Life Strategies: Doing What Works, Doing What Matters [Mass Market Paperback]

ph.d., Phillip C. Mcgraw (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1900

If you are:

capable of more than you are accomplishing;

frustrated that you are not making more money;

Stuck in a rut and not getting what you want;

bored with yourself;

silently enduring an emotionally barren life or marriage;

trudging, zombie-like, through an unchallenging career;

just "going through the motions" of your life;

living in a comfort zone that yields too little challenge;

living a lonely existence with little hope for change;

then hold on as Dr. Phillip McGraw takes you on a guided tour of your life to honestly label the problems and causes that control your destiny.

Life Strategies will give you the most honest explanation of your life and how you got where you are that has ever been published. Dr. McGraw is results-based and measures success in terms of changed lives, not rhetoric. This audiobook is a plain-talk, entertaining way to learn to take control of your life, right now. In this audiobook the author describes the ten Laws of Life that every person needs to know. Learn them, use them, and improve virtually every aspect of your life, from work to home to spiritual to physical. Ignore them and you'll continue to pay the price.

With Life Strategies, Dr. McGraw tells you how to strategically control your life, rather than continue as a frustrated passenger.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Author and reader Phillip McGraw is at the forefront of a group of self-help gurus rethinking Americans' decade-plus-long celebration of victimhood. Calling himself a realist, he outlines 10 ways to take responsibility for and change your life. His reading mirrors the style of the weekend motivational seminars he conducts, designed to spark the listener into action. The lively pace crackles with such gems as, "My dad had taught me there are times in life where you just don't want to miss a good chance to shut up." While tape 1's side A bogs down during an account of Oprah Winfrey's beef-industry battles, side B dives quickly into the meat of the audiobook, featuring anecdotes from McGraw's own life and the 10 "Life Laws"--the rules by which McGraw believes the world plays. (Running time: 5 hours, 4 cassettes) --Kimberly Heinrichs --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

After advising Oprah Winfrey in her successful defense against accusations of slander by the beef industry, McGraw, a behavior specialist and trial expert, now makes appearances on Oprah's program as a member of her "Change Your Life TV Team," joining such other luminaries of self-help as Suze Orman, John Gray and Iyanla Vanzant. While McGraw's presentation may play well on the small screen, it suffers on the page from lack of focus, awkward writing and a relentlessly hectoring tone. At the outset, McGraw browbeats his readers: "You are either winning or losing in your life, plain and simple. You live in a competitive world." His strategy for winning is built around 10 "Life Laws," which include the following: "You Either Get It or You Don't"; "You Can't Change What You Don't Acknowledge"; and "There Is No Reality; Only Perception." He also gives 16 homework assignments: the first, to list the five things in your life you have failed to acknowledge to yourself; the second, to write "The Story I'll Tell Myself If I Don't Create Meaningful and Lasting Change After Reading and Studying This Book." McGraw does a good job of identifying many self-defeating behaviors, but it will be up to readers to determine for themselves the efficacy of his methods of changing them. 500,000 first printing; major ad/promo.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1 edition (January 1, 1900)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786890983
• ISBN-13: 978-0786890989
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (302 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #146,711 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #67 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Health, Mind & Body > Self-Help > Success
  • #94 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Health, Mind & Body > Self-Help > Personal Transformation
  • #100 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Health, Mind & Body > Self-Help > Motivational

More About the Author

Phillip C. McGraw, Ph.D., has worked in the field of human functioning and strategic life planning for over twenty years. Dr. McGraw is co-founder and president of Courtroom Sciences, Inc., America's leading litigation consulting firm, and has been associated with some of the highest-profile cases in the country, including Oprah's highly publicized "Mad Cow" case. A professional psychologist, he appears regularly on Oprah as her resident expert on human functioning. He lives in Dallas.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

118 of 127 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars YOU ARE IN CONTROL OF YOUR DESTINY, June 4, 2000

By 

Steven K. Szmutko (EWING, NJ USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life Strategies: Doing What Works, Doing What Matters (Hardcover)

Each of us has the power to make those decisions which ultimately determine the course of our precious lives.

"Life Strategies" is one of those rare finds, a self-help book that does not wallow in big words or esoteric concepts. Mr. McGraw outlines his steps for success in life in simple, direct, yet engagingly written chapters. The organization of the book is excellent throughout and reflects an author who has had extensive experience in dealing with people from all walks of life. He deals with concepts such as self-reliance, individual responsibility and similar notions often downplayed (or ignored outright) by other authors seeking to play into the culture of victimization. You will find none of that in Mr. McGraw's book; his main theme is that we are responsible for our own lives and we do not have to allow ourselves to be knocked about like a punching bag on a windy day.

Once you pick up the book, it is difficult to put down; you will find yourself nodding your head at what you have always known in your heart, but do not always acknowledge in your daily life. This book is well worth the time.

72 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, aside from Dr. McGraw's tough style, November 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Life Strategies: Doing What Works, Doing What Matters (Hardcover)

This book is great; I recommended it to all the friends whom I thought needed it. I agree fully with all the life laws, they are the basics of human improvement. I do, however, think that Dr. McGraw's style is a little too intimidating and I did lend the book to someone who got either depressed or frightened on numerous occasions throughout the book. If you are strong and willing to change your life to a more effective, more productive one, read this book.

67 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sensible and useful informaton; more than common sense, May 9, 2000

By 

Joan Mazza "Author, speaker, poet" (Mineral, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Life Strategies: Doing What Works, Doing What Matters (Paperback)

A review from the author of DREAMING YOUR REAL SELF: A PERSONAL APPROACH TO DREAM INTERPRETATION; and DREAM BACK YOUR LIFE: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO DREAMS, DAYDREAMS, AND FANTASIES.

Phil McGraw's LIFE STRATEGIES presents a no-nonsense approach to getting your life together and feeling good about yourself. But this is no easy "feel good" book with affirmations empty of action. His 10 Laws of Life remind us that having a good life (and a happy one) means taking responsibility for every aspect of it-including our attitude about our experiences and the wrongs done to us by others. Until we take control of our lives instead of talking about "someday," we stay stuck in our problems. I did not take issue with any of Dr. McGraw's "laws," nor with any of his examples. Well done. I'd like to see this book assigned in schools to fifteen-year-olds. His chapter, "A guided tour of your life," really gets down to the specifics people can use to get their lives on track.