101 Ways to Rock Your World
Everyday Activities for Success Every Day
Since the term “rock star” is now used to characterize any successful person in any line of work, it’s refreshing to glean tips about becoming a rock star from someone who has, in fact, worked with real rock stars. Enter Dayna Steele, arguably the most successful female rock-radio personality in Texas in the early 1980s.
After her run on rock radio, Steele built a consulting and motivational-speaking business partly on the lessons she learned from wildly successful people in the music business. Does that mean that she throws around the names of rockers in her slim new book, 101 Ways to Rock Your World?
Not really. But, by page three, readers will likely no longer care about her backstory or rock roots. Her advice for success—dispensed in brief dollops shorter than a page (often just one sentence)—is ridiculously sane. Many of her tips are obvious, not because they’re so common but for their simple clarity. (For the real dirt on her rock past, pick up a copy of her Rock to the Top: What I Learned About Success from the World’s Greatest Rock Stars.)
Steele’s new book expands on a 2011 blog post she wrote for Fast Company.com, titled “5 Things to Do Every Day for Success,” which went viral. In a succinct, sometimes humorous style, Steele gets down to business with 101 commonsense tips, ideas, and advice targeted to anyone with a desire to succeed in any business, artistic endeavor, or job.
Some of her suggestions are predictable, such as “Look people in the eye.” But many others are off kilter enough to spur action: “Drive the speed limit…It is really difficult to be successful when you are dead,” and “Examine a coincidence…find the opportunity in what just happened.” She also puts a tactical twist on other typical life-coaching tips: “Spend time with family and close friends…If they do not want to see you succeed, you need new friends and family,” and “Do not buy crap you do not need…Part of being successful is having the money to do what you want or need when you want or need to do it. If you keep buying crap you will be out of money when you need it most.”
While anyone with a bloghorn can strike it lucky with one viral post, Steele and her gritty advice are the real deal, as modern business guru Guy Kawasaki notes in the book’s foreword. The spiky, witty illustrations by Bill Hinds, of Tank McNamara comic-strip fame, are an important and integral part of the book.
Reviewed by
Lisa Romeo
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
