Chris Connors is back with another review. He has been out and about, super busy with work but found some time to read and review a business book.
101 Tips to Launch Yourself to Success: Turn the bumpy road of “beginning” into a fast lane to your greatest aspiration (referred to as “Tips” in this review).
Unfortunately, the version of Tips I received was a mangled Mobi so sentences from previous paragraphs were inserted into unrelated paragraphs. A foreword was found at the end along with the Document Outline and a Table of Contents, both of which were the same thing. The Forward also seems like it was written by a different person in a different language, run through a translation program without checking the output, and then mobi-mangled. It made it difficult to tell at times if the fractured sentences were due to the glitch or the author’s lack of familiarity with the English language.
E.g. “If you received or purchased a copy of this eBook from sources other than [us or [other sources], then that copy The license will be terminated without notice upon breach is a pirated. ”, and “Authentic copies of you shall delete copies of the eBook from your electronic
the eBook can be bought from [www.amazon.com/books].
devices and destroy paper copies of the in your control”.
And I’m still not sure what the copyright notice was trying to tell me (see below) or the Authentic copies of me. It also seems like it was pasted in from another book. [irony sobs quietly in the corner].
However, the rest of the book is relatively free from this mangled English. Tips covers some very basic material for people who haven’t yet started on their careers. When I worked with street youth who were in trouble with the law we taught them things like how to do your laundry, how to use a library, how to set up a bank account, how to write a cheque, etc. Tips contains advice that they would also find useful, but that older people would—or should—already know. Send a note of gratitude to your interviewers, keep it brief, polite; always take notes, apply your skills, be a team player, be approachable, etc.
There are also tips that some people who are well into their career don’t apply like, have a bedtime ritual so you can stick with a set bedtime; turn off your phone and computer before bed.
Overall, there are certainly some good tips in there that are, as the author states at the beginning, culled from many other career books and now brought into one place. The weakness from this culling though is that there are sparse details on how to implement these tips as he doesn’t source the books from which he took his ideas.
Example 1: 35. Don’t Settle for One Income has this: SECRET INSIGHT: Freelancing is a great way of supplementing your income if you are strapped for cash and strapped for time. Freelancers set their own schedules and work from home or even over weekends. Be just as dedicated to your freelancing gigs as you are to your day job. Your clients will pay well and even offer you extra jobs in you are hardworking and reliable”. Wonderful idea, but how do I start? If this was sourced the reader could go find more information in that book.
Example 2: SECRET INSIGHT in 45 Friendly First Impressions is “Try to learn everyone’s name”.
It would have been relatively simple to suggest going to the library to pick up a book on remembering names and other items. In addition to sourcing this he could say, for example, Too many people go into a meeting thinking I won’t be able to remember all those new names. They’re right, they won’t, because they’ve already admitted defeat—it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. So go in thinking “I’m going to learn at least three names”. Be sure to use the names in conversation to reinforce it in your own mind. People like to hear their own name; check your local library for books that will help you remember faces and names.
Like all generic advice some of it will not apply to your situation, as the author also states. For example tip 73 is have a one page resume. That will depend upon the job. I have to write a 5-6 page resume for some jobs.
I personally didn’t find the book helpful. I have concerns about the sourcing in this book–If you’re going to compile advice from other self-help then document your sources so people can go to the source to obtain more information. Plus, you avoid the charge of plagiarism, a charge which is strengthened considerably by the Copyright mess. I’m also confused as to how a book this badly formatted was sent out for review as the butchered format is evident at quick glance. These issues undermine the author’s credibility as he’s not taking his own advice: e.g. Tip 23: Build Your Online Credibility, Tip 72 Observe Everything, and 81 Proofread Your Resume.
Overall, the book concept is solid. The implementation of the concept is flawed.
Book Rating: 1/5
You can find this book on Amazon.
Disclaimer: This was sent to us in e-book format to read and give an honest review.