Monday, September 17, 2007

"On Becoming Fearless" by Arianna Huffington


I've always liked Ms. Huffington's commentaries, so when this book came floating back into the branch yet again, I took it as a sign to finally check it out. Sad to say, this book isn't that much different than any other self-help book we have on the shelf, albeit one directed specifically at women.

The basic premise of Huffington's work is not that we should be fearless as the title suggests. Rather, it's that we should feel the fear and learn from it and do whatever it is we need to do anyway. Not bad advice but certainly not new advice, either. I liked that she was adament that women need to get fearless about their body images; I agree that women today waste too much time and energy worrying about what everyone else thinks about their appearances. A confident, happy person, female or male, is far more attractive than a "pretty" person with a nasy disposition.

I skimmed a lot of this piece, namely because it's got a bit of that "been there, done that" feel. For example, there's an entire chapter about motherhood; I don't have children, nor do I want any, so that chapter was unnecessary to me. Others might get something out of it, I don't know. Also, the chapter about work wasn't all that pertinent to my career, as I'm in the public service sector. I will never make a lot of money in my line of work, and I'm certainly not going to orchestrate any takeovers anytime soon!

The book is worth picking up, even if you merely skim through it as I did. It's never a bad thing to hear/read/see someone tell you that you're great just the way you are, and that you can accomplish anything you put your mind to.

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