The Achievement Habit Chapter Summary

Dr. Bernard Roth is the author of The Achievement Habit. His book talks about improving one’s life using several different techniques. Some of Roth’s techniques to reaching success can be thought as too extreme by many, but as the individual gets to know Dr. Roth they will be quick to learn that he comes off very confident and passionate about his beliefs in order to get the point across to his reader. He uses great forms of ethos, pathos, and logos all throughout his book, but especially in chapter two when he discusses that “Reasons are Bullshit”(Roth 38).
Dr. Roth is a professor and mechanical engineer at Stanford University. Dr. Roth is also a founder of the design school there, at Standford. Dr. Roth shows various forms of ethos in his book, but he also shows it all throughout his teaching career. With this being said, Dr. Roth has obtained several awards for his teaching ability. From the year two-thousand all the way through the year two-thousand and seven, he won over six different titles for his teaching ability. In chapter two of Dr. Roth’s book, some students might disagree with his view on excuses. Emily Kolawole interviewed Dr. Roth on July first of
two-thousands and fifteen, She asked him what the leading thing standing between people and achievement were, his response was; “Well, I define “achievement” as having a good life, feeling good about yourself and feeling in command of your life and your circumstances. So, if you want me to tell you who’s in the way, it’s you . I, Bernie Roth, am in the way of Bernie Roth having a better achievement in his life – no one else, really. So that’s the bottom line, and say that in the book.”. In the book The Achievement Habit, Dr. Roth lures his reader in by emotionally attaching the reader when discussing why reasons are bullshit in chapter two.
With what Dr.
Roth said in mind, making sure one isn’t making excuses is important to being successful in life. Dr. Roth says in his book “The problem with reasons is that they’re just excuses prettied up” (Roth 39). This quote could quite possibly be offensive to certain people because they actually believe their own excuses are true to their situations. This is how he uses pathos in his book. Even Dr. Roth talks about himself making excuses in chapter two of his book. He fixed this problem for himself by making the task at hand a priority instead of an option. He talks about how this helped make himself successful, “I began to change my attitude toward time overall. I used to be late to most things in my life. Now I am known as the pain in the ass who is always on and expects others to be” (Roth
39).
Dr. Roth now asks student’s to self-evaluate their own lives and see where they can apply this lesson. This is the form of logos in his book. Some students used this lesson and applied it to their everyday lives. Others decided to only apply it to certain aspects of their life. Moreover, one’s first reaction to Dr. Roth’s theory is usually quite astounding. Dr. Roth’s ability to make one person understand the value of their own impact on their life is quite successful. Consequently, Dr. Roth concludes this chapter by saying “In the modern world we have an endless supply of time sinkholes. Don’t fall into them. Steal back your time to support your intentions”(Roth 60).
To conclude, Dr. Roth’s book The Achievement Habit talks about how students are the only ones who have control over how much success they have in their lives. Student’s are using this to help themselves in every aspect of their personal and public lives. Once again, not all students agree with these techniques. Therefore, the students who do decide to apply what Dr. Roth says to their lives, Dr. Roth hopes the students find the success and pure enjoyment that they are looking for.