Book Trek 2018 - 06

Book:  Your Best Year Ever. (Audio version) 2022: Kindle version.

Author:  Michael Hyatt

Info:  Copyright 2018.  Grand Rapids, MI:  Baker Books

Rating (on a scale of 1-4 stars):  ✮✮✮✮

Where Acquired:  Library check out.  2022: Purchased e-book from Amazon.

What it's about:  Using a five-step plan, Hyatt walks the reader through nontraditional goal setting.  He makes a guarantee that if the reader seriously and thoroughly completes the steps, he will have a much better success rate with goal completion than the standard New Year's resolution.  Using stories from history, client testimonies, and anecdotes from his own life, the author paints both an encouraging and accurate picture of goal completion.

Favorite Quotes:

From the Introduction: 
Dragging the worst of the past into the best of the future is another reason our goals fail.

From Chapter 3: 
Impossible is not a fact; it's an opinion. - Muhammad Ali

From Chapter 7:
If we're working against ourselves, we'll experience more heartburn than progress.

From Chapter 9:
What I like to do is set a goal that's almost delusional and then dial it back a few clicks.

A goal is not just about what you accomplish; it's about what you become.

From Chapter 10: 
People lose their way when they lose their why.

From Chapter 14:
Your goal might be sacred, but your strategy isn't.

What I liked

• I appreciate that Hyatt gives the option of revision, removing, and/or replacing a goal that isn't working.  He does not consider this a failure, but a chance to pivot to a more productive direction.  That's not typical of many goal setting techniques.
• His method of changing the familiar SMART goal technique into SMARTER goals is much more encouraging and engaging.
• I've heard the author's podcast, so the sound of his voice is familiar.  However, there is a difference between conducting a podcast and reading a book aloud.  He's a very good narrator who uses proper inflection and change of tone to keep the text interesting.

What I didn't like

• Some things seemed confusing and out of order.  For example, in chapter four, Hyatt gives steps to conducting what he calls an "after action review."  Then several chapters later, he is on a completely different subject, but chooses to go back to the after action review.  Granted, if I saw the print version of the book, it would probably make more sense.  2022:  The e-book helped it make more sense.
  
• No references for the historical research were given.  Again, they might be in the print version. 2022:  There is a Notes section.
  
• In his "10 interrelated domains of real life," he lists marital and parental (which are very important) but doesn't list any alternatives for those who are not married or a parent.  Does Hyatt consider those who don't fall into those categories a failure who isn't living a "real life"? 2022:  Even when you take the Life Score quiz, those areas show up as missing pieces of a pie.  If an area does not apply, it should be removed from the results so that the pie is complete.  Maybe it's just a mental thing, but I didn't appreciate that.
  
• In listing what he considers encouraging statistics, Hyatt lists the dropping annual number of hours worked as a positive.  How is that positive?  Doesn't that mean that less people have jobs, or more people are having their hours cut?  I'm not statistician, but that doesn't make sense to me.

Takeaway:

Last year, I read Zig Ziglar's book Over the Top, part of which deals with goal setting.  While it was a very good book from which I gleaned much insight, Michael Hyatt's approach to goal setting seems like it will work best for me.  He doesn't simply give some rah-rah, guru-like statements to encourage the reader to set up a page full of lofty goals, then wag a disappointing finger at the reader for not accomplishing all the goals by December 31st.  The author makes the reader take time to think through and process each goal, plus deal with any past mental blocks that may impede progress on current goals.

I plan to purchase a print copy of this book for my personal library.  In the years to come, I can go through the exercises again to set and accomplish my goals.

2022:  I purchased the book and worked slowly through the prescribed exercises. It took a lot longer to complete than I had anticipated, but the next time around will be easier and quicker.