Review: Happiness is in Your Hands
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 09 27, 2013
I doubt that there's a normal, rational person who doesn't want to be happy. There is certainly no shortage of books by self-styled gurus telling us how to be happy, successful, rich, you name it. The problem with most of these books is, THEY DON'T REALLY WORK.If you think I'm skeptical about books that offer the secret to (fill in the blanks), you'd be right on the money. It was, therefore, with just that skeptical, `I'm from Missouri, so show me' mindset that I began reading Bryan Hutchinson's Happy Every Day: Simple, Effective Ways to Better Days, a book that I received a free copy of for review. From page one I challenged Hutchinson to `show me.'Well, guess what folks, he did. This is not one of those, `here's the great secret to happiness, and if you'll only follow these 5 simple steps, you'll never be unhappy again' books. This is a practical, no-nonsense book that dissects happiness and, using the author's own experience, shows that true happiness is within the reach of each of us, but that it is up to us to chart the path to achieve it.Hutchinson makes no grandiose claims. He just outlines in simple language how an individual can have a life that is, on balance, more happy than unhappy - and moreover, more fulfilling. There are no real surprises here - just plain old common sense. But, it's pulled together in an easy-to-read, easy-to-comprehend format, complete with end of chapter exercises to help chart your path to happiness.I'm still not a fan of most how-to books, but Hutchinson has me hooked on his brand of `you can.' Maybe he's started a new category here, and we just have find a name for it.Four and a half stars. I took a half star off for a few grammatical missteps. Can't have him thinking he's one of the best motivational authors around, now can we?