- Paperback: 192 pages
- Publisher: Summersdale (12 Feb 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1840245824
- ISBN-13: 978-1840245820
- Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 1.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 14,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Fear - The Friend of Exceptional People
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More About the Author
Product Description
Review
"'...highly readable and engaging...genuinely inspiring... refreshingly down to earth, peppered with humour and humility.' The Big Issue"
Product Description
Don't let fear hold you back from achieving everything you want to - let Geoff Thompson, author of "Watch My Back" and "The Elephant and the Twig", show you how to make fear your friend. Once a doorman at some of Britain's roughest nightclubs and now a world-renowned martial artist, Geoff has had more to be frightened of than most. Here he shares his secrets for overcoming your fears to help you live life to the max. From spiders to public speaking, job interviews to physical conflict, Geoff takes you through proven techniques of combating whatever it is you're afraid of. This work helps you to: understand your physical reactions to fear and how they can be used to your advantage; overcome the negative feelings that make you think you can't succeed; and, learn methods to defeat your fears with Geoff's unique Fear Pyramid system.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As a massive sceptic of self-help books, I was wary about reading this title, but persevered on recommendation by a friend. Also, I made the assumption that I would not be able to relate to Geoff's experiences, given that we come from such different backgrounds and I have no interest in martial arts.
Having finished the book and implemented some of the suggestions, I am glad of my friends recommendation and my perseverance. Geoff's book is straightforward, straight-talking and effective. His message is simple and doesn't really tell us anything we don't already know deep down, but his delivery and positivity make for an inspirational read. He outlines his perspective of fear and describes the basic principles for managing fear well. He goes on to relate the principles to real-life examples and sets out clear guidelines for the reader to map out a plan to tackle their own fears.
Geoff uses his own experiences as examples, which is great for clarifying his point, but can seem as though he is beating his own drum. The only other drawback I have found is the examples are largely related to confrontational and martial arts experiences. While the techniques are transferable to other fears i.e. relationships, life-style changes and approaching strangers, I feel it would have been better to include more diverse examples to assist the reader.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking to tackle their fears, or even looking for some inspirational reading.
Having finished the book and implemented some of the suggestions, I am glad of my friends recommendation and my perseverance. Geoff's book is straightforward, straight-talking and effective. His message is simple and doesn't really tell us anything we don't already know deep down, but his delivery and positivity make for an inspirational read. He outlines his perspective of fear and describes the basic principles for managing fear well. He goes on to relate the principles to real-life examples and sets out clear guidelines for the reader to map out a plan to tackle their own fears.
Geoff uses his own experiences as examples, which is great for clarifying his point, but can seem as though he is beating his own drum. The only other drawback I have found is the examples are largely related to confrontational and martial arts experiences. While the techniques are transferable to other fears i.e. relationships, life-style changes and approaching strangers, I feel it would have been better to include more diverse examples to assist the reader.
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking to tackle their fears, or even looking for some inspirational reading.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I spent years not knowing what to do, being frightened of my own shadow, being bullied, not being able to speak out about my problems because i was scared of what other people's reactions whould be. It wasn't until i read this book that i finally realised the only thing i had been afraid of was my own bodily reactions to situations in my life. This book has truly changed the way i feel and the way i think, and it will work for you too you just have to believe in it and yourself.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the first book by Geoff Thompson that I read and it certainly wasn't the last! I was reminded of this book recently when I watched the film anti-christ. The therapist in the film who is trying to help his wife overcome her fears, uses a lot of methods contained in this book including drawing a pyramid of fears with the smaller fears at the bottom, working your way up to the bigger fears at the top. It made me wonder whether the director had read the book and inspired me to write this review.
I originally read the book when I was 16 years old but it wasn't until a few years later that I returned to it, out of neccessity rather than interest. Having been attacked twice, I was living my life in fear on a daily basis and I realised I couldn't carry on like that. I read Geoff's book and it made me realise that far from being a bad thing, fear can be a good thing, it's what keeps us alive! studying and understanding fear made me recognise the symptoms I was having and taught me that it is a natural feeling and I wasn't a coward for feeling fear.
Once I understood fear, I learnt that the only way to overcome it was to confront it, in what psychiatrists term 'exposure therapy.' You can read whole books on the subject and I have read a few books on fear but they all boil down to the simple truth: the only way to overcome fear is to confront it. It's as simple (and as difficult!) as that.
Being a victim of crime, I couldn't exactly confront my fear by going out trying to cause fights with people so that I would feel the same influx of adrenaline in a confrontation. What I could do however, was tackle one of my biggest fears, a fear of heights, in a controlled environment and trigger similar amounts of adrenaline and stress on my body and learn to develop the courage to handle those feelings, so that if I am ever attacked again, the feelings won't be so alien or dramatic. And that's what I did.
