Me We Do Be: The Four Cornerstones of Success

by Randall Bell

The world is flooded with information, but starving for wisdom. Many feel a sense of overload, anxiety, and a general state of restlessness. Eastern cultures refer to the monkey mind and respond with yoga and meditation. Western civilization has identified a series of disorders and related prescription drugs. All of this can help, but what is the complete and balanced solution? How do we get grounded, despite all the confusion? How do we build a solid foundation that assures solid, authentic growth? If you look carefully at every authentic achievement, you will see a clear pattern of Me We Do Be . Me We Do Be reveals that all behaviors can be organized within these four cornerstones. Me is quality thinking that builds wisdom, We habits form quality relationships, Do actions build productivity, and Be designs the future. Me We Do Be connects the dots and creates a fresh perspective for moving forward. The Me We Do Be principles are the result of research that has spanned 25 years at the intersection of sociology and economics. Dr. Randall Bell masterfully interweaves classic behavioral research with his own work on high-profile cases―including Chernobyl, the World Trade Center, and O. J. Simpson―to reveal why some dive, some survive, and others thrive. Success can be defined in many ways. Obviously, some people define it as making money. Others see success as leading a great organization, breaking sales records, having a happy family life, finding true love, or winning a competition. Some see it as contributing to a worthy cause, completing a degree, or mastering a musical instrument. Others view success as beating cancer, connecting with the divine, or healing from an emotional wound. There is no one-size-fits-all for success. Me We Do Be lets us define what success means to us individually. But in so doing, it looks at the foundational elements that apply to us all. The power of Me We Do Be is that it cuts through the noise and simply puts the focus on the classic, timeless principles that build authentic success. Indeed, with a solid foundation we can build anything we want. This is the one book that you will want everyone in your family, business, and organization to read!

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Psychology

224 pages, Hardcover

Published March 14, 2017

Reviews

[Jack Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

For Whom the Bell Tolls

My settled policy is to run screaming from the self-improvement aisle in bookstores. Black Panther Party chairman Bobby Seale summarized my attitude during a prison interview given in the early 70s, "I ain't got nothin' to be rehabilitated from or to."

That being said, I was tipped to MBWD and found the author has several interesting and worthwhile things to say. More important than any single observation is Bell's standpoint that the study of human happiness can be illuminated by appeal to actual data and by the application of social science methodology. Happiness studies will never be the same.

Now if Bobby Seale will just read the book ...

[Lyn Jensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much of my copy of this self-improvement book is underlined and dog-eared (many good quotations, many good ideas), as I follow the writer through his advice about how we should build our lives around four cornerstones: "me" (our personal way of thinking), "we" (relationships), "do" (priorities), and "be" (progress).
Ultimately, though, I question the worth of much of the advice, considering the source. The author is from conservative Orange County and he frequently lets his conservative bias show. Strike one is when he boasts about taking his children on his business trips--but he says nothing about child care arrangements.
Strike two and three is when he unnecessarily shows his personal politics, first when he goes out of his way to make Rudy Guiliani look good and later when he fails to take all facts into consideration as he nearly rants about his views of the O. J. Simpson case.
Strike four is when he discusses 9/11 and offers an out-of-place platitude about "peaceful people will triumph over terrorism and good over evil," as if he's blithely unaware of just how much war and evil the United States has sown in the aftermath of 9/11. All this makes me wonder just how good his self-improvement advice can be, if he falls so short of considering the whole picture, and fails to account for his own bias, so often.
For further reading, the author suggests a number of classics in the field of self-improvement. To look at these titles is to better understand how the cornerstones of this book are defined.
For the early portion, there's Stephen Covey's "The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People" and Norman Vincent Peale's "The Power of Positive Thinking."
For the "We" cornerstone, there's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie and "The One-minute Manager" by Spencer Johnson and Kenneth Blanchard."
For the "Do" cornerstone, there's "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill, and "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter.
For the "Be" cornerstone, I find the author's recommendations fall short. I'd consider material he references in his text but not in his recommendations--those would be the writings of Benjamin Franklin, and "Man's Search for Meaning" by Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's funny. I know the author's mother who is referenced quite liberally throughout the book and she's a wonderful woman. I've met Randy before and he seems to be a pretty good guy. The book is a perfectly fine self-help book although a bit trite as everything he says is pretty standard self-help fare. By all means read it, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for any massive breakthroughs to occur. It's a good review of of those traits our parents tried to instill in us as children; sometimes a reminder is exactly what one needs to start making progress again.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great emphasis on habits -- good and bad -- and the idea that if we begin focusing on filling our lives with good habits in the particular "cornerstone" areas then life success will follow.

