The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg

Note: I don’t review substandard books. I make time to read a lot, but I don’t have a lot of time to review books, so what I do share, I’m sharing because the book has been very influential and helpful to me in my life, and I believe it will also help others. If you are a marketer or entrepreneur, these are must reads.

Quick links/info:

• Buy the book >>
• My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
• Control your habits so your habits don’t control you.
• Author Twitter Profile
• Tags: Habit, creativity, organization, process, relaxation, stress, focus, goals, life improvement, entrepreneurship.

How to know if this book can help you:

• You know there’s a creative genius inside you, but it can’t seem to get out.
• You’re tired of the same ol’ same ol’ but can’t seem to break free.
• You want to be free to be creative, but disorder drags you down.

Review:

I have a friend who, if you met him, wouldn’t strike you as the smartest guy in town. He’s no fool, but if you found out how successful he was, you’d be surprised. For years I couldn’t figure out his secret, until one day he told me about how he keeps a list of habits and works on them every day. I had recently read The Power of Habit and a light went on. In the book, the author describes how brain activity was measured in people doing an activity for the first time, second time, and so on. What the researchers found was that as the participant performed the activity over and over again, it required less and less brain activity. This is why we get stressed out and overwhelmed when we move to a new place, start a new job, or do something without many details. Our brains have to work hard to learn, but once they learn, the same activity requires almost no brain power at all. Many of us resist doing anything new for this reason, but my friend had mastered this one skill–creating new habits, and so he had been able to amass a large number of productive habits that contributed to his success.

Anyone can follow my friend’s example. He’s no genius. He found a secret. He discovered how to make things that are difficult for most of us become simple.

Another point I love about the book is it shows how forming habits frees us to be creative. If we don’t form habits for lower level activities, by the time we complete those activities and are ready to do something truly creative we’re already worn out. Turning lower level activities over to habit allows us to focus our brain power on truly creative work. We sometimes think of anything habitual as being boring. Instead, think of how habit is a tool you can use to make your life un-boring.