The Birth Order Book Quotes

“Think about and meditate on things you are thankful for. More importantly, think about people you are thankful for and why.”
― Kevin Leman, The Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are

“How parents interact with each child as he or she enters the family circle determines in great part that child’s final destiny.”
― Kevin Leman, The Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are

“Commit to finish one thing before starting another. We agreed on one inviolate rule: he had to finish one job before he could start another. That’s always the key to helping the discouraged perfectionist who procrastinates: commit to finish one thing before starting another. I know that sounds overly simplistic, but it’s a basic principle that can do wonders if the procrastinating perfectionist has the commitment to carry it through.”
― Kevin Leman, The Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are

“There is a psychological theory that says human beings operate according to three natural motivations:
1. to obtain rewards and recognition 2. to avoid pain and danger 3. to get even”
― Kevin Leman, The Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are

“By their very nature, firstborns hate to make mistakes. They are careful and calculating and sticklers for rules and regulations.”
― Kevin Leman, The Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are

“Firstborns or onlies tend to be conscientious, well organized, serious, goal oriented, achieving, people pleasers, and believers in authority.”
― Kevin Leman, The Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are

“Born to Rebel: Birth Order Family Dynamics and Creative Lives, a book that contained overwhelming statistical evidence that birth order theory does have credence and validity.”
― Kevin Leman, The Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are

“When I speak about marriage, I often quote this equation: E – R = D (Expectations minus Reality equals Disillusionment). That little equation can apply to a lot of things in family living, but another equation fits blended families much more aptly: N × R = C (Naïveté times Reality equals Chaos).”
― Kevin Leman, The Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are

“The influence your family has on you as you grow up can reach across time and distance to touch you in profound, and sometimes disturbing, ways years after you think you’ve “grown beyond all that.”
― Kevin Leman, The Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are

“Firstborn girls who grow up under a very perfectionistic, critical father are often hard on themselves and put themselves in situations that aren’t healthy as they look for the love, affirmation, and acceptance they didn’t get from their own father. When such a firstborn daughter grows up and marries, her husband will pay the price for the sins of her father.”
― Kevin Leman, The Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are

“One more thing to remember as you battle failure: you are almost certainly battling guilt as well. Just ask yourself, Do I feel guilty much of the time? For most perfectionists, the answer is almost always yes. I have counseled many people whom I sometimes call “the guilt gatherers of life.”
― Kevin Leman, The Birth Order Book: Why You Are the Way You Are