Small Changes, Big Results: A 12-Week Action Plan to a Better Life

Small Changes, Big Results: A 12-Week Action Plan to a Better Life
Average customer rating:

Ellie's Plan to a Better Life

A very Good Start

Healthy changes

health conscience

A great diet-book staple

Small Changes, Big Results: A 12-Week Action Plan to a Better Life
Ellie Krieger , and Kelly James-Enger
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Diets | Diets & Weight Loss | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Weight Loss | Diets | Diets & Weight Loss | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
General | Nutrition | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
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Accessories:

Tanita BC533 Glass Innerscan Body Composition Monitor

ASIN: 0307335879
Release Date: 2005-12-27

Book Description

An easy-to-start, simple-to-maintain, scientifically sound, and eminently usable twelve-week program of small steps on the road to better health

Small Changes, Big Results is not about cutting all the carbohydrates out of your diet. Or replacing every single gram of sugar with omega-3 fatty acids. It’s not about doing one hundred sit-ups a day, or getting on the treadmill whenever you have a free second. In fact, it’s not about any of the total lifestyle-replacement gimmicks—whether diet, exercise, or pop psychology—that have swept our culture in recent years, putting untold millions of Americans on the risky roller coaster of success and failure that defines fad diets and programs.

Not here.

Small Changes, Big Results is about reality—the reality of what you can do, the reality of what you want to do, and the reality of what works. It’s about introducing a series of small changes each week for three months in the three core areas of diet and nutrition; exercise and fitness; and emotional wellness. For each of the twelve weeks, nutritionist Ellie Krieger introduces a very finite, completely practical action plan for the week—and not only are these tasks incredibly doable, they’re in fact so accessible that it’s tough not to be inspired.

For example, in Week 1 the nutrition task is merely to go shopping, buy some healthful pantry items, and start keeping track of what you eat; the exercise consists of taking three twenty-minute walks; and the wellness aspect is to do a five-minute breathing exercise. That’s it. And it doesn’t really get any harder.

But these small changes do in fact lead to big results. At the end of twelve weeks, a totally unhealthy diet has been overhauled: armed with easy, delicious recipes and tips, you’ve removed unhelpful munchies and replaced them with healthful snacking, you’ve cut down on lethal trans fats while adding beneficial fat choices, you’ve replaced refined grains with whole grains, you’re eating more fish and less red meat, and so forth. Yet you’ve never been forbidden to eat a single thing: instead of prohibiting entire food groups, Ellie categorizes foods as Usually, Sometimes, and Rarely—and now you should be eating more from the Usually choices, less from the Rarely category. Furthermore, you’ve integrated physical activity into your life, and you’ve developed a set of tools to help you deal with stress—you’re not only eating better, but you’re also exercising better and feeling better.

The beauty of this program is that none of these action steps is remotely intimidating, because they’re not a full immersion into a totally new lifestyle. Instead, it’s a series of incremental changes—removing bad habits one by one, while at the same time adding good ones. There’s nothing to scare you off—on the contrary, here’s a whole book full of small changes that produce big results.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

Ellie's Plan to a Better Life.......2007-07-03

I have not had an opportunity to delve very far into this book, but I did thumb through it and found it very exciting. I can hardly wait to get into the Plan. It appears to be very thorough and touches on a variety of things. I look forward to this with pleasure.

A very Good Start.......2007-05-19

For anyone just starting out with a lifestyle change this is a very good start. It will help you change your lifestyle step by step with a possitive and realistic attitude.

Most people dont go from being a couch potato to living at the gym over night. Its a process that doesnt happen over night for the majority of people that are in need of life changes. This book will realistically help you get on your way to a better lifestyle.

For anyone who's already educated about nutrition and diet I wouldnt recommend it. Its a VERY VERY good starter but for die hard health nuts its probably nothing you havent heard before.

Healthy changes.......2007-03-25

A book for those beginning the weight loss process. This isn't a fad diet, it's about healthy changes to your lifestyle where nothing is actually banned but "wrong" foods are only discouraged.

health conscience.......2007-03-23

Ellie offers a lot of insight in healthy living. She has a lot of good, sound nutritional advice to offer regarding diet and exercise. She also gives you a standard of what foods to buy in terms of most healthy to least healthy. I would recommend this book!

A great diet-book staple.......2007-03-21

I've never been a fan of Ellie Krieger's show on the Food Network, so I wasn't prepared to like this book. One thing I've noticed on her show is that the food she makes isn't really all that healthy.

But, I have to say this book was, overall, very well done. Many of the negative reviews point out that her tips are obvious and not original. I can't say I totally disagree, but they are presented in an easy-to-read format, concisely, all in one book. Sure, you can go online and find a chart that compares the fat and calories in a buffalo burger to that in a turkey burger, and you can also find guides on how to do her meditations or exercises online, too. You can probably also bring up all the research she included on the benefits and drawbacks of dairy, and the nutrients found in fruits and veggies. But you could also just buy the book and get all that info in one place, as well as an easy-to-follow guide on how to slowly incorporate nutrition, exercise and wellness into your life.

If you're a diet book guru and have read through a stack of nutrition guides already, this book isn't for you. It also probably won't enhance the life of anyone already living a fairly healthy lifestyle, as you probably do most of what she recommends anyway, and the few recipes included don't really warrant the purchase price.

But, if you're a newcomer to nutrition, especially one looking to switch to a healthy lifestyle, I'd say this book would be a perfect choice for you!

One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way

Average customer rating:

Quick read!
At last The Answer to why most personal development books fail
Large lifestyle change, Small book
Succinct and Thought-provoking
Excellent book

One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way
Robert Maurer
Manufacturer: Workman Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0761129235

Book Description

Introducing the practical and inspirational guide to incorporating Kaizen and its powerful principles into one's daily life. Rooted in the two thousand-year-old wisdom of the Tao Te Ching--"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"--Kaizen is the art of making great and lasting change through small, steady increments. Kaizen is the tortoise versus the hare. Kaizen is the eleven Fortune 500 companies that significantly outperformed the market through moderate, step-by-step actions. Kaizen is losing weight not by a crash diet (which more often than not crashes) but by eating one bite less at each meal--then, a month later, eating two bites less. Kaizen is starting a life-changing exercise program by standing--just standing--on a treadmill for one minute a day.

