Michael Carter Griffin caters to readers with short attention spans in this brief, motivational, self-help guide to living with purpose and achieving greatness.
As someone who suffers from “Short Attention Span (SAS),” Griffin set out to create a unique book suitable and enjoyable for SAS readers. Here, Griffin utilizes large fonts, diagrams, and visuals, along with lots of white space, to offer quick information bites that keep readers turning pages. The book starts with the last chapter and ends with the first – the “Countdown” of the title – which emphasizes the progression and momentum of evolving toward a better version of self.
Griffin’s goal is to “ignite and re-ignite an individual’s awareness of their potential” and “remind them of their purpose, so they can find the key to their self-inspiration.” Much of the concepts are presented as acronyms, such as G.P.S. (“God/ People/ Self”) and F.H.L. (“Faith/ Hope/ Love”), presumably to help readers remember what they’ve learned. Griffin focuses on replacing negative thoughts with positivity, inspiring others, finding one’s gifts and making memorable moments.
Although his motivation to reach an SAS audience seems pure, Griffin’s book falls short. He offers little to no explanation of the various diagrams and charts presented and fails to produce anything profound, other than a borrowed quote from Picasso. For example, he uses an entire page to convey this obvious message: “The Moment – Love It/ Share It/ Treasure It. Moments = Great Memories!” Another chapter is simply three words defined and nothing more.
The book is robust with vague, quick comments. The overall experience is much like paying to scroll through a social media motivational meme page: You might be mildly amused or inspired or both, but you only take away small bites of information that quickly blend into white noise and are forgotten.
Vague, clichéd, quippy sayings and too little meat leave Griffin’s book in need of substantial rewriting to find an eager audience.
Also available in hardcover and ebook.
