How to Simplify Your Life: Seven Practical Steps to Letting Go of Your Burdens and Living a Happier Life [Paperback]

People turn to books for advice on many issues, but the most successful books that fall into the self-help category deal more often with weight loss than self-actualization. That makes it all the more surprising that "How to Simplify Your Life," now in its 13th printing in Germany, has achieved a feat most German books, let alone those focused on self-help, so rarely accomplish: It has been published in English.

The German author duo comprised of Werner Tiki Kustenmacher and Lothar J. Seiwert is a formidable team of self help gurus, the former a trained Lutheran minister and free-lance cartoonist, the latter Germany's most sought-after professional coach. Since their book was first published, the "Simplify Your Life" brand has developed into a complex brand of lifestyle books and products - and a perennial bestseller at home and abroad.

Kustenmacher and Seiwert outline their vision for a simpler life in a seven-step life pyramid that starts with the charge to purge oneself of unnecessary objects and ends with the lofty goal of embracing one's life dream. The steps in between - and there are hundreds of them - stem from both men's private practices and from the over 600 American and German self-help books the authors analyzed while creating their own book.

Money isn't the object in their pursuit of happiness, but neither is an austere lifestyle. Readers are encouraged to weed out the clutter at office and home, which, the experts say, mentally blocks your personal development. If that doesn't scare the packrats to action, they offer ample evidence that having too much stuff in your life can actually make you obese.

Finance and time management form two further tiers of the pyramid, and here as well, the authors' advice is sound. Going far beyond their initial sections on how to unblock the flow of money and reduce debt, Kustenmacher and Seiwert have a collection of valuable tools for preventing interruptions at the office and at home, unlocking more free time. For the technically savvy but punctually bereft, they offer quite a few helpful hints for managing that ever-growing email deluge.

Its section on untangling family ties and building a good life partnership could be a book in itself. Here, the authors' advice ranges from using networking to end isolation and how to be a good guest and hostess to dealing with envy and learning to accept your partner's differentness.

The "Last Steps" section is perhaps the most nebulous section of the book - and also the most uninspired. Few will be reassured by short paragraphs on how to develop one's life dream, and the fill-in-the blank greatest strengths test only detracts from the other practical information in the book.

As for the success of its translation, "How to Simplify Your Life" is laced with fun facts about modern German life, but seems an appropriate tool for Americans as well. It has earned its place alongside that other great self-help book for our times, "Who Moved My Cheese?"

Do you ever wish that you were born with an owner's manual? Well, Tiki Kustenmacher, simplicity expert, and Dr. Lothar J. Seiwert, professional coach, offer a digestible life guide that reads like an operating primer for the human spirit. Livened up with Kustenmacher's cute illustrations, each chapter tackles a different facet of life, such as managing clutter, taming finances and establishing goals. The practical tips from these bite-size chapters are easy to digest and implement. Their recipe for a simplified life includes valuable suggestions for handling difficult emotions (jealousy) and life events (marriage, death). Although the text is fun to read, the authors skip around and circle back to different subjects in each chapter. Tighter organization would have made the book's counsel easier to track. And, each chapter begins with an unnecessary, somewhat annoying "dream of simplicity" visualization. Just skip those little appetizers and dive right into the main course. Also check out the excellent reading list at the back of the book. We recommend this manual to pack rats, workaholics and all those who would welcome simplicity as a relief from life's chaos.

Modern life is stressful and complicated, we are torn between working life and private life, we are pressed for time constantly, we are swamped with outstanding tasks - sometimes our everyday life is nothing but chaos. Fortunately, a friend of mine gave me this brilliant book. It shows, how to clean up your life and throw off unnecessary ballast. The practical advices are very easy to implement: after reading the book, I started immediately to clear up my room, and, believe it or not, it was fun and gave me a feeling of rearranging and organizing my life. Of course the book deals not just with tidy rooms. You'll find out what really matters, in your job, your relationship, in your life. Recommended! It works!

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