The Joy Strategist - Book Review

Title: The Joy Strategist; Your Path to Inner Change

Author: Grace Harry

Publisher: ‎ Andscape Books

Publication Date: October 17, 2023
 
Length: 224 Pages

About the Author
Grace Harry is an artist, entrepreneur, creative muse, pleasure instigator, and speaker. After a 30-year career in entertainment, Grace, “The Joy Strategist,” found her calling leading what she calls “the Revolution of JOY.” Through her popular playdate community “Play with Grace,” she helps everyday people welcome joy back into their lives.

A Toolbox for Joy
This book is a mix of memoir, self-help exercises, and cultural commentary on joy.
The author shares tips, tools, and exercises to help you cultivate your joy, embrace a more fulfilling life, and overcome obstacles.

My Thoughts 
I love the title of this book. 
This book is upbeat and inspiring. Ms. Harry shares experiences from her own life and explains how she has changed her life for the better by implementing JOY into her mindset.

The book is designed to be interactive and practical. The author suggests deep breathing exercises, journaling, playfulness, creativity, and nurturing the soul. Self-love is a strong thread that runs throughout this book. The author reflects on her past failures and disappointments; multiple husbands, affairs, bankruptcy, and a lack of self-love and respect. She asks the question, "Were all these botched relationships just reflecting how I felt about myself?" 

The author shares advice on picking a partner. The first thing to do is make a detailed list of all the qualities you are looking for in the person. And then ... go through the list and become what you want to attract. Start with yourself and become the partner that you would like to find. Great advice!

This book was a JOY to read. It is worth reading and rereading.

MY RATING: 5 Stars Out Of 5

Thank you to NetGalley for an excellent reading experience.

Thank you for visiting my blog. Please FOLLOW and share your thoughts in the COMMENTS section below.

Compass for an Extraordinary Life

Extraordinary: Living in the Direction of You

Author: Michael Dauphinee

Publisher: Broadstreet Publishing Group LLC

Publication Date: September 4, 2018

Length: 160 Pages

About the Author
Michael Dauphinee is a speaker, writer, and leadership consultant. For more than a decade he has devoted his life to helping people around the world understand their identity and its direct impact on leadership, employee engagement, and life.


"To live an extraordinary life is to live outside the normal course of events."
Michael Dauphinee provides guidelines for navigating an extraordinary life. This navigation process includes the following four points;

• Where are we? (Identity)
• Where are we going? (Permission)
• How do we get there? (Courage)
• How do we keep from getting lost? (Generosity)

The author begins by defining the terms and then explains how these concepts can be applied to your life. He shares experiences from his own life and also provides case studies from some of his client's experiences.

My Thoughts

WOW! I can't remember the last time I used the highlight feature on my Kindle e-reader as frequently as I did while reading this book. The pages became a colorful rainbow of quotations, definitions and strategies that I want to go back and review. It is difficult to digest this information in just one reading. I plan to go back and reread each chapter and think about how I can apply the strategies and techniques to my life.

Mr. Dauphinee dedicates a portion of each chapter to defining the terms. This is an informative and enlightening addition that adds great value. I have read many self-help books and very few take time to define the terms before they give instructions for applying the concepts and strategies.

"The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right name."

The author is a Clifton Strengthsfinder coach but he has not made this this book into an advertisement for this service. He does encourage readers to take a strengths assessment (Clifton Strengths, MyersBriggs, DISC, Enneagram, etc.) to realize your talents and stop discarding your most valuable parts. 

"Every day we make choices that will choose for us later."

When I read this quotation, I reflected on many of the decisions I had made in the past. The choices that are made today will mold our futures for years to come. Decisions move us toward or away from our identity. The author believes we tend to disconnect the choices of today from the impact of tomorrow. We live like slaves to the immediate. 

Mr. Dauphinee expresses his personality with both humor and poignant stories. He is a Christian and enthusiastically shares his faith in Jesus Christ. However, I would not call this a "religious" book. 

Excellent. Impactful. Motivating. Memorable. This book is all of this and more. Highly Recommended!

FIVE STARS OUT OF 5

FYI ~ I received a free digital copy of this book for NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.
Thank you for visiting my blog. Please FOLLOW and share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.

Brave Young Lady Conquors Depression and Social Anxiety - A Book Review

A Way Out: A Memoir of Conquering Depression and Social Anxiety

Author: Michelle Balge

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Publication Date: February 27, 2018

Pages: 202 Pages



About the Author
Michelle Balge is a mental health advocate, web designer and animal lover. She holds an Honors BA in Sociology with a concentration in Critical Animal Studies, and will receive a Web Design Graduate Certificate in June, 2018.

Mental Illness Is Real
Michelle Balge provides a raw, unfiltered look into the world of mental illness.

She shares the thoughts that almost destroyed her. Suicidal thoughts invaded her mind and cast a dark shadow over her existence. They threatened to steal her future.

Michelle is a fighter. She will not surrender to the illness and let it control her life.

Here are some resources and techniques that helped the author battle her mental illness;

• See a doctor/therapist.
• Medication.
• Healthy eating.
• Exercise.
• Breathing techniques.
• Have a good support system.
• Volunteering or joining something that interests you where you can meet people.
• Meditation and mindfulness.
• Group therapy.
• Maintain a regular sleep schedule.
  

Michelle Balge learned that her mental illness can be treated and she has hope for the future.

My Thoughts
This book was difficult to read. The author's goal was to be completely transparent and share her experiences in a way that would make a difference.

