Official Review: Focused Driven Lifestyle

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Dolor
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Official Review: Focused Driven Lifestyle

Post by Dolor »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Focused Driven Lifestyle" by Lyman A Montgomery, MBA.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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Thinking about the competition, and the living costs that continue to outpace wages, how do you deal with the world's distractions - people's interruption; internet connection; latest tools and gadgets; and your own mindset - from achieving your goals in life, given the less time?

Focused-Driven Lifestyle Strategies: 7 Strategies To Get Focused, Refocus, and Stay Focused in a Distracted World by Lyman A. Montgomery is independently published on September 29, 2017. The book has 193 pages (223 pages on e-Reader Prestigio) and is filed under the nonfiction genre. It is a self-help book which provides a lot of useful ideas on how to have a life that is less stressful and more meaningful. It also provides helpful online resources such as links to his articles and videos. The 7 strategies come with small pictures. There is YouTube video link that cannot be opened with one click, so I copied the link and pasted it into Google search bar to view the video. The link to his website - www.lifewithafocus.com/products - takes you to 404 page - click the button GO BACK HOME to read his blogs. Some chapters have exercises that put things in perspective and help the readers digest what they just read. Plus, they aren’t time-consuming at all.

The book is broken down into easy to digest bits and wisdom with real-life examples from both famous people and just regular folks. It’s obvious that the author had really worked hard to gather his knowledge in one place. The advice presented in this book can seem a little intimidating to implement at once, so my advice would be to take your time while reading and try to make small changes step-by-step.

The modern lifestyle is filled with distractions and procrastination and there never seems to be enough hours in the day so we often feel like we’re not focused or productive enough. There are so many little things that can be done to change that and this book does a great job at listing them. Some of them are plainly obvious, like scheduling your time for reading emails and stopping notifications from your devices, but you don’t really remember them until you’re reminded that those options exist.

One of the solutions to keep procrastination at bay - focus on getting one thing done at a time or working in stages with concentrated effort - however, in my own current working situation, this is not applicable. Why? It's because I am a domestic helper in a large Arab family. My main duty will never get finished. It keeps on repeating without being completed. Working is like I'm dancing in a never-ending remix. I can't finish a task each day. My employers always pull me from doing all uncompleted tasks, and the tasks repeat each day. Completing the task would only burn me out in stress, so I prefer to breathe and relax than force myself to complete the tasks. Well, I've tried completing tasks, but I noticed that I can't sit back and relax. My employers used to give me another task once they see me sitting down after a tiresome task.

Here's a suggestion from his friend, “Lyman focus on what you do best, and simply outsource the rest.” Since this review has a $10 payment, I tried this suggestion. I got inside a very known outsourcing site. I paid $6 for this book's review payment through PayPal, only to find out that the guy wanted me to add another $107 additional charges. According to him, "The price is too low for the job ordered." I was like...what?! $113 outsourcing fee for a $10-worth book review? I tried consulting with another person from the same outsourcing company. She offered $6 for a 250-word review. I could say, that outsourcing is only for those who can afford the cost. Just think of a win-win situation. Be sure to use your quick maths before investing.

There are a lot of quotes that I like in this book. One of which is this: "There is no ‘right or wrong’ way to live life, so you need to decide what’s most important to you." This is a thought-provoking quote; a simple statement, but a very good reminder. If there is one thing I dislike in this book, it is the misleading outline. The 7 strategies are scattered inside the 10 chapters that I literally searched for them inside the contents. On the other hand, I commend the author for putting all his efforts in combining his knowledge, his experience, and his well-researched ideas related to this topic in this book. This is the amazing summary of this book: Focus your mind, organize your life and gain control of your time!

The formatting, outlining, punctuation, random capitalization, and grammatical errors are setbacks that made me rate Focused-Driven Lifestyle Strategies: 7 Strategies To Get Focused, Refocus, and Stay Focused in a Distracted World by Lyman A. Montgomery 3 out of 4 stars. I recommend this book to all audiences especially to those who need some more focus in life. Lyman believes the key to success is to Focus…Prioritize… Achieve!

******
Focused Driven Lifestyle
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stacie k
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Post by stacie k »

Thank you for this thorough review, Dolor! This book has the potential to be quite helpful as all of us could benefit from less stress and more meaning to our days! I like the feature of having practical exercises to help with perspective, as well as real-life examples. Too bad that the organization was not as tidy as it could have been. Thank you also for sharing about your own life.
I am a domestic helper in a large Arab family. My main duty will never get finished. It keeps on repeating without being completed. Working is like I'm dancing in a never-ending remix.
I can relate to this in my role as a homemaker! I really enjoyed your story of attempting to outsource. Very funny! Great review!
“The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable.” Proverbs 15:2a
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Dolor
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Post by Dolor »

Thanks for reading my review and leaving a complimentary comment.

