Unchain the Elephant: Reframe Your Thinking to Unleash Your Potential Hardcover – September 15, 2014

I bought this book as a present for my fiancee, she likes the author but this book is like a child's book, is just a few pages with big letter and almost no text.She liked it but read it in about thirty minutes.

It broadens one's outlook on life and how to relate with others. Will recommend to others. Ben.

Pretty book, knew what I was getting was going to be pretty LITE. It was. Suspect UnThink may have more meat. More of a promo piece, but still glad to own it.

Erik Wahl knows how to shake our minds and motivate us to act out of the box! Amazing story!

Way to simple, nothing interesting or surprising in the book. Mostly a photograph book. Not worth it.

The Unchain the Elephant analogy comes in the form of a story of how elephants in captivity are trained from a very young age that they cannot break free of the chains that bind them. A thick chain is tied to a tree or post, and the young elephant will test it and tug on it and eventually learns that it cannot break free, so it gives up trying. As an adult, it can be "secured" with a mere rope and it will not try to escape. I found the story heartbreaking, and I can see where it applies to so many people, including myself, who may have long since given up or nearly given up on their dreams because they think they are stuck where they are, chained, if you will, to a job that does not serve them beyond paying the bills and putting food on the table. A part of their soul longs to be free and to be heard on its terms. The author talks about three key moments where we must respond appropriately if we wish to free ourselves from our shackles and provides examples from his own, personal experience.1. Facing our predators (fear, etc.)2. Embracing our passions3. Rediscovering our packs (tribe)The author, Erik Wahl, for years had been a corporate cog who followed the dictates of society that mandated getting a degree, getting a good job, following the rules, climbing the corporate ladder, etc., but he eventually realized that something was missing. After his "secure" dot-com job bubble burst, he rediscovered his passion for art and has since parlayed his love of creating art and his business know-how into a career that he loves and has made him a much sought-after speaker. The book is a quick 100-page or so read that was easy to digest, thought-provoking and filled with brilliant quotes and stunning photography and art. I do recommend it and hope that you will check it out for yourself.

I found this book on my desk this morning- apparently someone in the department thought it would be a good read for the staff? At least it was a short one! This guy monetizes his selfish suffering and subsequent "enlightenment" the way only a white guy could. He gets booted out of tech world when the dot com bubble bursts, and instead of asking his wife "would you like some help with our 3 children under the age of 5" he lays awake in bed every night bemoaning the cruel fate that took away his who-knows-how-many figures salary.... And the person to blame for his life choices is the elementary school teacher who told him that his little scribbles weren't that good. Puh-leeease. Unchain the Elephant. This guy's ego is about the size of an elephant.

I have just ordered two more of these inspirational books by artist Erik Wahl. I plan to give them to my mom and my mother-in-law who have both successfully battled breast cancer. They have a new perspective on life and will appreciate how Erik helps us to think differently, to be more creative and to embrace our own unique talents. I highly recommend this book, and Erik's business book UnThink.