[Sharley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writer really comes across as though they are talking to you which makes it a pleasant and very interesting read.
Details and facts to support the me we do be approach were very informative and engaging although not always relatable
The approach laid out in this book isn’t groundbreaking or even new but it is like a restart / a refresher and reminder of what is important at the core.

[Lynette B · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is easy to read, and easy to understand. The concepts are discussed in terms that are relatable.

[Cristie Underwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honest and in-depth advice for reaching your full potential. This advice is presented in easy to follow language that can be broken up and applied in pieces at a time.

[Tony Cavaliero · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a real eye opener for me. I gives me real motivation to get things done and form good habits. I lost this book in a flood after reading and repurchased for reference.

[Jim Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! WHERE DO I START? We have heard many speakers and authors say “if you want to change your life, just do something!” But what? Dr. Randall Bell has written a book that could be considered an Operating Manual for the Human Lifespan. We are born without such a manual and typically do whatever our parents teach us to do and not do but who taught our parents and more importantly what did they teach them. Did we accept what we have been taught or did we fight with the teachers in our life as so many seem to have done.

As I read Dr. Bell’s book, I had a recurring thought throughout the entire book that at age 72 I have already passed the opportunity to make significant changes in the lives of my children and their children and their children; my great grand children. That is why I thought Dr. Bell was talking to all of them but through me. How does that work? Each one may or may not believe in the things that matter most in life when I tell them, but maybe if I were to give each one a copy of Dr. Bell’s book, one or more might read it and if just one experiences a better life because of it, that would be a win! Life IS about winning and Dr. Bell’s book does not show you HOW to win but it does explain just how creating better habits puts you in a position to have a better chance at winning than if you prefer not to create better life habits.

I like his style of writing, easy to follow, easy to understand, compelling to read on and wanting more. He has led an extremely interesting life and he intersperses his personal life’s stories into his enduring messages.

Who should read this book? EVERYONE! Do yourself a favor – read the book and prove me wrong. If you read the book, I believe that without a doubt you will make at least one change in your life, albeit a small one or maybe even a great one. If done, it WILL change your destination in life but more importantly it will change the destination of someone you care about and maybe even someone you don’t even know as maybe this review might do. If so, I will consider my job as being a success. Read the book, prove me wrong if you can but I doubt it.

Will I read it again? Don't read many books more than once but I probably will read this one again. It is perfect for reading sections when you have short periods of time available and you want to take advantage of those periods by reading something positive.

[Laurel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat repetitive, but overall motivational. It got a little slow in the last 20% of the book, but there was still valuable advice there. My biggest qualm with the book was that it seemed like he shamed alcoholics, saying that they were like that mainly due to being self-centered, which is a crass oversimplification of what is truly going on.

[Karma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was taken in by the cover. The idea of the book is a good one. But where it fails is that it provides the same advice as hundreds (or maybe it's thousands now) books on the exact same topic. The author hasn't done anything wrong in the book, he hasn't said it in his own way. It's just that if you're saying the same thing again, you better say it in a way that's unique so that it makes us look at it in a different way. That was what was missing from this book, in my humble opinion. If you haven't read many books in this genre, maybe this will be a good starting point for you.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley.