PREPPING FOR SUCCESS

Singh proposes keys to success in this brief business guide.

The author, a consultant in the trading/investing industry, orients his motivational book around four central principles—knowledge, patience, confidence, and discipline—and ties them to 10 “success keys” under headings including “Invest in Yourself,” “Keep Your Word,” and “Choose Happiness.” “Right here, right now I’m going to share with you the qualities and attitudes you need to have in order to acquire the knowledge and skills you need to win,” Singh writes, assuring his readers that they may already possess such qualities lying dormant within themselves. “Let’s wake them up,” he continues, “and see what happens.” He expands on each of his general headings, touting the benefits of the characteristics he’s encouraging: “Patience draws the line that keeps you from crossing over from calmness to anger,” he writes, “a place where hypertension, ulcers, heart diseases, and other disagreeable maladies await.” Each of the book’s sections includes both a to-do list of simple tasks to try (“Make a small promise to yourself and keep it every day for the next week”) a “big challenge” designed to push the limits of the precepts that have been laid out. Some of the author’s observations have the pleasant ring of common sense. But all of the common sense in the world can’t save the bulk of the book from reading like a parody of shallow self-help motivational guides: Singh tells readers to Google self-discipline and see if any articles appeal to them, instructs them to write down five things that they’re grateful for, and repeatedly admits that they already know all of the platitudes he’s going to impart. It all gives the book the feeling of the first draft of a bad PowerPoint presentation.

A short collection of truisms that only the most terminally lost might find useful.