Written by an expert on Kaizen--Dr. Robert Maurer, a psychologist on the staff at the UCLA medical school who speaks and consults nationally--One Small Step is the gentle but potent way to effect change. Beginning by outlining the all-important role that fear plays in all types of change--and Kaizen's ability to circumvent it--Dr. Maurer then explains the 7 Small Steps: how to Think Small Thoughts, Take Small Actions, Solve Small Problems, and more. He shows how to perform mind sculpture--visualizing virtual change so that real change comes more naturally. Why small rewards motivate better than big rewards. How great discoveries are made by paying attention to the little details most of us overlook. Hundreds of examples of Kaizen at work grace the book, as well as quotes from W. Edwards Deming (who brought Kaizen to Japanese industry), Peter Drucker, coach John Wooden, and others.

Customer Reviews:

Quick read!.......2007-09-27

I found this book to pack a lot of bang for the buck, a very quick read that has packs quite a few great ideas in how to start whatever journey you might be on by taking that first step. I would heartily recommend it.

At last The Answer to why most personal development books fail.......2007-09-23

I have red several books In trying to search for the best answers on how to succeed and accomplish goals... However All those books gave me some inspiration although it was so short-term that all the time I attmempted to even try to do something that will make me successful I will always panic and suffer through a great degree of procrastination that It came to the point where I will never even START to give it a go...Why? Because Most personal development books mention that you got to want to succeed so bad and make a really big goal...that created a mental bloackages that has never been able to surpass the obstacles that got in my way..The bigger the goal the more i thought about it there more the Fear grew within me that it has left me with a feeling of helpessness and often paralized my thinking, .. It has taught me so much into.. tip-toing my way through fear to achieve a goal...the book has provided me a powerhouse of great loving information..and has transmutted all my big scary, frustrating, negative questions.. too tiny, small, fragmental questions that has really changed my life! And I've only red the first chapter! I have had several panic attacks for as long as 7 years... I am now 19 yrs old and at such a young age it has greatly contributed to all areas of my life.. I now do not hesitate ever as the questions I ask myself are the smallest and most efficient than ever ! Highly recommend this book For those that have cant achieve Brand new big goals.

Large lifestyle change, Small book.......2007-09-09

Dr Maurer's book explains how you can motivate yourself and get your life into gear, simply by making tiny or almost insignifcant changes to the way you organise yourself. No change or effort is too small. The results are always cumulative and thus worthwhile.
Certainly incredibly helpful.

Succinct and Thought-provoking.......2007-09-06

I love this book for its succinct nature, great examples, and thought-provoking content. It offers a fresh perspective on how to set the stage for not only more success, but also a more pleasant journey toward success. Filled with both good principles and good examples, this is a lightening-quick read that holds lots of gems for self-improvement. It's a great tool for professionals to learn new techniques for helping their clients. Highly recommended.

Excellent book.......2007-09-03

This book is short and to the point and without a lot of useless words.

Change the World : How Ordinary People Can Achieve Extraordinary Results

Average customer rating:

My first and only review at Amazon - The Highest Recommendation
top notch
Change the World by Changing Yourself
real change
Look Within: That's Where Change Management Begins

Change the World : How Ordinary People Can Achieve Extraordinary Results
Robert E. Quinn
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0787951935

Amazon

Robert Quinn's Change the World offers profound yet practical guidance for those who truly want to improve their surroundings. Quinn, a University of Michigan professor and author of five books on change and organizational performance, bases Changeon eight "seed thoughts" drawn from the philosophies of Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. After relevant quotations from each, he cites contemporary real-life examples to show how these principles--Envision the Productive Community, First Look Within, Embrace the Hypocritical Self, Transcend Fear, Embody a Vision of the Common Good, Disturb the System, Surrender to the Emergent Process, and Entice Through Moral Power--can really be used. "All our lives we have been explicitly and implicitly taught to see human influence as an exercise in domination," Quinn writes. By learning instead to practice a new type of "transformational behavior," he suggests, even "ordinary people" can have "extraordinary impact." The section on asserting moral authority, for example, segues from his own fifth-grade coaching experiences to those of basketball superstar Larry Bird to details on building a bond between "change agents and change targets" that effects desirable modifications. Recommended for anyone open to new ideas on motivation and stimulating change. --Howard Rothman

Book Description

In this empowering book, Robert E. Quinn, author of the highly successful and influential Deep Change, gives readers the courage to use personal transformation to positively impact their home life, work life, and communities -- to be what he refers to as "inner-directed and outer-focused." We are all potential change agents, but most of us are trapped by belief that we as individuals cannot make a difference. Informed by the teachings of Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. -- three of the most successful change agents ever -- Quinn outlines eight steps each of us can take to move ourselves and others to the highest levels of excellence. Following his advice, each of us can access and apply the power that lies within us in ways that will change our world for the better.

Customer Reviews:

My first and only review at Amazon - The Highest Recommendation.......2006-12-22

This, more than any book, has had a profound influence on my life. Quinn helps us understand why our lives are so frustrating. The basic notion is that we are hypocrites. We believe or think one thing but we act differently. This integrity gap is what causes us to continue to accept the ordinary, or transactional, world as it is. He challenges us to reduce our integrity gap, and thus transform ourselves from ordinary to extraordinary human beings.

Quinn uses three historical figures to illustrate the power of transformation - Gandhi, Christ, and King, Jr. He also gives examples from his personal life and from his work as an organizational consultant of moving from the transactional to the transformational world. If you are willing to do the work Quinn challenges us to do, you will find yourself much more in tune with your highest ideals. By transforming yourself, Quinn argues, you can change (or transform) the world around you - your family, office, organization, and ultimately, the larger world.

Please read this book. Give it to friends and family. We (and they) are all hypocrites. Let us close our integrity gaps together.

top notch.......2005-09-04

If you want to be effective at influencing others, study this book. This is one of my favorites. It also has many lots of valuable references and a great bibliography.

Change the World by Changing Yourself.......2005-05-26

Bob Quinn is definitely one of the most profound writers on change in this era. But his work is not for the faint of heart because he challenges each of us to start change initiatives in the place we'd least like to go -- inside ourselves. I found this an incredibly powerful book. I've used sections of it with my "change management" classes for several years and I know it has a tremendous impact on students, who like most managers have grown up unconsciously believing that change always needs to start with the other guy. If you want a simple formula for change, don't buy this book. Although it is full of practical, actionable ideas, "Change the World" addresses change at a profound level that asks readers to reflect seriously on what they stand for. It's a very difficult but rewarding assignment.

real change.......2001-01-07

"Typically a top management team goes off for three days," writes the author Quinn. "They hole up in a room with lots of flip charts and go to work." Then he says that when they're through they typically write words on small cards and pass them out to employees. Sadly, he observes these cards are "ignored and things go on as before." The premise underlying this book is that Quinn would have us care enough to change this way of thinking. The key, he says, is to stop doing things out of self-interest and start identifying and going after the shared goals of the group. He does a nice job of working good examples into his text. He also points out how risky it is to be a true leader since it involves overcoming a fear of failure when trying something new. He also does a nice job of making clear that hierarchy in itself is not a bad thing; it's only bad when they're perceived as mechanisms that result in getting nothing done. "Hierarchies become frozen bureaucracies due to the failure of human courage." He makes a compelling case for why it's crucial to skip the hollow words and dare to lead toward change. Only then can organizations hope for real change.

