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The Truth About You: Your Secret to Success
An Experience to Revolutionize Your Life from Marcus Buckingham - the World's Leading Expert on Career Success! Want to know what you are supposed to do with your life? The Truth About You is an experience to unlock life's toughest questions. The process this revolutionary toolkit teaches will create higher satisfaction and performance in life and work. This cutting-edge product Enhanced DVD . A high-energy film reveals how and why you must discover and prioritize your strengths and includes access to a wealth of downloadable resources, including five bonus Strength Tip videos. Interactive Book . With insightful exercises and tried-and-true life wisdom no one else will tell you, the book takes you to the location of your most powerful and unchanging talents. ReMemo Pad . Designed for a life on-the-go, the ReMemo Pad becomes your companion to complete the task of revealing your strengths using your everyday experiences. Perfect for high school and college students, young professionals, and people simply wanting to revitalize their career, The Truth About You helps you develop the kind of clarity and passion that drives a successful and satisfying future. Marcus Buckingham will help you discover the real truth, the truth about you . . . it will be your secret to success.
112 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
12 people are currently reading
340 people want to read
About the author
Marcus Buckingham
84 books613 followersIn a world where efficiency and competency rule the workplace, where do personal strengths fit in?
It's a complex question, one that intrigued Cambridge-educated Marcus Buckingham so greatly, he set out to answer it by challenging years of social theory and utilizing his nearly two decades of research experience as a Sr. Researcher at Gallup Organization to break through the preconceptions about achievements and get to the core of what drives success.
The result of his persistence, and arguably the definitive answer to the strengths question can be found in Buckingham's four best-selling books First, Break All the Rules (coauthored with Curt Coffman, Simon & Schuster, 1999); Now, Discover Your Strengths (coauthored with Donald O. Clifton, The Free Press, 2001); The One Thing You Need to Know (The Free Press, 2005) and Go Put Your Strengths To Work (The Free Press, 2007). The author gives important insights to maximizing strengths, understanding the crucial differences between leadership and management, and fulfilling the quest for long-lasting personal success. In his most recent book, Buckingham offers ways to apply your strengths for maximum success at work.
What would happen if men and women spent more than 75% of each day on the job using their strongest skills and engaged in their favorite tasks, basically doing exactly what they wanted to do?
According to Marcus Buckingham (who spent years interviewing thousands of employees at every career stage and who is widely considered one of the world's leading authorities on employee productivity and the practices of leading and managing), companies that focus on cultivating employees' strengths rather than simply improving their weaknesses stand to dramatically increase efficiency while allowing for maximum personal growth and success.
If such a theory sounds revolutionary, that's because it is. Marcus Buckingham calls it the “strengths revolution.”
As he addresses more than 250,000 people around the globe each year, Buckingham touts this strengths revolution as the key to finding the most effective route to personal success and the missing link to the efficiency, competency, and success for which many companies constantly strive.
To kick-start the strengths revolution, Buckingham and Gallup developed the StrengthsFinder exam (StrengthsFinder.com), which identifies signature themes that help employees quantify their personal strengths in the workplace and at home. Since the StrengthsFinder debuted in 2001, more than 1 million people have discovered their strengths with this useful and important tool.
In his role as author, independent consultant and speaker, Marcus Buckingham has been the subject of in-depth profiles in The New York Times, Fortune, Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal and is routinely lauded by such corporations as Toyota, Coca-Cola, Master Foods, Wells Fargo, Yahoo and Disney as an invaluable resource in informing, challenging, mentoring and inspiring people to find their strengths and obtain and sustain long-lasting personal success.
A wonderful resource for leaders, managers, and educators, Buckingham challenges conventional wisdom and shows the link between engaged employees and productivity, profit, customer satisfaction, and the rate of turnover. Buckingham graduated from Cambridge University in 1987 with a master's degree in Social and Political Science.
It's a complex question, one that intrigued Cambridge-educated Marcus Buckingham so greatly, he set out to answer it by challenging years of social theory and utilizing his nearly two decades of research experience as a Sr. Researcher at Gallup Organization to break through the preconceptions about achievements and get to the core of what drives success.
The result of his persistence, and arguably the definitive answer to the strengths question can be found in Buckingham's four best-selling books First, Break All the Rules (coauthored with Curt Coffman, Simon & Schuster, 1999); Now, Discover Your Strengths (coauthored with Donald O. Clifton, The Free Press, 2001); The One Thing You Need to Know (The Free Press, 2005) and Go Put Your Strengths To Work (The Free Press, 2007). The author gives important insights to maximizing strengths, understanding the crucial differences between leadership and management, and fulfilling the quest for long-lasting personal success. In his most recent book, Buckingham offers ways to apply your strengths for maximum success at work.
