The Motivation Manifesto

About the book: The Motivation Manifesto explains the fundamental driving forces of human nature and how these either help us realize or keep us from our life's goals. In a few easy steps, you'll learn how to inspire and increase your own levels of motivation to live a happier life.

About the author: Brendon Burchard is a world-famous personal development trainer, bestselling author and founder of personal development program, High Performance Academy. American television host Larry King has called Burchard “one of the top motivation and marketing trainers in the world.”

My highlights:
A yearning for freedom and the burden of fear are humankind's most fundamental driving forces.
Without personal freedom, we can't realize our potential as an individual or as a society. And when we stop demanding the freedom we need, life rapidly loses all its vigor and drive and we become slaves to the wants and expectations of others.
Many of us still feel oppressed, worrying about what other people think and afraid to pursue what we really want from life.
The only way to attain personal freedom is to overcome fear.
Motivation needs fuel to burn hot. It is in your power to keep that fire burning!
We can all pump up our motivation by first reflecting on our true ambitions.
Ambition is simply the choice to seek out something greater in life, through more experience or higher achievement. Without ambition, your life is nothing but a ship, drifting aimlessly over a vast sea. But with ambition, you can set goals that you really want to reach.
Motivation needs fuel, and that fuel is continuous effort.
Stop looking over your shoulder at what was. Concentrate on what is now, and practice happiness.
Too many of us are obsessed with the past. Some people are always looking backwards, to what they believe was a happier time, thinking, “If only life could be like that again, I'd be happier.”Others see the past as the cause of all of today's problems, and spend hours thinking, “If only that hadn't happened, I'd be happier.”With such a perspective, the present moment is tainted by the sadness of what could have been. Obsessing about the past closes us off from the world and drains our motivation.So how can you break this vicious cycle of sadness and regret?Ask yourself, “What in my life could I focus on right now to feel enthusiastic and appreciative?”

Final summary
To remember the key lessons from these blinks, just keep in mind the six F's of motivation: Forget the past, Fuel the fire of your motivation, have Faith in yourself and strive for Fantastic things, never forgetting that Freedom and Fear are your primal motivators.

I had to abandon this. This book is simply not for me. I do see the appeal, the poetic drive, the rousing message. But it all falls flat for me and makes it just sound preachy. I gave it a shot until the second chapter and when it sounded exactly like the first, I knew it was time to give up.