Self-Help Stuff That Works: How to Become More Effective with Your Actions and Feel Good More Often [Hardcover]

Adam Khan (Author), Klassy Evans (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1999

This is a no-nonsense, practical self-help handbook written in a friendly, entertaining, and concise style. The chapters are short and devoid of bull, frills, and hype. All you'll find are ideas that work written in such a way that it is enjoyable and interesting to read and leaves you with solid tools you can use to better your life. You will learn how to become more effective with your actions and feel good more often.

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

I have made the best book I could. It is a hardbound litho-label, which means it has no dust cover. The cover design is laminated right onto the cover. And it is a sewn binding, which is kind of rare these days, even for a hard-bound book. Sewn bindings lay open easier and don't crack or fall apart, even after years of hard use.

And this book is designed to be USED. It is made to be referred to when you need some counsel. The chapters are short and always end with a simply-stated principle you can apply.

Since the things we learn are not etched in stone but stored in a gooey organ, it's important to not only learn good ideas, but to be reminded of them when we need them. Probably the best way to use Self-Help Stuff That Works is to browse the book when you're feeling a negative emotion like stress or frustration or annoyance. Leaf through the book looking for a chapter that answers your situation. Most of the chapters are short enough to read in five minutes or less. You'll come away from it with a tool you can use to improve either your situation or your attitude toward it.

From the Back Cover

Here are over a hundred ways you can:

Improve your attitude
Become more effective at work
Enjoy better relationships

Self-Help Stuff That Works is based on a collection of columns originally written by Adam for Rodale Press's newsletter, At Your Best, where his column was voted the readers' favorite.

"I've been a fan of Adam Khan's columns for over seven years. Adam is one of those rare writers who takes a simple, profound idea and makes it LIVE for you...and entertains you in the process." - Chris Hill, Editorial Director, Rodale Health Promotions

"Easy reads but deeply meaningful." - Val Goulds, Support Engineer

"Thought-provoking and memorable." - Virginia J. Evans

"It really does work. It's clean and concise, genuinely usable information, without any of the psycho-babble." - Dan Murphy, Afternoon Host, KIXI-AM Radio

"His 'stuff' makes improving myself a fun adventure." - Bob Alford, Manager of Technical Services

"Adam Khan is one of the good guys who genuinely likes people and wants to help them. He was voted the readers' favorite, not only because he's fun to read, but because he has a talent for absorbing large quantities of information, figuring out what's really useful, and relaying those insights in a way that leaves you with tools for building a better life. And that's why this book is a treasure." - J. Klassy Evans

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: YouMe Works; 3rd edition (January 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0962465674
• ISBN-13: 978-0962465673
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #489,641 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am the creator of the web site, youmeworks.com, the blogs moodraiser.com and crushpessimism.com, and the author of the books, Self-Help Stuff That Works and Principles for Personal Growth.

I've been published in Prevention Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Reader's Digest, Your Personal Best Newsletter, Think and Grow Rich Newsletter, and I was a regular columnist for At Your Best (a Rodale Press publication) for seven years where my monthly column was voted the readers' favorite.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Attitude, Work and People relationships in harmoneuos flow., January 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Self-Help Stuff That Works: How to Become More Effective with Your Actions and Feel Good More Often (Hardcover)

I had recently moved to the State of Washington in January of 1998. I joined a local fitness club in Bellevue Washington, where I met Adam Khan. I told him I recently suffered a devastating divorce and loss of career in a single blow. My personal life outlook seemed bleak. Adam told me he had just published SELF-HELP STUFF THAT WORKS and suggested I read it. While I read its contents, I discovered my attitude began to change as I applied his concepts. Each chapter captured my attention and allowed me to see the world, however changing, from a different perspective. Adam conveys simple steps the reader can digest easily and use at ones own pace. Adam even suggests, the reader only apply two concepts at a time so personal growth can develop and mature slowly. While I read the chapters involving work relationships, my co-workers respond differently to me as I changed my attitude toward work and my supervisor. The time spent at work is more positive and up lifting. People have told me they like it when I smile more and I now do it without thinking about it. The research involved in writing this book had to be extensive but easy for any reader to enjoy. The cost of the book doesnt compare to the priceless information on it pages. Adam Khan has helped me be the happy person I was once before, infact Adam Khan has allowed me to be a new person all over.

