Life Strategies: Doing What Works, Doing What Matters

by Phillip C. McGraw

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.

The Life Strategies Workbook: Exercises and Self-Tests to Help You Change Your Life

by Phillip C. McGraw

Life Strategies, the New York Times number one bestseller, is a smash international hit. Oprah's resident expert on human functioning continues to impact millions the world over with his no-nonsense, action-oriented life-changing philosophies. Now, in The Life Strategies Workbook, Dr. McGraw provides exercises and questionnaires to help you make major much-needed and long-put-off changes in your life.

With a series of easy-to-do self-tests, The Life Strategies Workbook will enable you to confront your problems, identify the causes, and start working toward permanent solutions. In addition, the book allows you to adapt Dr. McGraw's strategies to your own personal needs. You'll be able to improve virtually every aspect of your life - at work or at home, in spiritual matters, or in your physical well-being - by using this incredibly helpful workbook.