This Time Will Be Different: A Short Book on Making Permanent Changes

This ebook is brief without feeling skimpy. Martin Meadows explains his STAR system without any fluff. Start, Traction, Adherence, and Refinement. I liked how he shared examples, especially about his rock climbing.The exercises for each chapter were pertinent and thought-provoking. Some of my favorites were: measuring the impact of not making a change, creating motivational links, feel the pain, learn from the past, and harnessing the power of loss aversion.Almost halfway through the book, there was a great quote by unknown: "Commitment means staying loyal to what you said you were going to do, long after the mood you said it in has left you."Overall, I liked this book. It was a short book on making permanent change written with positivity and encouragement to make this time different.

My impression was men more than women may find this helpful. Also for those of us who are senior not much help. But I did get one or two tips so worth the purchase. Maybe too much emphasis on physical goals.

Pros: fairly quick read, wasn't expensive (Kindle version), the subject matter is provided in the form of an acronym called S.T.A.R., the advice was fairly sound in my opinion.Cons: like most things when it comes to self-improvement, you get out of it what you put into it. Although I found the S.T.A.R. approach pragmatic, it isn't anything that I hadn't learned about in other lessons of (my) life. So, the material wasn't exactly a "new approach" on solving an old problem, but rather, a reaffirmation of what I personally already knew.Overall, I was pleased with the book and even if the material was more of a "refresher" for me rather than a new take on solving a problem, the pace of the book helps in making the point and/or reminding you of the point of the S.T.A.R. approach to self-improvement. I deducted one star for the reason that in a crowded market of self-improvement/development books, this book, while fairly good, wasn't pitching anything new overall.

Most self help books tell you to "visualize success" ...that's good and it works. But humans are pain driven and is focusing on the pain of underachieving and refusing to accept it what this books is mostly about. I liked it, and I'm sure I'll come back to it from time to time. Good read.

The only detractor for me was the amount of "humble brags" Martin uses as examples. I would prefer a few less "here's what I did" and some more researched-based examples. I like his writing style and the effective use of recaps after each lesson. An enjoyable read!

This book is true to its promise of getting straight to the point about facilitating real change in life. The four point "STAR" method proposed--START, TRACTION, ADHERENCE, REFINEMENT--is a useful methodology. There is also the important reminder to check in periodically to make sure that the change proposed really is something you want.

I am a follower of Martin Meadows, and love his books, especially this one! Here he gets right to the point, in your face, and gets you to do some serious 'thinking'! I plan on putting his tips & strategies into immediate action steps, so I can become unstoppable in reaching all my goals in life! Thanks Martin!

This book gives solid advice about sticking to your plans. It uses sports and dieting examples, but I think it could easily be applied to any area of your life that you might want to change.

Sensible, down to earth approach. Very useful strategies. Have shared with my adult sons. Also freebees which are also very good.

Excellent book. If you’ve read other self help books and got bogged down with them then this one and the 365 days with self discipline is a refreshing change and an easy read.

Exceptional text outlining key strategies to bring about significant personal change. I really like Martin’s positive attitude and fresh approach to get you to confront your own self imposed barriers. All you have to do is the follow the blueprint.

A great little book for anyone looking to implement some positive changes in their lives.Always remember, the book you don't read can't help, I believe this book could well be the pre cursor to a new lifestyle, but only if you really want one.

This time will be different. Unfortunately it’s not. As a reader of a lot of self help books this formula is just repackaged from a hundred of its predecessors. Just take the time to read Think and grow rich by Napoleon Hill because if you read that you’ve read them all.