Rating: 
Summary: Top of the line
Review: I bought this book after reading Stephen Covey's glowing endorsement and many other favorable reviews. I began reading it in the morning and did not put it down until I was finished. I am now reviewing the book and completing all the exercises. Optimal Thinking cleared up issues with positive and negative thinking that have haunted me for years, and provides the path to stop settling for second best. The author advocates the acceptance of all suboptimal thoughts, feelings and situations as signals for optimization. What I appreciate most about Optimal Thinking is that it is simple and can be used instantly to make the most of whatever we face in the moment and in any facet of life. This book deserves 5 stars, and more.
Rating: 
Summary: Dumb
Review: I bought this book because of the good ratings and lack of people being able to clearly state what they did not like about the book. However, I will try my best to dissuade someone from looking to this book as a cure-all. First of all, there ARE many questions. And they are like this.. 1-4 how much are you like this or that. And then it says, Hey, you could use this book! Then it just asks a bunch of questions without giving concrete advice. There just isn't much to take from it. For example, it says that this book can help you be best, as what you think the best is. BUT, most every example in the book is based on a money or status value system. For instance, going after money or having the best food. To many people, that isn't their goal. It doesn't help spiritually. The authors praise Bill Gates, but he's not the kind of person I want to emulate. The WORST example in this book is a comparison between a conversation with a friend who's having marital conflict. In one example, you're in a nice restarant, eating great food and counseling your friend, "Let's see why you need a man.." (avoiding the entire relationship) and the other is in a cheap restaraunt trying to resolve the real marital problems. Then the author assumes that the first is the better circumstance by saying, "now doesn't that make you feel better?" Then she goes on assuming everyone agrees. Nope. She says you can have any value system, but she's SOOO much a left wing liberalist, that I can't value her opinion. I hope that helps. I didn't read enough, since I couldn't choke it down past the first part of the book.
Rating: 
Summary: eBook problems
Review: While the substance of the book is well worth reading please make sure that you're comfortable with the eBook format before purchasing. This is the first eBook I bought and it will also be the last one. Amazon list a couple of free books to download and my advice is to try reading them before purchasing anything in this format. Other than that, the book is very good and particularly thought provoking. I wasn't wasting my time reading this one.
Rating:
Summary: Start your positve engines!
Review: I have read many self-help books but this is truly one of the most helpful books I have ever read! Like the Toru Sato's theoretically revolutionary book, "The Ever-Transcending Spirit", this book helps us become more consciously aware of our own thoughts and enables us to change them into more positive ways of thinking. The more we think positively, the more we feel positively, the more we behave positively, and the more we can reach our full potential! The more we function up to our fullest potential, the more positive we are in our thinking. It is a wonderful cycle. This book offers excellent practical advice on how to get in to that positive cycle. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Is your thinking in your best interest?
Review: My wife brought this book home after participating in an Optimal Thinking seminar at her company. Although I was somewhat skeptical, I tried to approach the book with an open mind. I admit that I was interested in finding out how much of my thinking was in my best interest so I responded to that quiz. When I read the part about the strengths and weaknesses of positive and negative thinking, I got hooked and pulled out my highlighter pen. Up until then, like most people, I had been confused about when to be positive, negative or neutral. During the following week, I tested the templates for simple and complex decision-making and they worked. I made the right choices integrating my heart and my mind for the first time. All that said, this book won me over. Optimal Thinking is a must read if you want to make the most of your personal life and career. Making the most of life means something different to each of us. Optimal Thinking is the vehicle that takes you from a bad, neutral, mediocre or an extraordinarily positive moment to your best moment. From one best moment, Optimal Thinking takes you to the next best moment, and to a life of increasingly more best moments. I am a doer and can feel guilty when I am not productive. I laughed and heaved a sigh of relief when the author said, "If your response to 'What's in my best interest?' is 'Take a nap,' then do it. You can choose to snooze knowing that it is in your best interest."
This book is easy to read. You will find roadmaps for making the most of a range of situations, instances where people like yourself use Optimal Thinking in day-to-day situations, as well as examples of famous Optimal Thinkers who sculpt their lives with Optimal Thinking as their motivating philosophy, and inspire it in others. Buy it and get copies for the people you care about.