Look Within: That's Where Change Management Begins.......2000-11-24

Hopefully, you have already read some (if not all) of Quinn's earlier books, especially Deep Change which serves as an excellent introduction to this one. In the Preface, he explains that this book "is about changing the world. It is about coming to a deep understanding of human beings and human relationships." He then adds, "The book focuses on vision, unconditional confidence, and profound impact. It is about the mastery of human influence, transformational power, and the capacity to accomplish extraordinary things. It argues that everyone of us is a change agent." It is important to add, that Quinn advocates "deep change" as opposed to "incremental change." Moreover, no organization can achieve deep change unless and until those within that organization achieve deep change. So as I understand it, each of us must assume full authority as well as responsibility for (and have control of) our personal development. "There is a language of transformation. Yet most of us are cut off from that language. All our lives we have been explicitly taught to see human influence as an exercise in domination." Even the most sensitive among us is shaped by this paradigm or worldview. But this outlook prevents us from seeing more deeply into the actual workings of human systems. This book demonstrates an alternative system."

Quinn recalls the remark by Oliver Wendell Holmes that he placed little value in simplicity that lay on this side of complexity but a great deal of value on simplicity that lay on the other side. The framework within which Quinn presents his material comes from the "seed thoughts" of people who have mastered "the language of transformation." By "seed thoughts" Quinn means some of the "core notions that masters of transformation hold in common, the simplicity they send us from the other side of complexity." Specifically, Jesus, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr.

Quinn focuses on eight (8) "seed thoughts" (eg Envision the Productive Community, First Look Within, Embrace the Hypocritical Self), providing brief quotations from each of the three "masters of transformation" which he correlates with each of the eight "seed thoughts." His objective is to explain how Advanced Change Theory (ACT) can enable individuals to achieve deep change in their own lives and then within their organizations. The title of this book (Change the World) may be somewhat misleading. I wholeheartedly agree with Quinn that "ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary results", both individually and as members of a group. I also agree that Jesus, Gandhi, and King were "masters of transformation" within their respective spheres of influence as were Carnegie, Edison, Ford, Morgan, and Rockefeller within their own. Quinn's basic idea is sound. He and I may differ only when defining terms such as "change" and "world."

I urge you to read this book, to consider very carefully what ACT offers to you (personally) and to your organization, and then to select whatever is most appropriate. Quinn provides an eloquent and convincing argument in support of his concept of deep change; better yet, he suggests all manner of strategies and tactics to achieve and sustain it; even better yet, almost anyone who reads this book already has the resources required. If you need help to organize and allocate those resources, and truly powerful encouragement to support your efforts in process, look no further.

Bowling Alone : The Collapse and Revival of American Community
Average customer rating:

Excellent Data, Interesting Story... may be limited by logical fallacy

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community

Social Capital without a shared vision??

A thoroughly researched opus -- a must-read for anyone interested in American society

does not make an adequate argument

Bowling Alone : The Collapse and Revival of American Community
Robert D. Putnam
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0743203046

Amazon.com

Few people outside certain scholarly circles had heard the name Robert D. Putnam before 1995. But then this self-described "obscure academic" hit a nerve with a journal article called "Bowling Alone." Suddenly he found himself invited to Camp David, his picture in People magazine, and his thesis at the center of a raging debate. In a nutshell, he argued that civil society was breaking down as Americans became more disconnected from their families, neighbors, communities, and the republic itself. The organizations that gave life to democracy were fraying. Bowling became his driving metaphor. Years ago, he wrote, thousands of people belonged to bowling leagues. Today, however, they're more likely to bowl alone:

Television, two-career families, suburban sprawl, generational changes in values--these and other changes in American society have meant that fewer and fewer of us find that the League of Women Voters, or the United Way, or the Shriners, or the monthly bridge club, or even a Sunday picnic with friends fits the way we have come to live. Our growing social-capital deficit threatens educational performance, safe neighborhoods, equitable tax collection, democratic responsiveness, everyday honesty, and even our health and happiness.

The conclusions reached in the book Bowling Alone rest on a mountain of data gathered by Putnam and a team of researchers since his original essay appeared. Its breadth of information is astounding--yes, he really has statistics showing people are less likely to take Sunday picnics nowadays. Dozens of charts and graphs track everything from trends in PTA participation to the number of times Americans say they give "the finger" to other drivers each year. If nothing else, Bowling Alone is a fascinating collection of factoids. Yet it does seem to provide an explanation for why "we tell pollsters that we wish we lived in a more civil, more trustworthy, more collectively caring community." What's more, writes Putnam, "Americans are right that the bonds of our communities have withered, and we are right to fear that this transformation has very real costs." Putnam takes a stab at suggesting how things might change, but the book's real strength is in its diagnosis rather than its proposed solutions. Bowling Alone won't make Putnam any less controversial, but it may come to be known as a path-breaking work of scholarship, one whose influence has a long reach into the 21st century. --John J. Miller

Book Description

Once we bowled in leagues, usually after work -- but no longer. This seemingly small phenomenon symbolizes a significant social change that Robert Putnam has identified in this brilliant volume, Bowling Alone, which The Economist hailed as "a prodigious achievement."

Drawing on vast new data that reveal Americans' changing behavior, Putnam shows how we have become increasingly disconnected from one another and how social structures -- whether they be PTA, church, or political parties -- have disintegrated. Until the publication of this groundbreaking work, no one had so deftly diagnosed the harm that these broken bonds have wreaked on our physical and civic health, nor had anyone exalted their fundamental power in creating a society that is happy, healthy, and safe.

Like defining works from the past, such as The Lonely Crowd and The Affluent Society, and like the works of C. Wright Mills and Betty Friedan, Putnam's Bowling Alone has identified a central crisis at the heart of our society and suggests what we can do.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent Data, Interesting Story... may be limited by logical fallacy.......2007-09-19

This is a well written book about the decline of certain activities that have historically been central to the "social capital" of American society and the pervasive consequences on American lives. While I think much of Putnam's story is on the mark, I believe his diagnosis of the problem depends on several logical flaws and this could potentially imply that different conclusions should be reached. Let me explain:

The book basically says, "here's a laundry list of activities that Americans don't do as often as they used to including clubs, religious activities, unions, house parties, picnics, etc." The evidence is overwhelming that all of these activities have become less common as a share of American activities. They're all major components of what we typically consider social activities. Putnam therefore concludes that Americans are building less social capital. Does this evidence lead to this conclusion? Let's replace some of the words and concepts and perhaps we can illustrate why it may not.

