An inspirational read discussing the basic principles to achieve success. A helpful resource to overcome obstacles and find purpose to meet your full potential and to be ‘uncommon’.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Do you think of yourself as common? According to the author to be common is being an everyday person. Being common is to do that you what is expected to do, whoever wants you to do it — for example your employer, your spouse or even your parents. However if you want to be more than common, then you must recognize the mistakes you have made and recognize your mistakes to lead a life to excellence.” The author takes you through life’s most important principles for finding your pursuit of excellence. If one get the motivation due to finding life’s most importance principles for finding your pursuit of excellence so that you can be uncommon. The author gives tips on how to become an uncommon person.

What I liked about this book, was his understanding and knowledge he shared with the reader. He has a statement that he asks you to commit to his way to become uncommon. His writing is clear and easy to read/follow. It’s potential to make a person uncommon is definitely there..

This was a mix of actionable advice and storytelling. Hearing his experiences made the advice feel more solid and trustworthy. It was about breaking free, owning your life, being positive, but it was also real. I appreciated the balance between these ideas. Was it earth-shattering? Not as much, but I read a lot in this genre, so little would be, but it was still good. 3.7, rounded.

This is a practical self help book. Divine covers five areas he calls mountains: physical, mental, emotional, intuitive and spiritual. He draws from his own experiences as well as a number of studies. He encourages readers to do the work of accessing our untapped potential, breaking free from limiting conditioning. He has a contract early on to encouragement a commitment to the process.

He has good tips and plenty of practical exercises as well as reviews of the major points at the end of each chapter. Much of the information may not be new to those who frequent self help books. I do like his addressing potential objections to taking on his exercises. I also like his suggesting reflective journaling. My favorite teaching was on BOO (background of obviousness), hidden mental issues and energy that can trigger reactionary behavior. He has a practical plan to recognize the roots and then deal with them, such as forgiving ones self.

This is a good self help book for anyone who would like a framework to address limiting beliefs and start on the journey to being someone uncommon.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

There’s a good chance that former Navy SEAL Mark Divine will read this review. In his latest book, Uncommon, he admits that he reads his press. Thus, I’ll want to be as charitable as possible here and not say anything that would be disrespectful. However, I am hopeful I won’t do that as Uncommon turned out to be a somewhat resourceful self-help book on mastering the five “mountains” that a person must climb to live a life that goes against the grain: physical, mental, emotional, intuitive, and spiritual. I can say that the book is a success because I found myself going for a 4,000-step walk after finishing the chapters on maintaining physical health. For some, I would imagine that Uncommon might be the most crucial guidebook of the year. That’s not to say that I didn’t always agree with it, and my feeling is that any book that quotes from Brian Tracy and Stephen Covey is a little suspect. However, it also briefly covers the Japanese concept of ikigai. For a book about going against the kind of lifestyle that your parents would want you to live, I find it ironic because my dad has been after me to read a book on the subject of ikigai that he bought for me. Insert smiley face here.

The book might be helpful because it offers exercises for the reader to participate in — everything from breathing exercises to silent meditation to reflective journaling. While all of these exercises have the posture of being solitary, Divine does write a chapter about the need to have a team behind you if you want to succeed. It’s hard for me to say if these exercises would be helpful, given the constraints I have as a book reviewer — I read one book and then go on to the next one. Uncommon is a book you should linger over for an extended period. To do it proper justice, this is probably something that should take a few months to plow through. And, perhaps, readers could do an even deeper dive in searching out the books that Divine mentions in his text, given that Uncommon is a read that feels like five books crammed into one. A lot of ground is covered here, but as they say in some 12-step programs, readers should take things “one day at a time.” Uncommon is a book about developing the skills needed to succeed at a higher level of operation, and its virtues are such that it may take a while to see results.

I said earlier that I do want to be charitable. However, I didn’t buy the chapters about intuition and the mind-heart-gut connections. I needed to see that a bit more fleshed out because the rational side of my mind can’t believe that a person can tap into some psychic power that can make a person feel the pain of, say, a family member many hundreds or thousands of miles away. I’m skeptical of some of the claims in the book and needed more than a pat assurance that there’s a way to tap into intuition and that it (supposedly) works. This is probably part of the danger of a book like Uncommon: it wants to be everything to everyone. It skims through its topics at a very surface level. So, if I have a criticism of this work, I sometimes wanted to see more depth in its treatment of its five topics. Perhaps as well, there should have been less of a reliance on pop culture motivational speakers — even if they’re popular and have tactics that have worked for the author. I cringe when I see stuff like this, and I wish that Divine had backed up some of his assertions a little more at times with science and not just things from Navy SEAL basic training and activities.

It’s funny, though, that Divine is energetic to the point of almost resembling a drill sergeant. That’s not too much of a bad thing, considering that I think Divine’s heart is in the right place. Uncommon is essentially a Life Hacks 101-type of book: nothing more, nothing less. I think it will be helpful to those who have never heard some of the concepts (ikigai, as mentioned now for the third time, for instance). There are worse things that could be done than reading this, and it may allow the odd reader to get off their duff and exercise more. I would caution that the reader take this book with a slight grain of salt: it would be impossible to do everything in a day that Divine recommends without turning into a carbon copy facsimile of the author himself. Still, there are suitable activities that the reader can cherry-pick from based on their interests and whatever strikes their fancy. Ultimately, Uncommon is a not-bad read that might encourage and inspire readers to go above and beyond their way of living. I found some excellent stuff here, but some seemed to be a bit questionable. However, that’s probably par for a book such as this. Uncommon is unconventional; I hope Divine would agree if he is reading this.

