“Finding My Power of Want” is an inspiring and compelling autobiography by novice author Tony J. Hebert that explores the power of self-awareness, hard work, giving back to your community, preparedness and the support of others in cultivating and achieving one’s goals. It is a unique, inventive, original autobiography that takes an in-depth, critical look at human behaviour and insight into charting one’s life. The book chronicles the author’s journey from a young age to discover his desires, wants, and motivations and act upon his findings. This self-awareness helped the author gain power over life at that early age to achieve his career and retirement life goals. In addition, the book offers insights and lessons on how readers such as entrepreneurs, community organizations, corporate sales teams and especially today’s youth can cultivate their self-awareness and tap into their power of wanting to achieve their dreams and aspirations.
Hebert presents his story of realizing his power of want in the method of an autobiography, using his life journey as a lens to cleverly narrate the relationships in life that triggered his power of want. Using his own life as a guide, he draws a logical map of human behaviour and success throughout one’s life using distinctive parts of his book. He delves deeply and thoughtfully into personal desire and motivation in a way not explored in other works of similar literature. In addition, the book offers insights and lessons on how readers can cultivate their self-awareness and tap into their power of “wanting” to achieve their dreams and aspirations.
Hebert defines “want” as a person’s long-term thinking and preparation and explains that those who want more in life take better care to plan to achieve their goals. Hebert contends that finding one’s power of want is not just about financial success. It’s about personal satisfaction, respect for others, asking for help and giving help when needed, a little luck and contentment with one’s life choices. He suggests that pursuing money and its trappings can lead to sacrificing health, losing friendships and, eventually, true happiness. Ultimately, Hebert encourages readers to find their power of want and share it with others as the best definition of personal success.
Hebert’s story teaches valuable lessons about seeking supportive and dependable individuals in daily life and, most importantly, business ventures. In addition, his entrepreneurial journey highlights the potential obstacles and challenges entrepreneurs encounter, young or old. One is the tendency for others to take credit for success without contributing to the hard work and risk that led to that success. However, by staying focused, determined, and seeking the proper support, entrepreneurs can overcome such challenges and achieve their goals. In due course, Hebert’s autobiography underscores the importance of recognizing and appreciating the value and the role that others can play in achieving your success.
Hebert explains that every person has the instinctive drive to want more. Family, happiness, productivity, authentic friends, good luck, faith, self-belief, and rewarding yourself are all essential for a fulfilling life. Furthermore, Hebert explains how the death of the cold-calling door-to-door salesperson has resulted in a gradual shift in consumer behaviour. Fear of opening the door to a stranger, the influx of the over-animated, fear-inducing media and technological advancements in marketing have all led to its demise. The days of door-to-door salesperson visits are long gone, replaced by alternative methods such as home sales parties, shopping networks, call centers and electronic Internet gimmicks. However, the personal touch and customer loyalty provided by door-to-door salespeople will always be missed. They were the listeners of a customer’s wants and needs, unlike today, where the consumer has become more like an audience member at a game show, and their clicks and comments on the Internet sometimes make them the product.
Hebert also discusses the impact of technology on salespeople and how it has changed how businesses and non-profit community groups interact with customers. The development of software that predicts sales and purchasing changes through tracking customer data and analysis led to the downfall of many skilled face-to-face salespeople. In addition, social media platforms gather data from user posts to resell to industries for targeted marketing and potential sales opportunities. As a result, the user is not the consumer at all; they now become the product. Unfortunately, only two sectors call their customers “users.” as they push their products to the masses. One is the Internet, and the other is the illegal drug industry. Coincidence?
Hebert talks about his experience writing his autobiography and how it was challenging to write about himself. However, he overcame this challenge by accepting that his life story was more about the people, influencers, experiences, giving back to his community and the wisdom he gained. He believed that his writing endeavours would be fulfilling if he could reach out to some young individuals and aspiring entrepreneurs with his message. He reminisces about how his career in sales helped him in his charitable roles by raising monies to enhance the lives of others and the gift one receives by giving to philanthropic causes financially and through unselfish physical efforts.
Hebert’s positive attitude, simple sales technique, willingness to help others, and ability to meet new people helped him succeed. He believes every person has the instinctive drive to want more and feel more enthused about themselves. As he echoes many times in his book, family, happiness, productivity, authentic friends, good luck, some guardian angels, faith, self-belief, good health and rewarding yourself are all essential for a fulfilling life. In the last chapter, Hebert dedicates his autobiography to the people who significantly and positively contributed to his life, including coaches, cheerleaders, peers, family, mentors, neighbours, health and church leaders, and those thousands of volunteers who worked with him to improve their shared community.
Finally, Hebert reflects on his good fortune from youth to retirement and how his optimistic attitude and the support of his friends, family, and mentors played into his successes. He names hundreds and expresses understandable gratitude to those who have supported and inspired him. Through countless examples, Hebert acknowledges that he was not a self-made man but was successful because of the help and influence of others. He believes he was fortunate to find and surround himself with the right people, including personal cheerleaders, mentors, coaches, peers, and friends. In addition, he credits his community for providing him with recreational opportunities, safety, and education and supporting his family’s well-being and inclusiveness.
“Finding My Power of Want” is a must-read for anyone seeking to cultivate self-awareness, philanthropy, entrepreneurship, motivation, and inspiration to gain a new perspective on achieving personal success.
