The Simple Truth by Jeff Cannon – Book Review

Up until the end of 2009 Jeff Cannon had been a fast-track entrepreneur with a portfolio of successful businesses. He helped launch the first Los Angeles Time’s website in the late ?90s. He ran major digital advertising agencies at the turn of the century. He published two books with McGraw Hill, including Leadership Lessons of the Navy SEALs. He produced commercials and documentaries and ran his own public relations agency.

He thought he had a good thing going until it all came to a crashing halt in 2009. That was the day he woke up on a hospital bed with the news that he had not one, but seven tumors fighting with his brain for space. They ranged in size from a small pea to a large tangerine, and compressed his brain by roughly twenty percent.

We’ve all had (or will have) that moment in our life when we realize there has to be something more. That the path we are walking may not necessarily be the correct avenue for us or that our reach is shortened by our inability to break free from what we’ve constrained ourselves too – our own reality. The Simple Truth is a guide to our own personal positive evolution, written by a man who one day woke up and realized that there had to be a better way.

After a ten hour operation, six of the seven tumors were removed. The seventh was in a dangerous location and would have to be handled in a separate operation. He spent the next four months watching as his brain rebooted itself. From dreams filled with unmoving black and white textures, to waking up to vivid flashes of memories, Jeff witnessed his sense of smell and taste slowly came back on line. He also committed to studying the advances Western science was making toward understanding the teachings of Eastern philosophies. He learned firsthand how the brain was wired and more important how it could be reprogrammed through such tools as meditation and mindful living.

There was a part in this book that I felt really pertained to many of us, mainly because we are deal / coupon fanatics. He was discussing our ancestors Fight or Flight instinct and how although our world has changed so drastically from 40,000 years ago when the instinct was a means of life or death that we unnecessarily still operate this way. This was his example, part of me laughed and part of me felt quite silly.

How many times have you had a conversation in your own head that sounds something like this? 

“Oh look, a sign for a fifty percent sale. I should go in and buy something. I don’t really need anything, but whatever they have is half off. It may make me late for my date, but if I show up with a new pair of shoes – now that would impress him. Besides, he’ll understand; and it is 50% off! Let me at least take a look. There’s no harm in looking. Besides, I’ll keep an eye on my watch…” 

I think we can all agree that this is not a life or death situation. But our brains still treat it as if it was. We get caught up in the moment and focus on the issue in front of us. We put ourselves into a virtual tunnel where everything else fades away. Our focus narrows to the immediate issue, in this case, a 50% off sale. We then jump to a decision the same way that our ancestors did when they saw the leaves rustling at the far end of a field. WE fail to think about the consequences of our actions. 

If I hadn’t already been sucked into the book, this part would have reeled me in like a fish on a hook. That is me, probably most of you as well. I’ve always meant to stop being in that mindset but it’s a hard thing to kick, especially for a deal person like myself. The great thing is is that there are steps on how to improve your thinking, break the barriers down to this mental programming and redesign how you approach situations like this and many others.

With one tumor remaining, Jeff took matters into his own hands. He started meditating again, and reconnected with yoga. He changed his diet and habits. Most important he created a proprietary practice designed to break old habits and programming he now calls The Simple Truth. 

One year after his surgery Jeff returned to his doctor’s office to discuss the final tumor. They viewed the new MRI of his head and were stunned when they saw the new image. The last tumor had stopped growing. As his doctor said. ?I don?t know what you?ve been doing, but it’s working.?

Many years ago my husband went to talk to this doctor who taught him breathing techniques. He’s one of those people that cannot for any moment not think about everything. He’s incomprehensibly on edge all the time because of it, can’t sleep, can’t let go of things; in part it makes him great at always being prepared, but it takes its toll on him after awhile. Through my husband I learned about the importance of breathing techniques, he does them when things get to be too much, so I was not surprised that later in the chapters it goes into proper breathing and then on to meditation. I have never been able to master meditation like other people and tend to meditate while washing dishes or sweeping, something I can singularly lose thought on and breath at the same time. Odd, I know, but we all do what works for us. However, I had followed along with the techniques in the book and they are very easy to get used to and after awhile it gets easier to let your thoughts go and focus more on your inner self. If I can do it, it shouldn’t be too difficult for most other parents whose brains are generally on edge at the slightest sound of silence.

The remaining tumor is a lasting reminder for Jeff Cannon of his prior life. It is a part of what he calls ?his own Simple Truth.? 

Today Jeff meditates every morning. His diet is one step away from vegan, and yoga now plays a primary part in his life. He has migrated his client work to helping businesses and executives change the cultures of their businesses, as well as their own lives by teaching them the lessons he learned. His book, called The Simple Truth, brings all of his knowledge together, to help everyone find and live the life they love through their own Simple Truth.

This book for me taught me how to slow down. It was not so much of an awakening since I have had that moment in my life, perhaps not as jolting as Jeff Cannon’s, but it was my personal moment of realization; it was more of a reacquainting with myself. It made me stop and think about my decisions, the choices I was making, if I was treating myself fairly, my habits (bad and not so bad), my unnecessarily instabilities and my how I saw my world (my family – my perceptions – my business). It was a dusting off and polishing of my spirit, my sense (both rational and emotional) and I very much enjoyed the way it made me feel towards the end… that everything I had been worrying so much about was more of an instinct than a reality; that I was okay.