Awaken Your Strongest Self

This is a very powerful book. Neil Fiore offers a cogent model of how the mind works, tapping recent research on the evolution of the brain and associated cognitive and emotional functions. He then uses this model to explain why people are prone to self-sabotage, and how they can use the most powerful, and most recently evolved capabilities of the human brain (The Strongest Self) to avoid that self-sabotage, and to take charge of their lives and their goals. I am a management consultant with a longstanding interest in behavior change. I have found this book useful in managing my own life and goals. I have also bought multiple copies to give to clients and partners.

I'm pretty content with myself and didn't feel the need to change who I am. And I'm skeptical of self-improvement books in general anyway. But I have to admit that this book has helped me make positive changes in my life. After the first two weeks of applying Fiore's exercises and concepts I'm happier and less irritable. I'm achieving my goals more quickly and easily and feel calmer and less overwhelmed. It's easier for me now to focus on the present, accomplish twice as much, and feel less stressed in the bargain. This book helped me access resources I didn't know I had. I highly recommend this book ... even for skeptics!

Reviewer: Angela L., educator, San Francisco I love this book! It is so positive about human nature and gives me hope that change is possible and that I can learn to lessen my stress and achieve my goals. This is not a typical "self-help" book. It includes facts from neuroscience on how to train your brain, so your human brain is in charge of your life instead of the weak, frightened parts of you. And, it emphasizes the importance of "connecting to something wiser and stronger than your ego" which feels spiritual to me. This book's easy to follow 4 steps really work by shifting you to a larger perspective and a stronger Self. I've already begun, as Dr. Fiore suggests, to recognize the thoughts and feelings that lead to my negative habits and negative attitudes. I used to take my feelings so seriously as if they had to determine how I feel and what I do. Now, I'm starting to just observe them as old habits and take a few breaths before deciding whtat to do. I love the idea that my "new human brain" is the only part that has the ability to choose how to act. This book has given me tools to take charge of my feelings, habits, and actions. I'm buying a copy for each of my kids. I want them to be better equipped to deal with life and to just feel better about themselves and have a better understanding of the positive and courageous spirit of human beings. Thank you Dr. Fiore for writing this book and for The Now Habit that helped me get through college.

So here I am, a few days after reading this book, and I am experiencing something I have never experienced from a self-improvement book. Typically, once I finish reading a self-improvement book, I am filled with great ideas but within a few days the ideas are either too laborious to implement or, worse, simply blown away into thin air as the deeper and more ingrained habits takes over. Disappointing, but something I have come to expect. But this book changed that and restored my hope in this genre of books. In simple terms, the book Awaken Your Strongest Self has completely eclipsed any other self-improvement book that I have ever read. An attorney by training, I am a very critical thinker and often find myself finding faults with self-improvement books. Fortunately, I could find none with this, and was blown away by how logical, powerful, and inspiring it is. To try to explain the book in a few paragraphs would not do it any justice, but I am positively sure that this book will be the "Think And Grow Rich" or "How to Win Friends and Influence People" book of the century. Once you read it, you will understand what I mean. Why am I so passionate about this book? For once, it is several days after I have read a self-improvement book and rather than struggling to remember and integrate what I learned, I cannot forget or shake what I have absorbed because it makes so much damn sense on so many levels. I was a happy person before I read this book, but I still feel like I have a new lease on life because of the tools I now have to enjoy life even more. I am extremely grateful that I have come across this book and, though I am typically a harsh critic, I simply cannot recommend it highly enough.