THE BOOK WITH NO ANSWERS

Maiolo presents a self-help book that asks four key questions that aim to give readers direction in life.

As an associate at a bank in Toronto, the 20-something author was tasked with giving a speech to encourage better performance among the other associates. Rather than telling the “young-ins,” as he calls them, how to succeed, he offered a series of queries. “The response was incredible,” Maiolo writes, and from that talk, this book was born. The slim volume, at less than 150 pages in length, is arranged in two parts: “The Roadmap” and “The Backpack.” The four questions in the first section are: “Who am I?” “Who do I want to be?” “How do I get there?” and “How do I stay on track?” Readers of self-help literature will find these familiar; however, the author brings a distinctive perspective to them that makes them feel fresh. For instance, when pondering who one is, he notes, the most telling question is: “What do I care about?” Does one care most about money, family, reputation, faith, or helping those in poverty? What we care about most tells us most about who we are, he continues; it follows, then, that one should examine who it is one wants to be. To that end, the author offers a new exercise: Imagine several years in the future exactly how one’s perfect day would go, and the path one would take to get there; the endpoint of that path is who one truly wants to be. The book’s second part keeps the work’s overall premise from becoming routine by introducing new questions to keep them engaged in chapters such as “Questions for When You Feel Lost” or “Questions for When Faced With Adversity or Loss.” Overall, this is a concise and straightforward work but one that will keep curious readers’ interest.

A thoughtful motivational book that tackles common tropes in new ways.