Book – Peaks and Valleys Book (Summary)
Author – Spencer Johnson M.D.
Genre – Self- help Book
Published Year – 2009
“Peaks are moments when we appreciate what we have, Valleys ar moments when we long for what is missing.”
– Peaks and Valleys
Got hands on another short tale with powerful insight after I read Who Moved My Cheese? From Spencer Johnson M.D. and have to admit author kept me engaged throughout the story and left me with simple, yet awesome lessons about life.
About The Author –
Dr. Spencer Johnson was an American physician and author. He was known for his famous book Who moved my cheese? He also wrote the peaks and valleys, The Present, The yes or no, and co-authored One Minute Manager series of books.
About the Book –
Peaks and Valleys is the story of a young man, who decides to climb a nearby mountaintop to find answers after being unhappy in the Valley for a long time. In this journey, he ends up meeting an old man (Who turns out to be a very successful man) in the Peak.
He learns the new perspective about life, which old man calls a concept of the Peaks and Valleys of life (Peaks and valleys used as a metaphor for good and bad times in life), Which helps him in understanding How to get out of Valleys sooner, stay on Peaks longer, and how to have more Peaks and fewer Valleys in the future.
How to get out of Valleys sooner – How to turn around bad times into good sooner.
Stay on Peaks longer – How to continue having good times.
How to have more Peaks and fewer Valleys in the future – How to make good times last longer and be prepared for bad times.
Few key Learning From the Book –
1. What helps in coming out of Valleys (Low times) in life –
This line sums up the solution well – To change Valley into peak we need to know what brought us to the valley, and which of our habits were keeping on Peak. We may not control outside circumstances all the time however, we can always control how we respond to them and how we act.
2. Nothing fails like Success –
After returning from Peak, the young man applies what he learns from Old man and sees success in all areas of life. Though within some time everything starts to fall apart for he doesn’t manage his success well.
Lesson – As we get success, we should always take out time to appreciate, rest and reflect on what we have achieved so far, what got us there? Keep in mind that there will be always valleys following peaks and we need to be prepared accordingly. We only get better with every valley we pass through.
3. I can have more good times than bad times.
After going to peak again and meeting old man, a young man learns important lessons to sustain good times longer.
- We can have fewer bad times when we appreciate and manage good times wisely.
- We shouldn’t mistake arrogance for confidence in good times, and fear for comfort in bad times.
- Having and drawing sensible vision for future is another great way of getting out valleys faster and staying on peak longer.
- We must avoid believing things are better than they are while on peak, and worse than they really are when in valley.
I have also created a video of a few quotes from the book – I am sure you’ll like it. You may consider subscribing to my YouTube channel – Myread4change,
Conclusion –
The Book has captured low times, what gets and keeps us there, how to come out of it, and continues to have good times longer very well with an engaging story.
Whether you are dealing with low times in life or feeling stagnant at some point. This short read will be a great help in drawing sensible vision and inspire to broaden perspective so that you look at some things from a different perspective and move forward confidently.
You may download a free E-book from here.
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Thanks for reading…
Muzammil