The Five Elements of Effective Thinking

By: Edward B. Burger, Michael Starbird

Narrated by: Brian Troxell

Length: 3 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking presents practical, lively, and inspiring ways for you to become more successful through better thinking. The idea is simple: You can learn how to think far better by adopting specific strategies. Brilliant people aren't a special breed--they just use their minds differently. By using the straightforward and thought-provoking techniques in The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking, you will regularly find imaginative solutions to difficult challenges, and you will discover new ways of looking at your world and yourself--revealing previously hidden opportunities. The book offers real-life stories, explicit action items, and concrete methods that allow you to attain a deeper understanding of any issue, exploit the power of failure as a step toward success, develop a habit of creating probing questions, see the world of ideas as an ever-flowing stream of thought, and embrace the uplifting reality that we are all capable of change. No matter who you are, the practical mind-sets introduced in the book will empower you to realize any goal in a more creative, intelligent, and effective manner.

Filled with engaging examples that unlock truths about thinking in every walk of life, The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking is written for all who want to reach their fullest potential--including students, parents, teachers, businesspeople, professionals, athletes, artists, leaders, and lifelong learners.

Whenever you are stuck, need a new idea, or want to learn and grow, The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking will inspire and guide you on your way.

©2012 Edward B. Burger and Michael Starbird (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Thinking about Thinking

The authors of "The 5 Elements of Effective Thinking", Edward Burger and Michael Starbird, are PhDs in Mathematics. They've taken an analytical approach to thinking and problem solving, analogizing the 'classical elements' of fire, earth, air, water, and adding a fifth: change. It's a clinical, almost elegant solution to the problem of people who think linearly but need to be imaginative and creative.

About half an hour into the book,I found a solution to a small but annoying problem that has been vexing me for two years. I'm not quite sure what suggestion worked, but work it did. I also really liked the idea that when stuck on a problem, throw a bunch of solutions at it and edit away the bad ones until you get one that works.

Do all of 'The 5 Elements' work for everyone, every time? Nope. The first year law student who asks endless "What if?" questions is likely to find himself with his mouth duck taped shut, locked in the handicapped stall of the men's room, handcuffed to the toilet paper dispenser.

Brian Troxell's deep, confident and persuasive voice reminded me of John Cunningham's 'Be a Man' audio from the 1997 movie "In & Out."

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Thinking that could leads to change

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, reflecting on how to become better at what I do. I read about mindfulness, enjoy learning about brain based research on cognition, and I like thinking about issues like free will, systems of approach and activation, social constructs, and all that sort of good stuff where we have to figure out how to fit in and move about as we relate to others and to the self. So I do a lot of thinking on these topics, but what actions have I taken to become better at what I do? The Five Elements of Effective Thinking is a short, well read, well thought out book. It provides practical advice that you can use to help activate new ways of thinking that could shift your perspective, which in turn could produce more favorable outcomes for you. That’s the key here- change starts with a shift in perspective.

Delivers on its Title

Excellent audio, short and packed with actionable ways to think differently. I will listen to this one again.

Great book that makes you think!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, the information is so obvious but yet so rare to apply. The authors take you through a process that allows you to remember and apply to everyday life.

What does Brian Troxell bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Excellent fluctuation and passion of voice to topic

What did you learn from The Five Elements of Effective Thinking that you would use in your daily life?

A system for effective thinking

Any additional comments?

Highly recommended

Enjoyed

What made the experience of listening to The Five Elements of Effective Thinking the most enjoyable?

Easy to understand and all the chapters and elements followed on nicely

Which character – as performed by Brian Troxell – was your favorite?

The struggling maths girl

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, this is a book that I like to listen to over and over again

Great principles to help you map opportunity gaps.

Where does The Five Elements of Effective Thinking rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's a solid book and I recommend it for those that would like to get into ideation mode. Our lack of knowledge on basic subject matters creates blind spots. This book helps you identify the gaps, mitigate them and see opportunities.

Should be Prerequisite for College!!!

What did you love best about The Five Elements of Effective Thinking?

I wish I had read this book before undergrad and graduate school! It would have helped me understand my professors so much better! This was an excellent book with it's concepts directly affecting my thought process and my teaching and learning strategies. Most are things that should be common sense but we don't realize them. If you know someone going to college, GET THEM THIS BOOK!!!!! If you are a working professional outside of schooling like me, however, you will still find this book compelling. It has helped me in my creative thought process. I am a public speaker and content creator, in addition to my day job as a fitness professional, and it has helped me immensely with my lecture creation, exercise program design, and even my teaching strategies.

