Sixty Seconds to Success by Edward W. Smith is an original compilation of more than a hundred popular tips selected from a series of Bright Moments’ radio, cable, and TV seminar broadcasts with invited experts. These professionals work in applied motivational self-help areas of peak performance, self-improvement, and conscious, planned behavioral change in business and outside the world of work.

The reader is encouraged to select daily any one of the book’s tips to jumpstart the day and, where desired, end an evening in order to maintain sufficient focus on mindful intentions to move forward on high-priority, actionable goals. One can start with one or two daily objectives and write down the specific immediate action steps needed that you will take to reach an objective. With each objective reached, one’s confidence will increase to take more action and complete more objectives. Each tip offers the reader a set of questions or related options which, if enacted, can enhance achievement expectations and subsequent steps, and once started can be used to generate more forward momentum, planning, and follow- through action. Each start may be able to break-up apathy, negative moods, rigid routines, failure, and “back-sliding” experiences; but in any case, each self-directed prompt will ask the reader to take a brief mental inventory and consider seriously more valued alternatives or suggest more enjoyable, optimistic pathways.

With daily reads, useful prompts, and commitment to pursue goals, the reader will individualize and need to reward themselves more for each action step, or combinations of steps taken, which, when repeated and rewarded consistently over time, will motivate and cement the steps taken into a new pattern of perceived personal control, direction, self improvement and ultimately “successful” performance. In turn, with more successes, one begins to open up to even more new, exciting life experiences that interest and challenge one’s continued learning, effort, acquired meaning, and personal standards of excellence.

I especially enjoyed tips focused on behavioral suggestions and motivation: for examples, taking on BIGGER projects to stretch, explore, and visualize improvements to success; more risk taking; the ongoing need to improve one’s health; the necessity of gathering more skills to change bad habits (like stopping smoking and losing weight); the need to reach out for help and trusted feedback; the willingness to get out of one’s “comfort zone; how even one percent more effort and due diligence can mean a greater, competitive advantage and a significant personal difference in the larger context of life including work, family, career, relationships, and life style. I enjoyed reading and considering the various questions raised for the reader to consider, like

• What did I do today that I must stop doing, in order to improve?
• What didn’t I do today that I must start doing, in order to improve?
• What did I do today that I should continue doing, in order to get better?
• Did I take action on each of these questions?