Goal-Free Living: How to Have the Life You Want Now!

by Stephen M. Shapiro

Book Overview

Praise for Goal Free Living

Setting goals may be fine. But letting your goals take control of your life can be devastating. Goal-Free Living shows you how to explore paths in your life you never knew existed and discover a more exciting, successful, and rewarding life--today

"If you have only one goal this year, let it be this: Read Goal-Free Living "
--Daniel H. Pink author, A Whole New Mind and Free Agent Nation

"Stephen...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471772801
• ISBN13: 9780471772804
• Release Date: December 2005
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

The Fun & Effectiveness of Living in the Moment

As an experienced voice instructor, I see students all the time who work really hard at their goal of "trying to sing". What inevitably happens is that they strain their throats, stick their necks out and hurt themselves in the process! In order to really sing beautifully, easily and expressively, we need to relax, breathe and align ourselves with our passion in the moment (not worrying about what just happened or what should happen next). Stephen Shapiro's goal-free take on life reminds me that this is also true in the rest of your life -- and I definitely have been needing the reminder lately! As our music school's executive director with major fundraising deadlines, it's been MUCH more of a challenge. Goal-free Living helped me to look at my past 2 years and realize that the times I have gotten the best results were the times that I was open to the flow and serendipity of life in the moment and took care of myself. The times that I was stressed, overworking and desperate were the times that I was the least effective. The past week was living proof! Thank you Stephen for your fun, inspiring and life-changing book! From another perspective, many of the tools he recommends are easy to understand explanations of Buddhist philosophies that have been working and respected for centuries. And what incredible people he interviewed! The fascinating stories of the voodoo priest, the dating club members, the CIO of Intel are worth your time and money alone. I'd love to see a sequel of all the interesting stories and people that couldn't fit into this book.

Different knowledge not just more knowledge..

Goal free living has many interesting concepts and ideas that will change the way you think. One of the many key concepts that I liked is not always looking for one particular outcome but instead looking for any significant outcome. This makes a lot of sense, today we are tied to looking for the one thing that will bring us happiness, and by just looking for that one thing we pass up so many other things in the process. Every thing we do we should be looking for a significant outcome, and it may not be the one we were expecting. This is just one of many exciting concepts in the book. The book is not about being lazy or just going through life with no direction but instead going through life with a theme. The book is very easy to read and is short. Enjoy, and continue seeking different knowledge not just more knowledge..

A refreshing viewpoint

I first heard about this book from an interview with the author on Tom Peters' web site. Shapiro's viewpoint was intriguing, but I wondered whether, as with many other business books, this would turn out to be the informational equivalent of a 10-page article, puffed up with enough hot air to make it book-length. Fortunately, it's not like that. While the "Secrets of Goal-Free Living" can be listed in half a page of text, the chapter on each "secret" includes ample illustrations of how it works: anecdotes from Shapiro's personal experience, research findings, statistical data, interviews, etc.; so what sounds like a simplistic platitude in the chapter heading often turns out to be a profound statement about life. And his questions for the reader to ponder are stimulating. I was especially intrigued by his story of how he came to write this book (which was NOT the book he originally set out to write); it's a classic instance of what goal-free living is all about. I've seen far too many examples of goals gone wrong: disastrous marriages because someone was determined to start their family by age 25, missed oportunities ("If you join the Peace Corps, you'll be 2 years late in starting medical school"), bad career decisions (including my first) because someone was pressured to choose a specific goal before they knew what they really wanted to do with their life, and profound disappointment when someone achieved a long-pursued goal, only to be confronted with "What's next?" (And, from many years of dieting, I can vouch that goal-setting is NOT a magical formula for success!) I heartily endorse Shapiro's advice to set your "compass" in a general direction, but to live in the present and remain open to the opportunities it offers; if you're constantly living for the future, you'll miss all the joy in the present moment.

Excellent, fresh, and practical

***** This book, Goal-Free Living by Stephen Shapiro, offers just what it promises---practical ways to have the life you want WITHOUT setting goals. The material is fresh and very useful. Each concept has many concrete applications so that you can easily see how you personally can live your life and accomplish things without formal goals. As a high achiever with a Type-A personality, having strived for excellence my whole life, I now find myself middle-aged and very, very tired. I find the author's apporach VERY stress-relieving. I paradoxically find that I get more done, and the "right" things done as well, when I follow the concepts in the book. I am a big fan of Stephen Shapiro's blog at http://www.goalfree.com/blog/ and read it daily. It's full of useful articles. Browse it to "get a taste" of the book and to see what you think. The author also offers a free discussion guide there. As others have mentioned, it is full of information, but a fast and easy read (maybe 3-5 hours depending upon how quickly you read). Highly recommended! *****

A book with real advice on living a great life

There are tons of self help books that basically tell you to follow my plan and you will achieve your dreams. This is not one of them-- which is a very good thing. I am not a fan of self help books and this is not one of them. Shapiro has taken a different look at the issue of you and your success and turned it on its head. The idea is simple, while we may keep score based on our goals, our quality of life is not based on the score but rather how we play the game. If you think about it, that is important and something that is easy to lose sight of. Goal Free living helps you get that back into your sights and better your life. The book does provide eight tools for you really apply to your daily life. A plan is for a person, tools are things that everyone can use. Those tools include: > Use a compass, not a map <br /> > Trust that you are never lost <br /> > Remember that opportunity knocks often, but sometimes softly <br /> > Want what you have <br /> > Seek out adventure <br /> > Become a people magnet <br /> > Embrace your limits <br /> > Remain detached <br /> <br />These eight secrets are presented in an actionable format and illustrated with stories about real and remarkable people. People that you can relate to, not a one in a million superstar who you can admire but not emulate. Those stories and Shapiro's unique conversational style make them accessible. <br /> <br />I highly recommend this book as it will cause you to pause, evaluate what you are doing, and adopt the tools that can improve your life. <br />