I Can Make You Confident: The Power to Go for Anything You Want

Celebrity self-improvement guru McKenna (I Can Make You Rich) says there are only four things one needs to practice to become a naturally confident person: talk to yourself in a confident way, create positive mind pictures, use your body as if you were already confident, and take at least one risk every day. He expands on these "mind programming techniques" in such chapters as "Self Belief," "You Really Can Do Anything," "Public Speaking," "Dating and Sex," and "Leaving a Bad Situation." Throughout, he punctuates his advice with anecdotes about stressful situations involving such prominent figures as Bruce Springsteen, Buddy Hackett, and Steve Jobs, along with a sprinkling of encouraging quotes, such as Cher's comment, "If you really want something, you can figure out how to make it happen." Chapters conclude with visualization exercises, and the book is accompanied by a "Guided Hypnosis" CD. McKenna's ideas are hardly original, and many pages are redundant and written in a simplistic manner, but his followers may find this book of value nevertheless. (Sept. 7)