A teenager advises other teens on how to achieve success in this manual.
Ouellet (The Super Students Guide to Navy Seal Productivity, 2017) was a bullied kid who dealt with his feelings by acting out, often landing himself in the vice principal’s office. It got so bad that, when he was 13 years old, he began contemplating suicide. Through the support of his parents, teachers, and life coach, Ouellet learned to see himself differently: as a good kid with a lot of potential who just needed a new perspective. With this book, he hopes to share what he’s learned in the intervening years with his fellow teens so that they might undergo the same regenerative process. He encourages readers to learn from their mistakes, set excuses aside, and build winning attitudes in order to move through life with greater success. Much of Ouellet’s regimen is structured around discovering one’s passions, picking goals that relate to those interests, and achieving those objectives through helpful strategies like deadlines and daily routines. The author prescribes rituals for morning, bedtime, and throughout the day so that readers are always working toward their goals. Because this is a book for teens, a good portion of it is dedicated to becoming a better student. Ouellet writes in an enthusiastic prose that is certainly impressive for a 16-year-old: “Your mind is like a garden, so you must fertilize it with the best ideas and knowledge.” But contentwise, the book is boilerplate, Tony Robbins–style motivation, which, when spoken in the voice of a teen, comes off as slightly odd. Ouellet’s vision of success is both materialistic and grandiose. It’s a worldview that seems as if it might place greater pressure on teenage readers, not less. When the 13-year-old Ouellet confessed his thoughts of suicide to his father, his parent responded: “I promise you that within a year from now, you’ll be achieving heights you’ll have never thought possible. You’ll be happier than you’ve ever been.” Many readers will likely be left wondering if minors aren’t a bit young for this sort of hyperbolic aspirational thinking.
A well-written but ultimately uneven motivational guide for teens.