The Power of Self-Coaching: The Five Essential Steps to Creating the Life You Want

As an Episcopal priest, husband, and father, I am often called upon to give advice and pastoral care and counseling on a broad range of topics. And even though I worked as a mental health professional for 10 years prior to becoming a priest, I am still always searching for insightful materials to recommend to others as a type of bibliotherapy, and also to personally gain the new tools necessary to understand the dynamics of whatever issues arise (and of course, if the problem seems serious, I always refer them to a qualified doctor or therapist).To help with this, I read a lot of books on psychology and self-help, and usually I can find something of value in most books--a thought, idea, or image that I am glad to have found. However, most books seem to have the same basic advice, and so the process is usually like panning for gold, with only a very few nuggets to be found when the silt has washed away.It is rare indeed when every page of a book is filled with helpful insights. I just read "The Power of Self-Coaching" by Joseph J. Luciani, and it is one of those rare jewels, both practical and so accurate. I am tempted to summarize the main points and insights from the book here, but I fear that I would be doing the reader a disservice. Instead, I strongly recommend that you read the book, slowly and mindfully, and mark all the important points.In fact, the book was so good that I ordered it on audio CD as well to keep reminding myself of its wisdom, and I ordered Dr. Luciani's other books, too. (I just started his book, "Self-Coaching: The Powerful Program to Beat Anxiety and Depression," and so far it is filled with practical insights as well. Again, I highly recommend you read it, and I have already suggested it to people dealing with these two "common colds" of emotional health.)Thank you to Dr. Luciani, for his groundbreaking work. I have recommend his books to my family, friends, and parishioners, and I highly recommend them to everyone reading these reviews. Five stars.UPDATE 4/2/2017: I just finished listening to the audio CD of The Power of Self-Coaching, and it is wonderful. When some authors read their own books, it is not always great. However, when Dr. Luciani reads his book it feels like you are sitting with him in a comfortable chair, hearing him talk to you one on one. You can actually hear how much he cares about his listeners in his voice. I would imagine that this is what a therapy session with a skilled therapist would feel like. I highly recommend that you order both the hard copy of this book, and the audio CD. Read the hard copy first, highlight it and take good notes, and then listen to this great audio of the book, and get even more out of it. I am sure that I will listen to this audio book again and again, and pick up a little more next time. A+.

This book is 230 pages long. The first 170 pages are an endless rant of mostly fake stories that eventually become frustrating to read. I almost got discouraged and tossed the book altogether. However, it turns out that the stories are to destroy your defenses for the revelations that are to come. By feeling sorry for other people in bad situations, the author progressively leads you to feel better about your self. After all, you aren't the worst of the bunch. So, if you do buy this, be prepared to struggle through what seems like a whole bunch of nonsense--it's there for a reason.READING BETWEEN THE STARS WILL DIVULGE THE THRUST OF THIS MANUAL SO BE CAREFUL IF THAT ISN'T WHAT YOU WANT***********************Then, he attacks you mercilessly by calling you a child for being scared of danger. Instead, you should recognize your fear as holding you back and quiet it down as you continuously lunge for things you want. As I write this, there's a cockroach running around my desk looking for food. He trusts his impulses and scours the majority of the desk without wasting energy on hesitation. Freedom from hesitation allows this insect to traverse more opportunity. Well, the author means to point out, that this is you and this is life--showing up is the 90% component of success. He dares you to continuously attend life's opportunities and to celebrate when you find them, much like every other animal on this planet. Welcome to the kingdom.***********************I believe that this guy is a master of psychological writing. I found many instances where he was using reverse psychology and other hidden instruction/invitation techniques. At first, I found his terminology to be offensive, but got used to it soon enough. As a whole, it actually makes a lot of sense.The author helps you break yourself down like a psychologist would, although I believe that his assertion that 'we don't need to understand where beliefs came from to change the behaviors that they create' is wrong. He probably advocates this to get you more excited about saving lots of money by buying this book. However, there is no substitute for self-analysis and releasing your repressed feelings. Otherwise, you will never truly be able to get rid of them. I feel that this is a great book to use when you 'terminate' therapy because it puts into perspective all of the new insights that you've received about your character and offers a final resolving knot. It also really does a great job to fire you up, just before you start to really absorb the dangerous consequences of this relatively new logic.

This book opened my eyes to why I was stuck in a cycle of anxiety and inertia. There's nothing difficult in this book. Approach it with an open mind and see your world open up. You really can choose to make changes. I suffered for nearly twenty years and at last I have found the 'thinkers' way to deal with worries.Love it. I bought the audio version too to get it to sink in quicker. Try it and learn how to slam the door in the face of anxiety :-)

I bought the audio version on MP3 and it is brilliant - plain talking and worth every penny

I loved this book so much I've had to order several copies as I keep loaning mine out. A cool-headed approach to seeing beyond fear and simply living. This book was the catalyst for a significant transformation in my life, and one I would recommend to anyone who finds themselves mired in self-doubt.

A very good self-help tool which I personally found helpful and also recommend to my clients. It has something for everyone and is well worth the read.

I will use this book.