Donald Arteaga

An Urgent Read!

Revisado: 11-12-22

"[𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦] 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘮𝘢, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘯-𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘰. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦, 𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦; 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘱𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥-𝘸𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴. 𝘕𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘶𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦." - Chapter 8

Written by an (openly) lesbian non-conforming woman, this book is NOT a critique of trans people. It is a critique of the trans activist groups who lobby and claim to speak for trans rights while simultaneously undermining them. It is a philosophical critique of their ideology, of their push to have gender identity replace (rather than supplement) biological sex in social policies, causing needless harm to the progress already made for other minority groups.

To reiterate: this author believes trans rights are human rights. This author is NOT against people's freedom of expression nor having additional categorizations to accommodate the idea of gender identity. What she is against is activist groups denying biology and sex differences altogether, cherry-picking data of intersex people as proof there isn't a sex binary, and allowing ideology to replace facts under the guise of "inclusion".

In the activist group's crusade for social justice, groups like Stonewall and Mermaids have replaced evidence-based activism for abstract postmodern theories. Rather than acknowledge sex differences, these groups opt to push "gender identity" as the only determining factor on whether someone's a male or female (e.g. "trans women are women"). Rather than see how their theoretical frameworks undermine the very minority groups they once defended, especially women's rights, these groups opt to claim anyone who disagrees with their perspective is automatically "transphobic" and/or "erasing trans people's existence".

But, what is the actual scientific evidence to some of the claims they make? The problem is most of the evidence they use to justify their views are very weak and/or misleading. Other times, their ideas simply come from postmodern thinkers like Judith Butler (e.g. the claim that all sex is socially constructed).

- Contrary to the claim 1.7% of people are intersex, the number is actually much closer to .018% when you account for how the original claim also included MEN and WOMEN with DSD (Differences in Sex Development). And just because there are rare instances of intersex people (who of course deserve the same rights as everyone else) doesn't automatically mean 99.9% of people aren't men or women.

- Contrary to the claim trans kids are killing themselves at "epidemic" levels, the actual amount of suicides are extremely rare. And this DOESN'T mean we shouldn't care about suicides, but that these activist groups are fearmongering rather than being honest.

- Contrary to the claim puberty blockers are absolutely safe to use on children, there's limited data overall, and the data that is available tends to be weak. And just because a maturing kid is confused doesn't automatically make them trans; they may grow up to be gay or lesbian, or neither. Applying permanent solutions for what may be a temporary problem is never wise. People who have de-transitioned exist.

Again, debunking these claims DOESN'T mean the author doesn't care about trans rights. She does (and I do too). The problem is the very groups being made to represent trans rights are not representing them so much as they are tokenizing them and confused children for political means. These groups are no longer fighting for clear, tangible goals but vague, radical changes without considering the long-term consequences.

These are just but a few points the author makes throughout the book. But if you're expecting a book filled with anecdotes, cherry-picked evidence, and hyperbole this is NOT the book for you. To my surprise, this author didn't go for any low-hanging fruit; 80% of the book is pure philosophical reasoning. Even more, she provides a charitable explanation for each of the areas she critiques, without any snark or sarcasm. Needless to say, her career as a philosopher fits her well!

As for solutions? Rather than activist groups adhering to ideology, the author advocates for "less theory and more data". Because there's so little actual data around the issues themselves!

Here are just a few areas she'd like to see more research done:
- 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯-𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘶𝘭𝘵.
- 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳𝘴.
- 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴.
- 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘧 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.
- 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘴𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵.

In sum, I think activism can be a force for good. I think it can bring awareness to causes people wouldn't normally be aware of. It paved the way for women to vote, for racial minorities to have civil rights, and most recently for gay marriage. But as of late, it seems activists want their causes to be recognized so badly that they're willing to push them forward at the expense of truth.

Frankly, it astounds me how much influence they've had over major medical and psychological associations in America based (again) upon weak data to begin with. For a breakdown on all the available evidence to date, look up the article "Trans Matters: An Overview of the Debate, Research, and Policies" from Skeptic magazine. And a recent in-depth article was published October 2022 from Reuters titled "As more transgender children seek medical care, families confront many unknowns".

If there's any consolation, more and more people are starting to push back on what's going on. Slowly but surely, countries like Finland and Sweden have ended their "gender-affirming care" models in favor of psychotherapy as the first line of treatment. In October 2022, England joined them too. The United States, however, is still a work in progress...

I'll end this review with a quote from Steve QJ summarized on Medium: "𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 '𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯,' 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘴. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦 (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯) 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘯."

Simply put, you can support trans rights AND wholeheartedly disagree with the anti-intellectualism of current trans activism. Don't let them gaslight you into believing you're a "transphobe" or "TERF" or "anti-trans" for doing so.

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Worth A Second Purchase???

Revisado: 06-10-22

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟏 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐈 𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝟓 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝟓.

"How To Win Friends and Influence People" was the first personal development book I ever read. Being a depressed, lonely, 12 year old child I came across this book by accident at my local library. I was searching the computer's library catalog: "how to get friends", and this was the book that came up. Little did I know this book was going to become an essential for me in developing my social skills.

At first glance, you may read the principles taught in this book and go: "this is just common sense". But you may also have heard the quote "common sense isn't common". How many of us actively make an effort to genuinely smile and be empathetic towards others? How may of us jump to criticizing others without considering the other person's point of view? How many of us condemn others without remembering it won't make the other person change their mind?

I've read this book so many times I've lost count! It really changed my life, and I was so excited to see it be re-released for a new generation!

