The Mind Gym: wake your mind upNo author denoted
Time
Warner, 2005
Bookstore
shelves are crammed
with “self improvement”titles and public
appetite for the genre seems insatiable. Do we need another one? Are
they anything more than passing fads? The Mind Gym is
different.
To
begin with, there is no author to whom the writing is credited. We
are told that the book represents the end result of a “workout”
that over 100,000 people have taken, 93% of whom plan to use what
they have learned from the
programme. The style of writing is direct,
breezy and tongue in cheek. The book is really a support document
that lets you first analyse yourself on the basis of a detailed
questionnaire. Scoring is then assigned on the basis of 5 major
areas, and you can then custom design your reading programme based on
your shortfalls. All chapters are well organised and readable. The
book emphasises your need to participate actively and not just read
through.
The
authors(?) cover the entire gamut of behavioral strategies for
personal productivity and the range spanned is impressive; all the
way from hard science to touchy-feely, new age solutions. The best
part of the book is the access to the website using the key provided
in the book. The website (www.themindgym.com) is
designed to closely
complement the book. It is an interactive experience in itself,
starting from the personalised book mark that provides the
recommended programme for you, through all the custom designed
exercises and plans that you can use from the site.
All
in all, a refreshingly different,
hands-on workbook that
produces results almost immediately.