What would happen if men and women spent more than 75% of each day on the job using their strongest skills and engaged in their favorite tasks, basically doing exactly what they wanted to do?
According to Marcus Buckingham (who spent years interviewing thousands of employees at every career stage and who is widely considered one of the world's leading authorities on employee productivity and the practices of leading and managing), companies that focus on cultivating employees' strengths rather than simply improving their weaknesses stand to dramatically increase efficiency while allowing for maximum personal growth and success.
If such a theory sounds revolutionary, that's because it is. Marcus Buckingham calls it the “strengths revolution.”
As he addresses more than 250,000 people around the globe each year, Buckingham touts this strengths revolution as the key to finding the most effective route to personal success and the missing link to the efficiency, competency, and success for which many companies constantly strive.
To kick-start the strengths revolution, Buckingham and Gallup developed the StrengthsFinder exam (StrengthsFinder.com), which identifies signature themes that help employees quantify their personal strengths in the workplace and at home. Since the StrengthsFinder debuted in 2001, more than 1 million people have discovered their strengths with this useful and important tool.
In his role as author, independent consultant and speaker, Marcus Buckingham has been the subject of in-depth profiles in The New York Times, Fortune, Fast Company, Harvard Business Review, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal and is routinely lauded by such corporations as Toyota, Coca-Cola, Master Foods, Wells Fargo, Yahoo and Disney as an invaluable resource in informing, challenging, mentoring and inspiring people to find their strengths and obtain and sustain long-lasting personal success.
A wonderful resource for leaders, managers, and educators, Buckingham challenges conventional wisdom and shows the link between engaged employees and productivity, profit, customer satisfaction, and the rate of turnover. Buckingham graduated from Cambridge University in 1987 with a master's degree in Social and Political Science.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
January 8, 2009
Since we are pushing this book at work, I gave it a read. I have to say, the movie is pretty good (although the book then just treads right over the same ground).
March 5, 2012
It's enough to read one book by Marcus Buckingham. If you liked this book, don't go waste your time reading every other book he has written. They all have the same content with different titles. C'm'n. Don't be fooled. Just pick one, and I recommend this one (The Truth about You) because it has practical tools and other helpful stuff. Ah, and listen to the DVD.
By the way, I translated this book into Arabic and I have a copy.
By the way, I translated this book into Arabic and I have a copy.
December 29, 2023
Marcus Buckingham worked with Don Clifton (who has been known for Strengths Finder) and largely essays the same ideas: rather than working on one's weaknesses, it is better to build up on one's strengths. However, in this book he urges people to identify their own strengths through self-reflection (and provides a ReMemo notepad) in order to maximize his capabilities in his work.
Instead of working on one's weaknesses, Buckingham advises to either neutralize them or work with people whose strengths are our weaknesses while focusing on sharpening our strengths. I also liked his advice to "push yourself within your comfort zone." This is particularly applicable in weight training: for instance, my maximum assisted chess press is 70 kilograms. Forcing myself to lift 80 kg unassisted will only lead to shoulder injuries and potentially death. It is good to push the edges of one's comfort zone, but stay within it and gradually get past the 70 kilogram mark. Overall, while a short book, the advice it provides is sound.
Instead of working on one's weaknesses, Buckingham advises to either neutralize them or work with people whose strengths are our weaknesses while focusing on sharpening our strengths. I also liked his advice to "push yourself within your comfort zone." This is particularly applicable in weight training: for instance, my maximum assisted chess press is 70 kilograms. Forcing myself to lift 80 kg unassisted will only lead to shoulder injuries and potentially death. It is good to push the edges of one's comfort zone, but stay within it and gradually get past the 70 kilogram mark. Overall, while a short book, the advice it provides is sound.
September 25, 2017
Een nuttig boekje! Kort, maar bondig. En de belangrijkste les voor mij: Je sterke punten zijn niet die activiteiten waar je goed in bent, maar die je niet echt interesseren, maar juist die activiteiten waar je energie van krijgt, waar je je sterker door gaat voelen. Want opbranden, dat wil ik niet meer!
March 1, 2018
This book will guide you to undestand a little bit about your passions.
It will ask you questions that can help you to understand what you really like.
I think everyone knows what they really want, but as life goes you start to paying more and more attention in what society wants.
It will ask you questions that can help you to understand what you really like.
I think everyone knows what they really want, but as life goes you start to paying more and more attention in what society wants.
September 12, 2018
I wish I had read this in high school, and in college and then every 5 years after that.
March 8, 2020
The book helped give me some direction about what I should or should not do for career. I should not build a career around an area where I am weak.