Assume Americans are spending less money (or a smaller percentage of their income) on makeup, perfume, and hair salons (I don't necessarily believe this is true, but for the sake of the example). We consider all of these activities beautification. Now would a reduction in the share of household wealth spent on these activities necessarily imply that Americans care less about beauty or are less beautiful? What if we "forget" to mention (or simply miss) that people are now spending a huge share of wealth on plastic surgery and that this didn't even exist in our "reference period?" What if people are spending less on makeup because they get far more "beauty" for the same amount of money today?

To be truly conclusive, Putnam needs to not only prove that people are spending less total time on social activities but that these social activities are less rewarding on the whole (and what we've replaced them with are not more rewarding than our losses).

Critical to this point is the question, "what is it that social capital is supposed to deliver?" I took the time to write this review instead of socializing. I won't necessarily receive any direct compensation from a reader as I might have gotten from the friend (emotional support, contact to a job, introduction to a significant other, fun of company). It appears that I've lost social capital. BUT, how many of your friends would you have needed to ask before you got a review like this (or others submitted here). How many friendships would I have had to make to get the benefit of the other reviews that I've read on Amazon. Am I worse off or have I simply participated in a less personal exchange that is of much greater value to society (and in the long run to myself)?

In the same vein, I may not go hang out with my friends the way my parents did, but I can IM and TXT my friends no matter where they are in the country. I may not meet my neighbor but I can share interest in games or politics or economics with people around the country and I'd like to think I get a lot out of my participation in these kinds of communities. Is my life really worse if I can't invite all of these people to the bowling alley with me? Is my life or my participation in society really diminished if I don't attend a meeting in their physical presence?

If I had no friends in town, certainly the cost would be real. But I would never trade my deep personal relationships with friends in New York, Pittsburgh, and Chicago for a dozen bowling buddies here in Columbus.

Despite my concerns regarding the specific arguments and conclusions, I actually enjoyed the book and encourage people to read it. However, the book only receives 4 stars because the data may not necessarily justify the conclusions and readers are therefore cautioned about taking it all at face value.

Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community.......2007-09-10

Why does the idea of community seem to have vanished? Why are we not as close to our neighbors as our grandparents used to be? What are the changes that have accorded in these last few generations that have caused such isolation? Read Bowling Alone to find out what has killed the spirit of neighborliness and volunteerism.

Social Capital without a shared vision??.......2007-07-12

Putnam has done a good job of marshalling an incredible amount of graphs, tables, charts, etc. while still keeping the reader's (my!) interest. He makes an impressive case on 2 fronts: one, that we're less socially connected today, and not as socially invested as we once were; and two, this state of affairs is not a good thing in many ways (personal and social health, etc.). The book is far less convincing when it appears to suggest that the great template for a generation that DID invest heavily in social capital was the generation that had its heyday in the post-war years. In other words, the "greatest generation." While I believe that they were heavily socially invested, and developed many and wide-ranging ways to increase that social capital, I do NOT believe that our (or future) generations can replicate that. We now celebrate tolerance and diversity today, in fact worship at their feet. Previous generations in this country did not, and that's the rub. You need a society that's pretty much agreed on what makes a good life or a good person before you can get large numbers of people to sign on to groups that nourish that idea. Today, we live in a circus atmosphere in which there is no right or wrong way to live, as long as you stay out of my hair. That might be well and good, but HARDLY a vision that will inspire any investature of social capital. I don't think Putnam sees this difficulty clearly enough (although he does mention it) because if this difficulty is insurmountable (as I think it is unless society undergoes a sea-change in belief) there is NO remedy for modern society's fragmentation. I guess what I'm saying is that you need a vision of community that the vast majority of movers, shakers, and regular folks have bought into, before you can talk about recapturing that sense of community. And today we don't have that, not even close. Tolerance and diversity both act to fragment community and that process is only accelerated when such attitudes are held by societal leaders. Putnam also needs to focus more on the decade of the 60s (say from 1963 - 1973) and fess up to the fact that people--whether they totally bought into the cult of the individual that sprang from that time or not--were ALL affected by that decade. Society simply looked at things differently (specifcally authority-mediated knowledge) when they came out this end of that decade. We can't go back, and Putnam ought to know that every time he sits in a faculty meeting at Harvard and looks at the non-conformist dress, jewelry and lifestyles that are exhibited there (imagine their wardrobe and attire on 1950s' Harvard faculty!). Each generation learns its knowledge base from authority-mediated knowledge transfer--either formally or informally, from sacred texts to how to use a crescent wrench. The post-60s generations simply do not and cannot look or accept authority like the generations that Putnam praises for their civic involvement. He castigates television for much of the problem but to me that's more symptom of this deeper cause (else why is the older generation somehow nearly immune to watching TV as much as the younger). I also wonder when Putnam tries to make a case for how social involvement can help the individual but using a quick vignette of an affluent couple who try and increase social involvement and capital by NOT taking their kid out of public school. This coming from a professor at the most well-known PRIVATE institution of higher learning in the country?? I wonder how many of his colleagues have their children in public schools, or would put them in some of the worse public schools, far from Cambridge, Mass? still, this is a thoughtful book and societal critique, whether you agree with his assessment or not. It will engage you.

A thoroughly researched opus -- a must-read for anyone interested in American society.......2007-06-18

As I read through Putnam's book, I was repeatedly impressed by how thoroughly researched his points were. Bowling Alone has over 100 figures and tables dispersed throughout, and while that would be considered an "overly academic" death knell for most books, this book comes out as both interesting and highly readable. The points are backed up by hard facts and Putnam is very careful to state which opinions are his own as opposed to some other source's. His style of reasoning and argument always includes an examination of possible alternative explanations, which is something all non-fiction writing of this type should require.

In this book you will learn a good deal about the advantages and disadvantages of community groups and why America -- as a society -- has drifted away from the close-knit communities of the 1950s and early 60s. Bowling Alone is one of those rare books that has a little bit of everything: sociology, psychology, urban planning, political commentary, and good old-fashioned statistical analysis. And these topics are all covered in a way that bring the social phenomena to light without getting bogged down in the numbers. Putnam's book is truly an impressive piece of work.

does not make an adequate argument.......2007-04-07

This is a fairly academic description of the decline of civil society. It is well written and the information is clearly presented. The arguments are clear and easy to understand although not truly persuasive. This book spends an inordinate amount of time hammering a point that is obvious enough- Americans join and participate in fewer groups than they used to. I like most people already believed that when I read the book synopsis. Instead of detailed data about the mempership decline in churches and bridge clubs etc., more analysis about the causes and effects of this decline should have been included.

