The Seven Minute Difference: Small Steps to Big Changes

by Allyson Lewis

Do you want more? More hope, more joy, more fun and more fulfillment? Change is the essence of life; the biggest, most meaningful, and dramatic differences in our lives—and in our world—are really just the result of a series of small, seemingly insignificant changes. "Amazing changes can occur in the most surprisingly small amounts of time," says Allyson Lewis, author and senior executive at a major financial services firm. "In just seven minutes my life changed forever, in this book I will share exactly what happened to me and how it can happen to you."In The Seven Minute Difference , Lewis motivates business professionals to grow through micro-actions that can be completed in as little as seven minutes. According to Lewis, small efforts such as two extra sales calls, a daily action plan, a review of a competitor’s product, or a change of schedule can make the difference between mediocrity and excellence.This book coaches readers to realize their full potential by focusing on four fundamental Change begins to happen the moment you decide to change ; you must want to change; you must expect change; you should enjoy the process of change. Drawing upon years of experience as a motivational speaker and financial advisor, Lewis shows how she has successfully used these principles to help thousands of corporate executives, financial advisors, insurance executives, entrepreneurs, accountants, and attorneys change their lives. Chapters are filled with concrete examples, anecdotes, and sage advice, such as "Life is like luggage, there are limits to what you can take on the journey" and "If you want your life to be different, you must be different."With humor and flair, The Seven Minute Difference spurs people to unlock their purpose, knowledge, and passion, and as a result, transform their lives at work and at home.HighlightsAllyson Lewis inspires readers • Define a mission and action plan that will support change
• Implement change and keep the momentum going
• Paint the canvas of your life – map out your goals
• Prioritize, organize, and simplify work and life to achieve greater productivity

Genres: Business, Self Help, Nonfiction

272 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2006

Reviews

[Skylar Ramsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good activities but mostly not impactful for me

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Business, time-management book. Some good information about taking microactions such as writing a mission statement, planning the day before the top priorities for the next day, creating repeatable processes or systems.

[Sara Rassler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This past week, I read The Seven Minute Difference: Small Steps to Big Changes by Allyson Lewis. This book was a great read! I opened the book expecting it to be a chore to read, but ended up reading half of the book the first night. With this book, I have a plan started of how to change my life with what Allyson calls “micro-actions.” With each micro-action, Allyson shows readers how to change their lives with things that only take a few minutes per day.
Also with this book, I received The 7 Minute Life daily planner. This honestly changed the way I think about each day. The planner gives me a place to write my goals as well as my plans. The front of the book contains sections to write micro-actions that are addressed in the book such as prioritizing, discovering your purpose, personal goals, etc.
The book is aimed at business people and people who have been adults for a while, but I still recommend this book to anyone who feels like they need to get control of their life. I’m a serious procrastinator, but I can—and have—change my life with just a few minutes a day thanks to this book.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Seven Minute Planner - Small Steps to Big Changes by Allyson Lewis gives some great ideas and practical tips for organizing your life. It's a holistic look at the time you spend each day and how with just a few minor changes and a focus on being purposeful a few minutes a day can really change your life.

The planner that you can get with the book is a great way for anyone to organize and keep track of things to do along with contacts made and what did't get done. Looking back on each day, you can tell how successful you were and celebrate growth.

Take a look at http://www.the7minutelifesystem.com to check out the book and the whole system of changing you life to a more organized and successful experience.

simply,

TIm

[Sue Jackson · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Seven Minute Difference does have some valid suggestions on how to use your time wisely. The beginning of the book had specific examples and a good explanation on how she came up with the idea. The theory of using even 7 minutes of your time in a responsible way is a good one. This applies to both personal and professional situations. There are some good suggestions and charts to help the reader stay focused. Unfortunately, after the first few chapters the book was redundant. It was as if she was repeating the same things over and over again and, frankly, the book dragged. If you are someone who thinks about ways to improve yourself, I would not recommend this. There are better books to encourage changes both personally and professionally.

[Russ · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept of improving your life and your behavior in seven minutes a day fascinated me, and the first half of this book didn't disappoint. I loved gleaning tidbits of personal discipline that enable me to make my life richer, deeper and more meaningful (meaningfuller?).

The second half of the book dragged, however, as the author seemed to get bogged down into too many details about her own life and meaningfulness (meaningfulosity?).

Still, read the first half, implement the 7-minute theory, and reap the benefits.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

She offers helpful advice here but there's not a whole lot of earth shattering concepts if you have read many business books. Define your mission in life. Make changes. Prioritize, organize and simplify. Still, I plan to try several of her worksheets, which are available online.

[Miss66 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very motivating book

[Lori Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A should-read book on success in self development for knowledge workers, managers, executives, and entrepreneurs.

[Jodi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read and gave specific life alternating decisions. Very glad I invested time to finish this book. Strongly recommend.