You Don't Have to be Born Brilliant

By: John McGrath

Narrated by: John McGrath

Length: 3 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

John McGrath is one of Australia's youngest and most successful businessmen. With a forecast turnover of almost a billion dollars, his residential real estate company, McGrath Partners hasn't put a foot wrong. Why do some people make it to the top while others don't? Does being at the top matter? Does money equal success? John McGrath would argue no to both those points - success is more than that, and it needn't be either.

John's philosophy takes in the whole picture of success, from goal setting and focus to taking care of your health and behaving ethically (nice guys don't finish last), living with failure and having a 30-day plan.

Much in demand as a motivational speaker, John McGrath shares the secrets of his well-rounded real success.

©2000 John McGrath (P)2001 Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Critic reviews

"It takes only a few minutes of listening to John McGrath to know he’s the real deal in this satisfying lesson on living your best life. He's a successful Australian entrepreneur, so there are business references, but the focus is on personal strategies—for being clear about our options, resolute about choosing our mental approach, and persistent in our efforts. Though his exercises and strategies are sophisticated, his relaxed and humble tone makes his suggestions sound accessible and familiar. With a smooth speaking voice that inspires a palpable connection with the listener, he explains how a few shifts in attitude, self-awareness, and habits can help us achieve more of what we want with our health, finances, business, or relationships." ( AudioFile)

Entertainint and inspiring, but Get a Life!!

Read by the author himself this book is really entertaining and inspiring - I started writing down goals and stuff while reading it. John sounds like the perfect guy... so successful, eats fruit everyday and all that, but... where is the fun and spontanaety?! Anyway, this is a book I get back to regularly and listen to a chapter or two. The authors voice and accent are great!

Few good tips mixed in

Some of the suggestions made in the book were pretty good, but it was really just a description of how the author goes through the day and handles things such as stress, phone calls, paperwork, daily workouts, etc. I was waiting for more but, more never came.

Inspirational Fluff

The book is a longer more ernest version of the type of feel good inspirational speakers that are popular in some segments of business. If you're in sales or perhaps a profession that is even more bruising on the ego, you may need a heavy dose of this kind of drivel, but for most of the rest of us it's just fluff. Yes we should exercise, eat better, be more organized, and live within our means. The reasons we don't always do this are complex and listening to some rich guy say, "Look at me I do all these things that you know you should be doing" probably doesn't help much.

Nothing new, nothing exciting

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I only got through half the book before giving up. The writer employs existing common sense recommendations to improve your life. Think positive, have goals, overcome your fears, etc. But he rarely reaches any depth with halfhearted analogies, doesn't provide much in terms of support for his recommendations, and often leaves the reader with not more than airy anecdotes such as "Think positive every day".

You would be far better off reading "The Power of Now", a quarter of which more concisely sums up the few beneficial recommendations in this book, while being truly powerful in its ability to reach inside of, and make it real, for the reader.

If the writer is not going to break new ground in what he's recommending, he'll need to do a better job at really reaching in to the hearts and minds of his audience and making them able to internalize the recommendations.

As is, the writer comes across as rather self absorbed, and more interested in writing a biography of his own success than he is in truly touching his readers. That's probably not an easy task, but then again, "Improve your life" self help books are not in short supply.

Would you ever listen to anything by John McGrath again?

Unlikely

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of John McGrath?

Irrelevant