As for the argument of this book, did not convince me. The chapter on the dark side of social groups provided a superficial argument for why social groups promote equality and fraternity. I did not care for the reliance on constructs such as the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity (those are just part of french enlightenment ideals, they are not some kind of measurable benchmarks to make sweeping judgements about society with).

In the end, I am the generation x-y child of parents that were active in a number of social organizations, PTA, neighborhood get togethers etc. I belong to no groups and do not spend time with my neighbors. Like most people my age, I have observed my parents involvement in groups and do not wish to follow suit. The author did not seem to take any time to analyze why people would willingly abandon a civic life when they know exactly what they are missing. I do not see America degenerating because of people's desire to live highly independant existances.

The Seven Minute Difference: Small Steps to Big Changes

Average customer rating:

Great book to ignite your success!
A Homage to Incremental Improvement
Exceptional
Great Book
Really works!

The Seven Minute Difference: Small Steps to Big Changes
Allyson Lewis
Manufacturer: Kaplan Business
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Motivation & Self-Improvement | Business Life | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1419537237
Release Date: 2006-05-01

Book Description

Do you want more? More hope, more joy, more fun and more fulfillment? Change is the essence of life; the biggest, most meaningful, and dramatic differences in our lives—and in our world—are really just the result of a series of small, seemingly insignificant changes. ""Amazing changes can occur in the most surprisingly small amounts of time,"" says Allyson Lewis, author and senior executive at a major financial services firm. ""In just seven minutes my life changed forever, in this book I will share exactly what happened to me and how it can happen to you.""

In The Seven Minute Difference, Lewis motivates business professionals to grow through micro-actions that can be completed in as little as seven minutes. According to Lewis, small efforts such as two extra sales calls, a daily action plan, a review of a competitor’s product, or a change of schedule can make the difference between mediocrity and excellence.

This book coaches readers to realize their full potential by focusing on four fundamental truths: Change begins to happen the moment you decide to change ; you must want to change; you must expect change; you should enjoy the process of change. Drawing upon years of experience as a motivational speaker and financial advisor, Lewis shows how she has successfully used these principles to help thousands of corporate executives, financial advisors, insurance executives, entrepreneurs, accountants, and attorneys change their lives. Chapters are filled with concrete examples, anecdotes, and sage advice, such as ""Life is like luggage, there are limits to what you can take on the journey"" and ""If you want your life to be different, you must be different.""

With humor and flair, The Seven Minute Difference spurs people to unlock their purpose, knowledge, and passion, and as a result, transform their lives at work and at home.

Highlights

Allyson Lewis inspires readers to:

• Define a mission and action plan that will support change

• Implement change and keep the momentum going

• Paint the canvas of your life – map out your goals

• Prioritize, organize, and simplify work and life to achieve greater productivity

Customer Reviews:

Great book to ignite your success!.......2007-05-25

Allyson Lewis's new book is invaluable for busy people who want to keep growing their success. Packed with hundreds of tips, ideas, and insights, it is fun and easy to read. The format of micro-actions is especially effective and makes it easy for the reader to immediately implement new ideas. Another great contribution by Allyson Lewis.

A Homage to Incremental Improvement.......2006-09-11

Allyson Lewis offers an effective and non-threatening template for improving your life. Let's hear it for baby steps! We have all heard that, "A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step." Lewis exhorts us to take single, small - 7-minute - steps to transform our lives. In this way, you break down resistance to procrastination and barriers that keep you from attaining your goals and stall your progress. Good stuff, motivational and practical!

Exceptional.......2006-08-09

In just seven minutes, the course of Allyson Lewis' life changed. In just the few hours it took me to read Allyson's book, The Seven Minute Difference, my life changed. Allyson's book does not just provide advice, but actionable steps that can be taken to take charge of your life -- professionally and personally -- to achieve the goals you want to achieve. She is a hands-on writer and the book is chock full of tangible ideas for ways you can implement the Seven Minute Difference in your life. It is an easy-to-read book and one that you will want to own, not borrow, so you can underline and highlight the points you want to remember and come back to again and again. Allyson makes her points with both enthusiasm and poignancy and I personally have purchased 6 additional copies to give to friends. As Allyson says, "change happens in an instant," and the changes you want to make in your professional and/or personal life will happen when you read this book.

Great Book.......2006-08-06

I really liked this book. It was like getting a library of great success literature and life lessons summarized into one book. The author did a great job of organizing the material into an easily accessible format. I will definitely apply the lessons learned in the book to my personal and professional life.

Really works!.......2006-06-10

I have never met Allyson Lewis, a financial advisor for a major New York brokerage firm, but I feel as though I have. Not only do I feel as though we have met, but after reading her two books, I feel as though she is watching me and taking note of my progress toward the goals she has helped me set.
Her new book, The Seven Minute Difference: Small Steps to Big Changes (Kaplan Publishing, $20), started out, she writes, to be a business book about making small choices (and making them over and over) that will lead to big changes in your work. It was a good idea. But the book evolved into something more: Using the same tools to make changes in your entire life, most specifically to bring your beliefs, goals and actions into alignment so that the whole well-oiled machine works better. This was an even better idea. Too many of us, I have noticed, spend time dreaming of how we would like things to be different in the future without doing anything different today.
Lewis offers a whole book full of tips to make these changes seem manageable, almost painless - baby steps, if you will. The seven-minute concept comes from an epiphany she had during a seminar that changed her thinking about her goals, and her life, as well as from studies showing that people have about seven minutes to concentrate on something before their attention wanders.
But what makes the book so strong is that Lewis herself is there on every page, sharing her journey and her tips with humor and humanity. It is nice to know, for example, that she considers herself disorganized and easily distracted (even though I don't believe it.) She comes alive on the page as a terrific coach, which she apparently is, one who would push you to the limit but almost always be nice about it. At first I found her accomplishments a little intimidating, but as I got to know her I decided that her significant achievement - a full, well-ordered, well-balanced life, still in progress - was the result of a strong will; that, in other words, she had started out with the same imperfections as the rest of us and simply decided not to let them carry the day. After that realization, I decided to try to become more like her instead of admiring her from a distance, which I suspect was what she intended all along.
The book came at the perfect time for me. Last month I left my job after 20 years and have been working to get my house in order - in every sense. I keep Allyson's book on my nightstand, so that on my lazy days, and I have my share, I see her picture, imagine that she is looking back, and get busy.