Any additional comments?

One of the best thought provoking books I have read. If you can take a step back and swallow your pride for a bit, this book will open your mind to new horizons.

Nice and easy read

I am going to keep this short and sweet.

The concepts and ideas here are simple but they are definitely not basic.

This is the kind of book that you just keep and listen to it every few months for a refresher and no doubt that you will get something new out of it each time.

Enjoyable & thought provoking listen

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, love how the aspects of thinking are broken up and clear examples given

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Five Elements of Effective Thinking?

The base point of ensuring deeper understanding before moving onto the next level, good foundation of understanding is imperative to build from

What about Brian Troxell’s performance did you like?

Easy conversational style, not too 'voice-over'

What insight do you think you’ll apply from The Five Elements of Effective Thinking?

A number, reviewing topics from courses and for my job getting back to basics

Maybe for grade school children?

From the title, I downloaded this book expecting something more philosophic, instead what I found was something more akin to a how-to manual for poor students wanting better grades. The lessons were very basic and obvious. The analogies and examples were trite. It was wordy, as if the authors were trying to stretch what little they had in order to reach some minimum word count.

In the end, I had to wonder who exactly they were trying to reach with this book. I mean the poor students who would benefit most from this book would be the least likely to search for it, download it, and listen to it (3 times if you followed the instructions of the authors). I did not finish this book.

Good summary of key approaches to mastering skillsets and knowledge

The five elements serve as good visual aids to remember key concepts. Earth - get your base by learning basic knowledge deeply. Fire - allow yourself to make mistakes and learn from them. Air - ask questions and be your own Socrates, even when you think you know constantly “doubt” and reassess what you know. Water - follow the flow or build a tower by incremental blocks. And last, but very crucial, apply. Execute. Just do it. And repeat.

Nice book to listen to

Overall if you are a self improvement junkie, there isn't a great deal of new material and a lot of familiar examples. Despite this I really enjoyed the book, the book is broken down into five main "elements" and the authors argue convincingly for each element.
I found the book very affirming, encouraging and uplifting. It was a new take on the subject.
I would recommend it.

Hardworking studious people would enjoy this

The speaker's voice is fine. The amount of blah blah waffle waffle waffle moments in this book are 95%. The 5% of simply explained points are nice to hear but not anything i feel is brand new to me. If you do alot of work etc. writing, difficult work every week, this may help you out a tiny bit.
Quite a nerdy book in my opinion.

Liberates the Mind

This is a short book, but worthy of repeated listening. The practices recommended are skilfully illustrated with simplicity and relevance. Adopting the ideas has helped free me from mental blocks in both creative and business activities and positive results are beginning to show.

Droning!

Any additional comments?

Disappointed! I've read a lot of mindset books/self help, and via the reviews was looking forward to this. I only managed an hour - even my 10yr old daughter said "What is that?!" I had to agree! The American narrator does not help - speaking quickly and a dull tone, but the messages are very hazy - I don't mind I pickup just one thing from a book, an hour in and nothing - it's going back

A concise 'how to' explanation - brilliant!!!!

I love the structure of the book. It is straight forward and each chapter is introduced. There is no filler information. It provides a detailed overview of the skills. The narrator is great - clear, lovely tone and well paced. The whole book is articulated well. Perfect for novices and for those that are familiar with rhe content but need a quick refresher. This is a keeper!

Simple and to the point

Really helpful for everything in life. I recommend it for leaders trying to have an impact in their teams.

simple and effective

really easy listen, the strategies are articulated well and ready to understand. Well worth a listen if your looking for personal growth

Read. Apply. Be amazed.

An amazing book. Very insightful. I’ll apply immediately to myself and in teaching my students. Every student must read this book.

Not my cup of narrative tea

I find the topic very interesting, however the way it was narrated makes it hard for me to like it! The way the narrator reads it makes it somewhat hard to follow when he goes from 3 back to 1, to 2, 3 and 4, and back to 1!
Also... if I hear "A way to provoke effective thinking" one more time I'll go up a damn wall!
Maybe this book would be better suited to actually reading rather than listening.
Don't think I can stomach to listen 2 more times as the authors suggested...