📚 Meister Book Club: Seeds of Greatness by Denis Waitley

Cathy Fanning

Hi Book Club Readers,

Denis Waitley's Seeds of Greatness – The Ten Best-kept Secrets of Total Success is a book I had totally forgotten about until I resurrected it again a while ago. Published way back in the 70s, it still stands the test of time and continues to be a favourite.

Waitley covers 10 special seeds in a very down-to-earth and practical way: Self-Esteem, Creativity, Responsibility, Wisdom, Purpose, Communication, Faith, Adaptability, Perseverance and Perspective. Each of these pearls of wisdom can be applied to any context, personally and professionally.

The book concentrates on discovering, maturing and developing and using your full potential. It is written in a thoughtful and intelligent way that will appeal to people from all walks of life.

My personal conclusion: A delightful, simple, yet powerful read - It is the kind of book you can refer back to at any time. Unlike a novel, you can read a page or a particular chapter to help you get on your way again.

Happy reading!

Cheers, Cathy.

Emily

Hey @Cathy Fanning I love how old-school this cover looks 😁. Did you find some of the ideas have become outdated? And please share your favourite 'seed'!

Cathy Fanning

Hi @Emily thanks for your comment. Really great question. I don't think any of these ideas or seeds have become outdated as they all cover the building blocks for personal growth. Their interpretation may have changed somewhat though. I think my favourite seed is Adaptability.

Joerg Koper

Hi @Cathy Fanning 👋🙂

Thanks for this book recommendation. What I like about the seed metaphor is, that Denis Waitley was deeply moved by the philosophical view of the author James Allan, that portrayed individuals as gardeners, planting seeds that would affect the future.

Waitley's grandma was telling the same in his childhood while they were planting together in the garden. He learned, what wonderful results patience, faith, perseverance and diligence bring. Even in hard times, which he also went through.

We all make different experiences in life. But what we all have in common is, that we sometimes need Self-Esteem, when it comes to stressful situations and sometimes need faith and strength, when it comes to unforeseen burdens. That can be in private life, but also in business life.

Books like these are little treasures and often show us, how easy it can be to pay attention to things like the wording of sentences. Instead of saying "don't fall down", it makes much more sense for our brain to say "watch out for the obstacle". Because our brain blocks out the word "don't" and primarily understands the instruction "fall down".

In my work as a coach, I very often see the effects of false beliefs, the seeds of which were usually planted in childhood. I recommend reflecting every described seed of the book step by step and then maybe to work on the ones, that make sense and feel good to oneself.

Best, Jörg

Cathy Fanning

Hi @Joerg Koper Thanks very much for your comments and feedback. So interesting to get others point of view. We have so much to learn from each other.

Enjoy your day. 😀

Andrew Lapidus

Love this @Cathy Fanning - I'm always excited to find more "evergreen" books about success and effective habits. So many books in these genres (and in the self-help space in general) can in my experience seem outdated or quaint in retrospect. Interested in checking this one out online and in the bookstore next to our office!

Have a good one,

Andrew :)