Have the highlighter handy. One indication of a good self-help book is the amount of passages readers find thought-provoking enough to mark for future reference. Being Better Than You Believe has plenty.
Philip A. Berry’s advice is gleaned from his career as a “human capital improvement” leader and executive at companies such as Colgate-Palmolive and Proctor & Gamble. It includes many sensible and doable calls-to-action for anyone wanting to increase his or her personal or professional potential. From thinking differently about how to get one’s needs met and achieve success to embarking on a personal rebranding campaign in order to identify distinctive competencies and improve self identity, Berry challenges readers to let go of preconceived stumbling blocks to growth.
Each chapter starts with a famous quote and ends with questions to help forge new personal and career directions, for example: “What area of my life needs to change to bring me more fulfillment? Identify three things you need to do to bring this change about.” Berry lightens the drudgery of self-examination with examples of struggles and revelations from such well-known people as Joy Behar and Martin Luther King Jr. He accompanies rah-rah words like, “You need to believe you can achieve what you want to achieve,” with practical ways for readers to assess the situation, understand opportunities and construct a strategy to be, as stated in the title, “better than you believe. “
Berry’s recommendations will help readers acknowledge ruts and move forward. “There’s no magic formula,” he writes. “Addressing certain questions gets you closer to what you want.” Ultimately, readers will realize it’s up to them to devote the time to practice these useful self-improvement tools.
Also available in hardcover and ebook.
