Rating: 
Summary: Inspirational Gem!
Review: Are you in a rut? Not achieving up to your dreams? Not living the life you were meant to? Not contributing what you should to your community? Well then, rush out and buy a copy of "Get The Prize" by Larry Hehn. It will not only pick you up, it will grab you by your shirt-front, throw you against the wall, and force you to answer some hard questions. Like, what can you do about your goal in the next five minutes? This book has punch. It moves along quickly, with verve and humor. It contains so much adrenaline it will make you shake.And, it will make you think and reflect. It is easy reading, in a sense, but it is also meant to be re-read, studied in fact. It calls for the reader to do things, to take specific actions. It won't happen right away, of course, but if you take the book seriously it will bring about change. Author Larry Hehn, who is a Canadian and a ferocious hockey player, writes with ease and grace. He peppers the text with humorous anecdotes from personal experience, throws in his own original drawings, and provides questions for home study. Author Hehn insists that there is no such thing as self-help, so his book should not be called a self-help book. He makes a very strong case for community--for finding people who can help you with your weaknesses, and then doing the same for others. So this is a help-each-other book. It is also inspirational, motivational, and demanding. It is a book to be read more than once. I highly recommend it. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.
Rating:
Summary: Inspirational Gem!
Review: Are you in a rut? Not achieving up to your dreams? Not living the life you were meant to? Not contributing what you should to your community? Well then, rush out and buy a copy of "Get The Prize" by Larry Hehn. It will not only pick you up, it will grab you by your shirt-front, throw you against the wall, and force you to answer some hard questions. Like, what can you do about your goal in the next five minutes? This book has punch. It moves along quickly, with verve and humor. It contains so much adrenaline it will make you shake. And, it will make you think and reflect. It is easy reading, in a sense, but it is also meant to be re-read, studied in fact. It calls for the reader to do things, to take specific actions. It won't happen right away, of course, but if you take the book seriously it will bring about change. Author Larry Hehn, who is a Canadian and a ferocious hockey player, writes with ease and grace. He peppers the text with humorous anecdotes from personal experience, throws in his own original drawings, and provides questions for home study. Author Hehn insists that there is no such thing as self-help, so his book should not be called a self-help book. He makes a very strong case for community--for finding people who can help you with your weaknesses, and then doing the same for others. So this is a help-each-other book. It is also inspirational, motivational, and demanding. It is a book to be read more than once. I highly recommend it. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.
Rating:
Summary: A pearl of great price...
Review: I must confess that I am not really a fan of `self-help' books of this sort - I suppose it is that I jaded a bit by too many `infomercials' telling me how to get rich quick if I'll only do this or that, so I always approach books such as this one with more than a little bit of suspicion. Happily, this is a book that is not promising a get-rich-quick scheme; indeed, it doesn't promise riches (in terms of material wealth) at all, but looks for something far more valuable and long lasting, that is, personal fulfillment.
Author Larry Hehn describes in the stories here some of his own struggles in life with overcome unhelpful attitudes and self-defeating personal practices. He identifies nine key principles toward getting `the prize' - the ultimate prize is most likely a life worth living, but in fact Hehn lets each reader decide for herself or himself what the prize truly is. Hehn derives these nine principles largely from Biblical texts and ideas, but they are more generally applicable, as the reader will discover, and are certainly not tied to any particular denominational framework.
The first principle is that of Choosing - you get to choose, not just your prize and what you work toward, but all through life each step of the way. Will your attitude be positive or negative? Will you approach set-backs as challenges or as obstacles? Choosing the right thing needs to become a matter of habit - as Hehn writes, no one gains 20 pounds of unwanted weight overnight, but rather through a long-term succession of dietary choices; our choices similarly add up to making us who we are.
Supplementing the narrative text about choosing attitude, habits, and relationships, Hehn includes questions for reflection (with space for writing the answers in the book), pull-quote boxes with passages from the Bible and other important texts and thinkers, as well as graphics that are simple, humourous and meaningful.
Each of the nine principles proceeds in a similar fashion. The principles include becoming like little children, asking, committing, doing everything, working with one's whole heart, getting sharpened, sowing generously, and letting your light shine. Some of these principles sound easy, and in fact are easy, from a conceptual standpoint. Of course commitment is required. Of course one should ask (`ask, and it shall be given'). But putting these principles into practice requires dedication and perseverance.
Some of these concepts may seem difficult - just what does `doing everything' mean? Who has the time? Hehn's gentle descriptions and encouragements show how the reader can make a change from getting by in life to becoming fully engaged, to become wholeheartedly involved and do everything required for particular tasks and for long-range goals.
Each of us has stories in life that can be instructive - Hehn's stories for me helped me to revisit my own history, finding parallel examples in my life that could work as motivational examples or instructional warnings. It is a worthwhile book for personal as well as group work, working toward making life more full and headed toward the prize.
Rating:
Summary: A highly practical and inspirational book
Review: Larry Hehn's book is excellent. His choices of quotes are highly inspirational and a fantastic selection that complements the point he is making. The book is more than inspirational; it is practical. Larry takes you from being inspired into taking action. We have all been inspired yet not done a thing about it. Larry's stories and examples make the ideas seem real and applicable to life. He also provides the reader with the tools they need to "take the actions" they are thinking about. I highly recommend that everyone both read and do the "Nine Keys for Life of Victory!"
Rating:
Summary: Warnings and Honesty
Review: Let me say I'm not a fan of motivational speakers or books. I appreciate the message, but I don't always like the tactics, the style, the flash, and the glossing over of life's difficulties. If someone expects me to get excited, I tend to do the opposite.
