As any of you who have been keeping up with Effing The Dog, its philosophy and this website, you’ll know that I simply don’t read. Books are merely the telling of a story it writing that were once told in speaking. That’s why I choose audiobooks – it skips the middleman and I get dulcet tones in the process of a James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman or some other strong-voiced actor-type that can hold my attention for a few hours.
But when Xerxes (my heavily-organized and embarrassment-to-the-family cousin) pointed out that I may well have to do some actual reading of books in order to fully expose my EffTDers to the other so-called productivity and life-fulfilling options that are out there, I relented. Sort of. While I will now read the occasional book, it must be in very large print so I do not have to work as hard to read it. Anything below 24 point font becomes fodder for my canary cage – which is fine, because my canary is an avid reader and has very small eyes.
That being said, Xerxes also believes he would be the best suited to do the initial reviews of anything coming our way as he feels he is more objective than yours truly. So, since he is the guy that keeps me online (except for when he goes away on these unknown sabbaticals that leave me hanging with no ability to post content), I agreed. However, I will post my own reviews on my Effing The Dog netcast on Stickam, and we may soon find a home for my “alterna-views” here at the website soon enough.
For now, we’ll start things off with a review of the first part of The SlowDownFast Happiness Trilogy of eBooks, written by David B. Bohl. David was interviewed by me earlier this year, and proved his mettle in as much as he was able to verbally spar with me for several minutes over Skype. But could an eBook do the same for him – and with Xerxes doing the legwork this time around? Read on…
Welcome to the first review here at Effing The Dog. My cousin (Effing The Dog creator, Mike Vardy) had the pleasure of interviewing David B. Bohl, founder of SlowDownFast.com and well-known life coach, and this man has a story that qualifies him as the author of a trilogy of eBooks, dubbed “The Happiness Trilogy.”
The first book in the trilogy is Your Life In Balance: A Breakthrough Guide for Creating the Life You Desire, and it is the longest of the series. In this book, David tells of how he went from an unbalanced life to one of balance, illustrated through his own personal tale. Through that story, David definitely puts himself, as the author, in a position as an authority on the subject – having actually done what the book challenges the reader to do.
Your Life In Balance guides the reader through a series of chapters and follow-up exercises that lead to a lot of personal reflection. I, myself, found that I was really able to be honest with my own situation as I went through each chapter, making the exercises at the end of each one easy to attempt and without a sense of “I have to do this or I won’t get it.” The early chapters deal with looking at where the reader is right now, as well as the past and how you got to where you’re at. Once that has been established (and if you’re ready), the chapters to follow put you in a position to achieve balance in your life. These chapters involve visualization and a lot of thought, mainly exercise driven, but get you on the path to going where you want to go.
The thing I really liked about this book is that there wasn’t a sense of arrogance about it. David is frank, but sensitive – attributed to the fact that he’s been down this road as well. I was able to read it in one sitting, and then revisited it a few days later to get a stronger feel for its message. It’s not a laborious read, so doing that was easy – and helpful, in fact. David has put a lot of time and thought into this book, and it shows in the way the ideas are conveyed to the reader. There doesn’t seem to be as much “distance” between the author and the reader with this book, where I’ve felt that with other so-called “self-help” books I’ve read. That’s refreshing.
If you’re looking for a book that is easy to read, delivers a strong message without being too preachy or condescending, and really gets you thinking about your life as a whole, I’d get a copy of Your Life In Balance today.*
*The next book in the trilogy, Your Personal Mission Statement, and the final entry, The Goal Book, will be reviewed in the near future.
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