Forget the New Year's Resolutions

The 1% Solution for Work and Life: Book Review

by Tom Connellan

Sites of Interest: Author's site | Buy the Book

Publisher: Peak Performance Press | Published: December 16, 2010

Hardcover | 138 pages | ISBN: 978-0976950622

Source: The Cadence Group

I've been through this book highlighting, underlining, writing in the margins once and then felt the need to begin again!  It is a brief book that claims to "make your next 30 days the best ever."  I've already taken on the challenge!

The story begins with an unhappy businessman named Ken attending his son's soccer game.  Once again, his son's team wins the game this season.  The previous season they did not win a single game.  Ken approaches the coach to find out what his secret for success was.  Coach Jim tells him that he actually studied the phenomena of what makes some athletes better than others.  He reviewed the Olympics looking at the differences between first through fourth place and discovered that the only difference in most of the categories of the Olympics between a medal and no medal was only about 1.08 seconds or 1%.

I knew that no matter what I did, our team could never be 100 percent better than all the others but 1 percent? We can all be 1 percent better at hundreds of things.

Coach Jim continues to share with Ken his thorough study of Olympians and Ironman competitions.  He then shares with Ken about a group he belongs to that help others who are ready to make changes in their life and to achieve excellence.  Ken goes home with thoughts of what to do next and if he truly is ready to make those changes in his life.

When Ken decides to go forward with the club he discovers he will be meeting with 4 additional people to complete the process.  Each person has a piece to offer, breaking down what could be a complex process into a simple stage each time Ken meets with someone new.  The characters range from a motivational speaker to a physics professor to a CEO then to my favorite, the psychologist and finally a former Olympic triathlete.

From every stop in the circle, Ken added to his notebook simple, yet profound tools to keep in mind in every aspect of his life, from relationships at home to work and hobbies.  For us procrastinators the best tip is action = motivation, not the other way around.

If you increase your action, your motivation will increase. (p. 28)

And when Ken got ready to throw in the towel and simply make New Year's Resolutions (isn't the timing appropriate!) he meets with the psychologist who gives him the statistics and facts on New Year's Resolutions.

For instance, a psychologist by the name of Richard Wiseman, a professor at a University in the U.K., looked at the outcomes for people who had made New Year's resolutions......88 percent of those people failed to keep their resolutions. (p. 87)

Another problem with New Year's resolutions is that normally people make resolutions that are too general, 'I'll make more money; I'll lose more weight; 'I'll be nicer to the neighbor I've never met, etc. etc.'

The psychologist suggests that rather than making a New Year's resolution why not choose one small, specific habit to change.  And then do it, for 30 days.  After the 30 days then it will be a new in-grained habit - but the better one.  Continue choosing something each month and you'll have changed 12 specific habits a year!  I know that's more resolutions than I have ever kept!

The 1% Solution for Work and Life surprised me with its applicability.  When I first began reading it I thought it might just apply to professionals, but it works for everyone in any type of position - even the stay-at-home mom!  I do have to admit the whole "Ken" story was cheesy at times; however, it did make the concepts easy for anyone to understand.  I even shared some of the storyline with my 9th grader, and he got it.  Of course it was dealing with music so I can't imagine he wouldn't!  My boyfriend who works in corporate America and does not read anything for pleasure actually picked it up and is reading it too!

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