Review of Learning to Live:Ten Principles of Success by Darrick Bronson

Available at Amazon.com

Learning to Live: 10 Principles of Success
by Darrick Bronson
128 pages, $16.95
ISBN-13: 978-1463474294
Nonfiction; Self-Help

Review by Steven King, MBA, MEd

Erma Bombeck regaled America with over 4000 newspaper columns where she described
the ordinary life of a Midwestern suburban housewife. When thinking about life she
opined on one occasion, “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope
that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you
gave me." How many people can say that of the talent they possess—or are most caught up in the rat race that is life wishing they could find an escape hatch?

Darrick Bronson believes that too many have bought into a type of stinking thinking where they believe they are unworthy of success. God is not happy when we just go through the motions; rather God wants us to be fulfilled. After an accident nearly took his life, Darrick determined that he was going to pursue God’s best for his life. His experiences have resulted in Learning to Live: Ten Principles of Success. In it he attempts to share the ideology that will cause an individual to be successful.

The book is broken into ten sections which read like a series of motivational speaking seminars:

1. Freeing your Conscious
2. Taking Responsibility
3. Self-Esteem and Confidence
4. Gratitude and Appreciation
5. Positive Mental Attitude
6. Affirmations
7. Goal-Setting
8. Purpose and Service
9. Perseverance and Determination
10. Lifelong Learning

One of the most moving chapters cuts to the heart of the problem—take responsibility. In this masterfully written chapter, Bronson cuts right to the chase: if you don’t like where you are in life, change it. Repeat this mantra aloud if you need to, “I alone am responsible for my life and I have the power to change it.” True change can and will come to individuals and extend to our great country as people decide to quit playing the
victim and radically pursue their dreams. Just like upgrading an operating system of a computer, Bronson feels we will go along way by developing a positive mental attitude.

Similarly, I believe every person under 25 ought to be exposed to the ideas expressed in the chapter on gratitude. Somewhere along the way, we have forgotten the scruples instilled by those in our grandparent’s generation. I can almost hear my grandmother instilling her knowledge: “Always say, ‘Yes, Sir,’ and ‘Thank you.’” While what Bronson introduces is not intended to be novel—I enjoyed its inclusion as a principle that
will help you be successful. An attitude of gratitude, while very cliché, will help you pursue what is better in your life. As more people lay down the growing collective angst against life—we will all be more grateful for what we have.

Most people do not stop to consider the continual flow of negativity which bombards our life almost every waking hour. The news is filled with scandalous situations or the foregone conclusion that the world’s problems are insurmountable. If an individual desires success, he must consider a positive alternative to all the negativity. By using positive affirmations, Bronson believes we have help our brains rewire for positive
outcomes. If you feel the pressure of life, try his mantra on for size: Every day in every way, I get better and better. One cannot help feeling better once that is repeated a few times.

If you want your life to turn around – do not blame anyone else. Stop, read this book, take action and get on the pathway for which you were destined.