Success Bound: Breaking Free of Mediocrity

By Randy Gilbert

Book Overview

This book is groundbreaking work on failure management. Mastering failure is the essence of life - you cannot be successful without it. In fact, research has shown that people will achieve success in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0970751702
• ISBN13: 9780970751706
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Bargain Publishers Co., Inc.
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Don't Let Fear of Failure Hold You Back!

Fear of failing can adversely influence the decisions people make in their lives. But that need not be the case for those who read "Success Bound." Randy Gilbert clearly spells it out: Failing doesn't make you a failure, but it can make you a success!In addition to introducing proactive problem solving, this book provides guidance in turning criticism into success, learning from failing, using failure to help others, and much more. Personal experiences combined with a wide variety of quotations from others provide motivation and inspiration. Those seeking spiritual guidance will find multiple Biblical references (and the last chapter) for help and support. Numerous recommendations for additional reading are also included.Following a 22-year career in the Coast Guard, Randy Gilbert has now found his true calling and is doing what genuinely brings joy and meaning to his life -- helping other achieve success in their lives. That's the purpose of his Internet radio program "The Inside Success Show" (of which my wife and I were delighted to have been guests) and his book "Success Bound." If fear of failure is holding you back from taking the risks that could ultimately lead to your success, then it's time to read this book. Larry Ferstenou, Author"You CAN Retire Young: How to Retire in Your 40s or 50s Without Being Rich"

In Praise of Never-Ending Trial and Error Improvement

How did you learn to read? Did you do it perfectly the first time? Probably not. You spent months learning the proper technique by trying various methods and getting better at the ones that work. People learn most things that way.As adults, though, we become self-conscious and easily discouraged when our first attempts are not brilliantly successful. Those reactions hold us back from accomplishing more.Success Bound attacks both reactions head on, and provides wonderful stories and examples to overcome them. The only other comparable book I have read is John C. Maxwell's Failing Forward. I heartily recommend both Success Bound and Failing Forward. All of us need as much motivation as possible for overcoming our inertia towards doing nothing new. I suggest you reread each book as often as you need to feel motivated to go out and fall on your face, laugh at yourself, pick yourself up and try again with a smile on your bruised and bleeding face.The book contains 21 strategies that look at the benefits and psychological challenges of trial and error. I found each of them to be very helpful. Mr. Gilbert uses personal examples especially well to bring his points home. He is also very well read, and appropriately and considerately refers to many other fine books. As a result, Success Bound is a great bargain and time saver. It distills the best of over 2 dozen books into one short, easy-to-read one. Unlike many authors who make such references, Mr. Gilbert has the gift of making the material fresher and easier to use than the original. One particularly helpful section explains how to overcome bad thinking habits so that you can make better decisions. Very nice!Unlike most books about success, this one is aimed at all parts of your life. It deals with religious faith, family, raising children, relationships with others, as well as career issues. If you are a Christian, you will probably especially enjoy the Biblical bonus which explains how accepting spiritual failure is essential to your soul being saved. You can supplement this book by reading advanced studies of what are the cutting edge practices in your field of interest. By combining that knowledge of what to start trying with an attitude that welcomes learning from your experiences, you'll be unstoppable and your heart will be filled with joy....

If all you do is what other people do...

My grandmother had several favorite sayings. One was "If all you do is what other people do, all you get is what other people get...and all you'll ever be is average..."Read "Success Bound" by Randy Gilbert, and you'll never have to worry about being "just like everybody else" again. "Dr. Proactive" lays out a blueprint for leaving mediocrity behind...a step-by-step guide. It's a nice mix of theory and practical application, punctuated with dozens of insightful quotes.This is an easy read, but it's also the kind of book you like to put down in your lap every few pages while you stare out the window and ponder the wisdom Randy offers. I especially liked the section on dealing with failure because it reminded me of another of my grandmother's favorite quotes (which I've since learned originated with Henry Ford): "Where you think you can, or whether you think you can't -- either way, you'll be right.This is a book you should keep on the shelf -- but bring down often to read over and over again.

Success Is Available to Anyone

I found this book to be exciting for the many positive strategies and examples given in it. It is not an overly exuberant 'quick fix' type book like many on the market today. The strategies given are insightful and can be practised by anyone willing to try. It is also a great reference book in that there are many topics and issues discussed where if you want to pursue them into more depth a book by another author is listed. I enjoyed the examples given about the author's own family, they make the book more personal to the reader.Being 'pro-active' is now a key method for me that I can use for dealing with daily occurances and long range planning. Plus I have a whole new outlook on how I view and will handle failures in my life. They are no longer something to be dreaded and avoided.I recommend this book to anyone looking for strategies to improve their life so it is more exciting, fulfilling and successful. For 'life long learners', this book would be a great addition to their library. It's not a book to read just once, but to refer back to and keep throughout one's life.

Transcending Self-Imposed Limits

Gilbert asserts (and I agree) that, for various reasons, many people may be willing but are unable to escape from mediocrity in their careers as well as in their personal lives. They are victims of what he calls "FAILURE-itis." Gilbert speaks from his own experience from which he learned 21 strategies "to turn stumbling blocks into stepping stones, solve any problem, overcome any obstacles, and achieve any goal" he could set for himself. Having the benefit of what Gilbert shares in this book, will it then be easy for anyone else to do so? Of course not. The journey to success (however one defines it) involves overcoming numerous and formidable barriers; there are great perils along the way; and not everyone embarked on that journey eventually completes it. In this context, I am reminded of Henry Ford's observation: "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right." Hence the importance of having a positive attitude, a confidence in one's abilities, and a determination (preferably a tenacity) to achieve success, once embarked. Gilbert carefully organizes his 21 strategies within four Parts: Rainbows After the Rain (i.e. viewing "failure" within an appropriate context from the right perspective), Wisdom for Young and Old (i.e. leveraging knowledge from failure to gain wisdom), Shatter the Glass Ceiling (i.e. replacing a fear of failure with an appreciation of benefits to be derived from what it reveals), and Free to Live and Love (i.e. how to "fail in love" and thereby nourish an "active faith"). I hope my parenthetical i.e. comments do not incorrectly suggest that Gilbert advocates a soft-headed, "feel good," "You can do it!" approach. On the contrary, make no mistake bout it, he fully understands how difficult it is to overcome negativism and despair with positive, affirmative values. As he candidly acknowledges in this book, it took him years to do so. His own journey to success continues. His life remains a "work in progress," as is everyone else's.Throughout the book, Gilbert includes dozens of especially relevant quotations (from diverse sources as Thomas Edison, S.I. Hayakawa, Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie, Stephen Covey, Robert Allen, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Benjamin Franklin) which help to illustrate as well as support the key ideas with which he concludes each chapter. Some readers may be uncomfortable with Gilbert's frequent references to basic tenets of his Christian faith. Frankly, I commend him for sharing them. His purpose is to place proper emphasis on spiritual values whatever each reader's religious faith (if any) may be. Those captive to mediocrity tend to be self-preoccupied and frequently view themselves as victims of forces over which they have little (if any) control. Connors, Smith, and Hickman have much of value to say about this in The Oz Principle: Getting Results Through Individual and Organizational Accountability. One of the most important assertions in this book is that each person not only can but should