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You're Not That Great by Daniel Crosby
Psychologist and leadership coach Dr. Daniel Crosby offers You’re Not that Great as an antidote to the saccharine self-help books that promote happiness and self esteem at the expense of personal integrity. Arguing against complacency, Crosby encourages his readers to consider rules for successful living that are based on the pursuit of excellence rather than the assumption of it.
Originally from Alabama, Crosby has an engaging down-home conversational style, and his many anecdotes and broad cultural references fill his book with humor as well as a serious message about how to live a great life. His interactive text provides solid advice and encouragement, as well as “lived learning exercises” at the end of each chapter.
As Dr. Crosby writes in his last chapter, “Living a great life is fundamentally about scraping away all of the bad lessons and fallacious visions of happiness you’ve been sold. It’s about realizing that the less you need to be special, the more special you’ll become.”
Originally from Alabama, Crosby has an engaging down-home conversational style, and his many anecdotes and broad cultural references fill his book with humor as well as a serious message about how to live a great life. His interactive text provides solid advice and encouragement, as well as “lived learning exercises” at the end of each chapter.
As Dr. Crosby writes in his last chapter, “Living a great life is fundamentally about scraping away all of the bad lessons and fallacious visions of happiness you’ve been sold. It’s about realizing that the less you need to be special, the more special you’ll become.”
- GenresNonfiction
Paperback
First published November 9, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 24, 2019
There's nothing "great" about this one.
While it raises some good points and reiterates that even though we believe we're special when we most likely aren't there isn't much beyond this point.
A worthwhile and quick read although likely not life changing!
While it raises some good points and reiterates that even though we believe we're special when we most likely aren't there isn't much beyond this point.
A worthwhile and quick read although likely not life changing!
October 9, 2023
Sobering
And I can receive that. 65 years gone and I still haven’t found my calling. My history informs, my environment informs, but the ultimate arbiter is God. But the author does not at any point acknowledge this.
And I can receive that. 65 years gone and I still haven’t found my calling. My history informs, my environment informs, but the ultimate arbiter is God. But the author does not at any point acknowledge this.
November 7, 2021
Really a 3.5
January 25, 2013
*In the interest of full disclosure, I will preface this review with the fact that I know the author of this book personally. To the extent possible, I have not let this influence my review of the book. Of course, based on the information provided in this book, it is unlikely that I have fully succeeded in remaining unbiased.
Call him the anti-hero of self-help. Dr. Daniel Crosby is here to rip you a new one—a new self-image, that is. With a proverbial wink and smile, Dr. Crosby is going to tear all of the protective bandages off of your many blemishes and imperfections. It’s going to smart. It’s going to sting. You might even cry a little. But, as Dr. Crosby himself reminds us, he is doing this because he loves you. Not that you’re anything special, mind you.
Humorous title notwithstanding, You’re Not That Great: A Motivational Book is less tongue-in-cheek and more of a swift-kick-to-the-nads of overinflated egos everywhere. And by everywhere, I mean everywhere. Not a single one of us is immune to thinking much more highly of ourselves than we really should. In fact, this is the central thesis of Dr. Crosby’s book. Yes, you’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and doggone it, people like you—but nowhere near to the extent that you suppose. Welcome to Reality 101.
With an abundance of empirical data to support his claims, Dr. Crosby provides readers with a guided tour through the unconscious megalomania, biases, and other influences that inevitably skew our interpretations of (and interactions with) the world around us. Think you’re good at making sensible decisions? Odds are your “rational” choices will spin a complete 180 if the same factual information is presented to you in slightly different terms. For those who aspire to be level-headed, this is bad news. The good news is that Dr. Crosby is here to point out and encourage you to check (and recheck) your mental blind spots as you cruise through this crash course called life. And how does he achieve this? Each of Dr. Crosby’s chapters is centered on a theme that sounds like something out of a cynical fortune cookie: “You’re Kind of Crazy,” “You’re Not as Safe as You Think,” “You’re Chasing the Wrong Dream,” etc. Psychological research is presented to convince the reader of the truthfulness of these claims, but readers aren’t left to despair. Instead, each chapter concludes with a pair of valuable sections in which Dr. Crosby assists the reader in putting this information to good use. In the section titled “The Path Forward,” Dr. Crosby offers some general advice and principles for living a life that avoids the pitfalls just discussed. In the section titled “Learned Living,” Dr. Crosby challenges the reader with specific exercises that will put these principles into immediate effect.
