Read The Six Pillars of SelfEsteem Audible Audio Edition Dr Nathaniel Branden Macmillan Audio Books

Product details Audible Audiobook Listening Length 3 hours and 23 minutes Program Type Audiobook Version Abridged Publisher Macmillan Audio Audible.com Release Date June 13, 2000 Language English, English ASIN B0000544VI

The Six Pillars of SelfEsteem Audible Audio Edition Dr Nathaniel Branden Macmillan Audio Books Reviews

• I'm torn between 3 stars and 5 stars. I think I'll go with 3 stays, because the material is amazing but very difficult to get through. I wish it was more clear and concise, so that the reader would get through it quicker and began to practice it in their daily life.
  
  The first half of the book is life changing. I bolted through it in a few hours. It gave me a realization that pulled me out of a 9 month on and off depression. Since reviewing some of the material whenever I feel down, along with other resources, it gave me insight and clarity in my life that has sustained joy in the past 3 months. I hope it continues. The most significant part that brought me to awareness was his quote about his dog, that I have shared with many others. He says his dog is focused on enjoying the outdoors, chasing squirrels and sniffing flowers, not worried at all about being "happier" than the other dogs. I don't know if it impacts others the way it did for me, because it was incredibly applicable to my own situation. I realized the significance and potential of this book to impact my life after reading that, and began taking notes seriously.
  
  The second half of the book, in contrast to the first half... took quite a while to finish. It was dry, convoluted, and many of the same ideas are restated. It's his observations, theories and philosophy, and not really applicable to me. I finished it at last today. Just read the first half where it introduces the concept of self esteem, and MAYBE the last few pages on "The Seventh Pillar" and the appendices.
• I bought this book from at the full price. It's a solid self-help book, and superb as long as the author sticks to the field of psychology. Parts I and II deal with establishing a solid definition of self-esteem and a cogent explanation of the Six Pillars. I found the sentence-completion exercises to be illuminating and helpful, and shouldn't be skipped if you plan to get the most out of the book. I may even purchase Branden's workbook for more sentence stem work.
  
  Unfortunately, Part III of the book strays away from psychology and into the realm of philosophy. Here, Dr. Branden sounds more like his ex-lover Ayn Rand. Honestly, you can skip Part III of this book and still get more than your money's worth.
  
  EDIT Do read the final chapter, 18 - Conclusion The Seventh Pillar of Self-Esteem. Appendix B is also worthwhile.
• The pros Branden certainly has a lot of insights from his experience as a psychotherapist. He presents many relatable stories and experiences that readers can learn from.
  
  The cons
  
  The book is vague, and aside from the examples (which a person may or may not identify with), the advice he gives is very abstract. Take responsibility for your life. Accept yourself. Be conscious. I'm having a very hard time wrapping my head around these concepts because there are obviously a lot more steps needed to fully understand them. Especially "be conscious." The author falls short at explaining the idea of consciousness and how it relates to self esteem.
  
  The book is a difficult read. At first I questioned my own intelligence because I felt that I was reading certain sentences repeatedly without understanding what the author was getting at. Then I realized that Branden is a long-winded and sometimes contradictory writer, who doesn't fully respect the process of logical reasoning. This all became 100% clear to me when I realized he was a former lover of Ayn Rand. His writing is a worse version of Rand's writing. It's all the long-windedness and "what's-he-getting-at"s Rand is notorious for, but with less insights per page.
• Please please please buy this. And highlight in it. And take notes. Then buy tons more copies and pass them out to everyone you care about.
  
  If you have an analytical mind in addition to self-esteem struggles of any kind- you will be doing yourself a huge favor by introducing this book and all the content in it.
• This book discusses crucial current issue mainly people specifically newer generations suffer, which is low self-esteem. The author did a great job explaining what actually self-esteem entails and that it is not in isolation from other important personal traits as self-assertiveness and responsibility for example. additionally, it contains plenty of exercises to do in order to enhance each of the mentioned six pillars. The only pitfall from my perspective is the language the book written with. It is kind of recondite, the author usually used long sentences and the vocabulary is not common at all. Maybe because I am not native English speaker, I feel his language is difficult. all in all, it is a nice book.
• I'm a psychotherapist and I have gotten a lot out of this book personally and have recommended it to a lot of my clients. It isn't new by any means, but the information in it is timeless. I highly recommend this book to just about everyone. It can really help you make sense of your lives and help you feel good about yourself, in real ways, not in just shallow affirmations. Read this and you just might become both a "better" person and a much happier person.
•  AMAZING book.
  If you have self-esteem problems, you must read it.
  If you DON'T have self-esteem problems, you STILL should read it!
  Here is a short video review for you to understand why.