Growing Pains : Transitioning from an Entrepreneurship to a Professionally Managed Firm

Average customer rating:

Growing Pains : Transitioning from an Entrepreneurship to a Professionally Managed Firm
Textbookish but useful
A High-level Roadmap for Building a "Professional" Business
A Must Read...
Thin on ideas, long on text

Growing Pains : Transitioning from an Entrepreneurship to a Professionally Managed Firm
Eric G. Flamholtz , and Yvonne Randle
Manufacturer: Jossey-Bass
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Lessons from the Edge: Survival Skills for Starting and Growing a Company
Changing the Game: Organizational Transformations of the First, Second, and Third Kinds

ASIN: 078794694X

Book Description

From start-up enterprise to mature corporation, this latest edition of the best-selling original explores the seven predictable stages of organizational growth. It also identifies what must be accomplished in each stage to ensure continued development and provides practical guidance for implementing management systems. Thoroughly updated to reflect recent business developments, it contains all-new chapters on strategic planning and structure, along with many new company success stories including those of Starbucks, Jamba Juice, PacifiCare, and American Century Investors.

Click hereM to read the introduction to this important book.

Customer Reviews:

Growing Pains : Transitioning from an Entrepreneurship to a Professionally Managed Firm.......2007-03-09

This is a great book for anyone in business. It offers tools such as the Growing Pains Questionnaire that you can use in your organization to gather valuable information to work from.

Textbookish but useful.......2006-08-30

This is a book about an important topic - the transitions compnies must go through, from the struggle for surival to becoming a large, mature company. It contains a very useful and credible model in the form of a pyramid depicting the 'normal' growth stages of a company, beginning with defining product/market and ending with establishing a corporate culture. Two noticeable shortcomings: the authors seem to largely ignore strategy and business models in their description of the growth path, and second, it is written in a very lieless and textbookish style. The management jargon rolls on and on, dulling the reader's mind, and making him wonder if he is reading the same page again and again. The entire approach is extremely conventional, with very little appreciation for more modern theories of management. Overall, a good book, not great.

A High-level Roadmap for Building a "Professional" Business.......2005-11-30

Flamholtz (the author) does and excellent job of describing the various stages of organizational growth. In each stage he describes what an organization must be doing in order to grow into the next level. The book provides plenty of real-world examples that Flamholtz has himself been a part of. Flamholtz also does a great job of interjecting his business street smarts. The guy understands how to grow a business and he does an even better job of laying it out for the reader in this book through frameworks and human resource concepts.

A Must Read..........2002-01-30

This book is a must read for anyone in business. For the entrepreneur, it can be used as a guide. For the more experienced business person, it can be used as a dose of reality. Having just completed my MBA and writing my thesis on this very topic, I only wish I had read this book 6 months earlier.

The authors provide an excellent framework for growing a business along with relevant case studies. And while it may look like a typical text book, it is less theory than most. This is one to be kept for years to come!

Thin on ideas, long on text.......2001-05-07

After having spent three years working at a pretty disorganized dot.com, I wanted to learn more about the right and wrong ways that young firms grow up. This book presents a fair framework that charts a company's growth, though it assumes that the troubles start when too many orders pour in and sales do not result in profits. (Not the case at a dot.com)

Firms are classified into four stages of development, and the text describes the good and bad of each. Some methodologies are presented for "scoring" the company for an offhand appraisal of its strengths and situation. (Kind of like the CMM scale, I guess)

But the worst part about the book was how tedious it was to read. The author spends hundreds of pages explaining just a few core concepts. The text describes, on and on, what the author is going to say next, then says it, and then reminds you about it for page after page. Just get to the point!

Making a Living Without a Job: Winning Ways For Creating Work That You Love
Average customer rating:

A cheap book, priced right

An easy read with practical solutions and excersices.

Joyfully Jobless can mean happily self-employed

Worth the money and the read!

Afraid to Change Jobs - Don't Be - This Book Makes it Fun!

Making a Living Without a Job: Winning Ways For Creating Work That You Love
Barbara Winter
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Guides | Job Hunting & Careers | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
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It's Only Too Late If You Don't Start Now: How to Create Your Second Life at Any Age

ASIN: 0553371657
Release Date: 1993-07-01

Customer Reviews:

A cheap book, priced right.......2007-09-16

I bought this book based on a recommendation given in a session designed to help employees prepare for retirement. I found little of value in the book.

An easy read with practical solutions and excersices........2007-02-06

This book is written in such a way that it applies to everyone looking for this solution. And it gives very easy excersices to help you think and figure out 'your' living.

Joyfully Jobless can mean happily self-employed.......2006-11-29

If you've ever wanted to tell your boss what he can do with your job, if you've ever thought, "boy, if I could just do this (whatever it is that you love) for a living...", or if you want to call all the shots when choosing a career, this is the book for you. This book is an easy, enjoyable read. Barbara gives some ideas for self employment, and helps you evaluate which opportunities are a good fit. Not a step-by-step primer, but a great book to help you open up to the possibilities.

Worth the money and the read!.......2006-08-13

This is a great book and very motivational. It was helpful with many suggestions and informational if you want to live a better life independent of being dependant on others to make your living. A great and fun read, the reason for reading this does not matter. I purchased for my son-in-law and read it first. Now that he has it and does not wish to return it, I will purchase my own copy.

Afraid to Change Jobs - Don't Be - This Book Makes it Fun!.......2006-07-28

I first encountered "Making a Living Without a Job:.." by Barbara Winter about 9 years ago. I had bought it for my husband, who was in between jobs, and ended up reading it myself. By the time I was done, I had determined to leave a 20 year career in computers and go to massage school. I now own my own health center in New York state.

One year I gave 10 of these books to people who were 'stuck' in their jobs/careers but who were afraid to change. As a result 14 people ended up changing their jobs/careers because the people to whom I gave the book also passed it on.

I find, as a massage therapist, that much of the stress people have is due to a poor fit in their career. What might have been right at one time in their life, no longer is good for them.
I recommend this book to someone at least once each week and have now decided to have it in stock.

I recently gave copies to two friends who might need to leave high executive positions in an international corporation.

ANYONE at any LEVEL in ANY JOB can find the step-by-step analysis in this book the most helpful thing EVER in helping them to find the job that will really be fulfilling for them!

Connie Wehmeyer

Better World Handbook: Small Changes That Make a Big Difference

Average customer rating:

One-of-a-kind guide
A much needed new edition of the greatest guide for those wanting to make a difference!
The book to change the world-- and your life.

