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GUTS: Find Your Greatness, Beat the Odds, Live From Passion
When we say something takes guts, we usually mean it takes courage to do it. It takes guts to go skydiving or to run a marathon or to try out for the school play. Look back at the great personalities who made a difference in the pages of history. What did they all have in common? Determination and tenacity in short, GUTS. You too can achieve your life s mission. You can fulfill your purpose. In GUTS, Sam Bracken, inspirational speaker and author of The Orange Duffel Bag, shows readers how to actually get there. Bracken coaches readers to use their heads, hearts and guts in pursuing their dreams, while sharing his own experiences as someone who started in one of the worst places imaginable and fought to make it to one of the best. Bracken shows that anyone can succeed in attaining their goals. But it s going to take GUTS."
203 pages, Paperback
Published March 28, 2017
15 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 21, 2019
1. Quotes I found useful/liked
“There was something in me, something very deep down, telling me that life had purpose and meaning beyond anything I could imagine.”
“Two people can go through exactly the same situation or circumstance, and one will learn from it, gain empathy from it, make course corrections because of it and become better; while the other lets it fester, constantly dwells on their disappointments, gets angry, and holds on to their victim status like a priceless artifact.”
“I have heard it said that we become a reflection of our life’s experiences.”
“...when your work and your play are the same thing, you start making a life instead of just making a living.”
“There’s a kind of happiness that comes from doing what your gut tells you is right for you-and you are even happier when you do it well.”
“It’s about loving who you really are and doing what you really love. It’s about loving the people who love you and lift you and who you lift in return. It’s about loving your life.”
“When you really start to listen to that deep inner voice, when you find what you really love, you’ll find that love is greater than fear. In the words of the poet Shel Silverstein,
There is a voice inside of you
That whispers all day long
“I feel this is right for me,
I know that this is wrong.’
No teacher, preacher, parent, friend
Or wise man can decide
What’s right for you-just listen to
The voice that speaks inside.”
“...you have been leading a safe life instead of an exciting life. You have been paying a high price for security, and that price is having to live out a charade of a life every day.”
Oprah describes the gut feeling as, “a whispery sensation that pulsates just beneath the surface of your being.”
“If you think about tomorrow and it gives you a stomachache, could it be that your gut is trying to tell you something?”
“If I’m happy with the way the coin toss came out, I go with that. If I’m disappointed with the way the coin toss came out, I ignore its outcome and choose the other alternative.”
“Because you think you’ve got to show grit-you’ve got to show you can stand it-you tolerate a boring life of tedious meetings, dreary commutes, mind-numbing projects, tiresome people-uninspiring, repetitive, useless tasks that sap the life out of you. Grit is slowly killing you.”
“Why do human beings resist change?”
“I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying.”
-The Shawshank Redemption
“Living a life ignoring your innate purpose and meaning is just grinding through your days, getting lost on your journey. You spend your days working hard, giving effort, but for what? Why? To pay your bills? To eke out some extra money to indulge in trendy pleasures? Or because you feel like you have to?”
“What can we do today to show our customers we love them?”
“What bad stuff are you carrying around that is weighing you down? What can you get rid of that is keeping you from taking off?”
2. Why did GUTS have to be capitalized EVERY SINGLE TIME. That got on my nerves.
3. The author talked about life coaching. I’m called the (way unofficial) life coach at my school. I’m an English teacher who goes to the sporting events to give the kids pep talks.
4. “I get off on coaching people.” “The woodcutter gets off on splitting wood perfectly.” Please never say get off again, Sam Bracken.
5. The book talked about an underground newspaper at school. Maybe my writing club can start that.
6. “What possesses you, obsesses you, and loves you? What is your gut telling you?
7. Why your life is hard:
•stuck mindset
•overwhelm
•efficiency
•loneliness
•sheer fear
8. In what ways are you stuck? What one or two things could you start doing right now to free yourself?
9. “Doctors now tell us that the neural pathways involved in romantic rejection and stomach pain actually overlap.” This makes so much sense from my last relationship.
10. I found these questions helpful and shared them with others:
•What kind of person am I really?
•What have I always wanted to be?
•What do I love?
•What excites me more than anything?
•When has my heart ever been really into something?
•What would I do all day long if I was free to do it?
•What should my contribution be to my loved ones, to the world?
•What do I want people to say about me when I’m gone?
•What do I want to do with my life?
