Amazon.com Customer Reviews
CLOYING, ANNOYING, AND CONDESCENDING - Review written on June 09, 2008
Rating: 2 out of 5
19 customers found this review helpful, 3 did not.
I am giving this book two stars- but I begrudge it the second one. It has to be two because it DOES contain the information I bought it for. But I wish I could in good conscience give it one single star- or fewer- because on nearly every page, there's something that makes me want to reach through the book and slap the writers.
I don't enjoy books that effuse with frothy enthusiasm so trillingly that it undercuts the information it's supposed to deliver. And I don't enjoy books where the authors seem to be addressing me and my curiosity about the topic in a sugary voice as if I am a Kindergartner.
So I am not enjoying this book. At all.
I wish that before I'd purchased this book I'd seen the dedication page. It reads: "Dedicated to the joyful heart and soaring spirit of every child reaching for a greater world, especially in yourself."
Now, friends- I sincerely hope your heart is joyful and that your spirit soars. But that sugary prose in the dedication would have tipped me off about what was ahead- and I'd have run for the hills. To get to the information, you have to deal with the authors achingly precious hopes for this book to change your life.
Ever have a cappucino that was all foam with only a little sip of coffee at the bottom of the cup? Remember how you raised the paper cup to your lips and there wasn't anything to swig? Remember the sense that you'd just been ripped off?
Yeah. It's a lot like that.
If you like non-fiction delivered to you like a bed-time story, maybe you'll like this book. But if not-- don't buy this book. Run very fast to the next selection.
If I can stop even one person from buying this book, it was worth my time to write this review.
If one person can write a book review, anyone can! - Review written on November 19, 2006
Rating: 2 out of 5
55 customers found this review helpful, 60 did not.
I bought this book thinking that there was some secret "neural" or "linguistic" programming (like a certain set of instructions) I could follow to gain some sort of advantage in life, and what I got was just a lot of the same self-help stuff that seems to have been already covered by many others. The "technology" is really just learning how to think of things differently; particularly negative things that drag you down.
There are also some ideas related to communications and establishing repoir with others that could come in handy.
That said, precious little in this book struck me as being "new". And to add bewilderment to my dissappointment there were also two particularly logic defying ideas that form the foundation of this "technology".
First, "Every behavior is useful in some context". Hmmm, this was written in 1994. Did having a bunch of fanatics fly airliners into the World Trade Center maybe cause this presupposition to come into question?
Second, "If one person can do something, anyone can learn to do it."
That's right. One person figured out that mass equals energy times the speed of light squared, and so anyone could learn to figure out the profound principles that govern our universe. If one person can design a microprocessor chip, anyone can learn to. If one person can compose a recording like "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts" or "Pet Sounds", then anyone can learn to. If one person can carve a statue of David out of marble (who did that again?), anyone can learn to!
I could be a nuclear physicist, a computer engineering genious, a classical music composer, an opera star, a nobel prize winning economist --you name it -- simply because someone else did! Brilliant.
Well, I gotta cut this short because today I'm writing a bestselling novel, recording the next great love song, and designing an ion-propulsion engine for space travel. After all, one person has done those things. I can learn to do them too.
Seriously, I gave this book two stars instead of one because if the reader has geniunely never been introduced to some of the thought pattern changing techniques in this book, then he or she could actually benefit from reading it. I could probably stand a little more "inner alignment" myself.
Read the Book -- It's Better - Review written on May 16, 2005
Rating: 4 out of 5
18 customers found this review helpful, 3 did not.
The concept is amazingly simple -- visualize things according to the way you want to rank them in your mind, and you can actually change your perception of things. "Neurolinguistic Programming," as a term, is a catch-phrase, like "laser clear." There is no computer involved, but the theme and ideas do give the listener a more positive way of looking at everything, and a way of distancing from the bad news.
I listened to both CD's more than twice each, and they do run 2 hours. Of course, I listened to them where we listen to anything CD or tape -- in the van. It was understandable, clear English, and well-explained concepts. For instance, you can think up a very negative experience in your life, one that really threatens you and holds you back today. Any of us can think one of these up. We all have these, somewhere back. Most likely, it's in full color. What the narrators urge is that you try imagining that experience in dull black and white, and picture it smaller than it usually looms. See it as though from the outside. Basically, you're putting it in it's place, and making it less critical to your life view, so you can move past the negative.
The narrators also urge imagining those really good, positive experiences in full living color. Some people underemphasize their positive experiences and overemphasize their negative experiences. Forget this! Do the opposite, partly by putting the bad in dull black and white, and the really good in full color on a larger screen.
No doubt the above is far more simplistic than the 2 hours of narration make it. The narration, however, is close to the edge of lackluster, almost to the point of falling off. It a listener actually did what the narrators suggest -- listen to it at home, instead of while doing something else, like driving -- it would be sheer drudgery. There are qualities that are hard to duplicate in a studio, without an audience. Ask any voiceover speaker who does radio commercials and short TV spots. I've heard it in studio-edited tape after tape. CD's are not excluded from this. I would suggest that narrators bring about 20 family members and friends to any studio where they plan to narrate something like this, so there will be a live audience that makes the speaking seem more natural, more lively, and less labored.
