Good counsel, solid and concise, and not just for selling.
The latest in lawyer and investment adviser Solin’s (The Smartest Investment Book You’ll Ever Read, 2009) Smartest series, this one geared to improving sales.
Solin seems to stretch the definition of sales to its broadest limits by suggesting that lawyers are, in essence, salespeople. Don’t many lawyers depend on reputation, referrals and success in past cases? This claim aside, and despite the highly readable book’s brassy title, Solin says that a healthy sense of limitations is more likely to bring sales success than unbounded, often unfounded self-confidence. Studies show, he says, that people with slightly lower self-esteem prepare better and are less prone to the perils of overconfidence. He savagely debunks self-help gurus who preach that visualizing success will magically make it happen. That’s hokum, he opines. There’s no substitute for the hard labor needed to get to the top or anywhere near it, and many at the top are only there due to the fact that they worked harder and longer. Solin makes all his points with wonderful clarity and bolsters them with references to studies and reports, ending most chapters with a “What’s the Point?” box that summarizes the preceding material so there can be no doubt about what he’s trying to convey. His holistic approach seems to transcend the mere improvement of sales; since, as studies show, happier people are better salespeople, the author whizzes through what it takes to be a happier, more relaxed and effective human being. Convinced by research he did for the book that a secular form of meditation is relaxing and focusing, he awards the subject an entire chapter. Elsewhere, he emphasizes the crucial importance of empathy and making an emotional connection with customers. In his mind, successful salespeople are never data-dumping pitchmen, but rather question-askers and careful listeners who refrain from interrupting; they couch all they say with extreme sensitivity for what their prospective customers want out of the deal. Practicing empathy, Solin says, not only improves a salesperson’s ability to execute this sales technique, but makes for overall personal happiness.
Good counsel, solid and concise, and not just for selling.Pub Date: March 3, 2014
ISBN: 978-0986047800
Page Count: 277
Publisher: Silvercloud Publishing, LLC
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An impressively thoughtful expression of spirituality.
Two men discover God on two different paths in Malby’s curiously titled first novel.
In some unspecified part of Middle America, two boys bond as toddlers in their rural hometown during an era in the 20th century when outhouses were the norm and child mortality rates were high. The boys grow apart and reconnect during manhood, finishing their long lives together. As youths, they become alienated by Windknocker, another name for God, which is further explained about halfway into the novel. Yet the titular Windknocker ultimately unites them and gives purpose to their lives. To cover the decades of their friendship, the narrative zips along like a skipped rock over water, pausing only to focus on key events in the characters’ lives. Often, these moments are what the two men look back to later in life as they attempt to resolve their differences regarding the meaning and practice of faith. Mew, the main character, takes the formal route through the Catholic priesthood during the tumult of Vatican II. His best friend, Leezie, lives in an informal street ministry as a laborer and soldier in World War II. As boys and men, they live on opposite sides of the tracks—literally at first, and figuratively later, with personalities as different as their origins, lifestyles and faith. Mew’s faith is intellectual (“religion wasn’t about experience but working toward perfection”); whereas Leezie’s faith is intuitive, particularly after he’s “borned again” during a revival meeting. Malby tells their story in memoir format through Mew’s voice, diverting occasionally into an omniscient observer—sometimes transitioning like an emcee—to cover episodes in Leezie’s life. The switches in point of view aren’t disruptive, although they give the narrative an uneven flow. Malby’s straightforward prose contains short, evocative descriptions—“I was sure her eyes sparkled even when she was asleep”—which will comfortably take readers into intimate discussions of faith that are thought-provoking independent of religious perspective.
An impressively thoughtful expression of spirituality.Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2010
ISBN: 978-1608622320
Page Count: 306
Publisher: E-Book Time, LLC
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Sturdy, exuberant verse.
Like the demigod from which it takes its name, Defining Atlas is a durable, uplifting volume.
A strong current of self-affirmation, self-love, and self-confidence runs through this work, and readers will come away feeling their spirits improved. We feel some of this current in the clever “Limited”; Michaels takes the titular subject and turns it on its head: “I’m new, but I’m old / Not limited beyond my means and methods / But limited because I’m special / Special beyond the heavens and everything that surrounds me / That I’m among…limited.” Elsewhere in “From the ashes…I am,” he sings a hard-won song of renewal and rebirth: “I am victory in its rawest form / I am hope that never conform / I am the will, the drive, and the truth / I am like everyone, like you.” But Michaels does not hoard specialness or victory for himself; he wants it for his reader too, and in “Wake Up!” he urges us on toward a bright future: “There’s something good here for you / Your purpose can never be defined by just one blue / Your destiny awaits you.” Underpinning Michaels’ stirring message is a strong faith in God, whose presence infuses many of the poems here: “But I always thank God for the latter / For the strength and will it takes / Shines so bright / Shines so right.” Michaels often adopts a loose scheme of rhyming couplets, and this decision leads to one of the book’s few weaknesses. Too often, the poet picks awkward or odd pairings; e.g., “And if I could become a perfect saint / I would make believers out of the ones who say they ain’t” and the “you/blue” couplet mentioned above. But such missteps are infrequent, and they don’t dim the warm light that emanates from Michaels’ fine volume.
Sturdy, exuberant verse.Pub Date: March 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5035-4785-8
Page Count: 106
Publisher: Xlibris
Review Posted Online: Aug. 21, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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