The Path Redefined: Getting to the Top on Your Own Terms by Lauren Maillian Bias

The Path Redefined: Getting to the Top on Your Own Terms by Lauren Maillian Bias

Link to buy The Path Redefined: Getting to the Top on Your Own Terms

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

It's hard to decide what to say about this book. The author Lauren Maillian Bias is described as a "serial entrepreneur," which seems to mean that she has started up multiple companies. These start-ups and the fact that they're all in different industries is noted on practically every page of the book. The reader is also not allowed to forget that Bias accomplished all of this before age 30.

Yes, her accomplishments are impressive, but the tone of the book, combined with the emphasis on the author's high-powered personal connections grew very old very quickly. Bias seems to be quite full of herself. Take this sentence as a sample of what you'll find throughout the book: "I worked really hard for nearly ten years and now I'm part of a powerful ecosystem of like-minded people who dream big and do big like me." (Yes, the words "I" and "me" appear multiple times in practically every sentence.)

This book is supposed to offer readers advice about achieving their own success, yet it reads more like a memoir designed to chronicle Bias's own achievements. For instance, a great deal of time is spent emphasizing the importance of having networks of important, influential friends. Bias calls these people for help, works with them to bring about future business ventures, and sits next to them on philanthropic boards of directors like one for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's all a bit too much for readers who are looking for suggestions to help start a new dog walking business or open a restaurant. Let's face it, if you're checking a book about entrepreneurship out of the library, you're probably not already sitting on boards of directors and starting up new ventures with a guy who runs a successful national skin care brand. In other words, explaining how to use high-powered connections probably isn't going to help people who pick up this book.

Speaking of unrealistic, Bias's first big success was a winery that she started at age 19. Allegedly it started out as a real estate investment. How many 19-year-olds have money to invest in real estate? So if you already have a network of rich, powerful friends and you're trying to figure out how they could be useful to your next business venture, this book might be up your alley. Alternatively, if you're looking for short, pithy ideas that guided Bias's success, look no further. For instance, she wraps up the chapter about negotiation with tips like these: "Be confident." And "You can't always put compensation first, especially when you're a rookie."

Overall, some sensible business advice can be gleaned from this book, but many of the stories recounted here probably don't pertain to regular people living normal lives. There are better books out there if you're looking for step-by-step practical instruction about starting a business or improving your odds of career success.

Reviewed by Peter

Review: Forever Fat Loss by Ari Whitten

Forever Fat Loss by Ari Whitten

Link to buy Forever Fat Loss: Escape the Low Calorie and Low Carb Diet Traps and Achieve Effortless and Permanent Fat Loss by Working with Your Biology Instead of Against It

Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

You know you've read a good book when you finish it and have a list of people you want to pass it along to. But you also know you've read a good book when you don't want to lend it out because you might not get it back. Such is the dilemma you'll face with Forever Fat Loss.

Full disclosure: I'm a sucker for the zillions of health and diet books that promise easy, quick, permanent, fool-proof results. Sadly, those promises never pan out. Sure, if you can completely avoid carbs or fats, or slash your caloric intake, you'll probably lose some weight. Or pass out during your wedding. Or die. Whatever. Those promises are unrealistic for most people with a normal amount of willpower, and they're potentially unhealthy. What to do?

Enter Forever Fat Loss. Author Ari Whitten had me at hello when he said people can eat as much as they want and shouldn't waste their lives at the gym. It's interesting advice from a personal trainer, but who's judging? He says that diets of all sorts, including low carb, low calorie, and low fat, are doomed to failure in the long run because they don't work in concert with the body.

This book points out that a key reason so many Americans are overweight is because of the typical American diet of processed foods. Laboratories are devoted to adding just the right chemicals to processed foods in order to make them unnaturally irresistible and pleasurable. This, in turn, encourages us to overeat.

Whitten has specific, clear guidelines to fix the problem. First and foremost, avoid processed foods. Eat simple, whole foods. Don't buy a milkshake at a fast food restaurant where most of the ingredients came from a lab. Want a shake? No problem. Toss organic yogurt, raw honey, and actual frozen berries into a blender. Sounds pretty good.

The book has a number of other guidelines designed to re-set your body to the weight it's supposed to be. Unlike what's found in most diet books, almost all of these seem both sensible and manageable. The only questionable one was his restriction on nuts, seeds, and legumes. He offered some rationale behind it, but it wasn't compelling. The guidelines state that people can eat some of these items if they really want to, but Whitten recommends limiting them. He advocates eating substantial protein in the form of meat and eggs, but since the environment would be healthier if humans ate less meat, my diet will continue to include unsalted nuts, seeds, and beans. That's one of the advantages of this book, though. It doesn't say "You get only 1500 calories per day!" or "No carbs!" Instead, it's all about listening to what your body is telling you. And my body is telling me to eat almonds.

Overall, this is an excellent book whether you're looking to lose weight or just embark on a healthier lifestyle. It's written in a simple, clear style with easy-to-follow guidelines and even some sample meals that show how "normal" a diet can be without processed foods. Now go make yourself a healthy milkshake and settle in with a copy of this book.

Reviewed by Peter