September 16, 2021
things we always knew but didn't have time to think it thru
January 9, 2024
Voor mij een goed boek op het juiste moment. Sommige dingen ben ik het niet helemaal mee eens, daarom 4 en geen 5 sterren. Maar het is vlot geschreven en heeft een aantal mooie waarheden in zich.
December 6, 2008
BONUS BLOG: Book Review of "The Truth About You" by Marcus Buckingham
Who doesn't want to know the truth about themselves? But the fact of the matter is that no one knows the truth about you except you and God. And that is one of the points this book tries to make (at least the part about knowing the truth about yourself).
This is the second book I've reviewed for Thomas Nelson Publishers, and I chose it because it interested me. I must admit that when I received the book, I was skeptical and cynical. It just seemed a little too "pop psychology for the corporate world" to me.
But after watching the DVD and reading the interactive book, I have to confess that for the most part I was pleasantly surprised.
The author info on the back of the book reads:
"Marcus Buckingham is a best-selling author with more than 3.6 million copies of his landmark bestsellers in print. Drawing on more than 150,000 interviews collected by Gallup over the previous 25 years, he developed the thesis for his strengths message that is changing the way the world approaches life and work. He has been the subject of in-depth profiles in the New York Times, Fortune, and Fast Company and has consulted with national and international brands, such as Toyota, Coca-Cola, Best Buy, and Wells Fargo. He was also on the Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on Leadership and Management."
You can see why I thought the book would be geared more toward corporate America. But actually the book is an interesting read for anyone trying to determine the answer to an age-old interview question: "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" It also offers guidance and insight into discovering what you should do with your life.
Mr. Buckingham convinced this skeptic and cynic to give his theories a try. My reason? I found that a lot of what he said rang true with me. It made sense.
About the only disagreement I had with the book was the author's opposition to the Golden Rule. The author actually urges people to break the rule every day. The point he's trying to make is that as individuals, people like to be treated the way they want to be treated, not the way you would treat yourself. Sorry, but this is pushing the edge for me. How can a mere mortal advise others to disregard the words of the Son of God? I think the author treads on dangerous territory here.
Usually when I finish a book that was given to me to review, I pass it on in a free book giveaway. I hate to disappoint you, but I'm not doing that this time. You see, I have someone in my life that I think might benefit from this book, so I'm passing it on to them instead.
To learn more about this book, you can follow this link:
http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/...
(NOTE: There are three YouTube videos on this link that will give the reader some idea of Mr. Buckingham's conversational style. In fact, the third video is a snippet from the DVD that comes with the book.)
For more info, see http://wordvessel.blogspot.com.
Who doesn't want to know the truth about themselves? But the fact of the matter is that no one knows the truth about you except you and God. And that is one of the points this book tries to make (at least the part about knowing the truth about yourself).
This is the second book I've reviewed for Thomas Nelson Publishers, and I chose it because it interested me. I must admit that when I received the book, I was skeptical and cynical. It just seemed a little too "pop psychology for the corporate world" to me.
But after watching the DVD and reading the interactive book, I have to confess that for the most part I was pleasantly surprised.
The author info on the back of the book reads:
"Marcus Buckingham is a best-selling author with more than 3.6 million copies of his landmark bestsellers in print. Drawing on more than 150,000 interviews collected by Gallup over the previous 25 years, he developed the thesis for his strengths message that is changing the way the world approaches life and work. He has been the subject of in-depth profiles in the New York Times, Fortune, and Fast Company and has consulted with national and international brands, such as Toyota, Coca-Cola, Best Buy, and Wells Fargo. He was also on the Secretary of State's Advisory Committee on Leadership and Management."
You can see why I thought the book would be geared more toward corporate America. But actually the book is an interesting read for anyone trying to determine the answer to an age-old interview question: "What are your strengths and weaknesses?" It also offers guidance and insight into discovering what you should do with your life.
Mr. Buckingham convinced this skeptic and cynic to give his theories a try. My reason? I found that a lot of what he said rang true with me. It made sense.
About the only disagreement I had with the book was the author's opposition to the Golden Rule. The author actually urges people to break the rule every day. The point he's trying to make is that as individuals, people like to be treated the way they want to be treated, not the way you would treat yourself. Sorry, but this is pushing the edge for me. How can a mere mortal advise others to disregard the words of the Son of God? I think the author treads on dangerous territory here.
Usually when I finish a book that was given to me to review, I pass it on in a free book giveaway. I hate to disappoint you, but I'm not doing that this time. You see, I have someone in my life that I think might benefit from this book, so I'm passing it on to them instead.