I climbed the top mast on a moving ship, did a 14,000ft tandem skydive, abseiled 150ft down a building and climbed the 3 biggest mountains in the UK, 2 within the same 24 hour period. I did all of those things and I use to be scared of fairground rides as a kid! Although conceptually it is as simple as confronting your fears to overcome them, it is still beneficial to read books on fear because being able to understand fear and it's purpose and effects on the body, takes a lot of the edge off it and that's what Geoff does, providing many examples from his own life.
This book really is life changing because confronting your fears, especially your biggest ones, will transform your life on every single level. If you can imagine confronting and successfully overcoming your worst fear, that gives you an infinite amount of confidence and self-esteem. It automatically wipes out a lot of 'smaller' fears overnight and things which once use to trouble you, just become laughable in comparison.
It doesn't matter if you don't have any specific phobias or fears such as a fear of violence or heights or spiders because fear can effect everyone in less obvious ways i.e. the fear of making a phone call or asking someone out on a date. No matter who you are, you will feel fear at some points in your life, it's as natural as sleeping or eating, and this book teaches you how to deal with it.
I originally read the book when I was 16 years old but it wasn't until a few years later that I returned to it, out of neccessity rather than interest. Having been attacked twice, I was living my life in fear on a daily basis and I realised I couldn't carry on like that. I read Geoff's book and it made me realise that far from being a bad thing, fear can be a good thing, it's what keeps us alive! studying and understanding fear made me recognise the symptoms I was having and taught me that it is a natural feeling and I wasn't a coward for feeling fear.
Once I understood fear, I learnt that the only way to overcome it was to confront it, in what psychiatrists term 'exposure therapy.' You can read whole books on the subject and I have read a few books on fear but they all boil down to the simple truth: the only way to overcome fear is to confront it. It's as simple (and as difficult!) as that.
Being a victim of crime, I couldn't exactly confront my fear by going out trying to cause fights with people so that I would feel the same influx of adrenaline in a confrontation. What I could do however, was tackle one of my biggest fears, a fear of heights, in a controlled environment and trigger similar amounts of adrenaline and stress on my body and learn to develop the courage to handle those feelings, so that if I am ever attacked again, the feelings won't be so alien or dramatic. And that's what I did.
I climbed the top mast on a moving ship, did a 14,000ft tandem skydive, abseiled 150ft down a building and climbed the 3 biggest mountains in the UK, 2 within the same 24 hour period. I did all of those things and I use to be scared of fairground rides as a kid! Although conceptually it is as simple as confronting your fears to overcome them, it is still beneficial to read books on fear because being able to understand fear and it's purpose and effects on the body, takes a lot of the edge off it and that's what Geoff does, providing many examples from his own life.
This book really is life changing because confronting your fears, especially your biggest ones, will transform your life on every single level. If you can imagine confronting and successfully overcoming your worst fear, that gives you an infinite amount of confidence and self-esteem. It automatically wipes out a lot of 'smaller' fears overnight and things which once use to trouble you, just become laughable in comparison.
It doesn't matter if you don't have any specific phobias or fears such as a fear of violence or heights or spiders because fear can effect everyone in less obvious ways i.e. the fear of making a phone call or asking someone out on a date. No matter who you are, you will feel fear at some points in your life, it's as natural as sleeping or eating, and this book teaches you how to deal with it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Surprisingly good!
This is a fantastic book that effects instant results!
I was concerned at the subtitle... Read more
I was concerned at the subtitle... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Dan
facing down fears
everyone should understand fear in all respects of their life, and this is a great introduction
Published 23 months ago by JGM
Superb
This book has improved my life immeasurably.
It shows you how to become a stronger person by gently confronting your fears, one step at a time (starting with the "easy"... Read more
It shows you how to become a stronger person by gently confronting your fears, one step at a time (starting with the "easy"... Read more
Published on 19 Sep 2009 by Mr. T
Great read
This author is coming very much from the heart. He has broken down psycho-babble into real useful advice regarding how to deal with 21st century stress related living. Read more
Published on 14 July 2009 by Siavash Sefidvash
Fear
Pros:
It had some useful information on understanding fear and what is wrongly perceived as fear in this book. Read more
It had some useful information on understanding fear and what is wrongly perceived as fear in this book. Read more
Published on 10 Jun 2009 by Andy
Provides useful insights
This book concerns confronting fears. It's pretty easy going and doesn't delve into the biological factors behind fear (other than a brief mention). Read more
Published on 13 Mar 2009 by P. Windridge
Buy it today!
I have bought many self help books over the years, and this is by far the best, it is what I have always been looking for. Read more
Published on 12 Feb 2009 by J. Mortimer
Clear and simple guidance from someone that REALLY knows
This book is the real deal; it's not psycho-babble written by some naive American self help Guru, it's written by one of the countries foremost Martial Artists who spent much of... Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2008 by K. Alexander
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