Saturday, June 18, 2016

Rick Weinheimer's Move Your Chair: A Book Review



Typically I avoid the self-help section, but a friend of my mine recommend I check out Move Your Chair by Rick Weinheimer. Weinheimer is both a veteran English teacher of over thirty years and a cross country coach of equal length (we share the same professions and thus the same motivations). A novel man, with a list of accomplishments nearly a mile long, he crafts a quick, punchy text that oozes positivity. Each page is an affirmation on one man’s life as well as a push for others to make the most out of theirs.

A quick read, in a steady tone, Weinheimer’s message is simple—use your day and your life to your advantage. He notes common elements of our daily life, ranging from the man counting the seconds to get off work instead of making the most of his work to how greeting a pack of kids at 5:30 am with a smile is a transformative practice. Weinheimer starts with goals: set goals and apply yourself to them. Whether it is running every day or writing a novel, find a way to focus in. You don’t have to do anything here: you get to. He notes this fact, and fills his pages with stories of his life. At the center of everything is daily improvement. Find a way to make the most of things, to bask in the greatness you. He doesn’t require his runners to run daily, he asks that they improve. He doesn’t let up and clap on Friday, he works to take the day and make the most out of it, because, well, life needs such moments.

While terse, this book will be a pleasant read for any and all, and a worthy investment.

Favorite Lines:

  • “Ignore the honking. Ignore the geese. Ignore the negative” (57).
  • “The negativity around us is quicksand that slowly sucks us under” (20).

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