Take Time for Your Life: A Personal Coach's 7-Step Program for Creating the Life You Want [Paperback]

Cheryl Richardson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: December 28, 1999

America's #1 personal coach offers an inspiring, practical, seven-step program to help you create the life you want.

Step 1: If you think "selfish" is a dirty word, learn to practice extreme self-care--put yourself at the top of the list and everyone else will benefit!

Step 2: If your schedule doesn't reflect your priorities, stop reacting to life and take control of what gets your time and attention.

Step 3: Identify the things that drain you and eliminate them--people, places, and things--once and for all.

Step 4: If you feel trapped by money, investing in your financial health will stop making you feel like a victim.

Step 5: Kick the adrenaline habit! Identify the things that fuel you and discover healthy, new sources of energy.

Step 6: If you feel lonely or isolated, learn how to surround yourself with high-quality relationships that support, challenge, and encourage you to be your best.

Step 7: Don't let life get in the way of your spiritual well-being--connect to your inner wisdom and create a personal practice.

Packed with useful exercises, checklists, personal stories, and a wealth of resources, Cheryl Richardson's program will show you how to step back, regain control, and make conscious decisions about the future you'd like to create. Take time for your life--and begin living a life that you love.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Personal coach Cheryl Richardson helps people create the lives they want. In Take Time for Your Life, she shows you how to switch from being stressed, unfulfilled, and overworked, to "living a life you love" by using a seven-step process. First, she gives you permission to "make the quality of your life your top priority" by honoring your self-care--a difficult choice for fast-track readers, but essential. Putting yourself at the top of your "to do" list will help you connect your head with your heart and enhance your satisfaction and joy. Next, you define your priorities and revise your schedule so it reflects them. Then you figure out what actions, issues, and people are draining your energy and start to "plug those drains." The next step is getting your financial house in order. And so on, through seven progressive strategies that free you to live an authentic, high-quality life, embracing your spiritual, emotional, and financial well-being. Richardson recommends enlisting a friend to work through the book with you: a fine idea to help you benefit from all the guidance that this book offers. Resource lists at the end of each chapter let you pursue topics further. Highly recommended. --Joan Price --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Personal coaching is establishing itself in the arena of self-help. In Cracking the Love Code (LJ 11/15/97), Janet O'Neal guided readers through the world of love. Now another personal coach, a motivational speaker and the chair of Interface (a holistic education center), attempts to coach her readers through areas of their lives that trouble them. Each chapter includes a brief overview and case studies, followed by the all-important "take action!" sections where Richardson outlines exactly what actions are necessary to remedy various situations. The text is clearly written and organized. Nothing much is new in this book except the approach, which may appeal to some readers. Demand may also be generated by the author's reputation and a promotional campaign. An optional purchase for public libraries.?January Adams, Franklin Twp. P.L., Somerset, NJ
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: Broadway Books; First Edition edition (December 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767902076
• ISBN-13: 978-0767902076
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #79,599 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cheryl Richardson is the author of The New York Times bestselling books, Take Time for Your Life, Life Makeovers, Stand Up for Your Life, The Unmistakable Touch of Grace and her new book The Art of Extreme Self Care. She was the first president of the International Coach Federation and holds one of their first Master Certified Coach credentials. Cheryl is also the recipient of the 2000 Motivational Book Award for Life Makeovers from Books for a Better Life, which honors the year's most outstanding books and magazines in the self-improvement genre. Her book, The Unmistakable Touch of Grace, was chosen as a finalist in the 2005 Spiritual Inspiration category for Books for a Better Life.

As a professional speaker, Cheryl has designed and presented programs to universities, Fortune 500 companies, educational conferences, and professional associations. Her work has been covered widely in the media including The Today Show, CBS This Morning, New York Times, USA Today, Good Housekeeping, and O Magazine. Most recently, Cheryl has been a regular guest on Good Morning America. She was the team leader for the Lifestyle Makeover Series on the Oprah Winfrey Show and she accompanied Ms. Winfrey on the "Live Your Best Life" nationwide tour.

Cheryl served as the co-executive producer and host of "The Life Makeover Project with Cheryl Richardson" on the Oxygen Network and as the co-executive producer and host of two Public Television Specials - "Stand Up for Your Life" and "Create an Abundant Life."

