It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be | 
 enlarge | Author: Paul Arden
Publisher: Phaidon Press Ltd
Category: Book
List Price: £4.95
Buy New: £1.12
You Save: £3.83 (77%)
New (49) Used (25) from £0.33
Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 1507
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7 x 4.6 x 0.6
ISBN: 0714843377
Dewey Decimal Number: 158.1
EAN: 9780714843377
ASIN: 0714843377
Publication Date: May 31, 2003
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. Shipped from UK Mainland. Delivery is usually 2 - 3 working days from order by Royal Mail, International Delivery is by Airmail.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
 Thought provoking and useful for everyone July 26, 2008
Paul Arden's book is a like a breath of fresh air compared to many help or guidebooks out there. The way he combines the images and photographs to highlight the message of the text reflects why he's so well renowned. For someone who isn't involved with advertising or marketing I expected to take away only a limited amount from reading this book. I was pleasantly surprised.
The snapshot way in which the ideas are presented keeps you constantly engaged and thinking. Thought provoking ideas such as - "Don't look for the next opportunity, the one you have in hand is the opportunity" and how we might want to get off a certain job but it could just be the best work we ever do. The idea of "Don't put on a speech, give a show" really hit home. I do speeches and thought that's why people were there, Paul tells us differently.
There's a lot here that everyone who want's to think and act differently will benefit from. A book that you'll read in one sitting and then read over and again. So in case you didn't know, don't covet your ideas and present on a Tuesday.
Great thinking from the ad industry May 4, 2008
This books is a great collection of many ideas, thoughts, ironies and creative thinking from the ad industry. Plus a few new thoughts. I've bought loads of these (and Purple Cow) and given them away to clients, desperate to get them to think a little more creatively. I use it with students as well. A must read (and the second book). Quick to read and easy, maybe that's why it's sold over 1/2 million. Paul was regarded as one of the great all time creatives within advertising but sadly he died recently - a great loss to the ad community.
 Snake oil April 12, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have no doubt that Arden was a genius in the field of advertising. However, this little volume is like some of Edward De Bono offcuts with random graphics,
fine if it fell out of a cereal packet or a xmas cracker, but 5 for this book is a joke.
Arden's big phrase was 'astonish me' - he was obviously too astonished to make any effort with the writing of this book. The only astonishing thing here is that 1500 words of meretricious garbling can cost a fiver.
Paaarp
 glib April 7, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
I read this book in a bookshop in about half an hour.
The advice is often utterly foolish.
For instance, anyone with half a brain knows that, irksome though it may be, a college qualification is an essential "gateway" into most firms, though perhaps it wasn`t when Arden himself was starting out, and the advertising industry was still in its infancy in the UK.
It`s also the case that, although the unusual routes to success aremore newsworthy, conventional methods exist for a reason, and following them is therefore advisable (dreary though that may be).
I`d add, as an artist, that this book suggests a glib attitude to creativity, as if one can simply begin a project utterly detached form tradtitions, a past, previous solutions etc.
The design of this book is enjoyable however.
Inspirational March 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I am always a huge sceptic when it comes to these kinds of books, but I thought I'd give this a go, based on the fact it's the "world's best-selling book". And therein lay lesson one - sell yourself as the best, and people will buy it. Of course it's not _really_ the world's best-selling book, but I fell for it!
The book itself can only be described as genuinely inspirational, witty, intelligent and (whisper it softly) life-changing. After following only a fraction of the advice, I feel more confident, am doing far, far better academically, and can now see the big gates of the future flung open (dramatic, I know, but really.) For anyone entering the media, PR or advertising, it is an absolute must.
So, in short, buy it. It costs pennies and might change your life for the better.
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