).

Want it delivered Tuesday, November 10? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
17 new from $4.50 36 used from $0.01 2 collectible from $12.48

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
  Kindle Edition $8.79 -- --
  Hardcover $19.96 $4.50 $0.01
  Paperback $11.07 $5.99 $2.95

Frequently Bought Together

Your Own Worst Enemy: Breaking the Habit of Adult Underachievement + The Gifted Adult: A Revolutionary Guide for Liberating Everyday Genius(tm) + Living With Intensity: Understanding the Sensitivity, Excitability, and the Emotional Development of Gifted Children, Adolescents, and Adults
Price For All Three: $48.60

Show availability and shipping details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Excess Baggage: Getting Out of Your Own Way

Excess Baggage: Getting Out of Your Own Way

by Judith Sills
4.4 out of 5 stars (12)  $5.60
Living With Intensity: Understanding the Sensitivity, Excitability, and the Emotional Development of Gifted Children, Adolescents, and Adults

Living With Intensity: Understanding the Sensitivity, Excitability, and the Emotional Development of Gifted Children, Adolescents, and Adults

by Susan Daniels
5.0 out of 5 stars (4)  $17.79
Permission To Succeed

Permission To Succeed

by Noah St. John
3.5 out of 5 stars (31) 
The Comfort Trap or, What If You're Riding a Dead Horse?

The Comfort Trap or, What If You're Riding a Dead Horse?

by Judith Sills
4.1 out of 5 stars (8) 
Gifted Grownups: The Mixed Blessings of Extraordinary Potential

Gifted Grownups: The Mixed Blessings of Extraordinary Potential

by Marylou Kelly Streznewski
4.2 out of 5 stars (36)  $26.95
› Explore similar items

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: #103,480 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

More About the Author

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

› Visit Amazon's Kenneth W. Christian Page
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
I was driving home from my friend Mark's wedding weekend after spending the night with his family. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
demand avoiders, procrastinate right, specific operating instructions, misunderstood geniuses, extreme goals, true efficiency
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
All-out Push, Maximum Potential Project, Fifteen Tasks, Katherine Butler Hathaway, Italian Renaissance, Old Testament, San Francisco, New Year's Day
New!
Concordance | Text Stats
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 7 books:
See all 7 books this book cites

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(3)
(2)
(2)
(2)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

26 Reviews
5 star:
 (21)
4 star:
 (2)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (2)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
57 of 59 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.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Finally! Someone who knows what hes talking about., October 18, 2002
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.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
34 of 35 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.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful self-help book
Terrific and unusual book. Full of very detailed examples of the problem it describes, a problem few other books address: adult underachievement. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Elephant admirer

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Helpful
I thought this book was extremely helpful. The author has a tough, no nonsense tone that does not pandy around the the issues. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Emma

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I have ever read.
During a vacation that brought me to Northern Wisconsin I stumbled into a rural library and found a copy of this book. Read more
Published on November 1, 2007 by Paul M. Marsolek

5.0 out of 5 stars An eye opener
This book is well written, well thought through. It's like the self-help equivalent of David Allen's Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity which is more the... Read more
Published on October 9, 2007 by Malcolm Gorman

4.0 out of 5 stars Well Written, Lots of Great Advice
Overall I like the ideas presented in this book. There are some great exercises at discovering hidden limiters, very good behavioral recommendations, etc. Read more
Published on February 14, 2007 by MrTwistoff

2.0 out of 5 stars Good, If You're One of the Elite
To begin, I have to admit that I have not finished the book, but have read the first 40 pages or so thoroughly and skimmed some of the rest. Read more
Published on December 19, 2006 by Deep Trout

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow. If you feel you need to change, BUY THIS BOOK!
If you already believe you need to change your habits in order to lead a more fulfilling life, this book will provide insight and impetus to do so. Read more
Published on May 27, 2005 by J. Caruso

5.0 out of 5 stars the dynamics of self-limiting
Exploring how people, even those with exceptional ability, can limit themselves, Dr. Christian details patterns of thinking and behavior that block or interfere with achievement,... Read more
Published on May 26, 2005 by Douglas Eby

1.0 out of 5 stars no friend
There is essentially nothing new here, it's the age-old `effectiveness' advice repackaged for a slacker niche. Read more
Published on May 16, 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Got stalled dreams?
Ladies and gentlemen...start your engine.This book will put the battery in the engine of your dreams. Fasten your seatbelt for the ride of your life...
Published on May 6, 2004

Only search this product's reviews


Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   

Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)

Look for Similar Items by Category

Look for Similar Items by Subject

Search Books by subject:










i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...
 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.