All that aside, while it is not exactly Tony Robbins LIVE, "NLP -- The New Technology of Achievement" is a good listen-to while driving, far superior to most radio stations and worth the very reasonable price tag.
Excellent Book on NLP - Review written on October 11, 2004
Rating: 5 out of 5
16 customers found this review helpful, 2 did not.
NLP Comprehensive has done it! This is definitely the best book on NLP. Written by the trainers from NLP Comprehensive and edited by Andreas and Faulkner, if you're going to buy only one NLP book, look no further.
The book starts off with introduction to NLP, and quickly goes into chapters each filled with power pack NLP techniques ready to be used for everyday applications. In the last chapter is the Unlimited Achievement 21 Day Program.
This book explains and then goes on to show you how to do change your life with NLP. This is unlike other self help book that try "pumping" you up to feel good, without concrete real substance. No fluff, no gimmicks, no pep talk,... just real power pack information that can be used immediately to change your life.
If you want to change your life, look no further. Buy this book now, and start changing your life today!
Great NLP program. Possibly the best - Review written on February 03, 2004
Rating: 5 out of 5
24 customers found this review helpful, 3 did not.
This program by NLP Comprehensive is one of the very best programs on how to use NLP effectively and achieve rapid change.
I ordered this first as an audio tape program from Nightingale-Conant and then bought the print version.
Each tape/chapter is like having your own individual coach and and builds on the previous information.
My daughter used one of the techniques to improve her ability in the classroom and as a cheerleader. My son was struggling to make the footbal team until he used these methods. My wife and I have used them in our professions and they have made a significant difference.
I also recommend the tape program NLP Mastery by Charles Faulkner which is also available here at Amazon.
Many NLP books and tapes are hard to follow. Faulkner et all make learning these techniques easy for anybody even high school cheerleaders and football players.
A complete course on NLP from real experts! - Review written on February 01, 2004
Rating: 5 out of 5
20 customers found this review helpful, 2 did not.
If you were to buy only one book on NLP then NLP: The New Technology of Achievement should be that one book. The book is 12 chapters and 350 pages. It includes a 21 day Unlimited Achievement program.
Although edited by Steve Andreas and Charles Faulkner, this program features the full NLP Comprehensive team of Falkner, Kelley Gerling, Gerry Schmidt, Tim Hallbom, Suzi Smith, and Robert McDonald.
You will learn what NLP is and why iti s so effective in getting results quickly. You will learn how to get motivated. You will learn a accelerated process to uncover your mission and you will learn a 4 step goal achievement process to achieve your goals.
You will learn how to build more satisfying, rewarding relationships and how to develop powerful persuasion strategies.
Tim Hallbom and Suzi Smith show you how to overcome fears and phobias in minutes and build self confidence.
Robert McDonald shares a special NLP skill to create self
esteem while Charles Faulkner shows you how to develop and maintain a positive mental attitude with special NLP techniques and how to build pervasive attitudes and create new possibilites that are the keys to peak performance.
This book is excellent and will help you achieve allof your goals.
Great Intro to NLP - Review written on January 06, 2004
Rating: 5 out of 5
110 customers found this review helpful, 3 did not.
This book is a great introduction to the world of Neuro Linguistic Programming, or NLP. It not only includes a primer to bring you up to speed on what NLP is, but explains some of the more advanced techniques and methods of programming. About the only downside of this book is the fact that exercises appear in the middle of most chapters, which tends to cut into the "flow" of reading. Still, the exercises appear in a quite logical sequence, and you get used to it after the first few chapters.
Despite its choppy presentation, the book is extremely readable, entertaining and leaves one with a strong understanding of the fundamentls of NLP itself. For those of you who are new to NLP, this is definitely the first book that I would read.
Highly recommended for those new to NLP - Review written on October 18, 2002
Rating: 5 out of 5
8 customers found this review helpful, 1 did not.
A very well-done introductory book that really helps you understand that the map is not the territory, but rather a representation of the territory. Our words are the maps, but too often we think they are the territory. This realization can change the way you think so profoundly, you might look at the world and your life in an entirely new way. As one person said, "It's about ferocious living and curiousity."
Great exercises throughout the book demonstrate and ingrain the concepts into your mind that VERY QUICKLY change you internally.
Definitely a solid purchase for anyone interested in improving themselves and want the see the changes immediately rather than through gradual habit-changing techniques.
As Near as You'll Come to NLP in a Book - Review written on September 15, 2002
Rating: 5 out of 5
87 customers found this review helpful, 8 did not.
This is one of THE most powerful and effective NLP books to date. It teaches some theory, BUT NLP isn't abot theory, it's about what works - for YOU, as an individual.
A key tenet ("presupposition") of NLP is that *nothing* works for *everybody*, and *nothing* works for *anybody* *all* of the time. You have to try things out until you find the exercises and methods that work "for you". And even then you may find that they work better some days than others.
After reading quite a few books on NLP, I'd say that this is the nearest thing you'll find to the essence of NLP short of going on a "top notch" training course. Read the book, and DO do the exercises, but only when you're ready to progress your life to a whole new level.
For those who are ready for something better - highly recommended.
If, on the other hand, you're really not sure if you're ready to step out of your "comfort zone", then stay clear of this book. Once you've read it, you'll never be able to put things back the way they were.