Review of How To Be Successful

[Becca Olsson]

[Following is a volunteer review of "How To Be Successful" by M. Curtis McCoy.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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In How to be Successful, author M. Curtis McCoy writes about overcoming his struggles in life to become successful. He gives tips and tricks on being a leader, making friends, presenting yourself how you’d like to be seen, and more. Included are several interviews from other successful and influential people who give their own perspectives on what it means to be a “successful” person and how they got to that point. If you’re looking for some good advice on how to take the steps that are necessary to becoming the person you want to be, then look no further.

There are so many positive aspects about this book. For starters, the entire tone of the writing is extremely positive. McCoy clearly has a very optimistic outlook on life, despite the struggles and near-death experiences he’s had, and it’s clear that he spreads that outlook to others. When I began this book, I was expecting the author to be more out of touch with the common person and give only vague ideas of success that are meant to somehow be inspiring. However, McCoy proved that he’s put the work in and deserves to have “successful” as his title. The same can be said for the other interviewees. Most of them stated that true success is more than a nice title and a lot of money. They focus on their families and have a healthy work-life balance. Despite their outward success, several said they only truly felt successful one or two days in their entire lives.

My main takeaways from the advice given throughout the book is to be honest with yourself. You need to know how you handle stress and what your weaknesses are so you can work to overcome them. Another is to remember that there are a lot of dream thieves out there trying to bring you down, but don’t claim your trophy before you’ve earned it, or you’ll stop putting in the work.

Unfortunately, there was an issue with the digital book. On pages 71, 78, and 107, there were red error boxes that stated there was an error in the chapter and both chapters, subsequently, appeared to be cut off. After each instance, the page numbers would skip forward several pages. However, without the full version I can’t be sure. Other than that, there were no negatives with the writing, and I found no typos and believe the book to be professionally edited.

Overall, I rate this book four out of five stars. I truly wanted to give it five stars, but due to the issue with the error boxes and missing pages, I’m not able to give it full stars. I believe this is an error that can be corrected, however. There was no inappropriate content or harsh language.

I would recommend this book to readers of any age who are looking for a little inspiration in their lives. Are you lacking direction? This might be the first step you need. Each interviewee gave certain book recommendations of books they’ve read multiple times, so I would suggest this book as a jumping off point into reading about the world of the successful.

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How To Be Successful
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