March Book of the Month Review

It's time to review Mr. Steve Harvey's Act like a Lady and Think like a man. Now going into this I maintain I consistent rule about "advice" books. Unless you're talking about something tangible like finances, law, anything concrete and factual you have to that the bits and pieces that work for you and disregard the parts that don't apply to you. Throughout this book Steve drops, well, he drops common sense truthfully. He says many things that I've said myself to various people but I guess the professional comedic delivery gets better results.But anyway here we go.

I'd suggest this to anyone that is looking for a glance into how men think. And when I say men I don't mean the thugs, players and generic lames, but real men. Now it's not a 100% description of all of us but Steve is pretty on point. He opens up with a solid and truthful statement:

There is no truer statement: men are simple. Get this into your head first and everything you learn about us in this book will begin to fall into place. Once you get that down, you'll have to understand a few essential truths: men are driven by who they are, what they do, and how much they make. No matter if a man is a CEO, a CON, or both, everything he does is filtered through his title (who he is), how he gets that title (what he does), and the reward he gets for the effort (how much he makes). These three things make up the basic DNA of manhood- the three accomplishments every man must achieve before he feels like he's truly fulfilled his destiny as a man. And until he's achieved his goal in those three areas, the man you're dating, committed to, or married to will be too busy to focus on you.

I'd have to agree with this in that a man that does not feel fully established or at least close enough on the path to being so will only have but so much to give a relationship if he's worth being in one with at all. We appreciate and need love just as females do but we also won't jump out the window expecting love to catch us.We have to be able to do what we were raised to do and that's provide.

That leads into the other main point of understanding that must be realized. We men can have moments of romantic, soap opera type expressions of emotions but more often then not our feelings are expressed in much less elaborate ways. The 3 P's as Steve calls it. We Provide, Protect and Profess. This too varies depending on the stage of life your in. Steve says many things that at times seem more applicable to those that are looking for marriage sooner rather then later, those that have kids or have been divorced. To younger readers you have to take some things with a grain of salt and a slight toned down degree of expectation.

Once you understand that Steve goes on to lay out things that will help a good woman get past many of the pitfalls she may have fallen into previously in past relationships. Clearly stating our objectives in life and in a relationship early on and in turn questioning a man, without GRILLING him gets things out in the open early.He refers to setting standards and it again on the money.

Honestly my favorite part of the book was his introduction to the 90 day rule. I don't know how many females have asked me my views on things and have gotten this reply from me. "Truthfully you need to start making these guys work more for the coochie" Real Talk. And Steve, in a more, tactful way goes on to explain it. Long story short, any asshole can act good if he's gonna get it in under a 30-60 days but if proper communication is occurring then you can weed out the lames by making them wait. Hell that's what girls were told for generations, "Make him wait". Some advice really isn't that complicated.

Anyway, Act like a Lady and Think Like a Man is an easy read with lots of food for thought. No science just common sense delivered in a manner that's easy to digest.You will love parts, dislike the honesty of other part and dismiss others. But I think there is quality information there for everyone.