Review by golfsurfin -- If Life Stinks, Get Your Head Ou...

[golfsurfin]

[Following is a volunteer review of "If Life Stinks, Get Your Head Outta Your But's" by Mark L. Wdowiak.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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If Life Stinks, Get Your Head Outta Your Buts: A No-Nonsense Guide to Happiness and Success by Mark L. Wdowiak is a self-help guide focused on how to reach your personal, emotional, financial, and spiritual goals.

One way to remove your head from “your butt” is by accepting personal responsibility for where you are in life right now. Mark believes everyone is accountable for their own happiness. If not, other people and outside circumstances will gladly take ownership for you. In fact, I had a revelation (a quarter of the way in) that I actually condoned all of my negative relationships. It’s not an easy truth to acknowledge, yet accepting my part in a bad relationship, ix necessary to prevent it from repeating again. Without giving too much away, the writer believes one of the first steps to happiness and success is honesty.

Mark gives a unique and refreshing take on concepts such as selfishness, “sweating the small stuff”, commitment, and obligation. His theory to achieve success, in a nutshell, is a step by step process starting with accepting responsibility, changing how you think, and altering the way you act. Sounds simple right? It’s not. Mark’s theory takes time and practice, same as perfecting any skill or expertise. He assures immediate change if this process is done correctly and consistently,

The book uses unique terms like “Life Landmines” (defined as negative thoughts and patterns that keep us in a rut and prevent us from making positive life changes) and “Interesting Facts” (pointers on how to think and act positively). It’s peppered with a mix of motivational quotes by literary and world heroes including Winston Churchill, George Bernard Shaw and the most relatable to me, Mark’s dad. At the end of each chapter (32 in total), he wants you to sign your initials and hold yourself accountable for understanding the material. This did not make a whole lot of sense for readers using an e-book, but I understand the concept. Signing your initials is just another way to get you committed to his process.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The opening paragraph is catchy, making the point that if you’re a “worry wart” who ruminates over the same problems, move on to another theory. Mark doesn’t coddle. He is direct and holds you accountable for your actions. I prefer this writing style when it comes to self-help books. I find such books much more relatable and interesting when the writer uses real-life examples when making a point (which Mark does often and quite well).

I was bothered by the repetition of the same points throughout multiple chapters and the fact that towards the end of the book Mark claims I’m now a changed person armed with this new knowledge. Expecting change so quickly is simply unrealistic. Readers will need to go back and review his advice, at least at first, when personal challenges actually occur. In order to grasp each step and apply them to real-life problems, one read is not enough for me and probably many others. Lastly, there were a number of grammatical errors throughout the book.

Overall my rating is a 3 out of 4 stars. I liked Mark’s writing style and the hands-on approach. It’s an easy and interesting book to follow. I would recommend this book to anyone who’s not afraid of honesty and new ways of thinking and acting in life. This book is not for you if you’re looking for an easy way to find happiness and success, minus the hard work and effort required to make real changes.

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If Life Stinks, Get Your Head Outta Your But's
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