I suggest SELF-HELP STUFF THAT WORKS not for bed stand reading but for your own personal life application!

141 of 153 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Self-Help Books Simply Do Not Work!, December 20, 1999

By 

Bill Butler "Bill Butler" (Tarzana, Ca. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Self-Help Stuff That Works: How to Become More Effective with Your Actions and Feel Good More Often (Hardcover)

But wisdom does. Anybody can write a self-help book if they have a double-digit I.Q. and periodic hallucinations. Oh! And a degree from a good dog trainer with a fancy name. And manic- depression also helps. This guy has none of this. And I do believe he is wearing a crew cut? He's marvelous! Simply marvelous! The cover of the book looks like an Army manual. On the cover, it states "No Bull", "No Frills", "No Hype". And Khan even reduces Time Management to 1 or 2 pages. I thought that this book was just another come-on. But why not give it a try. Right? I was boiling with anger. I tried one of his "instant remedies". And my anger was completely gone in less than 90 seconds! Autosuggestion? No. I understood. To understand what I mean, buy this book. Khan has gotten rid of all the "peacock garbage". I don't think he has really contributed one original idea to the book. But what he has done, and so brillantly, is distilled all the ancient self-help books (99% garbage), extracted the 1% that works, and put it together for you to work with and study with. Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography was one of the first truly helpful self-help books (books that can help people). Either Steve Jobs or Picasso said that "true artists don't copy art, they steal it"). Khan has done so in such a brillant fashion. 117 techniques for the new millinium. All condensed into "pill form". Now I can get rid of all my other self-help books with their "neat" diagrams and convulescent but impressive theories. Maybe a "psychobabble yardsale". This is nothing more than less than a Boy Scout Manual for Sanity. Buy it and put it under your pillow!

57 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 100% concentrated, fast acting, practical advice, October 6, 2000

By 

andrew brown (Hamburg, Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Self-Help Stuff That Works: How to Become More Effective with Your Actions and Feel Good More Often (Hardcover)

There are so many 'self help' books available today, all of them offering you the answers to life's challenges, that you almost need a self help guide just to choose which one is the right one for you!. You could be forgiven for regarding 'Self Help Stuff that Works' by Adam Khan as just another book to be added to the list. But wait a second!! This book is different, very different. Adam Khan has successfully made a distillation of all of the best self help theories, wisdom and ideas, and the final concentrate is a book that has the most practical, funny, easy and enjoyable to read advice that you will find today! The author has a natural gift for writing in a style that is very much as if he is talking directly to you. That, coupled with his ability to take ideas, extract the good bits and make sound practical advice out of it that is easier to apply, make it 'pound for pound' the best book on the shelf! The book is written in the form of concise chapters. Each cover an idea often in the form of a short story that contains wisdom and practical advice on how to approach problems, handle situations, strengthen relationships, choose your direction in life, develop inner strength - the list is endless. The chapters are divided into 3 sections entitled attitude, work, people and the whole concept of producing a book in this format makes so much sense and allows you to use it as a constant source of reference. No longer do you have to spend time sifting through a book to find that 'pearl of wisdom' that really struck a chord when you read it last time. With this book you can quickly refer back to ideas and advice. This also helps you to concentrate on absorbing one or two key ideas over a period of time so that you can really integrate them into your life before moving on to the next idea. As Adam says, 'too often we try to change too many things at one time'. I can tell you from my own personal experience that there are ideas and suggestions contained in this book that you can apply instantly, without any difficulties that have the power to make considerable and lasting changes in your life. I did it myself by taking one particular idea from this book. After applying it, I have changed not only myself but affected to way people behave towards me in a very positive and empowering way. That is what's so great and so different about it. The ideas are so practical and easy to apply but yet give real tangible results immediately as soon as you start using them! I cannot rate it highly enough and I would just say, go and buy this book if you want to make positive, practical changes in your life!!