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Success The Psychology of Achievement: A Practical Guide to Unlocking You Potential in Every Area of Life

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The Psychology of Achievement is a dynamic infographic guide that equips you with the tools you need to drive yourself toward success, whether you are seeking improvement in your career, relationships, or in your overall performance.

Give your confidence a boost, master your resources, and raise your self-awareness with proven psychological strategies and expert advice. From positive thinking to work-life balance to learning how to say no, the lessons learned from this guide are tailored to your personal situation through questionnaires and self-analysis exercises. Infographic illustrations and diagrams make the information comprehensible, and quick, practical pointers enable you to apply techniques immediately.

Grounded in scientific study, psychological expertise, and practical advice, The Psychology of Achievement can help you improve your effectiveness and transform your future.

423 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2017

188 people are currently reading
490 people want to read

About the author

Deborah A. Olson

4 books3 followers

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5 stars
70 (41%)
4 stars
54 (32%)
3 stars
32 (19%)
2 stars
7 (4%)
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4 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
Profile Image for Emma K.
47 reviews2 followers
September 3, 2019
You can basically use this book as a self-help resource, or dictionary.

Very resourceful, and informative. Nice organized, and looks like a collection of pieces of research and survey on each every aspect.
Profile Image for Grant Keegan.
241 reviews
November 11, 2020
Success: The Psychology of Achievement, was very deep, insightful guide showcasing techniques of living one's best life. Life the other books in the series (Love, Stress, Retirement), it shines by keeping concepts short yet powerful, limiting a subject to two or four pages. All while being aided by great graphs, data, tables and other tools to maximize the way I processed information. As a very visual learner, I really appreciated that this book exists.

I consider myself to be a chronic procrastinator, despite being organized. This book helped me a lot to put things into perspective and try out new techniques to maximize my potential. That is one thing that I liked a lot about this book. Besides the theoretical information presented, it also presents the reader ways to put these ideas into practice. I trust that all of the information is the result of decades of study by psychologists, and that is why I think all of these sections will be very helpful for me in the future.

