I have read many, many self help books over the past decade. Some of these books are classics, others are not. This book (for me at least) falls in the "not classic" category: just too much fluff for me. Normally I would have just donated this book to a local charity and moved on to another book. However, I feel that I must add my comments about this book, to add more balance to the other reviews found here.
Many of Talane's tips are common sense, and would be helpful to someone just starting out on the road to self improvement. Some of the tips are just plain wacky. For example, in tip 20: Feng Shui Your Home and Office, we are invited to make sure the front entrance door of our house never opens to face a bathroom. If it does, we are advised to keep the door closed. Great tip, for modesty reasons as well as for Feng Shui. We also learn that we should "never design or buy a house with a bathroom in the center of the house; it will drain out all the energy." She doesn't know why she does these things, she does just does these things because they "work".
One of the other tips that struck me as strange was the advice to identify our needs. As an example, she mentiones that some people are compulsive shoppers because they want to feel needed. If this is our need, we are invited to ask people to let us know how cherished we are for 4 to 6 weeks... that should be enough to stop the compulsive shopping. Much of the book seemed a bit too simplistic for me.
One other personal issue: each tip is prefaced with a quote from some great thinkers... however, some are dialog clips from TV episodes like Rossanne and Mamma's Family. Those types of quotes are not untelling of the level of content you will find in this book.
Like I said, if this is the first self improvement book you purchase, you will find a fairly shallow treatment of many wide ranging topics... most of which should help you begin your self improvement path. Personally, I could not force myself to finish the book: I only made it to page 174.
If you do purchase this book, don't stop with this one, keep going on to deeper, more comprehensive works.
I am living proof that using Talane's methods work. Before this book, I was hopelessly in debt, making less than I deserved, looking and feeling downtrodden and depressed. Six months later, my credit is great, debts manageable, I make more money, enjoy my job more, I have hired an image consultant, I get manicures every week, and things just keep getting better.
You don't have to do every step in order or do all 101 at once. And you don't have to be rich. Talane helps you build a strong foundation and then take steps to reach your potential. I can't explain it, but you will find yourself taking better care of yourself than you ever thought possible...and getting out of debt, making more money, with more confidence, looking better, in a cleaner home, more relaxed, and enjoying your life more than ever before.
If you can't afford to hire Talane herself to coach you, get this book. She has been very generous with sharing her coaching techniques in this wonderful book.I picked up the book because I was interested in life coaching as a career as well as in useful self-help/life improvement tips. Well, taking the author's words and advice to heart, I also got a better, happier life!
The book is divided into chapters of steps to take in order to move towards your ideal life personal organization, self-care, career, relationships, money management, etc. Although you are supposed to do the actions as you read them, I read the book through cover to cover first (which I recommend). Knowing all of the steps from the outset really helped to get started on the right foot when I went back the second time and started doing the steps. Plus it's exciting to see all that you will be working on and how it will change your life!
Besides an overall excellent program, the author's writing is conversational and very easy to read; the success stories are motivational and really hit home the points the author conveys.
Beware the life changes don't happen overnight. It takes belief in the system, hard work, and consistency. But my life has not been the same since reading this book. I've become a lot healthier physically and mentally, improved on all of my relationships including my marriage, moved to where I really want to live, and am pursuing the career of my dreams. I don't think I would have had the tools and the courage to do all of it without this book, and I can't imagine where I'd be now without it.
This is a book to keep in your library, to return to time and again, to reference, and to give to your family and friends. Read it, believe it, do it, and change your life!I tried to read this book three years ago, and at the time, I would have heartily agreed with some of the other critiques. I stumbled through a few of the chapters and tossed it on my bookshelf without another thought. It did not seem to apply to my life at the time and I thought it was too much fluff for me. Oh, how little did I know back then! Fortunately, I didn't give the book away and today I'm glad that I gave it a second chance. I have learned that sometimes we are not prepared to read certain books at certain times in our lives. Just because it may not compliment our current mindset, we tend to blame the book. That is exactly what I did three years ago.
Now, three years later, with my life plate so full that it is overflowing, I saw this book as if it was beckoning me to read it. This book is exactly what I need to read at this point of my overcrowded life. The author gives point after point so applicable to me, it feels as if she has read my personal life story. The instructions are delivered in a delicate manner, yet they are dead on accurate. Some of the advice hits me to the core. I can really relate to each chapter. Sometimes with a nod, and most of the time with an "ouch".
To reap the most of this book, I kept a notebook handy because Talane gives a lot of impromptu exercises. This is great for getting the creative juices flowing on the spot and for reflecting back on my thoughts at a later date.
There is a famous quote about self development: "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." I am glad that I was ready when I took that second look at this valuable book. I have gained a lot from it and would recommend it to anyone who is READY to take life to the next level.
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