Official Review: Grabbing Life by the Balls by Brian Quinn

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CataclysmicKnight
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Official Review: Grabbing Life by the Balls by Brian Quinn

Post by CataclysmicKnight »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Grabbing Life by the Balls" by Brian Quinn.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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When I first saw Grabbing Life by the Balls: The Winning Formula by Brian Quinn I assumed it was a humorous motivational book. The cover looks dead serious though, and it shows a father and mother with their son in his graduation cap and gown. The father has his hand on his son's shoulder, presumably telling him the secret to life - "GRAB LIFE BY THE BALLS, son!" Upon learning that the book is only 10 pages long according to Amazon (it was almost a full 6 in the PDF I reviewed) my quick assumption was secured even more.

Suffice it to say I was a bit surprised when I started reading and the book was actually quite solid! Yes, there are as many "chapters" as there were PDF pages but Brian makes some excellent points. The book essentially functions as an introductory course to setting goals, making plans and lists, and the importance of time management and a positive attitude. These are topics that are covered far more thoroughly in almost any other book about reaching your goals, sure, but the author's use of bold font and underlining text is excellently done. This means that even the most easily distracted folks who look at a page or two of text and think "this is too many words" will still get the major points from Brian Quinn's book! The Amazon page recommends Grabbing Life by the Balls to people 6-18 years old, and while I think 6 is a little young to grasp some of the concepts (or to even read the words "grabbing life by the balls"), the point of it being an introductory book stands.

Quinn begins the book with explaining how to define your own personal success. The thing about success is that it really is different for everyone - one person may not feel successful until they live in a mansion with a garage full of $200,000 cars, whereas another may feel successful if they fall in love and have a family, and yet another may simply want to make a living as a writer or teacher. Next, Quill explains the importance of setting clear, specific goals toward that ultimate goal. The rest of the book covers planning, envisioning success, remaining resilient through failure and, of course, grabbing life by the balls - the importance of action!

Having read many self-help and motivational titles, I've learned everything in Grabbing Life by the Balls many times over long ago. However, as Quinn says, knowledge is one thing but taking action is what really counts. This book works incredibly well as a quick refresher, and I can see people using it in their daily ritual of psyching themselves up for a day of success. I agreed with every point in the book but one - Quinn says in a bit of text that's both underlined and in bold "There are 24 hours in a day. Sleep six, and use the rest to achieve your goals." I can absolutely see that being valid from time to time - I've often slept less while amped up to achieve a day's goals, so I can relate. However, to recommend this as regular practice is a terrible idea - a lack of sleep, especially after working hard, makes one's brain work slower and eventually those additional hours don't even make up for the extra time tasks take.

Aside from this one questionable bit of advice, the only negative is the number of errors in the book. Despite being only 6 PDF pages long I found a total of 8 grammatical errors. While none of them were major in any way, a book this short has no excuse for not being perfectly edited. As such, my rating of Grabbing Life by the Balls is 3 out of 4 stars.

Now get out there and grab life by the balls!

******
Grabbing Life by the Balls
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RegularGuy3
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Post by RegularGuy3 »

If my six year old said he was going to grab life by the balls, I'd probably have to scold him and then laugh once he left the room. But these are valuable lessons that all young people need to learn. Maybe I'll give it a try and do some light editing for his reading pleasure. At only a few pages, I can play editor with a marker. Thanks for the review!
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Post by Ubyamos »

A motivational book that goes straight to the point. I think I'll like this book.
Thanks for the review.
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Post by Nthabeleng »

Added to my want to read list, I think I need to read this book. Thanks for the wonderful review.
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Post by Zelinda »

Ouch! But yeah, okay, metaphors aside, this looks like something I have long wished for - a self-help book that doesn't make one go through pages and pages of explanation to get to the crux of the matter. Are you sure it's only for ages 6-18. How about 67? I can use some inspiration.
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Post by Elle Howard »

This book sounds like the perfect motivational book. The title definitely catches your attention. The size is manageable for those with a short attention span. I look forward to reading this book. Thanks for the great review!
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Post by BrianQuinn36 »

Thank you for the great reviews. Honestly this book was not ment for readers age 6-18. That was an error I have since corrected. It was my intention for this to be a short book that went straight to the meat of the matter. Lol I do not wish to make people jump through the hoops I had to in order to learn these lessons.
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Post by Gratey12 »

I'm getting my hands on this book. Ten pages long, is long enough for people like me who can't be disturbed with long-winded presentations. Self-help books and those that deal with personal growth must be shorn of flowery sub-topics that take up too much attention. Excellent review.
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Post by Rizwana Noor »

This book by Brian Quinn seems very interesting because the reviewer has highlighted even the slightest details about the author's intention to motivate and inspire the younger generation to become perfectly successful. Such short and precise books are like little diamonds, and diamonds are for ever. Congrats to Mr. Brian Quinn for sharing the secrets of success.
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Post by MrsCatInTheHat »

This sounds like a great graduation gift!
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Post by Ashley Simon »

Haha - don't think I'd let a six-year-old read a book with this title! Still, sounds like an interesting read. I'll have to check it out. Nice review!
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Post by DC_Onwe »

Wow no beating about the bush, straight talk is a sign of pure ingenuity...I have always wanted to grab life by the balls any ways so this will make a good read for me lol
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Post by KeriCraven »

The title gave me a bit of a chuckle. Sometimes, in life, we just need to read a motivational story. Thank you for your review.
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Post by Kat Kennedy »

When I saw the title, I just had to read the review to see what this book was about. Sounds like it might be worth the read since it doesn't take long and has valuable information. I might give it a try.
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Post by Sarah Immanuel »

It might be a good read. Thanks for the review.
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