Since I picked up this book, I started journaling and trying out meditation. I highly recommend it, not only to improve your life, but also to keep an open mind for ways to look at the world differently. For the future, I will consult Success: The Psychology of Achievement whenever I feel down, in a rut or facing an enormous challenge. Life is way too precious to let it get us down without a fight.
142 reviews3 followers
September 18, 2021
A book with a lot of Infographics. The topics are wonderful but they weren’t discussed in depth .
Some quotes:
-When considering your goals, it's also useful to consider your personal psychology. Your idea of success is probably different from your next door neighbor's. Having an insight into your own personality can be helpful when planning what will work for you.
-starting anything new means being a novice,and this can be daunting.
-don’t let self doubt hold you back.
-If you want to succeed,the first step is to see yourself as someone who is capable of learning.Believing you can master new skills makes it significantly more likely you will do so.
-To determine your objectives ask yourself: what are you trying to achieve? What are you trying to preserve?what are you trying to avoid? What are you trying to eliminate?
-Draw a line between work and home.
-changing track is normal.
-If you can teach you can learn.
-sometimes we end up making decisions based on what everyone else seems to be thinking.
-By far the biggest motivator for people was feeling that they were making meaningful progress.
-Life is an accumulation of daily ups and downs.Try keeping a journal and at the end of each day, ask yourself these questions:
*Progress: what do I feel that I’ve achieved? Was there anything that undermined my productivity?
*Meaning: what has my day’s work contributed to the world? Have I done anything that I regret?
*Reputation: what have I done that I can use to increase my credit? If I did anything that made me look bad,how can I fix it?
*Feeling supported: who has been a good mentor,ally or help to me today? Are there any relationships I need to manage better?
*supporting others: have I treated people with respect,listened and given help when asked? Do I need to make amends to anyone?
*Time: what did I do that proved time efficient? What did I do that wasted time?
* problem solving: what challenges did I meet to my own satisfaction? What problems do I need to put on my to do list?
* long term priorities: what skills ,connections or resources have I gained today ? What do I need to do to develop and how can I do that ?
*personal life: what happened outside work that helped me focus on my goals? Are personal problems making it harder for me to concentrate?
*Happiness : what did I enjoy today? What should I have or do less of?
-You need to create a pace you can sustain.
-wellbeing is everyone’s birthright.
5ways to improve wellbeing: write 3good things that happened to you, send a letter to someone you’ve never thanked, write about a time when you were at your best, identify and use your 5signature strengths,use one of your signature strengths in a new way.
-Ask a colleague whose opinion you trust :what should I stop doing? What should I start doing ? What should I keep doing? Are there areas where I go too far in one direction or another?
-Memory is associative ,and if we are feeling a negative emotion,our mind naturally starts bringing up other negative experiences we have had.
-Ask yourself “if I won the lottery,would I keep doing what I am doing right now?”
-if there is something that makes you happy,make opportunities to do it regularly.
-one can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth.~Abraham Maslow.
-the greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.~ William James .
-Rather than eliminating stress altogether,what you need to do is avoid excessive stress.
-The more your goals make you different from people around you,the more of a social price you will anticipate,and the harder you will have to focus on satisfying yourself rather than pleasing others .
-It is helpful to distinguish between goals that represent your authentic ambitions and goals that are about staying in your social comfort zone.
-We tend to be born confident in our own ideas and can lose that sense of self belief as we learn to compare ourselves with others .
-be yourself . Everyone else is already taken . ~oscar wilde
-Emma Donaldson recommends that you try the 4 Ds in dealing with emails :
*Delete : about half of your emails can go straight into your trash folder .
*Do : if it’s urgent or wont take long . Do it and get it out of the way .
* Delegate : could anyone else handle it better? Pass it.
* Defer : if you know you will need more time .
-William Ury teaches the art of the positive no . It runs in 3 steps ,yes-no -yes : 1-Affirm ( I’d love to work with you).2- Establish a limit (January isn’t a good month for me).3- propose an alternative ( why don’t we compare our schedules for later in the year).
-“don’t “sounds less negotiable.so instead of saying “I can’t spend money without checking my budget “ try “I don’t spend money without checking my budget.
-Don’t waste time on small decisions.
-information overload is a key cause of indecision.
-imagine you are advising a friend when taking a decision.
-Don’t oblige people to over plan if they are doing something they know well .
-It is one thing to know you have a great idea - it is another to convince other people.
-Multiple studies confirm that the most important part of keeping a team together is being able to answer one simple question “why are we doing this ?”
-Motivation doesn’t come first ,action does .~David D. Burns
-our mood for doing the task is only likely to grow less favourable the more we put it off , as guilt makes us less productive .
-if you notice signs of burnout : *say no where you can * forget perfectionism.* don’t ruminate . * know when to get out. *Have a place to be vulnerable. *live your values .
Profile Image for Ietrio.
6,948 reviews24 followers
October 16, 2018
A blend of what other people have said or observed. Usually the teller has some connection with the subject, but that is tangential, like a journalist who has "talked" with N number of successful business people. Generally this is a book about feeling better about oneself, and not very much about achievement.
Profile Image for Raafat.
127 reviews28 followers
December 13, 2020
لو الزمن بيرجع فيني شي ١٠ سنوات بتوقع كنت استفدت كتير من الكتاب، بس هلأ بعد تجارب وكتب عديدة مريت فيها فكانت استفادتي منه قليلة لأن أغلب المواضيع مريت فيها ... ٨٤ موضوع لا يتجاوزوا الصفحتين مع أمثلة مقسمة على ٦ محاور فيها كتير معلومات عن مفاهيم النجاح والعلاقات والعمل. وبيكفي أن الناشر مؤسسة DK العظيمة.
نصيحة للناس يلي بالجامعة أو متخرجة مو من زمان، وعندا شغف وطموح
Profile Image for Claudia Blanton.
184 reviews7 followers
June 1, 2017
My first impression of Success – The Psychology of Achievement was that I was surprised and happy about the sheer volume of information that this book contains. There is a lot to read here, so I suggest that you take your time working yourself through every chapter. This is not a book to rush through, but that is a good thing.