To learn more about this book, you can follow this link:
http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/...
(NOTE: There are three YouTube videos on this link that will give the reader some idea of Mr. Buckingham's conversational style. In fact, the third video is a snippet from the DVD that comes with the book.)
For more info, see http://wordvessel.blogspot.com.
Read
July 27, 2011I'm surprised that a publisher like Thomas Nelson would publish a book that advises people to "break" the Golden Rule "every day"--not as an act of rebellion but because, apparently, Jesus had some flawed logic. This book is for people born and raised in prosperity who are starting to chafe against the artificial restraints placed on them. As such it's pretty good, actually, except that its starting point is so secondary. The truth about you necessarily includes the truth about the human condition, and the meaning of life, and so a book like this--which has the moxie to suggest it can tell you all you need to know to live your best life now, or whatever--really should begin with the question of why human beings exist, and why is there suffering? I think the author would agree that "no man is an island"--I get that from some of his rhetoric--but once you establish that no man is an island, organizing your life as though you're an island makes precious little sense.
Also worth noting: his definition of "strengths" and "weaknesses" is a big departure from common understanding. "Strengths" are not what you do well but what you're "strengthened" by; likewise with weaknesses. So the solution to all the world's ills, we're led to believe, is to do whatever makes you happy as much of the time as possible. Tell that to the kid living in the garbage dump. I'm sure she has things that make her happy. Under Buckingham's program, that would be enough for everyone.
Also worth noting: his definition of "strengths" and "weaknesses" is a big departure from common understanding. "Strengths" are not what you do well but what you're "strengthened" by; likewise with weaknesses. So the solution to all the world's ills, we're led to believe, is to do whatever makes you happy as much of the time as possible. Tell that to the kid living in the garbage dump. I'm sure she has things that make her happy. Under Buckingham's program, that would be enough for everyone.
July 15, 2012
I've always been drawn to self-improvement books. If a book can present a concept in a new and interesting way, I am usually all up on it. It's interesting though how and when a book you've been wanting to read all along suddenly lands in your hands. Marcus Buckingham has made a name for himself with his business-oriented titles (see list below) so I was already familiar with his work. Add to that, "The Truth About You" was packaged with an enhanced DVD and "ReMemo" Pad so I was naturally curious about what it was about.
I didn't watch the DVD but from what I gather it consists of a short film and links to resources. The book itself is a light breezy read with ideas that challenge how you think about things. There are exercises in the book that utilize the ReMemo Pad to help you discover your strengths and weaknesses at work and in life.
"The Truth About You" is for anyone trying to find their way in the world or needing to get back the spark.
First, Break All the Rules
Now, Discover Your Strengths
The One Thing You Need to Know
Go Put Your Strengths to Work
The Truth About You: Your Secret to Success
Find Your Strongest Life: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently
I didn't watch the DVD but from what I gather it consists of a short film and links to resources. The book itself is a light breezy read with ideas that challenge how you think about things. There are exercises in the book that utilize the ReMemo Pad to help you discover your strengths and weaknesses at work and in life.
"The Truth About You" is for anyone trying to find their way in the world or needing to get back the spark.
First, Break All the Rules
Now, Discover Your Strengths
The One Thing You Need to Know
Go Put Your Strengths to Work
The Truth About You: Your Secret to Success
Find Your Strongest Life: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently
April 27, 2009
Uplifting homily on finding rewarding work
Marcus Buckingham is a popular author of career advice that is upbeat, if a bit obvious. In this book, he encourages job seekers to focus on their strengths so they can find positions that suit them well. Buckingham provides five tips that he calls the “best advice you’ll ever get.” He lists them, explains them and lists them again to really reinforce them. This workbook even comes with a writing pad to make it easy for you to do the exercises Buckingham suggests. The advice will sound familiar if you have read his previous books, but if you’re stuck in a dead-end job, he explains how and where to start making changes. Buckingham writes for meek and inexperienced people, for job beginners and people who have stopped believing that a job can be fun. If a pep talk would spur you to ditch that painful pencil-pushing position and find something you’re glad to go do when you get up every morning, getAbstract suggests reading this book with your morning coffee.
Marcus Buckingham is a popular author of career advice that is upbeat, if a bit obvious. In this book, he encourages job seekers to focus on their strengths so they can find positions that suit them well. Buckingham provides five tips that he calls the “best advice you’ll ever get.” He lists them, explains them and lists them again to really reinforce them. This workbook even comes with a writing pad to make it easy for you to do the exercises Buckingham suggests. The advice will sound familiar if you have read his previous books, but if you’re stuck in a dead-end job, he explains how and where to start making changes. Buckingham writes for meek and inexperienced people, for job beginners and people who have stopped believing that a job can be fun. If a pep talk would spur you to ditch that painful pencil-pushing position and find something you’re glad to go do when you get up every morning, getAbstract suggests reading this book with your morning coffee.
