Customer Reviews

Shortcuts to Bliss: The 50 Best Ways to Improve Relationships, Connect with Spirit & Make Your Dreams Come True

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you're tired of having to wade through pages of blah, blah, blah to find real nuggets of wisdom and useful tools for self empowerment, then this book is for you. Jonathan has done a wonderful job of distilling the wisdom from many self empowerment gurus and practices, and his own personal and professional experiences, to present outstandingly easy to use and powerful tools for success and happiness. All this in a book that's short, sweet, and enjoyable to read. Its my choice as the best self-help book to give friends and family as we enter the new millenium.

Since reading this helpful book last year, I've gone back to it from time to time, whenever I felt I was starting to lose focus of what I wanted to accomplish creatively. Although some of the author's tactics are too touchy-feely for me (e.g., massages at the office? I don't think so!), I did find several helpful tips on time management, organization, and motivation. Ever felt like all you're doing is working and doing chores and wonder how you're going to ever be able to get around to the creative stuff you really want to accomplish? Well, the author has useful advice on this and getting motivated in the first place. I've been using his ideas for "adult rewards" and daily prioritizing and they've really helped me. I just bought a copy of the book for a friend who also found it very helpful. I highly recommend the book!

I first saw Oprah talking about this book a couple of weeks ago, and what she said made me want to buy the book. Shortcuts to Bliss is very reader friendly. It has a lot of methods for improving various aspects of life. I found the book to be both practical and fun to read. For example, the method to never have another argument again has really worked for me, as has the method to find inner peace in under three minutes. What the author has done is take the best ideas and most effective methods from hundreds of self improvement books and put them all in one book! This book has saved me a lot of time, and everyone I know who I have given it to has said they loved it.

"As hard as it is to believe, money can't buy happiness. Here's a way to take money out the picture altogether and focus on what might really make you happy. It's a technique from this book. Write down what you would do if you had a billion dollars. Now, imagine that you still have the billion dollars but that you were required by law to work forty hours a week. What would you do? 'In other words, what is work that you find so rewarding that you would do it for free?' Your answer is an important clue as to what would make you happiest."
(review by M.J. Ryan, author of The Happiness Makeover, from one of her daily Happiness Boosters emails)

The first thing I noticed when I opened the book was the glossy pages. This is a technique used by publishing companies to persuade someone to buy a book. It gives the impression that this book is filled with magical answers. The second thing I noticed was that it had many words in bold print to grab your attention. It was a shameful dispaly of commercialism. Also, the best way to improve your life is to marry the right person. That is the book in a nutshell; or at least that is what it should be. Don't worry. That is not a crucial plot element as mentioned in the review guidelines. There are certain things mentioned to improve one's life that have absolutely no bearing to one's happiness. An example refers to a certain Occupation that I do not think is very spiritually productive at all. This book is a waste of money and I do not think amazon is wise to put it on its publishing list. The two stars I gave were for the art work on the cover.

Shortcuts To Bliss is a functional book. I enjoyed a few (but not many) parts in the book that were practical and told me EXACTLY what I needed to do to make positive changes in my life. Those were the simple step-by-step parts. Unfortunately some parts of the book were too practical for any variations to be made. For example on section discussed cuddling with your partner to avoid arguments. I'm sure this is a great thing for couples to do, but how are you going to avoid arguments with your best friend? Cuddling? I don't think so!

This book generally failed to deliver. If you don't like some of the methods presented in the book, there is nothing you can do. You are better off reading a more "serious" book where you can implement your own judgment when it comes to trying various methods and finding one that works for you. I recommend `Life Strategies' by Dr. Phil McGraw (from Oprah). This book requires more time and dedication, but the rewards are immeasurable. After all, nothing in life is instant or easy. Anything worthwhile needs to be worked for.