I loved that the Author is trying to convey the importance of defining one’s own definition of success. Success is such an ambiguous word, that can mean so many things, so any growth or goal setting journey needs to start with the personal definition of what success is.

What I also enjoyed very much was, how the book is structured. It is kept in small, bite-sized, yet powerful mini-chapter-style, which contain a lot of information without any fluff while highlighting the content with visuals and practical exercises as well as potential applications. This is especially useful in today’s world were our already lowered attention span is torn between too many obligations to have time to sit down and read for a large chunk of time.

How much you will get out of this book, however, depends on you. You can read it, and nod in agreement or you can apply all of the useful strategies contained within. If you are willing to do the work you can use Success – The Psychology of Achievement as your guide to gaining what you want.

P.S. I was happy to see that Dr. Olson also included a chapter about mindfulness!
3 reviews
November 11, 2018
Brought this from the local Works Shop and I've never read a book so fast within 12 hours. So addictive but the psychology is so worth it. Really useful if you're trying to sort your life out and where you want. The book gives you the right help and reminds you to take back control of your life and be happy and successful.
Profile Image for MK.
626 reviews3 followers
February 3, 2024
This is a Self-Help book that explains the mindset and attitude needed to succeed in life goals, business, etc. Define your goals and identify what you are not able to do at the moment.

Then, think about how to countermeasure how to become able to do it, and work on it seriously.
It’s important to create an environment where you can concentrate.
Profile Image for Lauren McGinney.
15 reviews3 followers
August 15, 2018
- worthwhile read, even for those who’ve read a lot about productivity, positive psychology etc
- good mix of concepts, upto date facts and practical tips
- recommend reading yourself then sharing the book and applying the principles
Profile Image for Armands Putnieks.
24 reviews
March 15, 2019
Definitely the book earns 5 stars about the design. It is abolutely fabulous. Never seen such amazing orientation. Each 2 page comes with different topics and amazing information. Good to have it in shelf. You will love it ! Recomending !
Profile Image for lidiya.vm.
5 reviews
March 24, 2020
Оформлението на книгата е много интерактивно с много картинки. Точно те успяха да задържат интереса ми докрай.
И все пак това по скоро е справочник с анализите от проведени анкетни изследвания, отколкото книга с някакво практично съдържание.
Колекционерска книга на DK.
Profile Image for Anush Alexanian.
5 reviews5 followers
June 25, 2020
I found the information too surface level. It has geat informations in it, I just felt like I knew almost all of it already. The book doesn't dig deeper or doesn't teach strategies. It basically just states the facts
Profile Image for Amal.
56 reviews4 followers
July 24, 2020
♥ Book 12 of 2020

★ Final Rating: 5 Stars

➢ What I liked: There are plenty of extra sources in the book for further reading.

✦ I would recommend this book to - people who enjoy books of the self-help genre.
9 reviews
February 15, 2023
Unalmas közhelyekkel van tele. Mintha a már mások által rég megfogalmazott dolgokat, összeollózták volna.
A könyv szép és színes, de a tördelése borzalmas. Az egyik oldalon félbe hagynak egy mondatot és ott kell keresgélni, hogy hol folytatódik.
Profile Image for Adonai Tzidkenu.
Author 0 books
July 27, 2024
Well written, insightful, and a great self-help study tool. Formatted like a school book, this makes a fantastic academic resource for building the foundation for success in any area of life. Grateful for the author, Deborah. God bless.
3 reviews
June 18, 2020
A lot of good advice, but with each category squeezed into two pages and more anecdotes and less data I think this could have been a much better book in terms of being able to apply it.
Profile Image for Aleksandra.
43 reviews2 followers
January 14, 2023
Non parla di cose nuove ma ripete cose già sentite da altri libri dove vengono spiegate meglio.
Non male per chi non legge di solito libri di crescita personale.
Profile Image for James Kenneth.
20 reviews1 follower
October 3, 2023
Informative and condenses a lot of concepts. But I don't care for the whimsical, magazine-esque layout that changes after each section.
Profile Image for Bruna Costa.
23 reviews14 followers
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October 12, 2017
Great book! Enjoyable, practical, and full of insight. Reads like a modern day textbook only it's easier to swallow and written in chunks
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews

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