February 8, 2009
Everything one needs to know about the Strengths-based Approach has been covered well in the previous two books by Marcus Buckingham, viz., Now Discover Your Strengths, and Go Put Your Strengths To Work. Both the Gallup organization and Marcus Buckingham (former head of Gallup, now an independent consultant evangelizing the Strengths Approach) are making money with this 21st century career development mantra.
Now, Marcus has come out with this tiny little book(let) summarizing the approach, packaged in a shiny silver box containing a short DVD and a colorful pad. As an evangelizer of the Strengths Approach and trainer/career coach for the past two years, I had to add this to my arsenal but would sincerely advise everyone not to waste money buying The Truth About You.
Now, Marcus has come out with this tiny little book(let) summarizing the approach, packaged in a shiny silver box containing a short DVD and a colorful pad. As an evangelizer of the Strengths Approach and trainer/career coach for the past two years, I had to add this to my arsenal but would sincerely advise everyone not to waste money buying The Truth About You.
August 29, 2011
Although I found it interesting and a fast read I also felt like it was only hinting at good advice. There are things I will work on, like realizing only I can decide what I'm good at and how to get the most from my job (like feelings of fulfillment) because nobody else knows or cares to develop me. And there are things that were helpful, like your weaknesses are not something to spend a lot of time trying to improve - they are your weakness because they weaken you, some basketball player mentioned in the book improved his free throws by focusing on his play under the basket, by focusing on his strengths the pressure of his weakness was less... or something like that, again my final impression is that I could have used a little more
February 18, 2009
I found this book a very useful toolkit on how to develop one’s strengths, as Marcus Buckingham defines them. But I would think that anyone who has not read his earlier books, would not understand how he came to his definition of strengths (simply put, the things you do that make you feel stronger)and how they are useful to people in building their career. His earlier books are full of sound research and case studies behind the development of his “strengths” theory. There are plenty of career tests out there to help one find one’s strengths and interests, but this book shows you how to do it yourself.
July 30, 2012
Insightful, short read. You can complete the reading in less than a day; to complete all the exercises will take time (some only a few minutes, some a full week). A helpful way to figure out your strengths (not just what you're good at!).
Unless you are familiar with Clifton StrengthsFinder or StrengthsQuest, you may not get the full experience of how to really use the strengths you discover. However, just focusing on figuring out what you really enjoy and are passionate about is a huge step in the right direction!
Unless you are familiar with Clifton StrengthsFinder or StrengthsQuest, you may not get the full experience of how to really use the strengths you discover. However, just focusing on figuring out what you really enjoy and are passionate about is a huge step in the right direction!
April 28, 2012
Like Now, Discover Your Strengths, this takes you through the steps in, well, discovering your true, detailed strengths. This is a much faster, easier read. All of his books (so far) overlap quite a bit. Same concept, just re-packaged. Along with the video in this one, I think this is a little easier to digest quickly, and the examples are faster / easier to get.
December 11, 2008
I think this could be very valuable for people feeling they haven't found their niche. It's a fresh way of thinking about strenghts and weaknesses, and incrementally making your DayJob less draining.
More extensive notes at:
http://webseitz.fluxent.com/wiki/Trut...
More extensive notes at:
http://webseitz.fluxent.com/wiki/Trut...
March 9, 2010
Read this one about a year ago. Short but insightful book (and companion DVD) - really helped me realize my priorities and what was important to me in my career and life. Nice wake-up call for anyone doing any soul-searching about their career.
August 30, 2011
By one of the authors of Now,Discover Your Strengths, this is a short read best for someone directly out of college. It's a little self-evident for those who have spent time at careers already. There is a good list of questions to help you figure out where your passion lies.
January 6, 2009
Nothing that I haven't seen before, but worded in a different way that might help.
January 7, 2009
This book includes a CD for tv and the computer and a memo pad.
It's the same subject of ignore your weaknesses and maximize your talents. It's fast reading and to the point.
It's the same subject of ignore your weaknesses and maximize your talents. It's fast reading and to the point.
March 4, 2009
A good snapshot to see if you like his message or not.
September 21, 2009
Success lite. The dvd that is attached with the book is much better.
August 24, 2013
helps to deal with our conscience .....n makes us believe what pros and cons we have in our soul ......
November 10, 2015
It's an interesting book, full of insights and can also be quite helpful for introspection.
February 5, 2016
Good, but not as good as his others.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews