Pivot: The Art and Science of Reinventing Your Life

Markel, CEO of the professional training company Peak Potential, enjoins readers to embrace their full potential, personally and professionally, in this less than inspiring self-help book. The author’s focus is on moving past self-limiting beliefs. Through anecdotes from his own life, stories from other people, and self-assessment quizzes, Markel shows that change is possible and can be facilitated through simple steps or exercises. Markel’s points and examples are valid and his examples are realistic and motivational, but the concepts offered, such as letting go of the past, are not groundbreaking, nor do they differentiate this work from numerous others of the genre. The framework for working through change is helpful, but students of personal transformation, meditation, or various modes of therapy may find it lacking in truly original ideas. Various references to Markel’s company give the book the feeling of a sales pitch, detracting from the overall message. For those new to self-help literature, this offering may be of value in showing a path to change, but for others, it will feel repetitive and underwhelming. (Feb.)