Personal Brilliance: Mastering the Everyday Habits That Create a Lifetime of Success

by Jim Canterucci

"Foreword by Nido Qubein, Chairman, Great Harvest Bread Company, Founder, National Speakers Association Foundation Do you seek greater success? In some way or another, we all do. You may crave... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814408389
• ISBN13: 9780814408384
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: AMACOM/American Management Association
• Length: 210 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 17 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

Brilliant!

"Personal Brilliance" may be the best self-help book on the market. It's not some highfalutin, New Agey dissertation on finding yourself or some piece of fluff about, well, finding yourself. It's actually packed with substance about something we'd all do well to consider: being more curious about and aware of our world. Canterucci says most adults pose just two questions of any significance a day, after having posed 98 a day during childhood. What happened? Whatever it is, it can't be good, and recovering that way of looking at the world is key to succeeding in both your career and your life. That's why this may be the best self-help book out there: Its lessons really do translate to every area of your life. By showing you how to change your worldview by applying the habits of awareness, curiosity, focus and initiative, Canterucci tells you everything you need to know about personal development. Whether you follow through and master the art of living is up to you, of course, but Canterucci certainly gives you an easy model to follow.

Smarter Ways to Excel

What I loved about this book is the simplicity of it. Let's face it - most great ideas are borne of really simple ideas that someone actually paid attention to. I've read so many books that try to create some newfangled approach to finding new ideas or inspiration and most of them try too hard. I think Canterucci actually understands where and how to find inspiration that you can put to work. A great read.

Excellent launching pad

Reviewed by Bette Daoust, Ph.D. for Reader Views (2/06) Every now and then everyone will sit down or at least think about their goals. Some will even take it one step further down the road and place action steps to achieve those goals. They will faithfully follow the actions for a very short period of time and then falter. The goals and actions become something they intend to do but soon fall into old habits. The result being the goals are never achieved to the level desired. By giving the reader four main areas to work on (awareness, curiosity, focus, and initiative), Jim Canterucci directs the reader to places where those goals and dreams can become reality. The book does not focus on only the goal, but pushes you towards thinking about how you achieve that goal with success. "Personal Brilliance" is not about just setting goals, it is about how you conduct your life through balance and being aware of the things you do in everyday life. Mr. Canterucci gives you insights as to how much of life we let pass by just because we have forgotten how to be in touch with our internal and external worlds. He explains how we have lost the curiosity of a child through suppressing of our desire to learn and be interested in the world around us. He tells us we have moved from posing 98 questions a day to 2 and should find ways to start probing and be more curious. One of the key topics is focus. I have read many books on focus and have always thought it needs to be razor thin in order to achieve success. Through reading "Personal Brilliance," I have discovered that focus has a periphery and I need to use it for continuing to hone the focus so it reflects the reality around me. It is the periphery that gives the inputs for changes that need to be made based on external factors. This alone makes the book a worthwhile read. This book takes you past the curiosity into looking at the initiatives we can use to create our own successes. The section on initiatives asks you to tear down your current methods and find reasons why you do the things that hinder your progress. This sections opens your eyes for being aware of the things that stop you from being successful. In summary, it takes 100 days of creating a habit to make a behavioral change in ourselves. Take this book, read it, do the action steps, and create your own personal plan for success, you will not regret it. This is an excellent launching pad for your own personal brilliance!

Required Reading for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

The author's approach to incorporating innovation into one's daily life is masterful. As a business angel I give the book to aspiring entrepreneurs seeking to birth an innovative idea to bring to market.

What's Your PBQ?

Hey, I'm an "Action Hero!" Who knew? Jim Canterucci's book has absolutely changed the way I "think about thinking." My business is all about creativity, ideas, and innovation -- but PERSONAL BRILLIANCE has shown me it is also about Awareness, Curiosity, Focus, and Initiative. PERSONAL BRILLIANCE is an entertaining read, as well as a well-designed and formatted book. The chapters are well constructed, and it's easy to flip back through sections when revisiting the core concepts (which I do quite frequently). I recommend this book to anyone and everyone -- from the boardroom to the living room -- this book is for YOU. You don't realize how just a *little* action taken toward implementing these four catalysts can absolutely change your outlook on your work or your home life. Don't just READ this book, take the extra step and put the catalysts into action (that falls under INITIATIVE, duh.) AND don't forget to check out the companion website. They have an online assessment that calculates your Personal Brilliance Quotient (PBQ), and a ton of extra content. Definitely worth a visit to mypersonalbrilliance-dot-com.