Uncommon by Mark Divine is an interesting book on simple principles for an extraordinary life.
I enjoyed the examples the author brought, they were realistic and very relatable.
An excellent read on self-development. I found this book to be very motivating and informative.

Thank You NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This book argues that to achieve excellence, you must break free from societal expectations and embrace your unique potential. Drawing on his experiences in the military, business, and Eastern philosophy, the author provides practical tools and principles to help you overcome obstacles, find your purpose, and live a life of uncommon achievement.

The introduction of this book feels very “motivational speaker-y,” but the rest of the book is filled with practical advice. It’s entertaining, informative, and fun to read.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Divine brings a set of tools for anyone looking to set themselves apart and get to the next level! Full of great insights and applicable exercises to help your master different areas of your life. I made a lot of notes and have highlights all throughout the book...I will be referencing back to this one often. Highly recommend! 4 out of 5 stars

“Uncommon: Simple Principles for an Extraordinary Life” by Navy SEAL and entrepreneur Mark Divine, is a non-fiction examination of how to live your life to the fullest and reach your full potential.
For those readers who aren’t familiar with the traditional therapeutic methods like journaling, meditation and mindfulness, this book will provide you with some strategies to try that will help you focus on the here and now, and will help you determine your true self, so you can fulfill your potential and live your truth. I am not one of those readers. I have first-hand experience with cognitive behavioural therapy (through my own education, work life and personal life) and many of its methods are unsuccessful to me, including meditation. So, if you are like me in that way, be prepared- Divine won’t offer anything you haven’t already heard before.
That being said, Divine has some useful information to pass on. Divine uses his own concept of “mountains” as an ideology in this book, providing readers with ways to overcome their own hurdles in order to succeed. For example, Divine uses his Navy SEALS training to offer tips on how to get over your “physical mountains” and be the healthiest and fittest you can possibly be. Using his training as a yogi, he suggests mindfulness and encourage meditation to encourage readers to surpass their “mental mountain” and identifies his connection with his religion as a method to overcoming his “spiritual mountain”. I found this concept helpful when it came to visualizing, and it is very generalizable.
Although nothing was new to me within Divine’s pages, he has a really interesting personal background and I enjoyed hearing him talk about it. He provides anecdotes and personal stories and even ends each section with an uncomplicated activity for readers to help them fully understand the process. Divine is definitely convinced that his method will help everyone become “uncommon” (lead a life of excellence based on your own personal truth) and it seems extremely easy and practical on paper. I can see Divine’s “Uncommon” method reaching a large audience, and the book itself does not inundate the reader with hard to digest language, nor does Divine patronize readers. He simply reaches out to the masses directly and personally, and it’s easy to connect with Divine and his theories through his writing.
“Uncommon” is a book for anyone looking for that little extra push to try something new or to take a chance in life. Divine just may provide the needed motivation to help you become the person you are truly meant to be.

A wealth of information in this book. It certainly gave me a lot to think about. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

I absolutely loved reading Uncommon by Mark Divine. He outlines easy to digest and implement strategies to help improve life. I found his communication style to be down to earth and the advice given to be understandable and realistic. I am glad to have been introduced to this author and I will definitely be seeking out more of his material. Uncommon was positive, uplifting and outlined strategies for success that I was able to put in to place in my life without difficulty. Although I had heard some of the information presented before, the clear and concise presentation found in this book was just right for my brain to process and implement.

What is common and what is uncommon in our lives? Check out this motivational book with guidance on how to achieve more and learn more about your inner self. This book is a path towards your uncommon goal because many things the likes of dreaming to become an entrepreneur and continue doing nine to five job without devoting some time to work towards your dream. Becoming true you and going after your true dreams and goals is the uncommon of today. There are self exploring practices and exercuses, stories and advice shared.

Thank you to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for the advance reading copy. My review opinions are my own..

New to the self help field this author has penned a motivating book based on his many experiences. I did find it self motivating and helpful .. The suggestions he makes are typical however he approaches the motivation in a differing format that is enticing to the reader. I did find the book helpful and do recommend it.

Excellent. This is one of the better self-improvement books I've read. It is well written, concise, persuasive, and inspirational. Even though I already practice many of the techniques discussed in the book, I found it compelling reading and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Uncommon by Mark Divine. If you want to make changes in your life this is a good book! Highly motivating with specific items to do. He includes stories from his college, career and Navy Seal days. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book started strong. I loved the opening page about what “common” is and the invitation to be something other than common. Then the book just got predictable. We all know what we SHOULD be doing… eat right, exercise… but it doesn’t consider how to get someone motivated or how to have grace with ourselves when we don’t rise above the common life.

Uncommon: Simple Principles for an Extraordinary Life by Mark Divine is an interesting entry in the self-development inspiration field. The author has a unique perspective or methodology in combining elements from his Seal Team days, Zen training and personal experience. This has all been done before so it’s not new information. His personal story is inspiring and honestly is he’d just told that and how he motivated himself apart from what he’s trying to build and package here that alone would be great. I’m always wary of programs that require lots of new kitschy acronyms and strive to generate that we’re an elite club feel. I don’t think he goes deep enough to help anyone understand how to get there in any of the point. It’s a worth read as a starting point and then you build from it.

#Uncommon #Netgalley

Ways to make changes to one's physical and mental well being ,letting go of regrets and not allowing the
expectations of others deter one from goals set. Visualization and meditation practices can help one in
resetting the mind.
#Uncommon #NetGalley

It is a fluffy read with light evidence and loads of generalizations that roughly parallel the most general synthesis of what we know about human behavior.

Such an encouraging story. This made you think. I really appreciate the arc copy and highly recommend to read this gem