Winget pulls no punches in self-help book
Sue Blechl, Special to the Gazette
Friday, July 17, 2009
“People are Idiots and I Can Prove It!” by Larry Winget, Gotham Books, 2009.
By Sue Blechl
Special to The Gazette I would retitle this book: We are idiots! With the subtitle “The 10 ways you are sabotaging yourself and how you can overcome them,” this self-help book is an in-your-face challenge to make your life what you want. Each of us has one or more dreams — financial wealth, a healthy body, a happy life, a good education. Larry Winget believes that we can achieve our goals if we change our ways. Our habits determine our situation.
If we want to accumulate money, we cannot be spending it on unnecessary items like eating out, expensive hobbies, costly clothing and accessories. We must cut back in order to save. To say we want to be wealthy, and then to spend so we have nothing is to be stupid. We are sabotaging ourselves.
Another example is health. We all want to be healthy, with an appropriate weight and no serious illness. Yet we continue to eat fast foods, get little exercise, smoke and in many ways abuse our bodies. We are sabotaging ourselves.
Our dreams are in our control. We deliberately or unconsciously harm ourselves by doing things that we know to be damaging. We let our bad habits continue, as if they did not directly disrupt pursuit of our goals. We are idiots!
If we continue to do what we’re doing, we will not achieve our goals. We’ll be just as we are.
The key is to change our ways, change our habits. Then and only then will we move closer to the financial, social or physical success we desire. Winget supplies the rationale for our bad habits, and the tools for changing them.
The author has written many books, including “You’re Broke Because You Want to Be” and “Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life: A Kick-Butt Approach to a Better Life.”
He has starred in a show called “Big Spender” on the A&E Network. His style is big — flashy clothes, big jewelry and a larger-than-life style of communication. He lays it on the line; he pulls no punches. He makes the reader or viewer accept responsibility for their actions and their lives.
There is no blame to be put on others. We are in control of our destiny. Although some readers will find Winget’s style simple and harsh, others will realize that his simple truths are valuable. This is a book that can be read or skimmed for benefit. Winget’s Web site describes him as “the pitbull of personal development.” If you can stand to be attacked for the better, check it out — www.larrywinget.com