Bring Your Superpowers To Work – Book Review
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Mar 5, 2012
As a full disclaimer, I was asked to review the book Bring Your Superpowers To Work by Darcy Eikenberg and sent a copy of it, just so you know. Of course me being me this review is honest in its assessment, and yes, I have linked to the book if you're interested in purchasing it by clicking on either the link or the book.
I loved the premise of this book, which is that most of us thought as kids that all we had to do was tie a towel around our necks and that suddenly we had some type of superpowers, even if it turned out not to be true. At some point, once we realize that, and then as we grow, we start to feel as though we're just normal, if that, and that there's little we can do to change our circumstances. What Eikenberg does in this book is work to convince you that's not true, and tries to get you to see that you indeed to have your version of superpowers that you can access for a better career and life.
It's interesting that she calls all of this the red cape revolution, which of course is the color of Superman's cape. I love how she addresses what she calls the 3 lies many of us tell ourselves:
* "It will be too hard"
* "I'm too busy"
* "I'm too lazy to make the effort"
Indeed, many of us get complacent, start feeling beaten down, like it's not worth even trying, and we couch it into different feelings and manifest itself in different ways. I think she's spot on with these particular assessments. She also talks about the 3 keys to breaking out of it all: clarity, confidence and control. I think that's spot on as well because we can't move forward without an idea of what it is we want, it always takes confidence to go against the grain, and all of us need a modicum of control of ourselves and our surroundings, otherwise we might not even try.
This is a business motivational book and it's an easy and quick read that comes in around 78 pages or so. But at that point the book isn't done. After the reading comes the work, which involves charts, personal surveys, and basically being honest with yourself and then setting your plans for how you're going to access those superpowers. Sometimes she wants you to get a sheet of paper to write things down. Sometimes she's already added the worksheets and all you have to do is copy them and work things out. And in the book she also gives you links to things you can download, which includes videos and audio files. In essence, after the motivational part it becomes a bit of course work for you to do; hey, no one ever said change comes easy.
I didn't do the worksheets, so I can't comment on how effective those will be, but I did read the book and I can honestly say that if you're ready to be pushed a bit this will help you along. It's easy to read so you won't get locked up in concepts difficult to understand. By the end you might even be tempted to go look for a large red towel to pin around your neck. If you do that, send me a picture. 🙂
I am sure that everybody that want to make an extra mile and outsmart the competition, should read a lot and being informed. Having the strategies on your fingertips is a way to go, on the other hand are things that stop us to be successful.
I think this book will work for me effectively. I get inspired with the books that I read and I can really be pessimistic sometimes. 🙂
Sounds interesting Mitch. I believe everyone has a superpower (or superpowers) but at work we’re often too afraid to use them for fear of standing out, or being rejected, or looking dumb. We do all we can to look like Clark Kent instead of Superman.
But here’s the thing, turns out the world doesn’t need any more mild-mannered workers, we need people with passion, bright ideas and the courage to make something happen. But like Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben once said, “With great power comes great responsibility” and that realization is what scares us.
Yes, we all have superpowers, but will we dare to use them?
That’s an interesting question Danilo, and I believe the book helps put that perspective back into people’s minds. Truthfully, even my being a sole entrepreneur needs to get that into my mind to progress.
It’s true Mitch. Look at all the copycat marketing you see out there. Entrepreneurs and small business folks can definitely benefit from using their unique superpowers more often!