Better World Handbook: Small Changes That Make a Big Difference
Ellis Jones , Ross Haenfler , and Brett Johnson
Manufacturer: New Society Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Practical Politics | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0865715750

Book Description

Specifically designed to reach people who normally would not consider themselves activists, The Better World Handbook is directed toward those who care about creating a more just, sustainable and socially responsible world but don't know where to begin. Substantially updated, this revised best-seller now contains more recent information on global problems, more effective actions, and many new resources.

Customer Reviews:

One-of-a-kind guide .......2007-08-05

Written by sociology instructors Ellis Jones Ph.D., Ross Haenfler Ph.D. and Brett Johnson Ph.D., The Better World Handbook: Small Changes That Make A Big Difference is a guide for ordinary people to taking steps in their lives that help contribute to big changes for the better worldwide. Chapters cover how to make a difference by choosing the right bank, buying groceries that minimize negative environmental impact, building strong relationships among friends and family, fostering a socially responsible workplace, voting and getting involved in politics, using alternative forms of transportation and reducing driving to use as little gasoline as reasonably possible, how to get involved in an organization espousing a cause one cares about, and much more. Handy quick-reference icons, numerous online resources, extensive notes, a helpful checklist, and an index round out this one-of-a-kind guide to not only improving oneself, but also improving the world at large. Highly recommended.

A much needed new edition of the greatest guide for those wanting to make a difference!.......2007-05-14

I've owned the previous version of this book for over 3 years now and have been eagerly anticipating this new version. This handy guide is inspiring and amazingly practical at the same time. These experts have done the leg work to find out what normal people can do in every aspect of their lives to make a better world. If you are wondering how you can better live out your values in the way you work, spend time with family, care for the environment, involve yoursesf in politics and community, shop, and much more, this book is a must have.

The book to change the world-- and your life........2007-05-11

Many of us feel we want to improve the world.
But it's difficult to know where to begin, or how our actions can make a difference. The Better World Handbook is an excellent first step to a better life, and a better world.

Broken up into chapters as diverse as Relationships, Body Care, and Finance, this book will help you change your outlook on life. It will feed your soul, and help the Earth.

Nanocosm: Nanotechnology and the Big Changes Coming from the Inconceivably Small

Average customer rating:

I found the book interesting and entertaining.
Nano = this book's value
Onan of nano?
Nanatechnology: Real and Now!
Loaded with fresh views of nanotechnology's future

Nanocosm: Nanotechnology and the Big Changes Coming from the Inconceivably Small
William Illsey Atkinson
Manufacturer: American Management Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Engineering | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0814471811

Book Description

Since the beginning of the industrial age, many machines have grown steadily smaller even as they have grown more powerful and complex. Now nanotechnology, based on a new science of the infinitesimally small, takes technology beyond most popular definitions of reality, to a realm of molecular machines, cell-sized computers, and other astounding possibilities. With Nanocosm, Bill Atkinson reveals a spectacular view of the immediate future of nanotechnology and its applications in:

* Medicine -- drugs that assemble themselves and have minimal side effects * Computing -- quantum processors triggered by a single particle of light * Engineering -- megastructures made of hollow nanotubes boasting exceptional strength and stability and countless other arenas that affect our world, redefining how we work, play, and live.

As with any phenomenon, nanotechnology has both its naysayers and its zealots, by turns clouding scientific truth with dismissals, prophecies, and pipe dreams. But nanotech is real: The U.S. President recently announced a $500 million National Nanotechnology Initiative, and Business Week has named nanotechnology one of the Ten Technologies That Will Change Our Lives. Nanocosm shows why.

Customer Reviews:

I found the book interesting and entertaining........2006-12-10

Lower, Slower, and Smaller. Eric Dexler books helped envision the future of nanotechnology: 1. Nanosystem: Molecular Machinery, Manfacturing, and Computation. 2. Engines of Creation 3. Nanotechnology: Molecular Speculations on Global Abundance. All technology is in a sense nanotechnology. Carbon Nanotubes may soon create supercomputers the size of a fleck of dust. Macro carbon nanotube applications would be able to support the Golden Gate bridge with a cable no thicker than a pencil. The nanobased world of tomorrow will not be totally unrecognizable. Nanotechnology is still bound by physical and marketing limits.

NanoWorld 2015. In 2015, Medication is delivered by synthetic molecules called dendrites. Medical dosages are delivered inside the target cell. 2015, dustbot 70 nm robots powered by ATP flagellate motor break down dust into carbon dioxide and trace elements. The nanobots will be capable of self-replication and are reprogrammable increasing their usefulness. 2015, new nano composite diesel engines will reduce energy production costs through unique engine design. The new diesel engine could burn oil sludge without processing through a refinery. The cylinder wall will be two millimeters thick with 1,400 Celsius and fifty atmosphere on the inside.

Nanoscience trends in world research. Dr. Simon Haykin thinks about reducing energy requirements and size dimensions for CPU chips. "It's obvious to me that miniaturization, as a route to hardware innovation, is a dead-end street. It's given us some noteworthy achievements, but now its run smack up against its ultimate limitations." A brain has logic gates called neurons that operate a million times slower than a computer logic gate and burns ten billion times less power than a microtransistor logic gate. The computation model of the brain is massively parrellel and great quantities of neurons chew through problems from many different directions at the same time. In 1994-95 the Teramac massively parallel computer was built. Its designers built in over 200,000 hardware defects, any which would have failed in a serial computing Von Neumann designed machine. "Yet the Termac consistently operates two orders of magnitude faster than the fastest single processor commercial workstation". Teramac uses paths and components alternative to the damaged ones. "You can view neurons as unreliable components if you like. And individually, they are. They're rather messy things. But that doesn't matter, because there are so many of them."

Nanotechnology trends in World development. "In 1997, aggregate U.S. spending for both government and private-sector nanoscience was approximately $400 million. In 2001, it was three times the level; in 2002, the aggregate gain approached 450 percent." In 2001, the US government budgeted $422 million for nanoscience R&D. Cool Chips Inc brings one of the first nanotechnology applications to the market. Solid state wafers can be inserted on top of solid-state devices to provide cooling. The thermal efficiency is 70-80 percent. A Cool Chip one-inch square could provide the cooling power of a standard refrigerator. A Cool chip will get hot on one side and cool on the other with a 10 nm gap; the cool side has hot electrons removed which pass over the gap to the hotside which represents a concentration of electrons. A gap of 5 nm calculates out to carry a theoretical heat-extraction limit of 5,000 watts per square centimeter. Once heat is trapped on one side, it can not easily return.

Nano = this book's value.......2006-08-14

"Nanocosm" is extremely negative and critical, wasting most of its pages (and hence a majority of every chapter) with a seemingly personal attack on K. Eric Drexler and other nanotech populizers. Atkinson provides little to no facts to back up his assertions, and narrates the book with an unimaginable level of arrogance.

