Rating: 
Summary: The best psychology book of 2003
Review: This book fully fits in the current positive psychology movement, of which I consider emotional intelligence to be a part, too. The authors explain how many people tend to make themselves unhappy, by having the wrong expectations from life and by looking for happiness in the wrong places.
Reading this book should help you change your minds and figure out why you must stop running those unhappiness patterns. The book is illustrated with numerous examples of how Dan baker helped his patients achieve this and at the end of the book you get an "action plan", which is unfortunately only an overview table of the "do's and don'ts of happiness".
I've hesitated to give this book only 4 stars, because for me it doesn't fully live up to its promise of being a self-help book. It calls for a sequel, which should explain better how to use techniques such as "personal appreciation", making perceptual shifts, managing your own emotions, using constructive questioning, etc. When I showed the book to some of my coaching customers of the past week, they were going: "Yeah, that makes sense, but how do I do it?"
The good news is that there are many therapists and coaches who should have learned the techniques Baker & Stauth mention. It would be a good thing for their clients if they start reading and applying this book, in stead of creating "victims", by leading their patients down the old therapeutic pathways.
Luckily, you don't have to start waiting for the sequel before you can get started on your own: If you haven't been trained in the tools and techniques the authors recommend, either visit a coach who is willing to help you following these methods or search for a good introduction course in emotional intelligence or NLP to help you out.Patrick Merlevede, MSc
author of "7 Steps to Emotional Intelligence"
Rating:
Summary: Loaded with useful information.
Review: This book have helped me a great deal to come to terms with my life as it is. It is loaded with useful information. It has to be read more than once in order to grasp all the important details in it. It was a blessing to come across this book. If life does not make sense to you, read this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much flour and water?
Review: This book is a big disappointment. It reminds me of a stew with too much flour and water. If I put it down I can't recall what the particular point he in the process of making. It is a book that makes me 'snow blind'. Maybe I'm just dumb or maybe I have a mind that doesn't relate well to "touchy feely" psychobabble. I think people who write self help books should try their chapters out on a panel of people from differing backgrounds for feed back. I threw my hands up at page 164.
Rating:
Summary: The Best
Review: This book is another of the self-help genre, only the reader is not instructed on how to be happy but what happiness entails. Dan Baker says that the truly happy person (man or woman) has more optimism, good humor, fulfillment, and courage. But I feel that it takes more courage to overcome the fear he spends so much time talking about than being happy.
Happpiness comes from the heart, not the mind. I'm relieved to learn that it is a genetic fault which causes negativity, which we all have to a great extent. You will find more negative people in your life than the happy, positive types.
He tries to make you believe that overcoming the genetic predisposition toward negative reactions lead to a rich, happy and healthy life. If this were so, we'd all be rich -- not necessarily happy or healthy. Some people drink alcohol to escape from the fear in their daily lives and refuse to accept the negative as normal. Are they happy? I don't think so. It boils down to the difference of perspective. Proper outlook on your blessings will make you feel upbeat. Focusing on the things that you don't have will make you feel beat up. It all depends on which way you look at it.
Here's to a happy ending....."This is happiness: bittersweet, often broken, a poem sometimes left unspoked -- full of longing and opportunity missed, made wise by sorrows that never last, a promise to ourselves, from deep in the past. A future with fears which never arrive. This is happiness -- this moment, this now -- this being alive." This is life! Happy or not, this is what we strive for, simply being alive.
Rating: 
Summary: Using six simple skills, tools for a blissful life, enjoy!
Review: This book is another of the self-help genre, only the reader is not instructed on how to be happy but what happiness entails. Dan Baker says that the truly happy person (man or woman) has more optimism, good humor, fulfillment, and courage. But I feel that it takes more courage to overcome the fear he spends so much time talking about than being happy. Happpiness comes from the heart, not the mind. I'm relieved to learn that it is a genetic fault which causes negativity, which we all have to a great extent. You will find more negative people in your life than the happy, positive types. He tries to make you believe that overcoming the genetic predisposition toward negative reactions lead to a rich, happy and healthy life. If this were so, we'd all be rich -- not necessarily happy or healthy. Some people drink alcohol to escape from the fear in their daily lives and refuse to accept the negative as normal. Are they happy? I don't think so. Here's to a happy ending....."This is happiness: bittersweet, often broken, a poem sometimes left unspoked -- full of longing and opportunity missed, made wise by sorrows that never last, a promise to ourselves, from deep in the past. A future with fears which never arrive. This is happiness -- this moment, this now -- this being alive." This is life! Happy or not, this is what we strive for, simply being alive.
Rating:
Summary: The best book I've ever read.
Review: This book is fantastic...I think everyone should have a
copy in their home and office... Even though the process seems
to be simple..it isn't..To change your thinking is one of the
hardest accomplishments you will ever achieve...or hope to achieve.
There are some people who do need medication..to calm down their
mind...But his plan for success if very REALISTIC...
People need to see more of the things going on in the world..
then in their own heads..
Rating:
Summary: A Life Changing Read!
Review: This book literally changed my life. I was stuck in a rut worrying about the same things over and over. Fighting with people over the same issues. When it came down to it, I realized it wasn't everybody else's fault I wasn't happy, it was my own. This book can change your way of thinking to stop the fear and make you appreciate what you have.
It's not easy being happy, but by reading this book and using the applications you can be happier.
At times the book gets a little too scientific, but hang in there and it will all make sense if you want it to.
Rating: 
Summary: Sweet anecdotes, classic (if repetitive) advice
Review: This book mixes advice with anecdotes -- not treacly "chicken soup" anecdotes, but honest and sometimes bittersweet stories about what real people did to gain a deeper sense of happiness. It's nice to see self-help advice grounded in scientific inquiry, though it's a little repetitive. The author is self-congratulatory (maybe for good reason) in a manner that I find distracting... that being said, this book is generally well-written and enjoyable. I recommend _What Happy People Know_ as lighter fare for the not-too-cynical OR deeper reading for someone who feels "stuck".
Rating:
Summary: Easy to read, easy to use principles and entertaining!
Review: This is a very good book, one that I will read over and over. It's not the typical self-help book, preaching unreachable goals. This book is great for all, easy to read, practical answers and easy to use applications. All healing comes from within!
Rating:
Summary: Fact-Based Guide to Life's Goals
Review: This is not a typical feel-good piece. First of all, it diminishes the standard answer, namely, "it's someone's fault, not mine", the victim-defense. Baker admonishes us to take control of our lives, to move forward from where we are now. And he provides a fact-based rationale for wanting to be happy, and a rational set of guidelines to follow. I found it helpful to understand how a healthy lifestyle can be a fundamental underpining to happiness. The science says the mind, body and spirit are inter-connected. The Greeks thought so. Dan Baker bring 21st century science to the defense of this ancient construct. I found it comforting to understand that, in fact, the Founding Fathers of the USA may have identified the essence...the Pursuit of Happiness...not just a curious ideal, but perhaps, the true nature of us all. Finally, he instructs us about priorites. I've never understood how to rank one element of life as a higher priority, For example, is my family more important than my health? To Baker it's about integrating the three core arenas...your Purpose (to many of us our career), the Voice of the Heart (loved ones), Health. You've got to work all of them! This is a practical guide with just enough of a fact base to make it beleiveable. TD
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