Book Review: The Charge

The Charge by Brendon Burchard

Activating the 10 Human Drives That Make You Feel Alive

My rating: ***** 5 out of 5 stars

Why Did I Read?

I discovered Brendon Burchard several months ago when he was offering a free on-line video about setting up a web site. I was impressed by his wisdom and knowledge and his willingness to freely share some of the secrets to his success. I thought he was a terrific speaker, and he had an energy about him that kept my interest and made me want to keep watching. When his book “The Motivation Manifesto” came out a few weeks ago, I decided to see if my library had any of his previous books. They had The Charge, so I decided to start out by reading this one first.

Summary (from inside the book cover)

On a dark and steamy Caribbean night, Brendon Burchard stood bleeding atop the crumpled hood of his wrecked car. That night he learned about mortality, discovering that at the end of our lives we will all ask, “Did I live? Did I love? Did I matter?” Since that fateful night, Brendon has lived a fully charged life, and he’s helped millions of people around the globe transform their lives and feel more alive, engaged, and fulfilled. Brendon observes that the emotional energy of the world has flat-lined, and he sets out to fix it. People are stressed, restless, and wanting more out of life. Despite the fact that most people have what they “need” to be happy, they rarely feel the levels of excitement, engagement, or satisfaction they deserve. So what’s the solution? In The Charge, Brendon argues that the only way to measurably improve the quality of your life is to learn how to activate the very 10 drives that make you most human. These drives are your desires for more control, competence, congruence, caring, connection, change, challenge, creative expression, contribution, and consciousness. These drives shape everything you think, feel, and do in life, so understanding and mastering them is critical to your success and happiness. Strategically activating these drives on a consistent basis is the fastest path to living a fully charged life. Harnessing our human drives is not easy; if it were, we wouldn’t see so much restlessness in the world. That’s why Brendon has devised what he calls the true “activators” of human experience—a series of powerful yet simple actions you can take to radically increase your levels of energy, engagement, and fulfillment in all areas of your life. What Brendon uncovers in The Charge will surprise and challenge you. It turns out that most of the ways we seek to meet our human drives are actually counterproductive. We all want more control, for example, but seeking to have more certainty in our daily lives or to control other people will actually decrease our levels of control (and happiness). We have a deep desire for change, too, but we often fail to make the right kinds of change that would make us feel more alive and in command of our lives. In The Charge, Brendon helps us overcome these mistakes and illuminates the path for strategically and intelligently activating our 10 human drives so that we can have the one thing we all want: more life in our lives!

What Did I Think/Recommendation

I rated this book a perfect 5 out of 5 stars! I literally felt charged while reading this. The book re-ignited my passion for a project I had been putting off. Now I am waking up again at 5am (without an alarm clock) excited to start my day and make progress on my project. In The Charge, Brendon says his job is to encourage and challenge people to go for their dreams, and he does exactly that. To get the most of this book, I highly recommend keeping a journal as Brendon suggests. Do not just read through the book. Take the time to stop and fully answer each question he presents. The more you put into it, the more you will get out of it.

So, what are the qualities of someone living the Charged Life? Here is Brendon’s description (p.23). Those living a charged life:

Enjoy the journey they’re on no matter what obstacles present themselves.
Are deeply enthusiastic about facing life’s challenges and designing their own destinies.
Know they are works in progress, but they take pleasure in shaping themselves and reinventing their realities.
Look forward to the opportunities for change and growth.
Focus on contributing to the world.
Their credo is: