RAISE THE BAR (To live a life of Excellence in Health, Wealth, Relationship and Spirituality) by behavior specialist Jay Ibrahim is a virtual encyclopedia of self-help ideas and practices. Drawing on the works of leading self-help gurus such as Tony Robbins and Steven Covey and Wayne Dyer, Ibrahim distills techniques and strategies to “uplift and provide a different avenue that dissolves the problems.” He presents his book as a 30-day course, adding, however, that a day isn’t necessarily 24 hours. The book has five sections, each with six chapters. Topics include “How to achieve all your biggest goals,” “How to build your ideal relationship,” “How to become your authentic self,” “How to take charge of your life,” and “How to inhabit the life of wealthy and successful people.”
Ibrahim promises that his book will show the reader how to seize opportunities, create a mindset in order to achieve their dreams, instill habits for fulfillment and everlasting happiness, and “tap into your superpowers.” While much of his claims seem hyperbolic, he isn’t being untruthful since he sometimes re-defines concepts or shifts the goalposts—e.g., “The wealthiest person in the world is not the person who has the most but the one who needs the least.” That said, Ibrahim’s chapters on wealth and relationships are undoubtedly the most useful and practical in the book. He gives a step-by-step guide showing how even the average working person can generate more income and save the money needed to start their own business or make investments. Similarly, for marital and romantic relationships, he provides insightful (and sometimes counter-intuitive) advice on how to handle conflict, boredom, and other standard relationship issues. Unfortunately, RAISE THE BAR is not easy reading, unlike most of the self-help books that Ibrahim cites and much of the book is filled with passages that read more like filler than specific advice. For example, “You are on the right track to move forward and awaken your inner giant. Your inner voices tell you that you can, you will, and you are” and “Every relationship should be based on how partners can complement one another rather than complete one another.”
While there are many nuggets of wisdom to be found in Jay Ibrahim’s RAISE THE BAR–especially in the chapters dealing with generating wealth and negotiating relationships–readers must sift through the heavy sands of the author’s prose in order to find them.
~Kevin Baldeosingh for IndieReader