Customer Reviews

Give Me a Moment and I'll Change Your Life: Tools for Moment Management

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Alan Lakein wrote, HOW TO GET CONTROL OF YOUR TIME AND YOUR LIFE . . . if you haven't yet read that masterpiece, do so at your earliest convenience . . . it is still as timely as when he wrote it back in 1973.
I would have liked to have read something else by Lakein, but had never been able to find anything . . . so imagine my surprise when I came across what appears to be his follow-up effort, GIVE ME A MOMENT AND I'LL CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
The above is certainly one of the shortest books I have ever come across . . . it is only 97 pages with a lot of those blank . . . there's also much white space, and the
size is a mere 5 x 8 inches . . . furthermore, much of the material is taken from HOW TO GET CONTROL; e.g., his classic ten-word guide for clarifying purpose simply and directly:
1. List possibilities
2. Set A-B-C priorities
3. Do the A-1 priority now!
And then there's this other bit of advice that I often revisit: Still not acting? Take a moment and ask Lakein's Question: "What's the best use of your time right now?" Take your first answer as you're A-1. Then do it now!
However, despite these negatives, I still liked GIVE ME A MOMENT--and got a surprising lot out of it.
Perhaps most significantly, I got Lakein's premise that "every moment is an opportunity" and "one moment can change your life."
I also liked his ideas on how to make the moment yours and be happier right now, how to enhance your moments at work and play, and how to cultivate more quality moments.
There were several other memorable passages; among them:
Compliment people if you like what they're wearing. You derive triple pleasure form noticing what you like, sharing your appreciation, and observing their reaction.
If your problem isn't cumulative stress but momentary annoyance, adding a plus can remedy the situation. Say you have to make a last-minute trip to the store for a bottle of salad dressing. Instead of resenting the time spent, make the errand a relaxing transition from a hard day at work to a nice evening at home. Anticipate the pleasure of the next few hours with your dinner date. Or figure out how you're going to clean the living room in five minutes or less when you get back.
It tuition can help you act, indecision can hamper you. The cure is action. Instead of wasting time because you're unable to choose between two possible ways of proceeding, toss a coin. If you find yourself hoping for a certain result, you've discovered what you really want to do. Otherwise, do what the coin dictates. Once you've started you'll know whether to keep going . . . or take a new direction. It's easier to make a course correction if you're already moving.

To be completely honest, I LOVED How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life, but this one will just sit on my shelf. The main message of the book (which TOTALLY reminded me of a poem book- full of wisdom, I'm sure, but difficult to apply) was to repeat moments in your life that brighten it up. I say vague, because Lakein's not presumptous enough to say what will bring YOU joy, but leaves that respectfull distance. It left me with the impression that I need to get outside around sunset times more. Anyway, I guess I was just expecting suggestions on what to do while waiting for an appointment, etc.

Is there anyone happier than Lakein on this Earth? :-)

Have read both his books many times over and am fascinated by the writings as well as the author. Great style of writing and great wisdom. Practicing the wisdom in this book requires elimination of procrastination and the ability to focus on present all the time.

I would give anything to become like him!

This text was designed to update the results-oriented approach of the author's earlier book, "offering readers techniques to get more out of each precious minute." Lakein offers his insights for the future and explains how to pay attention to moments as they come along, treat time as a limited resource, and make the most of every moment. Now, four years since its publication date, the book has not fared nearly as well as one might expect from the genre's godfather.

If you've read Alan Lakein's other book: "How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life", this one sort of piggy-backs on top of that one. However, in this book, he tries to tell us how to make moments "special". After all, you've saved a lot of time if you followed the advice in his first book. So, now he wants to show you how to make the best of the time you've saved.

I'll give him 4 stars for the effort, but I think he missed the mark. It's a great notion, only he lacks the emotional depth to pull it off - not surprising as his work is more clinical than personal. That's not to say that it may not speak to men better than to women? The less impassioned vocabulary might be something a man might appreciate as less demanding, and therefore, easier to work with? But, I can't whole-heartedly recommend this for women looking to enrich their lives...it leads you in a direction, but fails to bring the subject home. It could be used as a "basis" if you are willing to "take it from there" on your own.

As I've not encountered other books along this line, I'd still recommend it. Like I said, it's a great "notion"!

My hopes were too high - I simply love his How to Gain Control of your Time and your Life.