It is a new year and time once again for a little self-help. Whether your goal is to improve your eating habits, your mind, your career, your credit or your plan for growing old, there is a book out there that can help. Here are some options to give you a jump start on achieving your goals.
Health/ Fitness
"The Women's Health Big Book of 15-Minute Workouts" by Selene Yeager and the editors of Women's Health (Rodale, $27). This book (along with a separate version for men) is for anyone who says they don't have time to workout, which, according to innumerable surveys, is the No. 1 reason we aren't exercising. The workouts range from total body workouts to those that target trouble spots such as back fat and belly pooch. There are even workouts designed for special occasions such as high school reunions. Some equipment is required, including free weights, an exercise ball and other items that may not be practical for home users (a weight bench? really?) Here's how it works: choose any of the workouts to do three times a week, select two specialty workouts and one high intensity interval training workout. The seventh day you take a break. The book says you should see results in two to four weeks.
"The Cheater's Diet: The Sneaky Secrets to Losing Up to 20 Pounds in 8 Weeks Eating (and Drinking) Everything You Love" by Marissa Lippert (Plume, $16). As the subtitle says, Lippert offers a weekly guide to weight loss. Chapter One begins with the basics like eating two fruits and two vegetables per day, upping your exercise and keeping a food journal. Each chapter comes with a shopping list, recipes and sample eating plans to show how it should be done. But beware, in this book "cheating" means learning to see healthy food in a new light. That is probably a good thing but somewhat deceptive since you can't really eat everything you love, if what you love is an endless bag of Cheetos and a 20- ounce bottle of soda.
Career/ Wealth
"The Intelligent Entrepreneur: How Three Harvard Business School Graduates Learned the 10 Rules of Successful Entrepreneurship" by Bill Murphy Jr. (St. Martin's Press, $16). Those HBS grads are at it again. This time three from the class of 1998 share everything they learned about starting a business, which each of them did within 10 years of graduating. These are not people you've heard of and that is the point, since most of the case studies out there are from major corporations not the little people with nothing but a college degree and an idea. One featured entrepreneur founded a retail company, another launched two Internet businesses, the third took five years to decide what kind of business to start then spent seven years making it successful. The 10 rules of success include managing risk, learning to lead and most important -- realizing that entrepreneurship can be learned.
"Organize Now! Your Money, Business & Career" by Jennifer Ford Berry (Better Way Home, $17). Organizing expert Berry takes her skills into a new arena (she wrote a bestseller on organizing your space and your life), but how can you organize a career? You start by organizing your time, which includes your five-year plan, your work day and long-term projects. You also need to organize your career goals and maybe an extended leave from work. Your networking systems, such as blog, mobile devices and networking list also need to be in shape as does your work space. In the financial realm, Berry gives tips on organizing your budget, coupons, insurance papers and more, all of which will help you become more efficient while identifying and living your dreams.
"The Complete Credit Repair Kit: A Plain English Guide to Improving Your Credit Score and Fixing Your Credit" by Brette McWhorter Sember, (Sphinx Publishing, $20). This self-help law book is designed to help college graduates with debt, as well as the millions suffering from effects of the recession. The third edition has been updated to include current concerns and new laws, including the Credit CARD Act, which gives consumers more rights with credit cards, and the Home Affordable Modification Program, which gives options to eligible homeowners facing foreclosure or having trouble paying their mortgages. Even if you are not in financial trouble, the sections on assessing your assets, budgeting and increasing your cash flow offer valuable information.
Personal habits
"Patience : The Art of Peaceful Living" by Allan Lokos (Tarcher/Penguin, $15). Seriously, who couldn't use a little more patience these days? As Lokos says, life is a roller coaster and the only way to ride (and enjoy it) is to practice patience. Lokos suggests we learn to be patient with ourselves so that we can extend it to others. He examines how a lack of patience creates unhappiness in our lives, while providing profiles of real people who have succeeded in becoming more patient despite life challenges. Each chapter ends with a summary of the teachings and an exercise to help you incorporate the lessons into daily life.
Other books in brief
Sophie Keller shows 50 ways to get make your home, health, love life or marriage happy in the "How Happy Is..." series (Harlequin). Detox with Adina Niemerow in "Super Cleanse Revised Edition" (William Morrow). Follow Joe Beam's four steps to "The Art of Falling in Love" (Howard Books, Feb. 7). Gina Amaro Rudan sheds light on "Practical Genius" (Touchstone). Growing old gains grace in "The Art of Growing Old" by Marie de Hennezel (Viking, April 16). Wealth gets smart in "Affluence Intelligence" (Da Capo Life Long) by Stephen Goldbart and Joan Indursky Difuria. Jennifer Pate and Barbara Machen help you reclaim yourself in "The Mothers of Reinvention" (Vanguard Press). Neal D. Barnard goes vegan in the "21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart" (Grand Central Life & Style). Robert Ferguson promises we can be "Diet-Free for Life" (Perigee).