I can say, a homemaker is quiet better than my role in the sense that you are free to do what you want and you can receive love and praises from your loved ones. In my case, I'm too far. The people I'm with almost don't want me to sit, thinking that they are paying my service. I don't think that there is a 24-hour work but this is almost it.
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Post by n-dai che »

I guess that I can relate to this book. It is a good book for managing my life. Hoping for I can read this one, too. Thanks for your review.
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Dolor
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Post by Dolor »

pricessbianca28 wrote: 22 Mar 2018, 05:13 I guess that I can relate to this book. It is a good book for managing my life. Hoping for I can read this one, too. Thanks for your review.
It's my pleasure.

The lessons are relatable and doable, but to see the results, constant application and perseverance are needed.

I would like to know your mind about this book. You're free to ping me when you finish reading.
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Post by Ashiyya Tariq »

The book seems to be informative. But as you mentioned about mistakes. So the author should revise editing. Thanks for your insightful review.
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Dolor
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Post by Dolor »

Sarah Tariq wrote: 22 Mar 2018, 11:26 The book seems to be informative. But as you mentioned about mistakes. So the author should revise editing. Thanks for your insightful review.
Yes, the book is informative but it needs editing.

It's my pleasure.

Thanks for dropping by and leaving a bit from your mind on this review.
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Post by Kalin Adi »

We're in a constant battle trying to "buy" time from less important activities. This book seems to provide useful advice and resources to make the battle less heavy. However, not all advice is applicable to each person since everybody has his very specific circumstances. I think we just have to take the advice that can help in our own situation. Thanks for sharing your insights about this book.
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Dolor
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Post by Dolor »

Kalin Adi wrote: 22 Mar 2018, 14:05 We're in a constant battle trying to "buy" time from less important activities. This book seems to provide useful advice and resources to make the battle less heavy. However, not all advice is applicable to each person since everybody has his very specific circumstances. I think we just have to take the advice that can help in our own situation. Thanks for sharing your insights about this book.
Yes, we need to follow what's working for us and leave off what's not. What's in this book that most of the people are guilty of is doing multi-tasking and ending up doing nothing just because of keeping up with our friends over the internet - replying to emails and messages, surfing, receiving calls and the likes. When we are engrossed in social media, we sometimes burn the meals we are cooking and the day ended when we realized we have not accomplished anything. The things we should've done were procrastinated. Can you relate?
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Post by Sahani Nimandra »

"Thinking about the competition, and the living costs that continue to outpace wages, how do you deal with the world's distractions - people's interruption; internet connection; latest tools and gadgets; and your own mindset - from achieving your goals in life, given the less time" sounds very valuable for everyone to get through, but as you said I too am not quite sure how effective it may get. Sorry about the trouble that you had to go through related to payments. Thank you for sharing this book and review Dolor! I'll pass this for now!
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Dolor
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Post by Dolor »

Sahani Nimandra wrote: 24 Mar 2018, 09:31 "Thinking about the competition, and the living costs that continue to outpace wages, how do you deal with the world's distractions - people's interruption; internet connection; latest tools and gadgets; and your own mindset - from achieving your goals in life, given the less time" sounds very valuable for everyone to get through, but as you said I too am not quite sure how effective it may get. Sorry about the trouble that you had to go through related to payments. Thank you for sharing this book and review Dolor! I'll pass this for now!
The book gives valuable lessons but some are not useful for me since I have a different situation. Concentration in achieving one goal at a time is not applicable in my diverse world. Perhaps I'll carry them out when I return to my country. Thanks for stopping by.
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Post by CommMayo »

Maybe he needs to outsource his editing to someone better...or maybe he did outsource it but was too cheap to get someone of quality....

Nice review!
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Dolor
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Post by Dolor »

CommMayo wrote: 31 Mar 2018, 10:20 Maybe he needs to outsource his editing to someone better...or maybe he did outsource it but was too cheap to get someone of quality....

Nice review!
Perhaps one of the two. 🤓

To err is human as they say. Even this short review of mine has errors too. I just highlighted his because it's part of the tasks.

Thanks for the compliment.
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