11. I thought the sex quiz was a little random for a book about going with your gut.
12. When you have an important choice to make ask the head, heart, and gut what they say.
13. Make goals for mind, body, heart, and soul
14. Gutsy leaders have good character, have gutsy goals, grow the team
“There was something in me, something very deep down, telling me that life had purpose and meaning beyond anything I could imagine.”
“Two people can go through exactly the same situation or circumstance, and one will learn from it, gain empathy from it, make course corrections because of it and become better; while the other lets it fester, constantly dwells on their disappointments, gets angry, and holds on to their victim status like a priceless artifact.”
“I have heard it said that we become a reflection of our life’s experiences.”
“...when your work and your play are the same thing, you start making a life instead of just making a living.”
“There’s a kind of happiness that comes from doing what your gut tells you is right for you-and you are even happier when you do it well.”
“It’s about loving who you really are and doing what you really love. It’s about loving the people who love you and lift you and who you lift in return. It’s about loving your life.”
“When you really start to listen to that deep inner voice, when you find what you really love, you’ll find that love is greater than fear. In the words of the poet Shel Silverstein,
There is a voice inside of you
That whispers all day long
“I feel this is right for me,
I know that this is wrong.’
No teacher, preacher, parent, friend
Or wise man can decide
What’s right for you-just listen to
The voice that speaks inside.”
“...you have been leading a safe life instead of an exciting life. You have been paying a high price for security, and that price is having to live out a charade of a life every day.”
Oprah describes the gut feeling as, “a whispery sensation that pulsates just beneath the surface of your being.”
“If you think about tomorrow and it gives you a stomachache, could it be that your gut is trying to tell you something?”
“If I’m happy with the way the coin toss came out, I go with that. If I’m disappointed with the way the coin toss came out, I ignore its outcome and choose the other alternative.”
“Because you think you’ve got to show grit-you’ve got to show you can stand it-you tolerate a boring life of tedious meetings, dreary commutes, mind-numbing projects, tiresome people-uninspiring, repetitive, useless tasks that sap the life out of you. Grit is slowly killing you.”
“Why do human beings resist change?”
“I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying.”
-The Shawshank Redemption
“Living a life ignoring your innate purpose and meaning is just grinding through your days, getting lost on your journey. You spend your days working hard, giving effort, but for what? Why? To pay your bills? To eke out some extra money to indulge in trendy pleasures? Or because you feel like you have to?”
“What can we do today to show our customers we love them?”
“What bad stuff are you carrying around that is weighing you down? What can you get rid of that is keeping you from taking off?”
2. Why did GUTS have to be capitalized EVERY SINGLE TIME. That got on my nerves.
3. The author talked about life coaching. I’m called the (way unofficial) life coach at my school. I’m an English teacher who goes to the sporting events to give the kids pep talks.
4. “I get off on coaching people.” “The woodcutter gets off on splitting wood perfectly.” Please never say get off again, Sam Bracken.
5. The book talked about an underground newspaper at school. Maybe my writing club can start that.
6. “What possesses you, obsesses you, and loves you? What is your gut telling you?
7. Why your life is hard:
•stuck mindset
•overwhelm
•efficiency
•loneliness
•sheer fear
8. In what ways are you stuck? What one or two things could you start doing right now to free yourself?
9. “Doctors now tell us that the neural pathways involved in romantic rejection and stomach pain actually overlap.” This makes so much sense from my last relationship.
10. I found these questions helpful and shared them with others:
•What kind of person am I really?
•What have I always wanted to be?
•What do I love?
•What excites me more than anything?
•When has my heart ever been really into something?
•What would I do all day long if I was free to do it?
•What should my contribution be to my loved ones, to the world?
•What do I want people to say about me when I’m gone?
•What do I want to do with my life?
11. I thought the sex quiz was a little random for a book about going with your gut.
12. When you have an important choice to make ask the head, heart, and gut what they say.
13. Make goals for mind, body, heart, and soul
14. Gutsy leaders have good character, have gutsy goals, grow the team
January 18, 2021
I appreciate the concept of this book and the information it contains. At times, it felt like the writer was pushing to fill the pages enough to create a book. He does a good job of explaining his premise and supporting it with studies and examples. The thought questions at the end of each chapter drive the message as do the many examples. There are several "quizzes" that give you a score, however, no mention of where the information around the quiz comes from to give it any validity. For me, the highlight was showing the connections between the heart, head, and gut. Worth the read.
