Rating: 
Summary: One of the few self-help books that delivers on its promises
Review: Several years ago I concluded, regretfully, that "education" is a process of learning what we CAN'T do, and that "maturity" seems to mean that we abandon progressively greater parts of ourselves to pursue ever more narrowly focused goals. Sher's exercises bring back those wonderful days in childhood when most of life lay before us and we thought we could be anything we wanted.
But this isn't merely fantasizing about what "could have been." The great value of Sher's approach is that she shows you how to learn from those old dreams and find the life that's RIGHT for you. Furthermore, she offers concrete, step-to-step guidance on how to make your dreams reality; this isn't one of those vague "change your life" books that leaves you all charged up but doesn't show you how to get from here to there. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The only book you'll need to get you on track with your life
Review: This is a really good book. It's very straight forward with none of the usual self-help fluffy stuff to get in the way. It helps you learn what motivates you and how to get the support you need from yourself. Then it gets you thinking about what you *really* want and how to get it. This and The Joy of Simple Living by Jeff Davidson are the only two "self-help" books most people will ever need. (If you are female add Real Gorgeous by Kaz Cooke to that list.)
Rating:
Summary: The only book you'll need to get you on track with your life
Review: This is a really good book. It's very straight forward with none of the usual self-help fluffy stuff to get in the way. It helps you learn what motivates you and how to get the support you need from yourself. Then it gets you thinking about what you *really* want and how to get it. This and The Joy of Simple Living by Jeff Davidson are the only two "self-help" books most people will ever need. (If you are female add Real Gorgeous by Kaz Cooke to that list.)
Rating:
Summary: Better than self-help: SELF-UNDERSTANDING
Review: This is one of the best books I have read for improving and understanding your life.The premise of the book is that you can't force yourself to be "successful" or happy. The success gurus generally tell you to discipline yourself, to use the power of choice, to take more action. As Barbara Sher points out, these philosophies have mixed results because people can rarely discipline themselves for very long to do things that they don't feel like doing. Maybe you know that you need to contact certain people to get started on the path towards something you love, but somehow you never get around to it? We need to understand that this doesn't happen just because we are weak and undisciplined -- there's a REASON for our behavior. This book awakened me to the concept of resistance. There are many different possible reasons that we experience resistance to doing things that we know we need to do. But if we try to just force ourselves to do things, then inevitably it will become too uncomfortable and we will quit, or "forget" about it. In addition to resistance the book describes how to awaken yourself to things that you might love to do, and gives numerous techniques for helping you on the path to doing them. I will refer to this book again and again as I pursue my goals and dreams. Overall this book is much better organized and written than her book "I could do anything, if only I knew what it was". That book does have some other useful material, but I would only recommend reading it after "Live the Life You Love..." if you are still hungry for more of her insight.
Rating:
Summary: Find Your Flow
Review: This is one of the best books I have read for improving and understanding your life. The premise of the book is that you can't force yourself to be "successful" or happy. The success gurus generally tell you to discipline yourself, to use the power of choice, to take more action. As Barbara Sher points out, these philosophies have mixed results because people can rarely discipline themselves for very long to do things that they don't feel like doing. Maybe you know that you need to contact certain people to get started on the path towards something you love, but somehow you never get around to it? We need to understand that this doesn't happen just because we are weak and undisciplined -- there's a REASON for our behavior. This book awakened me to the concept of resistance. There are many different possible reasons that we experience resistance to doing things that we know we need to do. But if we try to just force ourselves to do things, then inevitably it will become too uncomfortable and we will quit, or "forget" about it. In addition to resistance the book describes how to awaken yourself to things that you might love to do, and gives numerous techniques for helping you on the path to doing them. I will refer to this book again and again as I pursue my goals and dreams. Overall this book is much better organized and written than her book "I could do anything, if only I knew what it was". That book does have some other useful material, but I would only recommend reading it after "Live the Life You Love..." if you are still hungry for more of her insight.
Rating:
Summary: Better than self-help: SELF-UNDERSTANDING
Review: This is one of the best books I have read for improving and understanding your life. The premise of the book is that you can't force yourself to be "successful" or happy. The success gurus generally tell you to discipline yourself, to use the power of choice, to take more action. As Barbara Sher points out, these philosophies have mixed results because people can rarely discipline themselves for very long to do things that they don't feel like doing. Maybe you know that you need to contact certain people to get started on the path towards something you love, but somehow you never get around to it? We need to understand that this doesn't happen just because we are weak and undisciplined -- there's a REASON for our behavior. This book awakened me to the concept of resistance. There are many different possible reasons that we experience resistance to doing things that we know we need to do. But if we try to just force ourselves to do things, then inevitably it will become too uncomfortable and we will quit, or "forget" about it. In addition to resistance the book describes how to awaken yourself to things that you might love to do, and gives numerous techniques for helping you on the path to doing them. I will refer to this book again and again as I pursue my goals and dreams. Overall this book is much better organized and written than her book "I could do anything, if only I knew what it was". That book does have some other useful material, but I would only recommend reading it after "Live the Life You Love..." if you are still hungry for more of her insight.
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