help4yourfamily

Tapping Into Ultimate Success- book review and give away

Written by, Kate Oliver, MSW, LCSW-C  

In my first collaboration with Hay House as a reviewer, I am excited to share my thoughts on a book by Jack Canfield and Pamela Bruner, Tapping Into Ultimate Success: How to Overcome Any Obstacle and Skyrocket Your Results.  Because this is my first book review as part of Hay House’s “book nook” program,* I have to admit, I wanted to show you all what a serious book critic I am by finding some kind of major fault or gap in this book.  While I have a few things I might have done differently, they are all minor and are more subjective really.

I picked this book to review because, while I took a 3 hour course on tapping (also known as Emotional Freedom Technique) and have effectively used it in my practice and personally, I wanted to know more.  What I found was that while the book focuses on tapping techniques, it actually combines three methods I use with my clients routinely, 1. EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique or tapping), 2. Internal Family Systems Work (mainly connected to inner child work), and 3. Affirmations, with tapping being the star of the show.

This book is chocked full of an incredible amount of helpful, usable information that I do, in my heart, believe could be life transforming for anyone that takes the time to learn and utilize the information.  The book comes with a DVD as well that is complementary to the text, and I do believe that when you are learning to tap using the methods, it is infinitely helpful to have the demonstrations on the DVD.  On it, the authors selected meaningful topics to help participants work through that are fairly universal to most people and you can get help and practice by tapping right along with the video.  One critique I might have is that in the book, the authors suggest that you will be able to supply your own words to describe your issues, but on the DVD, the authors have the demonstration participants repeat after them.  I would have liked to see a demonstration where the participant was guided through the process of chosing their own words.  If you are reading the book, I would encourage you not to be intimidated about finding just the right word choice.  If you are worried about finding words, perhaps you can use that as your first fear or worry to tap about once you get started.

I do have a few other suggestions for anyone who is planning on purchasing (or winning) this book:

1.  Do not expect to breeze through the book and video in a weekend.  I have actually taken well over a month to read it for review.  I hurried myself through it a bit because I wanted to write the review and will start back from the beginning now that I am done.  I plan on working myself through about five to ten minutes worth of reading and tapping each evening as part of my self-care routine.  At that pace, I will probably finish the book for the second time in about six months.  I do believe that will be the pace for most people.  I do not want to deter you from picking up this book however, as I do believe much of the work is amazing and with literally only a few moments, that may or may not have some mild discomfort, and using the tapping techniques described in the book, you can transform old habits and beliefs and create a new and much happier life for yourself.

2.  Stick with the recommendation of the authors to keep notes about your progress.  The issue I have found with tapping in my practice, and which the authors describe in the book, is that it works so well that there are a good number of people who forget the problem they came in for was actually a real problem to begin with.

3.  Watch the videos and get a tapping buddy if possible to help you stick with it.  A tapping buddy can also help if you worry about pin-pointing the correct words.

4.  If you are having a hard time following through with tapping, or you have difficulty finding words to describe the issues you want to work through, I would suggest you seriously consider getting a therapist who is familiar with tapping.  Getting a therapist to help work through these issues does not mean the book is not right for you.  I believe having the book and going to therapy will shorten the time it takes you to feel better and that the therapy and the tapping will each enhance the other.  I have already recommended the book as an adjunct to therapy for several of my adult clients.

I know, if you have ever seen tapping, it looks so simple, and may even seem silly or, when you think about all the time it has taken for you to get through the problem you have, it can seem impossible that a little tapping on your body in specific places will change how you think and feel about issues.  All I can say to that is that you need to try it and see.

To help you try it, I am giving away a copy of the book.  All you need to do is “like” this review on Facebook.  If you have not joined me on the Help 4 Your Family Facbook page, what are you waiting for?!  If you do not have Facebook, you can “like” this post on WordPress.  I will pick a winner at random from anyone that “likes” this post between today, 7/19/2012 and next week, 7/26/2012.  To be eligible, you must live in the United States (sorry international readers).  If you do not win, I have added the book to my recommended books on Amazon and you can find it easily by clicking on the recommended books link at the top right of this page.  Good luck!

Have you tried tapping?  What was your experience?

*For “Book Nook” reviews, I receive a fee copy of the book in exchange for reviewing it on my site.  I give my honest opinion of each book and I do not receive any further compensation.

July 19, 2012 - Posted by help4yourfamily | resources/ book reviews