Rating:
Summary: Out of misery and on the right track with Optimal Thinking
Review: I discovered Optimal Thinking while I was browsing in the self-improvement section of my local bookstore and couldn't put it down. Before I read this book, I would wake up every morning feeling hurt, furious and disappointed with myself, people and life. I won't go into detail but I'd been through some heavy losses and betrayals. This life-optimizing book helped me to understand my feelings, and made it possible for me to take my power back, and get my life on the right track. Optimal Thinking is realistic, and shows you how to integrate thoughts, feelings and situations and OPTIMIZE (not just improve) them. You learn how to let go of what is not in your control, choose the best options in your control, and lay disturbing issues to rest. Optimal Thinking is simple, and universally valid. In good and bad situations, I can now be my best and bring out the best in others. I feel blessed to have found Optimal Thinking.
Rating:
Summary: Optimal Thinking works for everyone
Review: I discovered Optimal Thinking in 1992 when I heard Dr. Glickman address an audience of more than 1000 people at The International Conference on Thinking as the plenary speaker. I was deeply impacted by her presentation and invited her to present an Optimal Thinking seminar to a cross section of employees at my company four months later. Optimal Thinking is a universal resource that embraces all forms of thinking, all people and all situations. On a daily basis, I have seen what it has done for my secretary, Sandy, whose husband passed away due to a brain tumor. Sandy used Optimal Thinking through their worst days together, always doing her best, no matter how hard it got. She uses Optimal Thinking in the office to guide her decisions, and I can rely on her to make the most of whatever crosses her desk. As for me, although I am analytical by nature, I used to make irrational, costly decisions when I became emotional. I have learned to stop and use Optimal Thinking to find the best solution rather than dig myself into a hole. Pre-optimization in our company, our sales force consisted of senior sales people and newcomers, some jaded, some fresh and realistic, others who were generally optimistic. When I introduced Optimal Thinking into the sales force, we saw an 18% increase in gross sales within six months, which is unprecedented in our industry. Our sales force is now a bonded Optimal Thinking team. They collaborate to define and achieve optimal results, and they are realistic in their appraisals of resources and opportunities. When this book became available, we purchased copies for all our employees. We optimized our mission statement by including our policy of "working together as a team of optimizers with the best interest of our customers in mind and heart." I recommend Optimal Thinking to anyone who wants to make the most of themselves, and bring out the best in others. Optimal Thinking is superlative but simple. The challenge is to use it consistently. This revolutionary book describes Optimal Thinking, explains how to use it proactively, and in conjunction with all forms of thinking. It contains specific roadmaps and concrete examples to make the most of ourselves, day to day situations, feelings, communications with others, and leadership skills. Optimal Thinking earns five stars!
Rating: 
Summary: Unless you like daytime TV...
Review: If you are a businessperson or a student looking for ways to sharpen your thinking process to succeed in life, this book is a waste of time. It takes some principle that is pretty clear, such as "unrealistic optimism/pesimism is bad" and then it makes it into a book by telling you all these stories. "Mary's mother was not supporting.. Joe had a drinking problem, Scott could not sleep at night.." There are pages and pages of this. It sounds like a script for a daytime television show. I did not find the examples useful; some of them are just naive and superficial. It is an easy read for a teenager, I would not recommend this to an adult. The book offers some good motivational quotes.
Rating:
Summary: Optimal thinking strategies depend on individual temperament
Review: Yes, I absolutely agree that Rosalene Glickman's book Optimal Thinking is an essential addition to any library on improving thinking styles. Of course, which book is most helpful and insightful for which individual depends heavily on that individual's temperament and philosphy of life. Optimal Thinking is an excellent book for positive realists. Optimists likely would prefer Positive Thinking by Vera Peiffer, and pessimists or neutral realists would like The Positive Power of Negative Thinking by Julie Norem. Context of application is important too, with business people looking at Filling the Glass : The Skeptic's Guide to Positive Thinking in Business by Barry Maher. And so on. Effective thinking is a big, complex, and significant issue in life. Optimal Thinking is a nice contribution to the pool of available books, and Rosalene Glickman is a thoughtful and clear writer.
Rating:
Summary: Optimal Thinking -- The language of our best self
Review: Before I discovered Optimal Thinking, I was running a small successful business, but was feeling less and less energetic each year. I was often exhausted when I came home from work and I have to admit that I wasn't the greatest company for my husband and children. There was always a hole inside me I just couldn't fill. Optimal Thinking has filled that hole and given me a second chance at life. Without Optimal Thinking, I compromised my personal life and career, and settled for second best. With Optimal Thinking, I am pro-active and make the most of every aspect of my life. I still react, but I choose the best response. Life is a meaningful adventure for me now, and I am enjoying it to the max. I can't recommend this book enough. Optimal Thinking should be taught in every school.
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