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Summary: A wonderful little gem of a book
Review: I have read many self help books and they all help in some way but this is the first book that I went out and bought five more to give to people I really care about just because I wanted to share this gem of a book with others. This is also the first time I have written a review about anything. I feel this strongly about it.
Dan has discovered through years of practice that many of the things we think would make us happy tend to do the exact opposite.
An interesting twist of the book is that most of the cases Dan talks about come from the lives of people who already have what most people think would make them happy; money, prestige, status, loving families ect, and yet these people were just as miserable as your average person if not more.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is willing to open themselves up to the possibility that happiness is already near and waiting for them.
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Summary: Absolutely validating and enlightening
Review: I loved this book because it validated many things I have been thinking for some time and pulled all these ideas together in a usable formula for pursuing happiness in life.I couldn't stop writing in the margins. I am now just looking for more. I want to immediately re-read this book and use it in everyday life. Also, I want to talk to the author about applying this to other aspects of life... like raising children to lead happy lives. AMAZING!
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Summary: What a fantastic book!
Review: I originally bought this book to give to a loved-one that seemed lost, but I started to read it and couldn't put it down. I plan on buying one for everyone I care about. Even though I considered myself a relatively happy person before I read it, I learned to become even happier when I finished. Couldn't everyone use a little extra happiness?
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Summary: The Best
Review: I really enjoyed this book. The author gives real life experiences from a variety of his clients. It was very informative and heartfelt. I have read many books on happiness. This one is my favorite.
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Summary: This book is a gem.
Review: I've read and own dozens of self help books. This book is a gem and has changed my life. The entire scientific explanation by the author on how parts of our brains have not evolved (brain stem, amygdala and endocrine system) is well explained and in turn, a huge revelation. He continues to explain that we emit stress hormones to abstract threats (as opposed to physical threats) such as money issues, potential meetings . . .etc. This in turn made me realize that these are my cluttering ABSTRACT thoughts and carrying those stressing thoughts is very detrimental to my health. Upon pondering upon all this, I am now relatively stress free because I now understand that it just isn't my own personality weaknesses that stress me, but how my brain has not finished evolving. Of course there are a few chapters that don't really apply to me, but I still enjoyed the authors way of interspersing real case studies with theory. I love this paragraph "In every life, there are defining moments - moments that set the course of fate. When they are happening, you're not always aware that they will change you forever. At the time, these moments usually just seem like one more mountain to climb in an endless series of peaks. And that's all those moments are - if you back off." Buy it, now.
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Summary: Can Even Help An Angry, Anxious, Depressed, Cynic Feel Good
Review: I've read so many self help books over the years, and I can't say any of them have been very helpful. Interesting, definitely - but nothing that got me closer to feeling the way I've dreamed about for so long: happy, confident, & relaxed. I've gotten so skeptical. Thank God there was still enough of a spark of desperate hope buried in me to get me to pick up this wonderful book. A thousand "Thank You!"'s to Dan Baker who has shown me the light and allowed me to embark upon a whole new journey as I actually begin to enjoy my life and succeed at everything I try the way I never thought I could. Everything in this book now seems so obvious to me, now that I have worked many of Mr. Baker's brilliantly simple ideas into my thinking and my daily life and things are becoming 2nd nature. I wonder why so many of us drag ourselves through our miserable lives for so long, never coming to the conclusions represented in this book. Some of the key ideas in this book include understanding the relationship between fear and appreciation, taking power over our emotions, finding good in everything, and seeing the pitfalls of money and possesions. The terrible VERB's (victimization, Entitlement, Rescue, and Blame). Dan Baker spits liquor in the face of traditional psychotherapy with all its failings. (Ever been to a shrink who said, "How does that make you feel?," "and how does that make you feel?," "and how does that make you feel?...." - all a bunch of crap, just as you probably suspected. There's no way for me to explain the content of this book, and there's no need to. This book is an easy and enjoyable read. Get this book! I wish I had found it 20 years ago. I have wasted so much time and energy wandering through life miserable, exhausted, moody, anxious, fearful, angry, irritable, overwhelmed, and sometimes very depressed - with my eyes and my heart closed. When I think about this, for just a second I feel sadness and loss about all that wasted time, but I am so excited about the future that it doesn't even matter. The future is all that matters now. This book holds enormous implications for parents. Worried your kids are picking up your negativity, your worry, your moods - they are - do something about it - read this book. Some quotes from Dan Baker: "When you focus on problems...you become bogged down in you own negativity and fear. It's much smarter to focus on possibilities." "Life hurts. If it doesn't hurt some of the time, it's not life. But you can't allow yourself to get wrapped up in this hurt, constantly reliving it, fearing the futre and grieving the past. That's victimization." "I often see this [entitlement] happen to rich kids. They grow up in the condition that I call "enriched deprivation." They have so much that everything becomes meaningless. There's nothing left to yearn for, so they lose their power to grow and grasp. They feel entitled to luxury and come to expect it - but expectations, as you may recall, are one of the worst enemies of happiness. These kids become weak, jaded, and ungrateful... They not only lack of self esteem, they lack a sense of self."
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Summary: A New Lease on the Happiness Quest
Review: If you are on the hunt for books that encourage positivity and are 'coaches' for feeling better/happy - this book should be at the top of your list. It is a counterpart echo to the books that are more spiritual and new age; this one is wholly human and reasonable (Baker is a physician/therapist), but scientific, and has a gentle common sense thread throughout. Dr. Baker shares home truths about being happy - from his personal perspective (from loss and heartache to healing)as well as his patients' perspective, (from stress of success in modern life) both tethered by a foundation in the newest discoveries in medicine concerning the human heart (new facts that are truly astounding and better than any fiction writer could ever imagine). This book is a gift. If you are on the happiness trail and have a hunch you are halfway there, this book will guide you home.
If you have read everything else and are skeptical, this book has just enough medical science to reassure you - it is not just 'another self help book' -It is a treasure.
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Summary: For Doctors Only?
Review: It was my fault for thinking I could find the answer in a book. Even just some direction would have been nice. This book goes in depth (REALLY indepth) to the medical "why you feel happy by just smiling" etc. but doesn't go too much into what you should do day to day. It starts off with interesting anecdotes but, by the time I got past those, it was too late to return it. If you are interested in the science aspect, this is written for the layman and is a good read. If you are looking for help/advice, find somethng else - the title is a bit deceiving.
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Summary: Science + New Age = Success
Review: Publishers Weekly has presented an editorial that truly depicts exactly how I felt about this book. It is an easy read and there is a sense of the author speaking right off the page. I have had the privilege to meet Dr. Diamond and hear her speak on some of the brain research the author's base some of their findings on the brain and happiness. I appreciate the frank no nonsense approach because it is offered with many caring example of people that discovered their happiness through the thick of the deepest sorrow. I have recommended this one to educators, new age specialists and psychologist colleages of mine. Catch that glimpse of a moment where your choices are made and make the choice of purchasing this insightful book.
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Summary: Life Changing
Review: The phrase "life changing" is used so often, it has become useless. Now, I will not say that this book is life changing, but it comes close. If you are prepared for change, which you probably are if you have look this far, then it probably will be life changing. Some of the ideas were revolutionary for me and I have been through a lot of psychobabble both in and out of college. The essential message is to let love win out over fear. No, not the lovey-dovey stuff of the 60s, but real love -- primarily for yourself and secondarily for others, which will flow naturally. And no, it is not the 70s type me-first mentality. Stop that negativeness! That does not mean it is the don't-worry-be-happy of the 80s and 90s either. It is a realistic viewpoint that will make your life better and probably better for those around you. Highly recommended.
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