Action!: Nothing Happens Until Something Moves FROM THE PUBLISHER
Action! is an exhilarating reminder that there's a lot more to life than merely surviving. Life is meant to be lived, and Robert Ringer is unequivocal in his belief that neither success nor happiness is possible without action. Further, he makes a convincing case that there is a direct link between action and spirituality. For more than two decades, Ringer's books have been at the forefront of the self-development genre and shown millions the way to personal and professional achievement. Now, in his latest and most eye-opening work, he explains why action is the key element in determining how an individual's life plays out, and, as always, debunks a lot of conventional wisdom in the process. Filled with humorous and enriching stories and anecdotes, Action! exhorts the reader to "Forget about taking action next week; forget about taking action tomorrow; forget about taking action in an hour. When you close this book, get up out of your chair and take action now."
Action! Nothing Happens Until Something Moves acknowledges that ideas can be precious commodities that can change the world, sound preparation is invaluable, and knowledge and wisdom are essential when it comes to giving one an edge in the pursuit of great achievements. But ideas, preparation, knowledge, and wisdom are all but useless without action, because action is the starting point of all progress. In other words, an idea, of and by itself, has no intrinsic value. It must be accompanied by action. The problem with inaction is that it yields consequences by default. Nothing happens until something moves, so if you wait for something, or someone, to act on you, you likely will be unable to control the consequences. Action is an awesome tool that gives an individual the capacity to overcome virtually all obstacles in his/her path. We use the word defeat only to describe the fact that we have made the decision to stop trying, even though there is no special skill required to employ perseverance.
Perseverance, of course, is nothing more than persistent action -- continuing to take action in the face of massive rejection, massive disappointment, and massive frustration. Adversity, then, is never a valid excuse for inaction. On the contrary, adversity is the best reason of all for taking action.
Defying conventional wisdom, Action! explains why, contrary to popular belief, you don't need to be motivated to take action. If necessary, force yourself to take action, and motivation will follow. In other words, action is the key to the brain's ignition. Take action first, and your creative juices will rise to the occasion, which, in turn, will motivate you to take more action. Action! makes it clear that long-term happiness is a result of taking rational actions that are in accordance with universal principles. As such, rather than focusing on happiness, the author urges the reader to focus on truthful, value-oriented, self-disciplined action, because such action will lead to happiness as sure as day follows night.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Bestselling self-help author Ringer's main theme is that people need to take personal action in order to get what they want from life. This truism is explored and coupled with other factors such as honesty, self-discipline, adversity, personal values and how these things help or get in the way of promoting positive action. As in his previous books, Ringer (Winning Through Intimidation) employs a narrative style that allows the reader to explore behavior through anecdotes and examples. Occasionally, the book takes on a self-protective slant as Ringer strives to point out ways in which other people will become obstacles to success by making life complicated and unpleasant. The author doesn't readily hide his disdain for people with whom he has a difference of opinion, and he often seems overly interested in promoting his own views and beliefs in the areas of religion, politics, diet, race and business, making the book seem more like a series of morality plays than a practical guide. The meandering prose style occasionally makes it hard to focus on and extract the lessons being offered. Still, Ringer does tell many captivating anecdotes that help to illustrate the points he is making and offers a wide-ranging perspective on how adopting certain moral behaviors can help to bring about success and happiness. Illus. (Sept.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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