That said, the book edition of my youth was from the 1990's. How does this new 2022 edition hold up? I compared the 2 side-by-side.

PROS:
📌 Grammar revisions make the book easier to read. Examples include removal of filler words, word substitutions, and rewriting story examples. The changes are minor, so most of the time they are not very noticeable.
📌 A few new story examples have been added, featuring female figures like Evangeline Booth and Alice Foote MacDougall.
📌 A new concluding section: "Apply the Dale Carnegie Principles After the Book"

CONS:
📌 Lots of book edits come off less as necessary and more as attempts to be politically correct, to remove anything that could be seen as problematic. Examples include substituting words ("they" for "him", "not be able to walk" for "cripple", "house staff" for "servants") and stories that were needlessly removed (which leads to my next point).
📌 SO MANY story examples have been removed; no joke, I counted over 35! So many vivid examples that made the book so memorable for me as a kid, PC or not, are gone! I don't care if the story examples used Confederate general Robert E. Lee; they still illustrated the principles.
📌 Some edits just don't make sense at all. For example, they renamed Part 3, Chapter 5 from "The Secret of Socrates" to the principle "Get the Other Person Saying 'Yes, Yes' Immediately". No other chapter was renamed like this, and the Socrates example is still in the chapter.

As for the audiobook, the narrator gives a great presentation with a good range. But will his voice ever match the baritone of the original Andrew MacMillan? Unfortunately no.

In sum, for those who are new to reading this book or were born past the 2000's, I'd say this 2022 edition is a nice introduction, albeit a very sanitized one. There's a longer and better version out there. But if you're already a fan of the 90's publication and could care less about political correctness, there's not much new here to justify a second purchase. In fact, there's much less!

Sadly, this isn't the only book lately that's getting the Orwellian treatment. Other authors whose books have been altered lately for offensive content include Roald Dahl, Ian Fleming, Agatha Christie, and R.L. Stine (not to mention he's still alive and did not approve the changes). Simply put, it's really getting out of hand!

Consider me an old fashioned 30 year old Millennial, but I'll be sticking with my original copy.

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My #1 Favorite Book From John C. Maxwell!

Revisado: 06-05-22

NOTE: This 10th Anniversary Edition is NO DIFFERENT from the original apart from the new Introduction. If you already have a previous copy, it really isn't worth the additional purchase. (To be fair, the original book is perfect as is!)

I've read many self-help books, but this is one of the few that has become an annual read. These are timeless principles I come back to again and again, and at different points in my life I'm needing to reread chapters over. A classic!

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Almost Quit Listening, But Glad I Stuck With It

Revisado: 04-19-22

A fantastic audiobook! The author takes you through stories of key notable figures which he believes encapsulate the evolution of liberal thought.

To clarify, this audiobook is by no means a comprehensive history, nor does the actual book itself contain sources apart from the author citing the experts he worked with in the Afterword. So while I can't say you'll get a thorough education on liberalism, you will learn a very engaging summary on how liberal ideas evolved over time. You'll learn about the liberal emphasis on property rights of John Locke to the egalitarian liberalism of John Stuart Mill to the laissez-faire liberalism of Friedrich Hayek to the "liberalism" know today as identity politics.

At times I've stepped away from the "liberal" label, simply because I don't want to be associated with the identity politics "liberal" I see today. Arguably, it shouldn't even be called liberalism! But this audiobook argues there still is a liberalism out there, one which has been unreasonable trashed upon, one which the baby has been thrown out with the bathwater, but if we continue using it it's still the most useful tool we have so all of us can live together and not die together.

Note: The narrator is the author of the book, and he is pretty monotone in his delivery. It doesn't bother me very much, but noting here for anyone who it may.

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An Annual Read (and Listen) for Me!

Revisado: 04-16-22

There’s SO MANY personal development, self-help books on the market. Unfortunately, a ton of these same books are filled with fluff, superficial advice, and ideas which have been explained so much better in older books.

THIS is one of those “older books”. If there’s 1 personal development book you ever read (and I’ve read tons), it has to be this one. It is one of the originals and still is THE best book I’ve read in the personal development field. Unlike many self-help books, author Stephen Covey emphasizes the importance of being a person of Character (substance) rather than being a person of Personality (style). How many Social Media Influencers online have mastered the latter but not the former?
It’s unfortunate this book has been dismissed by those calling it “boring”, “corporate garbage”, and “common sense”. I’d recommend this book to anyone regardless of job status. The ideas in the book are simple, and they are explained in-depth through many examples and philosophical ideas.

Lastly, common sense is not common. You can know something intellectually…and still not apply it in your life. If we did, all of us would be following the Golden Rule. Everyone would stop eating fast food, start exercising, and eat more fruits and vegetables. We’d all be the epitome of self-aware creatures.

I’d argue the ones who need this book the most are the ones who are the quickest to dismiss the book the fastest.

“𝘌𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 — 𝘰𝘳, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘪𝘵. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘮𝘴.

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴 — 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 — 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯’𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘴𝘰𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘮𝘴, 𝘮𝘢𝘱𝘴, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘮𝘴, 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.”

NOTE: Before this 30th anniversary edition, I had the original "7 Habits" audiobook. One key difference (apart from the additional material from Sean Covey) is Stephen Covey no longer says "New Heading" at the beginning of each section. It was a tad annoying in the original, and I'm glad it's removed here. As for the added material, it's a great addition, although you may have to adjust your volume levels like I did as Sean Covey's voice is much lower than Stephen's.

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