"Be All You Can Be" :: A Book Review

Nongmaithem Rakesh *

"BE ALL YOU CAN BE"

A legion of books has been written on the topic of success. Some of them are fun to read while other are informative, and others are powerfully written.

BE ALL YOU CAN BE is also a book written on theme of success. It is an informative, fun filled, encouraging as well as easy to read book. The book has been wonderfully authored by John C Maxwell.

He has written numerous books like Be a People Person, Developing the Leader Within You, Developing The Leaders Around You, etc. He is also a popular speaker and the founder of INJOY, a leadership development institute.

BE ALL YOU CAN BE is a thin book. Although small in size it is a treasure house of wisdom. Often great power comes in small packages. Now, the unique things about the book- It is a book based on the Bible. It quoted extensively from the Bible such as
"I can do all things through him who strengthen me." or
" The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.''

It has been structured into 13 uniquely interesting chapters. The chapters have been titled aptly to its content. Many fascinating acrostics are utilized to drive home the points that the author wants to share with us. Acrostic of SUCCESS, PLANNED, SECURE, etc are used to hold our attention.

You will also find new terminologies like 5 PRs, Backslider Blue, etc. which keep this book engrossing. The sentences are simple yet very powerful. It employs examples and stories to highlight what the author is trying to say. The story of Joan of Arc, Gene Tunney and Charles Lindbergh are the cases in point.

BE ALL YOU CAN BE is a cook book for happy living. If you follow the principles which has been outlined in this book then you can surely lead a fruitful life. It deals in details with myraid subjects like Leadership, Handling conflicts, utility of planning, Problem solving principles, and lots more. These topics are deals in the pragmatic way not in a pedogogic manner.

Everybody want to know how to handle problems. This has been deals exclusively in this book. You will also find Daily Dozen, a topic on how to evaluate our life. If you can evaluate your life that you can be what you intend to be. It also lists why we fail and the steps to overcome failure.

Moreover, It states what it takes to be a leaders and vulnerabilities while stretching. The characteristics of the Crossroad have also been laid down so succintly in this work. It is a book that progresses successively from one topic to another topic .

I will give it 8 out of 10.