One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way
About the Book
The essential guide to kaizen—the art of making great and lasting change through small, steady steps—is now in paperback.
Written by Dr. Robert Maurer, a psychologist on the staff of both the University of Washington School of Medicine and Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center, and an expert on kaizen who speaks and consults nationally, One Small Step Can Change Your Life is the gentle but potent way to effect change. It is for anyone who wants to lose weight. Or quit smoking. Or write a novel, start an exercise program, get out of debt, or conquer shyness and meet new people.
Beginning by outlining the all-important role that fear plays in every type of change—and kaizen’s ability to neutralize it by circumventing the brain’s built-in resistance to new behavior—Dr. Maurer then explains the 7 Small Steps: how to Think Small Thoughts, Take Small Actions, Solve Small Problems, and more. He shows how to perform mind sculpture—visualizing virtual change so that real change comes more naturally. Why small rewards lead to big returns by internalizing motivation. How great discoveries are made by paying attention to the little details most of us overlook. Rooted in the two-thousand-year-old wisdom of the Tao Te Ching—“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”—here is the way to change your life without fear, without failure, and to begin a new, easy regimen of continuous improvement.
About the Author
Robert Maurer, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist on the faculty of the UCLA and the University of Washington Schools of Medicine. He is the founder of the Science of Excellence, a consulting firm, and travels extensively presenting seminars and consulting on kaizen to diverse organizations, including corporations, hospital staffs, universities— even the U.S. Navy. Dr. Maurer lives in Spokane, Washington.
About the Reviews
You know what irritates me about self help books? 99.9% of them are BS and I'm including the "works" of some very big names in the field (you know who they are. The same old stuff reworked until it loses any real meaning. I've only read an extremely few that were worth the time and this is one of them. I work in a library and don't recommend any of the self help books we have for the above stated reason, except for this one. It's a small, effective book that gets to the point and keeps going. So, instead of firewalking or paying ridiculous sums to attend "seminars" to listen to what are really sales pitches, try this book. I got tired of checking it out and finally bought my own copy. PS. I won't be attending any seminars by Robert Mauer. His book is enough.
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This is a small idea book with enormous implications. The author explores the ideas of Kaizen, a philosophy that small steps lead to large changes. I appreciate how Mr. Maurer explains the psychology of this, and how making incremental, deliberate steps leads a person to fulfill goals that have often gone unaccomplished. I have begun to implement these concepts into my life and am already seeing the results of this paradigm shift. Isn't it funny how sometimes the problem is just in how we as humans view a problem, and not so much in the problem itself?
I highly recommend this book for anyone stuck in the rut of goal failure. Explore the world of Kaizen. The book, like it's philosophy, is not a long read or a complicated concept to grasp. Instead, it is a summary of wisdom that can truly help individuals and organizations develop in healthy ways and bring about important change.
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What a great little book. My desk was chronically piled with random papers-- paid bills, advertisements, coupons, things I needed to file, things I had set aside to read later. I could never seem to confront the huge chore. Before I had even finished this book, I put everything in a box, just to get used to having a clean desk top. Then I began dealing with three things a day. Just three. I even let myself pick out the easiest ones first, for instance coupons that had expired and could be trashed. Not only did I empty the box, but I have been able to maintain a clean desk top. And I have begun to apply this principle to other boxes in my closet. After I do my daily three things I reward myself by sitting down to read a book. If it's late enough in the day I also have a glass of wine. I highly recommend this book. It can literally change your life.
Product Info
Paperback: 228 pages
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company; First Printing edition (April 22, 2014)
Language: English
Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars 355 customer reviews