Never Fear, Never Quit (Expect a
Miracle)
A Story of Courage and Perseverance
Date
Review Posted: January 29, 2013
Release
Date: May 1997
Related
Blog (as
applicable): http://tinyurl.com/avqaqjh Can’t imagine not receiving Joe Tye’s Spark
Plug emails; highly recommend you subscribe
Rating:
CCCCC (A
case could be made that I would only review the best of the best because if
while reading a book it does not hold my interest, I would not finish it and
therefore would not review it.)
Format:
Inspirational Novel
Reason
For Reading THIS book: I do not recall the event that linked me with
Joe Tye and that is my loss because the relationship built over the years with
Joe has been indeed priceless. I have
read and re-read everything Joe has written and especially this book, Never
Fear, Never Quit (Expect A Miracle).
Number
Of Times I Have Read This Book: Too many times to remember. It is a good story with a great message.
Brief
Summary of Content: Never Fear, Never Quit is a small book in
size but a HUGE book in content and value.
It is written as a story (novel) but the messages come across loud and
clear. Without going into the story of
the book, the following paragraphs are from just the Note to the Reader and
sums it up better than I could paraphrase:
“Rafe
(the name of the
one of the characters in the book who “leads the way” so to speak) is faith.
Faith that there is meaning in all life; including your own. That no one who is trying to do what is right
will be allowed to labor unaided. Faith,
that although adversity may at first seem to weaken and hurt you, it will
eventually strengthen and heal you. That
when you are ready to learn, teachers will appear. That in the darkest moment, the light is not
long in coming.”
“Rafe
will be there when you hit bottom and you’ll know you’ve hit bottom when Rafe
appears. You’ll know it’s Rafe by
this: The serendipity is too amazing to
believe it’s a coincidence. Something is
about to happen that was meant to be, something that is truly miraculous.”
Just in case you-know-who is
reading this, here is the origin and definition of the word “serendipity.” Word History: We are indebted to the English author
Horace Walpole for the word serendipity, which he coined in one of the 3,000 or
more letters on which his literary reputation primarily rests. In a letter of
January 28, 1754, Walpole says that "this
discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very
expressive word." Walpole
formed the word on an old name for Sri Lanka, Serendip. He explained that this name was part
of the title of "a silly
fairy tale, called The Three
Princes of Serendip: as their
highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and
sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of...."
Definition: 1. The faculty of making
fortunate discoveries by accident. 2. The
fact or occurrence of such discoveries. 3. An
instance of making such a discovery.
The story is about how
we oftentimes see only one course of action and fail to see the various
alternatives and choices that actually are there in front of us if just become
more aware of what really is in front of us.
When you are aware of all of the choices, you can make more wise and
beneficial decisions.
The following quote from
the book captures the essence of the message:
Fear is a reaction,
courage is a decision.
Perseverance is making
that decision every day.
Who
Should Read the Book? This book is literally for everyone. For business and for personal life. For adults, for children. You will not regret giving this book to your
children. It would be especially
valuable for you-know-who! Makes for a
great gift.
CHAPTERS:
I think a lot can be learned by just looking at the chapter titles. Here are the chapters of this book:
Chapter 1 Caring Is the Root of Courage
Chapter 2 Fear Attacks Only Weakness, So Confront It (Fear) with
Strength
Chapter 3 Fear Is a Prison from Which Action Wins Freedom
Chapter 4 Any Harm Violence Can Do, Fear Can Do
Chapter 5 Give Fear a Name and It Becomes Just a Problem
Chapter 6 Fear Creates Enemies, Courage Creates Friends
Chapter 7 Fear Gets Lost in the Big Picture
Chapter 8 Fear Is Many Tomorrows, Courage Is One Today
Chapter 9 Fear Is a Reaction, Courage Is a Decision
Chapter 10 With Faith Fear Becomes an Ally
Chapter 11 Stick To Your Purpose
Chapter 12 Give Yourself Permission
Chapter 13 Dream Emotionally, Think Rationally
Chapter 14 Accept Adversity and It Becomes a Teacher
Chapter 15 Obstacles Are What You See When You Take Your Eyes Off Your
Goals
Chapter 16 Don’t Go It Alone
Chapter 17 A Lucky Coin Is What You Make Of It
Chapter 18 Take Your Purpose Seriously
Chapter 19 Commitment Is The Foundation Of Perseverance
Chapter 20 Miracles Are Made to Be Shared
Final
Test: Would I read the book again? ABSOLUTELY! Would I give it as a gift? I already have. It makes for a wonderful gift because (1) it
has a tremendous message and (2) it is small enough that people might actually
read it. If that were to happen, you and
Joe Tye may have changed the life of the reader forever.
Next
Review: The Little Gold Book of
YES!Attitude by Jeffrey Gitomer