You can check out Cheryl's radio talk show -- Coach on Call -- on the Internet at www.hayhouseradio.com. The show airs live on Mondays at 5pm ET (2pm PT) and is replayed throughout the week. You can also find her Facebook Fan Page facebook.com/cherylrichardson and follow her on Twitter http://twitter.com/coachoncall.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

186 of 190 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding your way, when you think there is no way. February 26, 2000

By A Customer

Format:Audio Cassette|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book/audio program by Cheryl Richardson is incredible. It focuses on "extreme self care" and letting go of things that you no longer need in your life. By allowing yourself to take care of yourself and by letting go of things you no longer need, you create a space for all the things you do need in your life. Cheryl teaches you how to let go and how to create the space for your dreams to happen. I am one who has had a very hard time letting go of things that are no longer nourishing my spirit. With Cheryl's help I have let go of the obvious...21 bags to the Salvation Army...and I am scouring my house for more things to pass on to others....and I am starting to let go of a relationship that hasn't worked for a very long time. So far, and this is true, my daughter has received a $3,000 scholarship for her trip to Europe for her junior year in high school .. and .. I have received a "muse" who is helping me to create and write a book. I recommend you buy these tapes and listen to them again and again...I learn something new each time. Cheryl has a beautiful audio voice and her intelligence and insightfulness shine brightly through. Buy these tapes and figure out what it is that is keeping you from doing and being everything that you want to be and do. And then get started on the life you are meant to have. Cheryl, if you happen to read this, I send you my love. My spirit, my heart and my soul will always be greateful to you for helping me begin my journey to becoming everything that I am supposed to be.

224 of 231 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is it -- a plan for living a life you love! December 10, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Take Time for Your Life arrived as I was heading to the airport. I tucked it in my bag and read almost all of it on the plane, arriving with a calm, positive outlook that lasted all weekend! What's incredible about Cheryl Richardson's book is that it presents a simple, do-able plan to simplify and enrich your life, with specific "take action" steps. Somehow she makes you feel as if this is the book you'll really incorporate into your life, and the vision of what your life will become is compelling. Checking items in "What's draining you?" and making a "Top Ten Procrastination List" will instantly change your perspective on your everyday life and give you the nudge to rearrange your priorities. Using this book, you will give yourself permission to put "extreme self care" at the top of the list (in a positive kind of selfishness), and free up your energy for dealing with everyone and everything around you. Making an "Absolute Yes List" will help you to say no without feeling negative. Each chapter lists great resources. This is a well-balanced, comprehensive plan for changing your life, presented in a "Swiss cheese" way so that you can immediately start applying parts of it and realize the benefits from the beginning. A must for anyone from a stressed-out professional to a frazzled mom!

152 of 156 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An action-oriented book for those who have "no time." July 26, 2000

By drdebs

Format:Paperback

Are you tired, stressed out, eating lots of junk food, overdrawn in your checking account, procrastinating, watching lots of tv, turning into a slug, and generally feeling FRAZZLED? If so, you should buy this book and take Cheryl Richardson's advice. If you do, I guarantee that in six weeks your life may not be perfect, but it will be much, much better.

I've tried lots of organization books, time management courses, and self-help books that just haven't worked, but Cheryl Richardson's book is different (much like Julie Morgenstern's Organizing from the Inside Out is different and works!) But where Morgenstern focuses on cleaning up the clutter and creating SPACE for a new life, Richardson tells you, in step-by-step fashion how to actually create "the life you want."

Richardson recommends reviewing the whole book before you start taking action, and I found it easy to do this in two evenings. Then, at a MUCH slower pace she tackles one area of your life at a time, giving you practical and thoughtful guidance on how to make changes that really matter. My favorite chapters were "Put yourself at the Top of the List," which advocates adopting an "extreme self care" approach by starting a journal, designating a few hours a week for a date with yourself, and making sure that you're taking time for your physical and emotional health. For those of you who feel overwhelmed with that list, Richardson advises taking on no more than one of these tasks a day (and even less than that if you need to). "What's draining you" helps you to figure out the 1001 niggling details of the day that suck the energy from you--even if you're not doing them! Her mantra of "do it, hire it, chuck it" is finally getting me through the 247 unopened email messages sitting in my inbox! I'm still working through the financial chapter (my biggest nightmare), but progress is being made.

Sure, we all know that we should exercise, get enough rest, and balance our checkbooks--but how many of us actually do? Richardson's book is the anecdote for the hysterical pace of life in 2000. If you imagine your life differently, I'd try this book out and see if you can't turn that dream into a reality.