Your Life - You Choose by Peter de Pradines

As a Kobo fan, a trip to Amazon's Kindleland was a new and recent adventure. I met Peter de Pradines purely by chance on a G+ community and finished reading his book, Your Life You Choose - Practical Paths to Success and Happiness, a couple of days ago. Somehow Amazon was convinced that I lived in Beverly Hills, 90210 so it could be downloaded on my smartphone. Once back on my desktop, however, I was subject to Amazon's geographical whims and could not leave a review.

Thank goodness Blogger cares not for such things. When I have some more time I'll try again to fiddle with the location settings. 

Your Life - You Choose is an excellent, practical guide (just like it says on the cover). Written in a friendly, sage and often humourous tone, Peter is your personal mentor who sets about to help you change your life by "GOYA". Now, I read a lot of self help books, went on a big reading kick when I was a youth mentor a few years ago. Some titles get bogged down in too much information or long anecdotes, but Peter respects the reader's time by providing the right amount of advice in a well organized fashion, and all of it is useful. 

I found what was most remarkable about the book was the sheer breadth of topics covered, which is unusual. Whereas some books will focus on one topic, such as goal setting (which is included), Peter explores mind mapping, decision making, mentorship and SWOT analysis. Finding it hard to get something done? Peter explains how to break it down into manageable chunks. There's even extra help for procrastinators. Along the way, his natural optimism shines through as he encourages to find and maintain enthusiasm and motivation for their dreams. It's vital for people to realize that change is within their power - it truly is something than an individual can choose.

Another shining example of the book's practical nature is the way Peter describes a method for problem solving that challenges the reader to be more analytical and critical of a problem (say, a flat tire). Instead of just reacting, the reader learns to understand the cause or "why" of the problem. Eventually this "cause analysis" can be applied anywhere and to anything - a good way to avoid life's pitfalls. If you need a nudge to change, or are feeling the need for a change, Your Life - You Choose is a great place to start. Check out the GOYA website for more information and downloads mentioned in the book.