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

~ (Author) "On a cold winter morning in December 1984 I was given a gift that would change my life forever..." (more)
Key Phrases: fuel your spirit, adrenaline habit, procrastination list, Wise Self, New York, Broadway Books (more...)

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.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (December 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767902076
• ISBN-13: 978-0767902076
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (79 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #91,763 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

182 of 186 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

This review is from: Take Time for Your Life: A Complete Program for Getting Your Life into Balance and Honoring Your True Priorities (Audio Cassette)

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.

222 of 229 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

This review is from: Take Time for Your Life (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!

146 of 150 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 (CA United States) - See all my reviews

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.