Book review: "It's Not Rocket Science" by Mary Spio

"When you share your light, you live in a brighter world." -- Mary Spio

ISBN 978-0-399-16931-1 (hardback)
Published by the Penguin Group

This book is one of my best find in 2016 and I had a blast reading it during the New Year holiday. The pages are loaded and Mary Akua Spio is well-qualified to write it as she is living the dream of her life with more to come.

Let her inspire you to become a Game Changer with 7 key traits:

1. Unbridled Creativity

2. Radical Passion

3. Active Compassion

4. Obsessive Focus

5. Relentless Hustle

6. Extreme Audacity

7. Pit Bull Tenacity

"There is no passion to be found in playing small -- in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." -- Nelson Mandela

That's Part One. In Part Two, Mary will spur you to Break Through To Uncommon Success with insights for you to:

- Discover your greatness

- Embrace your difference (Your difference creates your relevance)

- Live your life by design

- Find your tribe

- Start where you are

- Dare to do something great

One of my best takeaway from this book is on finding one's sweet spot. Mary has aptly put a finger to it as the intersection between our Passion, Purpose and Potential (talent/ability/skill).

All of us would have heard of the Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but what about this quote to spur us in our quest to find our destiny: "A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What one can be, one must be." -- Abraham Maslow

Then there is:  

Destination (Where you wanna to go)  + Obsessive Focus = Distinction

"People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I'm actually as proud of the things we haven't done as the things we have done. Innovation is saying 'no' to a thousand things." --Steve Jobs

"If you chase two rabbits, you end up losing both." -- Mary Spio

Allow me to leave you with this propulsion from Mary: 

"Passions, talents and our gifts are our fundamental energy sources. Everyone has talents and gifts, but without focus, that talent is diffused. Like the light from a light bulb, it doesn't make much of an impact. But when we focus our talents and gifts in one direction toward our goal or vision, it's strength on top of strength. Focus amplifies all our abilities, and the results are powerful.

Game Changers focus their talents (potential), passions and purpose like a laser and etch their mark on the world."

About The Author

Mary Spio, the U.S. Ambassador of Innovation, went from being a barefoot girl growing up in Ghana to a deep space engineer earning major patents with Boeing, and is now an Internet entepreneur who speaks to audiences around the world about leadership and innovation. Her personal story is a remarkable one, but her message is universal: Anyone can be a Game Changer.