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I’ve got to admit it – I don’t understand most “isms”, especially racism.  Don’t get me wrong, I understand that people feel racism and practice racial prejudice and discrimination, and I understand a very little of what it feels like to be on the receiving end of that belief.  I’m not trying to diminish the damage caused throughout history by various “isms” – racism, sexism, nationalism, even “faith-ism”.  I just don’t understand why people would limit themselves and their thinking with such small ideas.

I’ve thought about it a lot and I just can’t understand why people, if they thought about it even a little, would believe that other people are bad just because they are different in some superficial way.  I can understand not trusting someone because they have been untrustworthy to you or to others in the past.  I can’t understand not trusting someone because of the color of their skin.  My life would not be nearly as rich if I stayed away from people based on race, religion, age, politics, gender, or whatever.  How foolish I would be to limit myself in that way.

There are plenty of real things to fear without making up new ones. Sometimes, we just seem to invent junk to make life difficult for ourselves.

Lots of good examples – but nothing really new

It’s always good to read a bunch of real-life examples of how someone succeeded in life through adversity, changes and challenges. George Foreman has obviously done that, and this book is an outline of his thoughts on entrepreneurship as a result of his life experiences. There are moments when the book shines – when the author talks about out-working the competition or about overcoming negative people and circumstances. But there are also plenty of pages where it seems to just be one tired cliche after another. This would be a 5-star book if the editors had only kept the high-impact chapters.

Overall, this is a good read. It’s chapters are short and well focused. There are stories that you can take out of it and apply to your life and work right away. There are many, many examples of how to apply the advice in the book. George Foreman is charming and genuine and that comes through in the writing. As a bonus, you get digital versions when you buy the hardback, so you certainly get your money’s worth.