April 18, 2023
Knihu som počúval ako audioknihu a z pohľadu interpretácie niet čo vytknúť. Kniha má necelých 6 hodín, Pavel Nečas číta príjemné, neruší, dobre sa to počúva.
Pokiaľ ide o obsah, je to vlastne osobný príbeh samotného autora Sama Brackena, ktorý mal veru poriadne drsný štart do života: jeho otec a nevlastný brat ho doslova týrali, psychicky labilná matka sa ho zriekla, zapálili ho, triafali doňho šípky, podľahol alkoholu a drogám...no proste, neskutočný život, ktorý by nejedného človeka úplne zložil, zničil, zdeptal.
Jeho nie. Dokázal nájsť v sebe "kuráž", odvahu zmeniť sa, vykročiť správnym smerom, zbaviť sa nánosov bahna...a dnes on sám pomáha iným ľuďom. To je obdivuhodné a skutočne inšpiratívne. Hoci som od knihy čakal trošku viac a možno čosi iné, už len kvôli tomuto prerodu mu dávam 4 hviezdičky.
V knihe ukazuje, že tak ako to dokázal on, môžete to dokázať aj my: počúvnuť svoju intuíciu, srdcom vnútorný hlas. Vykročiť správnym smerom, poučiť sa, zabojovať a nenechať sa odradiť. Nenechať sa zlomiť.
Sam to dokumentuje na svojej vlastnej ceste, spomína rôzne príbehy, zážitky a skúsenosti.
myslím, že ideálna kniha pre ľudí, ktorí stoja na nejakej križovatke. Ktorí stratili akosi chuť, nevedia sa rozhodnúť, nenašli doteraz odvahu urobiť prvý krok, rázne rozhodnutie...
Pokiaľ ide o obsah, je to vlastne osobný príbeh samotného autora Sama Brackena, ktorý mal veru poriadne drsný štart do života: jeho otec a nevlastný brat ho doslova týrali, psychicky labilná matka sa ho zriekla, zapálili ho, triafali doňho šípky, podľahol alkoholu a drogám...no proste, neskutočný život, ktorý by nejedného človeka úplne zložil, zničil, zdeptal.
Jeho nie. Dokázal nájsť v sebe "kuráž", odvahu zmeniť sa, vykročiť správnym smerom, zbaviť sa nánosov bahna...a dnes on sám pomáha iným ľuďom. To je obdivuhodné a skutočne inšpiratívne. Hoci som od knihy čakal trošku viac a možno čosi iné, už len kvôli tomuto prerodu mu dávam 4 hviezdičky.
V knihe ukazuje, že tak ako to dokázal on, môžete to dokázať aj my: počúvnuť svoju intuíciu, srdcom vnútorný hlas. Vykročiť správnym smerom, poučiť sa, zabojovať a nenechať sa odradiť. Nenechať sa zlomiť.
Sam to dokumentuje na svojej vlastnej ceste, spomína rôzne príbehy, zážitky a skúsenosti.
myslím, že ideálna kniha pre ľudí, ktorí stoja na nejakej križovatke. Ktorí stratili akosi chuť, nevedia sa rozhodnúť, nenašli doteraz odvahu urobiť prvý krok, rázne rozhodnutie...
August 6, 2017
I found the book enjoyable and easy to read. Each chapter ends with reflective questions that, as I answered, helped me to come to certain realizations about my own life and what I needed to change. Overall, it's a good book if you want to discover yourself and set some real goals. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the emphasis always put on GUTs. It seemed like he was almost making up quotes and putting words in others' mouths.
June 22, 2022
This book could be summarized in one sentence: Go with your gut,really try hard , because that's what worked for the author. Nevermind that he was physically an outlier. I gave it one star because there are some ok motivational quotes and ideas. However I personally know plenty of people who followed their "gut" and it turned out okay, but not necessarily the path to bliss that the author describes. It's a book full of anecdotes, and they honestly aren't really worth reading, in my opinion.
December 14, 2017
It was somehow really annoying that every. Single. Word. "Guts" was typed in capital letters. I get it, book is about guts. But is it necessary to point it out in such an aggressive way?
October 12, 2020
Solid message. Extremely redundant tone.
August 16, 2025
Něco takového už jsem četl. Jako jo, ale ten fotbal furt do všeho plést...
November 9, 2021
I debated giving this book one star. The capitalization of the word GUT every single time just irritated the daylights out of me. Beyond that, it provided a few moments of self reflection, but was otherwise a collection of stories about people with ridiculous accomplishments that were completely unrelatable.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews