Now What?: 90 Days to a New Life Direction (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "What do you hate?..." (more)
Key Phrases: driving motivator, criteria for happiness, fictitious scenarios, Life Blueprint

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Based on the assumption that many people are utterly dissatisfied in their lives, this straightforward volume attempts to help readers find what it is that they truly want and make a plan for getting it. Fortgang (Living Your Best Life) has designed a 90-day plan—with seven weeks (or 49 days) dedicated to discovering what it is they want, while the rest of the days are devoted to making it happen. She opens with a few anecdotes of clients for whom her strategy has worked; then she presents a sequence of chapters outlining week-by-week goals. In week one, for example, the focus is determining what the reader hates about her current situation, because "what you hate gives a name to what you want." In week eight, Fortgang addresses the idea that "fear, doubts, and lack of training are molehills compared to the stopping power of the mountain we call money"; she then offers viable solutions for removing lack of funds as an obstacle, and in week 12, there’s a guide to continuing where the book leaves off. Each chapter contains more anecdotes and specific exercises, which help make the goals practical and tangible and the idea of change seem possible.
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Product Description

Now What? takes over where Po Bronson's What Should I Do with My Life? leaves off to provide a clear and infinitely practical ninety-day program for discovering a new direction for your life.

In Now What?, pioneering life coach Laura Berman Fortgang shares the process that she has used so successfully with hundreds of clients to help them make major changes in their lives. Whether it's moving on from a dead-end job, discovering an entirely new creative outlet, or answering the age-old question: "What am I meant to do with my life?"-this book shows how to identify what's missing in life, and how to set a clear course for realizing new dreams. Readers will learn from the success stories of Berman Fortgang's clients, including:

* a woman who left her unfulfilling job to discover the rewards of doing motivational work with professional athletes;
* a high-fashion shoe executive who found a more gratifying position helping adoption agencies around the world place children in need of homes; and
* a highly paid corporate consultant who became a minister.

For anyone who feels drawn toward a life-changing move but is not sure what exactly they want to do or how to move forward, this book provides a concrete, practical, and time-bound process for finding and pursuing a new path for your life. Full of inspiring and empowering exercises and tools, Now What? guides readers-day by day and step by step-through a ninety-day process that will lead to true life satisfaction and fulfillment.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (April 22, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585423211
• ISBN-13: 978-1585423217
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #557,610 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Creative Tips to Revise Your Compass, May 25, 2004

By	Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Fortgang begins with a straightforward premise. In ninety days, you can set goals and begin to move in a new direction. Unlike many books of this genre, Now What does not overpromise. Ninety days won't find you in a new job or a new life -- but you'll have a better sense of where to go and how to get there.

I gave Now What five stars for easy reading and originality. I must admit I expected to find tired advice and exercises, but Fortgang offers mostly fresh ideas. And I agree with much of what she says.

For example, "Your purpose in life is right under your nose." So true! I've seen versions of these life purpose exercises before but she presents them well.

Overall, true to her coaching background, some of the best exercises relate to identifying what you really want to do. "I want to be someone who..."

I applaud Fortgang's definitions of needs and values. Needs are not optional and non-negotiable, e.g., the need for honesty. Values are "the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow." Needs bring out the worst in us when they're not met; values bring out the best.

But Fortgang goes beyond self-awareness, encouraging readers to check reality. She offers good advice for investigating various career fields: Talk to 3 people in 3 fields. And she's not afraid to ask clients, "What would you have to give up..."

Perhaps the very best exercises involve scenario-writing. Describe how your life will be in a year, then six months from now, then three months from now. These steps clarify the need for actions along the way.

Anyone contemplating a life change can have fun with these exercises. They'll help you change your thinking and uncover ideas. My major reservation comes from a warning in Herminia Ibarra's book, Working Identity. Often self-discovery tends to be easier than implementing change. If you're in a comfort zone, you'll need another book -- or a coach -- to get moving, even if you know where you want to be.

And there's a downside of a book that appeals to many people for many kinds of change. You have to take practical, specific tips with a grain of salt. For instance, Fortgang alludes to moving to a place with a lower cost of living -- but this type of move often contains hidden pitfalls. A lower cost of living means fewer options to earn money and less access to resources.

50 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars What about the average Joe/Jane?, November 23, 2005

By	New Yorker living in TX (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

Many of the examples the author used were of people who already had more than most people do (money, education, connections, high paying salaries that they are just tired of).

Check out Claire on page 11. She lives in London, wants a second home, is planning a weekend trip to the South of France, has a great job and benefits. Has a nice husband and home. What is her problem? Maybe she needs a shrink to figure out what her unhappiness really stems from but that's another book.

The author should have used cases concerning more ordinary folk. She seemed to be appealing to upper class, globe trotting, burnt out executives who are whining because they feel they are missing out on something. Maybe that cute little pony they didn't get as a child.

Claire...try yoga, buy a pony....get a grip.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finding a New Life Direction Is Possible, June 18, 2004

By	Bernadette M. Racicot (Plymouth Meeting, PA United States) - See all my reviews

Laura has written a great book. It is extremely well-written and interesting. The exercises are great tools for finding "IT," and they are also fun!

One of the most provocative exercises involves exploring the differences between needs and values. The point of the exercise is that when we can find a way to have our needs met while at the same time honoring our values, we will feel more fulfilled and enriched. This exercise really helps you to identify a greater purpose in every area of life.

In addition to helping you identify your "IT" and purpose, Laura also helps you to deal with practical issues in making life changes. The chapter on financing your dreams (Chapter 8: The Bottom Line is the Bottom Line) was very useful. It provided some very simple, straightforward tips and helps you to see that money doesn't need to be an obstacle for change.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to make positive, healthy changes in their life.