The Achievement Habit

Hard to find the words to describe this book. I guess the sum-up is that I took nothing useful away from it. This is the second d-school staff authored book I have recently read and not a great reflection on that institute or Stanford. Look elsewhere if you are looking for self help is the bottom line.

It's no fair to the book. This is an encapsulation of a Stanford year. A course taught, and no doubt loved, by countless students. A distillation of years, shaped by the experiences of hundreds of eager pupils. Designing one's life takes some thoughtful consideration and concerted effort and I just whipped through the book in a week.

And so being told your excuses are bullshit just don't seem to have the weight of revelation. I get swapping but with and: “I want to write a novel but I'm swamped at work” becomes “I want to write a novel and I'm swamped at work.” I mean, we've invited options instead of the hard wall of the but - but the idea of reframing problems isn't exactly revelatory. And as far as “There is not try, only do” we all know Yoda said it first.

All of these seem simple and obvious in the telling but the book can be more than this simplified review. Reframing your stories, finding empathy for others and yourself and eliminating the roadblocks that prevent you from realizing your own lofty ambitions are noble endeavours worth the time. This is something to be picked up and considered like a zen koan not consumed like fast food and tossed aside. I think it could reward the effort but I'm out here looking for that silver bullet and eager to get back to reading some literary fiction.

I found this book to be a little “cheap and shallow”. Eleven chapters of very minimally thoughtful stories and anecdotes... Nothing new, actually - not bringing anything fresh to the collection of “habit” books out there.