When I need a little boost, I usually devour the nearest self-help book, and the “boost” lingers for only a moment or so after I close the cover. Then I revert to my regular throw-in-the-towel self. Recently I came across a self-help book with impressive staying power, John Kehoe’s Money, Success & You: Harness Your Mind to Achieve Prosperity (Zoetic Inc.). The 1998 publication date might put you off, especially if you know the book was written eight years prior to that, but this work is not outmoded. The text contains bits of wisdom from past decades that need to be revisited/recycled at intervals anyway, and Kehoe has a website to keep you up to date (learnmindpower.com). He quotes expected sources like Napoleon Hill and Dale Carnegie, and such diverse minds as Andy Warhol, Robert Frost and Henry Miller. He stresses pro-activity in a series of chapters with motivating titles like “Waking up in the age of information,” “Learn to love the word no” and “Taking a good punch.” My personal favourite is a chapter called “Don’t panic,” in which Kehoe has designed an arithmetical chart to help you determine just where you stand on the cosmic hourglass. I’ve never seen anything quite like this simple formula, which provides an instant fix when you want to alter your perspective. A lot of people don’t like to admit they rely on self-help or prosperity-oriented writing. My feeling is, squeeze all the good you can out of it. Try Money, Success and You for its sheer practical value. Discover what to do when someone double-crosses you, in a chapter called “What to do when someone double-crosses you.” And, along with the author, I encourage you to unabashedly set lofty, seemingly unattainable goals. Your success depends on them.