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A Quarter Million Steps: Creativity, Imagination, & Leading Transformative Change
Drawing inspiration from the epic story of the Apollo Moon Program, collected research, and his own life experiences, Dr. Anthony Paustian outlines the many small steps it takes to create success in life. With the practical tools described in this imaginative, easy-to-read book, Dr. Paustian teaches the principles of creative expression, imagineering, strong leadership, focus, a solid work ethic, and so much more. After reading this book, you'll have the tools to set effective and achievable goals and know how to invoke your own personal leadership to accomplish them. He teaches you less about what to think and more about how to think.
A Quarter Million Steps is a work of non-fiction in the self-help/self-leadership genre. The book is unique in that to discuss these important personal and organization issues, it uses the imagery and innovation of the Apollo Moon Program from the 1960s as a metaphor for success. The author has a personal relationship with many of the men who made that epic voyage thus providing him some detailed insight as to how the Apollo Program provides lessons that should serve as an example today. With the approaching 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing in 2019, it's timely to both reflect on and reapply those lessons.
A Quarter Million Steps is a work of non-fiction in the self-help/self-leadership genre. The book is unique in that to discuss these important personal and organization issues, it uses the imagery and innovation of the Apollo Moon Program from the 1960s as a metaphor for success. The author has a personal relationship with many of the men who made that epic voyage thus providing him some detailed insight as to how the Apollo Program provides lessons that should serve as an example today. With the approaching 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing in 2019, it's timely to both reflect on and reapply those lessons.
228 pages, Hardcover
Published October 20, 2017
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 26, 2018
Reviewed by Josh Cramer for Reader Views (2/18)
In “A Quarter Million Steps: Creativity, Imagination, & Leading Transformative Change,” Dr. Anthony Paustian creates an immersive reading experience that leaves you wanting more as you follow the Apollo mission to the moon, and the techniques and mental models they used to get there. I found myself jotting notes down each time I read—creativity comes from finding a connection between disparate things and then using this connection to create something new; a good leader thinks in shades of gray, but speaks in black and white; creativity requires asking questions no one else has asked; allow yourself to daydream; and ultimately, success is achieved through daily decisions—don’t go on autopilot. These are ideas I’ve been able to incorporate into my daily work life that, though I’ve heard before, have clicked in a different way after reading Paustian’s narrative.
The most useful advice from the book comes from a method Paustian feels the Apollo Mission used to successfully make it to the moon: HARD Goals (rather than SMART Goals). As you know, SMART Goals emphasize goals that are specific, measurable attainable, relevant, and time-bound. HARD Goals, on the other hand, create goals that require transformative thinking (“in order to change organizational habits and entrenched beliefs”). HARD Goals are honest, actionable, radical, and detailed—one of Paustian’s arguments against SMART Goals is that forcing a goal to be achievable and realistic acts against being able think creatively about a problem or goal. Instead, if we want new solutions, we must allow this freedom in our goals.
Additionally, each chapter is full of stories that both setup and provide a thorough line of the main idea of the chapter. As I read, it reminded me of how Charles Duhigg writes his books—a couple of main stories that introduce a topic and builds as more about that topic is learned. However, Paustian’s chapters are much more concise, so resolutions are found much faster.
One very helpful feature that each chapter contains is the “Taking a Few More Steps” section (found at the end of each chapter). This section generally provides five actionable items to help you apply the concepts from the chapter. I found these activities to be incredibly helpful as I made my way through the book.
Overall, I enjoyed my time in “A Quarter Million Steps” and I was sad to see it end. I look forward to Dr. Paustian’s future books and writings. That said, I highly recommend this book to anyone who desires to find new strategies for thinking creatively. Actually, I recommend this book to anyone who has ever questioned whether SMART and stretch goals achieved what they needed to.
I leave you with one of Paustian’s main questions: “What if you knew exactly when your time was up? Would you live life any differently? Would you make different choices?” I hope one of those choices is reading this book.
In “A Quarter Million Steps: Creativity, Imagination, & Leading Transformative Change,” Dr. Anthony Paustian creates an immersive reading experience that leaves you wanting more as you follow the Apollo mission to the moon, and the techniques and mental models they used to get there. I found myself jotting notes down each time I read—creativity comes from finding a connection between disparate things and then using this connection to create something new; a good leader thinks in shades of gray, but speaks in black and white; creativity requires asking questions no one else has asked; allow yourself to daydream; and ultimately, success is achieved through daily decisions—don’t go on autopilot. These are ideas I’ve been able to incorporate into my daily work life that, though I’ve heard before, have clicked in a different way after reading Paustian’s narrative.
The most useful advice from the book comes from a method Paustian feels the Apollo Mission used to successfully make it to the moon: HARD Goals (rather than SMART Goals). As you know, SMART Goals emphasize goals that are specific, measurable attainable, relevant, and time-bound. HARD Goals, on the other hand, create goals that require transformative thinking (“in order to change organizational habits and entrenched beliefs”). HARD Goals are honest, actionable, radical, and detailed—one of Paustian’s arguments against SMART Goals is that forcing a goal to be achievable and realistic acts against being able think creatively about a problem or goal. Instead, if we want new solutions, we must allow this freedom in our goals.
Additionally, each chapter is full of stories that both setup and provide a thorough line of the main idea of the chapter. As I read, it reminded me of how Charles Duhigg writes his books—a couple of main stories that introduce a topic and builds as more about that topic is learned. However, Paustian’s chapters are much more concise, so resolutions are found much faster.
One very helpful feature that each chapter contains is the “Taking a Few More Steps” section (found at the end of each chapter). This section generally provides five actionable items to help you apply the concepts from the chapter. I found these activities to be incredibly helpful as I made my way through the book.
Overall, I enjoyed my time in “A Quarter Million Steps” and I was sad to see it end. I look forward to Dr. Paustian’s future books and writings. That said, I highly recommend this book to anyone who desires to find new strategies for thinking creatively. Actually, I recommend this book to anyone who has ever questioned whether SMART and stretch goals achieved what they needed to.
I leave you with one of Paustian’s main questions: “What if you knew exactly when your time was up? Would you live life any differently? Would you make different choices?” I hope one of those choices is reading this book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review