The Mountains We Climb is a self-help book that encourages readers to develop positivity and motivation in everyday life and when overcoming life’s struggles.
Author Anthony M. Baisden suggests that a positive mindset comes from within and is cultivated over time. His book addresses ten topics, including “Purpose,” “Pain,” “Mistakes,” “Accomplishments” and “Greatness.”
Overall, Baisden asserts that we must be willing to break the barriers and harness our dreams, however challenging it may be. Each person has a purpose in this world, he posits, while urging readers not to abandon hope, even when they constantly fail. He exhorts them to understand that mistakes are part of life, and that learning from these mistakes is key to achieving life goals.
Among other ideas, he also lauds the benefits of faith: “Faith has allowed me to believe in myself, even when no one else believed,” he writes. And to back his text up, he offers inspirational quotes from renowned personalities, including Joseph Campbell, Albert Einstein and Vince Lombardi.
While his suggestions are time-tested, they are also well-trod in self-help and motivational literature. Readers will find little, if anything, fresh.
The book also lacks concrete steps readers can take to reach their goals, as the author’s advice is consistently broad. For example, when discussing greatness, he writes that “one of the main things I want you, guys, [sic] to know is that to create greatness, you have to believe in your greatness. That’s right! You have to believe in the things you are doing now…if you stay persistent, then everything will fall into place.” For those looking to improve their lives, such platitudes will provide little help.
Finally, the writing is repetitive and somewhat meandering.
While the author clearly has good intentions, The Mountains We Climb delivers simplistic advice that’s unlikely to help readers who are seeking change to achieve their goals.
Also available in hardcover and ebook.
