Doing Less and Having More: Five Easy Steps for Achieving Your Dreams [Paperback]

Marcia Wieder (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1999

Are you tired of living by other people's standards and rules? Are you ready for more ease, play, and joy in your life? If you answered yes to either of these questions, Doing Less and Having More is for you. Six years ago, as president of her own marketing and media agency, Marcia Wieder was running a multimillion-dollar business. She owned a little red sports car and a great condo and had fun friends. She was living a dream life -- in someone else's dream.

When had "more" become "too much"? How could she do work she loved and be less driven? Marcia's search for answers led to the end of her business, a move west, a new career -- even a new love. Now she lectures worldwide on helping people achieve their dreams. She works less and plays more. And her life and relationships reflect her powerful sense of ease.

In Doing Less and Having More, Marcia Wieder reveals her simple five-step Roadmap to Ease, with dozens of inspiring stories of people who have achieved their dream of doing less and having more. She also shares wisdom from interviews with John Gray, Mark Victor Hansen, Julia Cameron, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and others whom Marcia calls "Ease Masters," addressing ease in relationships, business, spirituality, creativity, parenting, and more. In Doing Less and Having More, you will learn to:

Take immediate steps to feel more at ease during stressful times
Create a life that reflects your passions and energizes you
Effortlessly get others enthused and able to help
Feel more confidence, joy, and optimism each day -- and much more.

"Doing less is not about doing nothing," Marcia writes. "It is about center and balance. It is about choice and freedom. And it is about ease." This book helps you achieve exactly that.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Do you rush around all day, come home drained, hit the pillow exhausted, and then get up and do it all again the next day? "How did this happen? What happened to your dreams?" asks Marcia Wieder in Doing Less and Having More. She promises that she can show you how to transform your life, be more relaxed, live more fully, and have time to follow your dreams.

It's not your schedule or finances that either move you forward or hold you back--it's your attitudes and beliefs, says Wieder. Essential to her program is learning how to access "ease": "using a small amount of energy to get what you want effortlessly." First, look at where you waste energy and when you feel uneasy. Wieder presents many techniques you can use to shift energy, focus, recognize your style of coping with stress, and look at ways you may be making life more difficult. Then you use "the roadmap to ease," a process of knowing your passion and using it as a motivating force to design the life you want. This is no instant quick fix to what ails you, but a concentrated, introspective process that can help you remove the obstacles that are stopping you from reaching your dreams. --Joan Price --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Several years ago, Wieder gave up her position as president of a marketing and media agency in Washington, D.C., to follow her dream of a "much simpler life" in San Francisco. Now an inspirational speaker and author of Making Your Dreams Come True and Life Is but a Dream, she preaches the gospel of "living in the stream of ease." Claiming that "[t]his system is simple, simple, simple and will yield extraordinary results," her five steps for becoming an "Ease Master" include finding your passion, defining your dreams, identifying and choosing your beliefs, performing small tasks to advance your goals and building a team of supportive people. All of this is helped along, she says, by meditation, healthful living and constant attention. Wieder ends each chapter with a summary of numbered points, and ends the book with inspirational words from the likes of Julia Cameron and Jon Kabat-Zinn. Overall, she delivers a peppy and encouraging treatise on living the good life of ease and fulfillment. Unfortunately, Wieder offers insufficient specific counsel for dealing with resistance and difficulties. Nonetheless, there is usable advice here, particularly regarding the importance of finding supportive people and of making choices based on the simple question, "Will this make my life easier?"
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Quill (HarperCollins) (October 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688172164
• ISBN-13: 978-0688172169
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,610,479 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than 7 Habits of Highly Sucessful People!, February 12, 2000

By 

A. Gifford (Not where you are) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Doing Less and Having More: Five Easy Steps for Discovering What You Really Want-And Getting It (Hardcover)

I've read lots of self-help books, especially on self-discovery, time management etc.

7 Habits is probably the best one for dealing with traditional time management. However, it doesn't help much when you are confused about what you want to do, your roles...

Doing Less and Having More focuses on figuring out what you want, overcoming your fears, and putting your dream life into action. It is densely packed with a variety of information that integrates a complete view of life management. Even though I am a natural speed reader, I was forced to stop and take breaks after every chapter just so I could think about its impact on my life.

One of the best books I've ever read and one I should re-read regularly in order to make these principles part of my life.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Put some SIZZLE into your life!, June 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Doing Less and Having More: Five Easy Steps for Discovering What You Really Want-And Getting It (Hardcover)

This is a straightforward, passionate work. The author shows you how to tap back into the "real you" that so easily gets lost in the shuffle of daily living. It helped me to focus on what direction I want to take my life, what specific actions I should take over the next three months to make it happen, and what I should eliminate from my daily routine to make room for what I want. Inspirational yet practical. This book had a profound impact on my thought process and beliefs..

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars With interersting ideas but lack of depth, May 25, 2000

By 

Ada Pang - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doing Less and Having More: Five Easy Steps for Achieving Your Dreams (Paperback)

I read the amazon reader reviews before I bought the book. Yet I must admit that I am a bit disappointed with the purchase. The principles in the book about dream making is nothing new at all. The book tries to relate a concept of 'ease' with a life working towards your dream. But it is not very convincing to me. And the 5-step process on finding your dream is a typical method that can be found in many other self-help books.