Ms. Balge displayed persistence, courage and determination in her fight with depression and social anxiety during her childhood and into young adulthood. She would not allow fear to win. She set out to educate herself and find the professional help she needed to overcome and conquer the demons in her mind.

This is a very timely story in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. We can no longer afford to bury our heads in the sand and ignore the problem of mental illness in our society. 

Ms. Balge demonstrates a tremendous amount of insight into her illness at a very young age. She will conquer her depression and social anxiety and succeed in helping herself and others.

MY RATING: 5 STARS OUT OF 5

FYI ~ I received a free digital copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair review.

Thank you for visiting my blog and reading this review. Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below or tweet me @JanetteFuller.
I want to hear from you!

The Joy Plan - A Book Review

The Joy Plan: How I Took 30 Days to Stop Worrying, Quit Complaining, and Find Ridiculous Happiness

Author: Kaia Roman

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Date of Publication: July 11, 2017

Pages: 321 pages


About the Author
Kaia Roman has a twenty-year background in public relations and marketing. She is currently a Mindfulness Teacher for elementary school students and a regular contributor to numerous mindfulness, happiness, and wellbeing blogs. She lives in Santa Cruz, CA.

Kaia Roman felt down-and-out after her business collapsed.  She was seeking direction in her role as a wife, mother, friend and business woman. She consulted a friend and decided to devote the next 30 days of her life to creating JOY!

Ms. Roman discovered that The Joy Plan was much more than a 30 day project. 
Joy and happiness became a lifestyle that would change her life and the lives of her loved ones.

This is both a memoir and a self-help book for anyone who is seeking joy and a positive lifestyle.

My Thoughts
What is a joy plan and how do you make one?

I think we would all like more joy in our lives. While happiness is a state of mind based on circumstances, joy is an internal feeling that disregards circumstances.

Kaia Roman explained how she started the joy plan by asking a single question; "Does this feel good?" As the author learned to choose positive thoughts and attitudes, her life took a joyful turn. She was attracting positive people and experiences into her life. 

I enjoyed this book very much. Ms. Roman provided a detailed account of the ups and downs that she experienced on her quest for joy. She cited an impressive number of references and resources for further study. There is an excellent discussion guide at the end of the book to be used with a study group or just a review of the reading material.

I am currently taking a MOOC on Positive Psychology at Coursera. The experiences chronicled in this book demonstrate that positive emotions CAN change your life for the better. I applaud Ms. Roman for writing this book and thank her for showing us how to "stop worrying, quit complaining, and find ridiculous happiness."

MY RATING: 5 STARS OUR OF 5

FYI - I received a digital review copy of this book from Net Galley.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below. I will reply to all comments and questions. 

Book Review: Get Your Shift Together by Steve Rizzo

Get Your SHIFT Together: How to Think, Laugh, and Enjoy Your Way to Success in Business and in Life

Author: Steve Rizzo

Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Date: December 8, 2012




About The Author

Steve Rizzo, a.k.a. The Attitude Adjuster, is a personal development expert whose clients include American Airlines, BP, JPMorgan Chase, Scholastic, and Sprint, among others. As a standup comic, he has headlined with many titans of comedy, including Jerry Seinfeld, Eddie Murphy, Drew Carey, and Ellen DeGeneres.

Get Your Shift Together
Steve Rizzo is a professional standup comedian turned attitude adjuster. He travels the world sharing his message of "shifting" your thoughts and your life.

People might resist the word "change", but the word "shift" is much easier to grasp...especially when it is used in a humorous and playful way. Shifting your attitude doesn't seem as difficult as changing your attitude.

This book is for both personal relationships and business interactions. The author's mission in life is to show people how to be happy and successful in business and in life, regardless of their circumstances. Mr. Rizzo shares the following messages in this book;

• If you shift your focus and way of thinking, you can turn challenging times into opportunities. 
• If you are grateful for what you have, rather than fixating on what you don't have, you can be happier then you ever imagined.
• If you unleash the power of your Humor Being on a daily basis, you will come to know that not even fear can stand against the power of laughter.

This book is both serious and funny. Mr. Rizzo is a true comedian and delivers his message with an unforgettable twist of humor. This is one of my favorite passages;

So are you ready to get your shift together? If not, then you better shift and get off the pot, because when shift happens, your life changes. At this point you've probably had enough of my shift. I guess you can say I'm full of shift. I apologize; sometimes I'm just a real shifthead. Oh shift, I did it again! Seriously folks: may the shift be with you.

My Thoughts
I can honestly say that this is one of the best motivational, inspirational, life-changing books that I have ever read. The combination of serious advice  and humor made this an unforgettable reading experience. 

The author convinced me that it is possible to make serious shifts in my life. The idea of being a "Humor Being" is priceless and emphasizes the fact that laughter is often the best medicine for physical and emotional problems.

It is obvious that the author has done a great deal of research on the mind/body connection. He gives many examples from his own life that illustrate the point that you can change your life if you change the way you think.

I don't care how many self-help books you have read in the past, this book will give you a real kick in the pants! You will find that happiness is possible RIGHT NOW if you are willing to shift your thinking and get your shift together.
Highly recommended!

My Rating: 5 Stars out of 5

FYI ~ I received a complimentary digital copy of this book to read and review from NetGalley.
 
I would love for you to FOLLOW this blog. You may use either the Google Friend Connect or the Networked Blog widget to show your support and encouragement.

Please share your thoughts in the Comments Section below.