75 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Seize the day!, February 7, 2008
This review is from: One Month to Live: Thirty Days to a No-Regrets Life (Hardcover)
I was inspired by this book immediately, right from its introduction titled "Living the dash." The authors use that phrase to refer to the dash between the birth and death dates on headstones. The dash represents a lifetime. What a person does during that dash, the authors point out, is completely in his or her hands.
The authors challenge you -- literally -- to make the most of it, to open your eyes and live each day with enthusiasm and meaning. The first page has a contract to sign called "The One-Month-To-Live Challenge" which states "I commit with God's strength to live the next thirty days as if they are my last so I can experience life to the full!" There is a spot for your signature and a spot for a friend to sign as a witness.
The rest of the book serves as a day-by-day manual for your monthlong conversion. There's a chapter for each day. Each one opens with two inspiring quotes (from people as varied as Helen Keller, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Maya Angelou) and includes questions to help you examine your life from a particular perspective. At the end of each chapter are three ways to act on the topic, for example making a list of five things you'd change about your life if you only had a month to live, or going outside and looking at the stars.
Though "One Month to Live" is filled with Biblical verses and stories, its message, and approach, can easily work for those of any faith. Living life to the fullest: What a terrific goal! As George Eliot wrote, in a quote from chapter 8: "It is never too late to be what you might have been."
Here is the book's table of contents:
Day 1: Introduction -- Living the dash
Principle 1: Live Passionately
Day 2: Roller Coaster -- Riding the Big Dipper
Day 3: Time Squared -- Spending your most valuable resource
Day 4: Power Surge -- Connecting with the ultimate source
Day 5: Oxygen Mask -- Breathing first
Day 6: Monkey Bars -- Risking greatness
Day 7: Dreamsicle -- Thawing out your frozen dreams
Day 8: Kick Start -- Living life full throttle
Principle 2: Love Completely
Day 9: Heart of the Matter -- Relating and not waiting
Day 10: Ocean -- Exploring the depths of forgiveness
Day 11: Everest -- Scaling the obstacles to unity
Day 12: Boxing Ring -- Resolving conflicts by fighting fair
Day 13: Sandpaper -- Smoothing the edges
Day 14: The Gift -- Thanking those around you
Day 15: Last Call -- Revealing your heart
Principle 3: Learn Humbly
Day 16: Star Power -- Discovering who you were meant to be
Day 17: GPS -- Finding your direction
Day 18: Hurricane -- Withstanding the winds of change
Day 19: Metamorphosis -- Changing from the inside out
Day 20: Earthquake -- Building a foundation that lasts
Day 21: Mulligan -- Playing with integrity
Day 22: Road Signs -- Experiencing a personal miracle
Principle 4: Leave Boldly
Day 23: Sandcastles -- Creating a lasting legacy
Day 24: Seeds -- Planting for the future
Day 25: Sticks and Stones -- Using eternal building materials
Day 26: Collisions -- Staying the course when your life crashes
Day 27: Starfish -- Making a world of difference
Day 28: Footprint -- Leaving a lasting impression
Day 29: Game Over -- Dying to live
Day 30: Game On -- Living it up
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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Power of a No Regrets Life, February 9, 2008
This review is from: One Month to Live: Thirty Days to a No-Regrets Life (Hardcover)
Like many people, I've spent many years plodding along in a dutiful way--working hard, taking care of my family responsibilities, and thinking wistfully about the dreams I had when I was young about what I'd do with my life. With each year, those dreams get more and more distant, until they disappear on the horizon.
Reading One Month to Live has inspired me to rekindle those lost dreams. Sure, it's important to work hard and take care of our families, but it's also important to live the life we were made to live. Through the four principles discussed in the book: Live Passionately, Love Completely, Learn Humbly and Leave Boldly, I can now see new ways to bring my faded dreams back to life.
The book provides tools for starting to do little things that make a big difference. It's not about having to reinvent yourself or do a major overhaul of your life, it's about loving the people around you more pro-actively, doing things that you are passionate and excited about and serving others in the way that creates a lasting legacy.
I've read a lot of self-help and feel-better books. This is the first book that shows me how to move from where I am today toward a better, more fulfilling place. It is full of great examples that encourage me to create examples in my own life.
We all want to live life without regrets. At last we have the encouragement to start doing that today.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You Won't Regret Reading This, February 17, 2008
This review is from: One Month to Live: Thirty Days to a No-Regrets Life (Hardcover)
This is an exceptional volume about living life to its fullest. This book grabbed my attention with the introduction and kept me intrigued until the very end. Even though it is written to be read daily for 30 days, I could hardly put it down.
Reading this encouraged me to examine how I'm living my life. When I asked myself how I would change my life if I knew that I only had one month to live, I had to take an honest look at how I'm spending my time.
The authors not only offer sage advice, but make good use of quotes and meaningful illustrations. This is one purchase you won't regret. Get a copy today. It's destined to be a classic!!
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