Book Review: Hope Quotient by Ray Johnston

Hope. I don't know about you, but some days I struggle to keep my hopes up. Pastor Ray Johnston's book, Hope Quotient, is full of information on how to raise your Hope levels, or Hope Quotient, as Johnston calls it.

When you purchase this book, it contains a special code so that you can take an on-line test to find out your Hope Quotient. According to Johnston, there are 7 factors that affect your Hope Quotient. The test takes about ten minutes to take. Results are then available instantly and also e-mailed to you. When I took the test, I tried to answer the test as accurately as I could to get honest results. I felt they were, indeed, accurate. I do have some areas I need to work on, which was no surprise to me and why I chose this book to review. The results are both totaled for the entire test and for each of the seven areas so you can see which areas you need to work on. I can see where this is helpful in improving your life. I took extensive notes as I read this book so I can put all of the information to use. I would encourage anyone reading this book to take their time and do the same. If you want to get the most out of the book, you wouldn't want to read it through quickly or skim along to get by. The author said that he invested seven years of his life studying people to write this book, full of potentially life-changing information.There are also many stories from the author, and from others, that share how they became more hopeful or used hope to help their life become better.

The Seven Factors affecting your Hope Quotient:
Factor 1: Recharge Your Batteries: Nobody does well running on empty.
Factor 2: Raise Your Expectations: You don’t get what you deserve; you get what you expect.
Factor 3: Refocus on the Future: It’s time to throw away your rear view mirror. No one goes forward well when they are looking back.
Factor 4: Play to Your Strengths: Be yourself; everyone else is taken.
Factor 5: Refuse to Go It Alone: Never underestimate the power of support. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.
Factor 6: Replace Burnout with Balance: Burning the candle at both ends isn’t as bright as you think.
Factor 7: Play Great Defense: Avoid these five toxic hope killers that can threaten your future.

I would encourage anyone to read this book, taking the test and taking their time to learn how to improve their Hope Quotient. It would be great to do this book with your spouse, or a friend or mentor, or in a group, to work together to raise your Hope Quotient. I think this would also be a great book to give someone feeling down or on the brink of a life change such as graduation. I give it 5 stars.

I received this book from Thomas Nelson publishers at no charge. I was not required to write a positive review.