While the statistical data provided by Dr. Crosby’s tome has been put forward in several other works of recent years, I am aware of none that approach the data from the angle of generalized self-help. As the subtitle of the book makes clear, Dr. Crosby’s aim is to motivate. Because his writing is so personal and engaging—he shares almost as many embarrassing anecdotes from his own life as he does data from scientific research—the result is as rousing as one could hope for. Indeed, Dr. Crosby’s writing style is so conversational, easy-going, and upbeat that it nearly undermines the book’s authority. That may not sound like a compliment, but it is. You’re Not That Great is a mere stone’s throw away from reading like a personal letter from a friend. Dr. Crosby’s professional credentials feel secondary to his genuine concern for the reader. The result is, in my opinion, all the more inspiring because of it. Rather than speaking to us from atop a high horse, Dr. Crosby sits beside us, pats us on the knee, and tells us like a true friend that we need to pull our heads out. Who couldn’t use a friend like that?
One thing stood in my way of enjoying Dr. Crosby’s book as much as I could have. The copy I received had numerous typos in it, sometimes surprisingly many to a page. I have been assured by the author that such typos have been remedied and are no longer an issue. I feel it would be unfair of me not to mention the errors, as they were a part of my reading experience. Fortunately, they will not be a part of yours.
Call him the anti-hero of self-help. Dr. Daniel Crosby is here to rip you a new one—a new self-image, that is. With a proverbial wink and smile, Dr. Crosby is going to tear all of the protective bandages off of your many blemishes and imperfections. It’s going to smart. It’s going to sting. You might even cry a little. But, as Dr. Crosby himself reminds us, he is doing this because he loves you. Not that you’re anything special, mind you.
Humorous title notwithstanding, You’re Not That Great: A Motivational Book is less tongue-in-cheek and more of a swift-kick-to-the-nads of overinflated egos everywhere. And by everywhere, I mean everywhere. Not a single one of us is immune to thinking much more highly of ourselves than we really should. In fact, this is the central thesis of Dr. Crosby’s book. Yes, you’re good enough, you’re smart enough, and doggone it, people like you—but nowhere near to the extent that you suppose. Welcome to Reality 101.
With an abundance of empirical data to support his claims, Dr. Crosby provides readers with a guided tour through the unconscious megalomania, biases, and other influences that inevitably skew our interpretations of (and interactions with) the world around us. Think you’re good at making sensible decisions? Odds are your “rational” choices will spin a complete 180 if the same factual information is presented to you in slightly different terms. For those who aspire to be level-headed, this is bad news. The good news is that Dr. Crosby is here to point out and encourage you to check (and recheck) your mental blind spots as you cruise through this crash course called life. And how does he achieve this? Each of Dr. Crosby’s chapters is centered on a theme that sounds like something out of a cynical fortune cookie: “You’re Kind of Crazy,” “You’re Not as Safe as You Think,” “You’re Chasing the Wrong Dream,” etc. Psychological research is presented to convince the reader of the truthfulness of these claims, but readers aren’t left to despair. Instead, each chapter concludes with a pair of valuable sections in which Dr. Crosby assists the reader in putting this information to good use. In the section titled “The Path Forward,” Dr. Crosby offers some general advice and principles for living a life that avoids the pitfalls just discussed. In the section titled “Learned Living,” Dr. Crosby challenges the reader with specific exercises that will put these principles into immediate effect.
While the statistical data provided by Dr. Crosby’s tome has been put forward in several other works of recent years, I am aware of none that approach the data from the angle of generalized self-help. As the subtitle of the book makes clear, Dr. Crosby’s aim is to motivate. Because his writing is so personal and engaging—he shares almost as many embarrassing anecdotes from his own life as he does data from scientific research—the result is as rousing as one could hope for. Indeed, Dr. Crosby’s writing style is so conversational, easy-going, and upbeat that it nearly undermines the book’s authority. That may not sound like a compliment, but it is. You’re Not That Great is a mere stone’s throw away from reading like a personal letter from a friend. Dr. Crosby’s professional credentials feel secondary to his genuine concern for the reader. The result is, in my opinion, all the more inspiring because of it. Rather than speaking to us from atop a high horse, Dr. Crosby sits beside us, pats us on the knee, and tells us like a true friend that we need to pull our heads out. Who couldn’t use a friend like that?
One thing stood in my way of enjoying Dr. Crosby’s book as much as I could have. The copy I received had numerous typos in it, sometimes surprisingly many to a page. I have been assured by the author that such typos have been remedied and are no longer an issue. I feel it would be unfair of me not to mention the errors, as they were a part of my reading experience. Fortunately, they will not be a part of yours.
October 21, 2019
You're not but this book is great. An honest and much needed slap in the face/kick in the butt if you read a lot in the self help world.
February 15, 2022
If you need a motivational book that goes about everywhere and incorporates about all the thoughts . . . Look no further. Loved the read. Took no time. I really enjoyed the Lived Learning Challenges at the end of the chapters.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews