Life Strategies : Stop Making Excuses! - Do What Works@@ Do What Matters - Softcover

Phillip C. McGraw

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0091856965 ISBN 13: 9780091856960

Publisher: Vermilion, 2007

Synopsis

Take a good hard look at your life. Are there things you are unhappy with? Your life is your responsiblity; the choices you made yesterday brought about the life you have today. If you don't like what you have, then get ready to act and move on. Life Strategies gives powerful, straightforward advice on shaping your life and tells you how to make dramatic changes. Whether it's a bad relationship, a dead-end career, or a harmful habit, Dr McGraw helps you wake up and get out of your rut. It is never too late to take charge of, and be responsible for, your life.

About this title

Review

Some people spend their lives reacting to what life hands them, while others craft life to fit their goals. Author Phillip C. McGraw, who is a psychologist but describes himself as a strategist, is determined to make sure that his readers are the creators of their lives, not created by their lives. By accepting that you are personally accountable for every element of your life, McGraw says, you can erase the negative "epidemic behaviors" (found in all of American society: denial, false assumptions, inertia, deceptive masking) in your life and reach your goals.

Written in a tough-love, sometimes cantankerous tone, this self-help book is not for those looking to explore their inner child or visualize away negative energy. No, this is pull-yourself-up-by-the- bootstraps advice from someone who's done just that. McGraw opens with a scene describing how he helped Oprah Winfrey survive--and win--the 1998 "Mad Cow" lawsuit in Texas, when she was having difficulty coping with the reality of what was happening to her. He helped her face the facts about the lawsuit, after which she was better able to participate in crafting a strategy to win it.

McGraw first forces you to take a good hard look at who you are by dissecting your personality. It may be painful to realize that you fall into the "Porcupine" or "Perfecto" or any of the other personality types McGraw delineates, but here it's true that there's no gain without pain, because (Life Law No. 4) "You Can't Change What You Don't Acknowledge." He then describes in depth all 10 "Life Laws"--the rules by which the world plays--that he learned the hard way. Laws such as "You Either Get It, or You Don't," "Life Is Managed; It Is Not Cured," and "You Have to Name It to Claim It" make up the bulk of the book and McGraw's realist philosophy.

If you learn and abide by the Life Laws and go on to create a Life Strategy, McGraw claims you will not only know yourself better and eliminate negative behaviors, you will also know how to reach any goal you set for yourself. --Stefanie Durbin

About the Author

Dr. Philip McGraw holds a B.A. from Midwestern State University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from North Texas State University with a dual area of emphasis in clinical and behavioral medicine. He is the author of six New York Times bestsellers including Life Strategies and Relationship Rescue and his books have been published in 39 languages. He hosts a hugely successful US talk show 'Dr Phil', where he helps guests solve their problems by stripping away their emotional clutter, and providing them with the tools they need to move confidently ahead in their lives. Visit his website www.drphil.com

Edition details

• Publisher: Vermilion
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0091856965
• ISBN 13: 9780091856960
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 288