Skip this book, and read "Nano-hype" or "The Next Big Thing is Really Small" instead.

Onan of nano?.......2006-02-25

Several earlier reviewers have detailed the
major shortcomings of this book, so I defer any add-ons.

Mr Atkinson is a name-dropper, heaping effusive praise on some
researchers & companies, while flogging other individuals or groups.

He covers many aspects and potentials of nanotechnology, a good
point, but the (startup) companies he mentions have not set the
world on fire.

He is not a linguist, or he & his editor would not muff simple
stuff like "und so weiter" into "und so unter"(p.168).
There are a few technical glitches as well.

Overall, I give it a "3" and worth the price of a magazine...
that's what I paid off the remainder table.

Nanatechnology: Real and Now!.......2004-02-25

Did you know that President Bush recently announced that $500 million would go to the National Nanotechnology Initiative? And that nano-technology is now considered one of the top 10 technologies that will change our lives? In this new book, William Illsey Atkinson delivers us to the world of the future, the world of incredible innovations in the fields of medicine, computing and engineering - the world of nanotechnology.

Now, when we talk about nanotechnology, we are talking small (really small, smaller-than-an-atom small). The book talks about what will happen once we get more prolific in working with this tiny technology, and how we will actually produce nanotechnology machines that will produce even smaller machines. Actually, these machines are so small, molecules will produce them automatically. Are you overwhelmed yet? Read on - this gets better. The following are some of Atkinson's amazing projections (remember, this isn't science fiction, this is real stuff that's being developed as you read this).

In two to five years, we can expect to see:
Car tires that will need air only once a year
Self assembly of small electronic parts (based on artificial DNA or guest host systems) Artificial semiconductors based on protein
Complete medical diagnostic laboratories based on a single computer chip less than one inch square In five to 10 years, we can expect to see:
Erasable/Rewritable paper for programmable books, magazines and newspapers
Light, efficient ceramic car engines
"Smart" buildings that self-stabilize after earthquakes and bombings
Inexpensive solar power that heats and lights cities by using roads and building windows as sun collectors And in 10 to 15 years, we can expect to see:
Paint-on computer and video displays
Cosmetic nanotechnology, including permanent hair and teeth restoration
Handheld super computers
This book is just loaded with this kind of earth-shaking information. And the good news is that, for a science book, it reads like a best seller. If you want to get a clear glimpse into the future for all of us, make sure you give this one a read.

Loaded with fresh views of nanotechnology's future.......2004-02-09

William Illsey Atkinson's Nanocosm is an expert survey of nanotechnology and the big changes coming from small science advancements providing a series of eye-opening insights on the nature of scale and space. Nanoscience is the study of the infinitesimally small: the discoveries of nanotechnology and speculation of the nature of reality in a small, changed world make for a moving, involving title loaded with fresh views of nanotechnology's future.

Easier Than You Think ...because life doesn't have to be so hard: The Small Changes That Add Up to a World of Difference

Average customer rating:

very peaceful to read
FAILURE OF DELIVERY
quick read - deep ideas
Nothing Very New
A Bit Zen

Easier Than You Think ...because life doesn't have to be so hard: The Small Changes That Add Up to a World of Difference
Richard Carlson
Manufacturer: HarperOne
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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You Can Be Happy No Matter What: Five Principles for Keeping Life in Perspective
You Can Feel Good Again: Common-Sense Strategies for Releasing Unhappiness and Changing Your Life
Five Good Minutes: 100 Morning Practices To Help You Stay Calm & Focused All Day Long
Shortcut through Therapy: Ten Principles of Growth-Oriented, Contented Living
The Happiness Makeover: How to Teach Yourself to Be Happy and Enjoy Every Day

ASIN: 0060758880
Release Date: 2005-04-26

Book Description

All of us are looking for ways to take control of our lives, whether in our relationships, our families, our work, our health, or our future plans. Daily challenges have a way of overwhelming us, making life harder than it needs to be. The good news is that the answers are out there. And they are Easier Than You Think.

In the phenomenal bestseller Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, Richard Carlson taught millions of readers how to stop the little things in life from driving them crazy. Now, in Easier Than You Think, Carlson demonstrates how making simple yet effective changes can get our life back on course. With his unique blend of storytelling and advice, Carlson offers proven ways that even the smallest amounts of change can add up to become a fortune of difference in our lives.

Customer Reviews:

very peaceful to read.......2007-08-16

I thought this was a good book. It really helps to think about things in a different way. Sure it's some stuff you have heard before, but it really helps reading it. I enjoyed it.

FAILURE OF DELIVERY.......2007-05-12

THE PRODUCT I ORDERED NEVER ARRIVED. IT GOT LOST, I WAS TOLD WHEN I CONTACTED AMAZON MAY 10TH, 20 DAYS AFTER THE LATEST DELIVERY DATE PROMISED.

quick read - deep ideas.......2007-04-05

This book has some VERY good ideas. There are some blah ideas too, but it's a quick read. Here are some of the best ideas:
If you base your happiness on things being different than they are currently, you've set yourself up for constant disappointment. The only aspect of life you have any control over is your own reaction to the events taking place. There are always going to be people doing things we don't like and things happening that we wish were different. We don't control much of what happens around us, but we do control how we respond to it.
You are the one creating your thoughts. You have the power to chance your thinking. You can follow your thoughts as they arise or you can change or drop them.

Nothing Very New.......2006-08-14

This is a good, quick summation of things you may have read in self-help books, especially those dealing with cognative psychology. However, it contains nothing very surprising.

A Bit Zen.......2006-07-29

It's odd to give about the same number of stars to a little self-help book as to Anna Karenina, but for it's genre it's pretty good. It's probably 3.5 stars, but I rounded up.

The book is short, and as it suggests, it gives several ideas for simple things one can do that may have pay off in out of proportional ways. Some you have heard forever, and some are new, or at least stated in a new enough way to seem fresh. An example that sparked me was the advice to observe your thoughts as you would a movie- in a detached way that causes one to desensitize to the negative ones and see them lose power. Very little background is given (or probably required) as to cognitive reasons for how or why this works.

Much of the advice seems to come under the Zen notion that "desire is suffering", and some is a restatement of kharma or the golden rule, but regardless of their source, they have been hammered by the author into practical chicken soup advice.

Is is worth the read? Is it worth 15 dollars? If it helps you, and it may, to make a much needed attitude shift or deal with a blind spot in your life, then clearly the answer is yes. I would say for me personally it was worth the read based on one or two chapters, but I'm sure the rest of the book didn't hurt me any.

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