By Alain Burrese
“One Big Thing: Discovering What You Were Born to Do” by Phil Cooke is a motivating book that encourages readers to ask themselves questions, determine what their purpose is, and then pursue that purpose with gusto. I enjoyed the book and it did get me thinking about what my main purpose, or my one big thing is.
After a short introduction, The Big Questions, there are twelve chapters and then an epilogue, You’re Not Crazy. The chapters are entertaining, have many examples, and get you thinking about what is important in your life and why you’ll be more successful if you focus on your true purpose. These chapters include: Who’s Painting The Portrait Of Your Life? Do We Really Have A Destiny? Why One Big Thing? The Power Of One Big Thing: The Power Of Perception: The Power Of Values: What’s Your One Big Thing? The Map Of Your Future: Become A Force To Be Reckoned With: Just When You Thought It Would Be Easy: It’s Never Too Late: and It’s Not About You.
I think my favorite chapter was the one on it never being too late and that the time to begin is now. I liked that the chapter started with the example of Raymond Chandler, the American mystery writer who didn’t start writing the Detective Philip Marlowe stories until after he was fired from a job when he was forty-four years old., and he was fifty when his first novel was published to only moderate success. But then things took off and he became one of the most popular and respected writers in his genre.
“One Big Thing” does a good job of outlining why you should discover your main thing, and it provides guidance in the kinds of questions you should be asking yourself to figure it out. The case studies and examples illustrate how discovering and focusing on one thing helped others succeed. And Cooke also writes about how you must get known once you figure out what your one big thing is. So in this way, the book motivates one to start their own self-discovery. However, the book is not a “workbook” and the reader will have to do much on his or her own. This book is kindling with a spark, but the reader will have to provide the wood to keep the fire going.
So if you need that spark to begin thinking about what you really want to do with your life, and some great encouragement to figure it out and then let others know about you and your one big thing, this quick motivating read may be just what you need. So let Phil Cooke help you start living a life of purpose by finding your One Big Thing.