Official Review: Guidelines for a happy, healthy and succ...

[Cecilia_L]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Guidelines for a happy, healthy and successful life." by Rashad Hood.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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"Happiness has nothing to do with the destination and everything to do with the journey. This is a fact that few understand. Enjoy the present moment." Guidelines for a Happy, Healthy and Successful Life by Rashad Hood provides readers with the understanding and tools for living life to its fullest potential.

As an author, researcher, and philosopher, Hood shares his experiences related to how the mind can guide and control life, restructuring the thought process, practicing the power of positive thinking, and the importance of keeping an open and loving heart. He also contrasts the differences between the soul and ego and addresses the necessity of learning from past relationships before pursuing new ones. Hood challenges readers to view life as a journey rather than a destination and explains the concept of emotions as energy, frequency, and vibration, that can impact our lives positively or negatively depending on our awareness.

This book is well-written, organized, and concise. With seven chapters and 67 pages, it's a quick read that I finished in one sitting. The content is presented in a straightforward and easy to understand manner. The chapters are consistently formatted; beginning with an introduction to the topic, followed by more in-depth but succinct teaching, and wrapped up with a summary. Though I didn't necessarily agree with all of Hood's viewpoints, he shared practical ideas and positivity that would prove beneficial to most anyone.

I found the fourth chapter's contrast between the soul versus the ego particularly insightful. Over the years, I've heard various teachings on the subject, but I appreciated Hood's clear and simplified approach. Basically, he stated that the things that make us feel good from within such as joy, excitement, love, and inspiration are related to the soul; while things such as fear, anger, insecurity, and greed are ego-related. Additionally, he described the soul as always discerning, in contrast to the ego, which is always judging. Hood also stressed the importance a peaceful mind plays in regards to being guided by the soul as opposed to an anxious mind associated with the ego.

On the other hand, there were a few issues that detracted from the book. First, while I appreciated Hood's passion for his beliefs, a few of his concepts were extreme and oversimplified to the point of being insensitive. For instance, "All you have to do to have perfect health inside your body is to have the feeling of love or happiness from your heart." In all fairness, he did further elaborate about how stress can weaken the immune system. However, I couldn't help but wonder how the former statement might affect a cancer patient. Additionally, while Hood referred to the principles taught in the book as "my solutions and guidelines," not all of the ideas were his. Consider this example: "Like the saying goes, you reap what you sow." The "saying" he refers to is actually an often quoted Bible verse, Galatians 6:7 and should have been referenced as such. He also mentioned visualization which is practiced among a number of religions. While I'm not saying it's wrong to draw from other sources, they should be cited as references.

The book was professionally edited as I noted only one error. However, due to the previously mentioned issues, I rate the book 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend it to readers who enjoy self-help books related to spirituality and positive thinking. I don't think one has to agree with all of the author's concepts to take away helpful advice. However, if you find the practice of visualization offensive, you will probably prefer to skip this one.

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Guidelines for a happy, healthy and successful life.
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[Corhan2]

Thanks for this review. I think most people do not realize what an absolute lethal instrument your brain is, especially in believing you can achieve something. I agree with you on the insensitiveness of the author and when I read this part in your review also immediately thought about how someone with cancer would feel. Thanks for the recommendation - I might give this one a try.

[melissy370]

Good call on your critiques and I agree with them. I don't think I would read this book because I don't believe in some of the author's views. Thanks for your review.

[kandscreeley]

I would definitely be interested in the author's view of the differences between ego and soul. That sounds like something I haven't heard much about before. I'm glad this is a quick read as I'm always looking for something that's fast that could help me to learn more about how to be happy with my life. Thanks for the review.

[evan1995muniz]

One of my favorite songs growing up was Climb by Miley. When she was still good and a natural singer without autotune. It is about the climb of the mountain and not what is on the other side. This seems to be similar, which is how i drew that comparison. Thanks for the good review.

[Cecilia_L]

Thanks for this review. I think most people do not realize what an absolute lethal instrument your brain is, especially in believing you can achieve something. I agree with you on the insensitiveness of the author and when I read this part in your review also immediately thought about how someone with cancer would feel. Thanks for the recommendation - I might give this one a try.

Thank you. I appreciate your comment.

[Cecilia_L]

Good call on your critiques and I agree with them. I don't think I would read this book because I don't believe in some of the author's views. Thanks for your review.

I understand. Thanks for commenting.

[Cecilia_L]

I would definitely be interested in the author's view of the differences between ego and soul. That sounds like something I haven't heard much about before. I'm glad this is a quick read as I'm always looking for something that's fast that could help me to learn more about how to be happy with my life. Thanks for the review.

Thank you for stopping by. I appreciate your comment.

[Cecilia_L]

One of my favorite songs growing up was Climb by Miley. When she was still good and a natural singer without autotune. It is about the climb of the mountain and not what is on the other side. This seems to be similar, which is how i drew that comparison. Thanks for the good review.

I appreciate your comment.

[fredrick otieno]

This is a great review. Though i am familiar with the topics discussed, i am willing to read this too since the author may have a new idea that i a have never known or heard of.

[Dael Reader]

You write such great, detailed reviews! But I won't be reading this one. I am always skeptical about "guidebooks" for happiness and success. I think everyone has their own definition of happiness and success, so every path to reach those goals will be different. And while books like these might introduce readers to concepts they haven't thought of or heard of before (ego v. soul for instance), they aren't really going to reveal any great mysteries of life. But then again, happiness guidebooks have become a major genre in publishing, so someone must think they'll find the secret in print someday!

[Cecilia_L]

This is a great review. Though i am familiar with the topics discussed, i am willing to read this too since the author may have a new idea that i a have never known or heard of.

Thanks for your comment, Fredrick.

[Cecilia_L]

You write such great, detailed reviews! But I won't be reading this one. I am always skeptical about "guidebooks" for happiness and success. I think everyone has their own definition of happiness and success, so every path to reach those goals will be different. And while books like these might introduce readers to concepts they haven't thought of or heard of before (ego v. soul for instance), they aren't really going to reveal any great mysteries of life. But then again, happiness guidebooks have become a major genre in publishing, so someone must think they'll find the secret in print someday!

Thank you for your kind comments. I understand your thoughts on guidebooks.

[Franc93]

What clearly the author tends to put across is that we can do all things through faith and constant belief. It is like the law of attraction but carefully dissected and paraphrased by him/her. I do believe in the power of though and will and that is why i will surely read this book. Thanks for the review

[Book Lover 35]

I agree with that saying. I think a lot of people would be offended by it.Perfect attitude maybe would have been better. Thank you for the review!