Along comes Larry Hehn. He sends me an email and asks if I'd be interested in the book. I warn him that I'll be honest. I tell him I'm not a fan of this sort of thing. Nevertheless, I agree to give it a shot.
Hehn is more than a motivational writer. He's a storyteller, an encourager, a realist and an optimist. I sped through the book, uncovering gems of wisdom, pearls of truth, and lodes of laughter. I didn't want to appreciate the book as much as I did. Hehn convinced me, though, he has something worth saying and he's more than capable of presenting it in an easygoing style.
If you're in search of a mentor, if you're ready to get off your duff and pursue your goals and dreams, then pick up this book and "Get the Prize."
Rating:
Summary: Super Motivational Book - Really Empowering!
Review: Of all the books coming out these days on "How to Achieve Success" this is one of the best. Larry covers all the key attributes of successful people, and shows you in clear terms what you need to ASK FROM YOURSELF to achieve the greatness within you. I found this book to be an empowering and inspiring read.
Another thing I liked about this book was Larry's down to earth, practical style. He writes not only about his successes but also about his personal humbling experiences as well. Plus the cartoons in this book are A+. I found them both humorous and empowering!
If this book would be a mandatory read by all high school graduates, this world would be a much better place to live. I highly recommend it.
Zev Saftlas, Author of Motivation That Works
Rating: 
Summary: Intriguing premise, succinctly written book
Review: The premise of this book was intriguing. The back of the jacket copy compels: "In the race of life, would you like to run in such a way as to get the prize? Would you like to make the most of your talents? Would you like to achieve your full potential? Would you like to become the person you were meant to be?" Who doesn't want to live up to their potential and become the person they were meant to be? This book is written in a simple and engaging style, punctuated by illustrations drawn by the author and workbook-style pages to help the reader apply the principles discussed to his or her life. Refreshingly, the points in the book are not endlessly repeated over and over in order to drill them into the reader's head, unlike many other motivational books. This makes it more valuable than a comparable book because it gives more information in a relatively short amount of book. The most intriguing thing for me in this book was the simple premise. Do I want to live up to my true potential? Am I working toward whatever it is in my life that I am supposed to be working toward, or have I gotten detoured? These questions are ones that anyone who is searching for a fulfilling life must ask. This book serves as a reminder of these questions, and gives a jumping off point for pursuing the answers.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing premise, succinctly written book
Review: The premise of this book was intriguing. The back of the jacket copy compels: "In the race of life, would you like to run in such a way as to get the prize? Would you like to make the most of your talents? Would you like to achieve your full potential? Would you like to become the person you were meant to be?" Who doesn't want to live up to their potential and become the person they were meant to be? This book is written in a simple and engaging style, punctuated by illustrations drawn by the author and workbook-style pages to help the reader apply the principles discussed to his or her life. Refreshingly, the points in the book are not endlessly repeated over and over in order to drill them into the reader's head, unlike many other motivational books. This makes it more valuable than a comparable book because it gives more information in a relatively short amount of book. The most intriguing thing for me in this book was the simple premise. Do I want to live up to my true potential? Am I working toward whatever it is in my life that I am supposed to be working toward, or have I gotten detoured? These questions are ones that anyone who is searching for a fulfilling life must ask. This book serves as a reminder of these questions, and gives a jumping off point for pursuing the answers.
Rating:
Summary: Good Motivational Book for Christians
Review: This is an inspirational book for Christians. It's not too deep, but balanced with something for babes in Christ and the more mature believers. Larry offers Scriptural exhortation and prudent advice on persevering in the race of life, and walking in faith. We are to strive for excellence in all things. As Ecclesiastes states, "Whatsoever your hands finds to do, do it with all your might..." We as believers have to live, and be salt and light to the world. Being a Christian is not a call to hide in the closet or hide in a monastery. Perhaps my only criticism would be lack of focus on the fact that we don't always get to do what we want in life. Phillipians 4:19 really means we can endure whatever comes are way through Christ, not that we set the race on our own terms. You have to qualify that verse by the preceding verses. All things considered, it's a novel and succinct little read. A thumbs up to author Larry Hehn.
"...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." -Hebrews 12:1
Rating:
Summary: Motivation and Inspirational
Review: Written in an easy to read and smooth style, author Larry Hehn gives nine points, each broken down in chapter form, on how to live a life of victory. I've read many of these types of books (trying to glean something from each) for it's very true that "an unexamined life is not worth living."
I am not sure who I'm quoting there, but it's so true. I would give a hardy recommendation to any looking to make improvements in their life to pick up a copy of this book and do some self reflecting. I know that there was much in here, especially for a book worm like myself, that won't be brand new advice, but there's always something to gain from reading well thought out words of wisdom. Sometimes you just need to hear things put a certain way for them to ring a bell inside your head.
I'd give this one a strong recommendation for using as a gift to the high school grad or the college student, I wish I'd had more of this kind of wisdom placed into my brain when I was younger, it might have made a big difference over time, often small changes, small habits, over time, can make or break certain dreams and visions.
Hehn uses some Biblical wisdom, but never in a preachy way, and lots of sports analogies (which are universal enough even non-sports people will catch his meanings). There are many little stories from his personal life and they made the book read more like someone was telling you a little bit about himself than someone was trying to "teach" something, which made a big difference in it's readability.
Lastly, I came away with the impression that Larry Hehn is a genuine nice guy and his work here was intended to help others.
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