Lose Weight, Find Love, Declutter and Save Money

by Michele Woodward

In funny and perceptive essays, Master Certified Executive Coach Michele Woodward offers a path toward increased happiness. Whether you are struggling to lose weight, find love, de-clutter or save money, Michele will help you identify the root of the problem and craft a strategy to get you where you want to go. And, she'll give you tips on living happily when you get there.

216 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 2008

About the author

In practice for over fourteen years, Michele Woodward is a Master Certified Coach who has coached executives across the U.S. and around the world, from Japan and Australia to Latin America and Europe. A former Reagan White House official and corporate executive, Michele works primarily with senior leaders who want to be more effective in their work, grow their strategic vision and expand their leadership skills. Over the years, Ms. Woodward has trained and mentored hundreds of other coaches and is considered a “coach’s coach.”

Before becoming a coach, Ms. Woodward led a strategic communications and marketing consulting business in the late 1990s, working with technology start-ups and high-tech firms in the Washington, DC-area. Prior to owning her own business, she was a senior executive with the Wexler Group, a leading lobbying and public affairs firm in Washington, DC, and served as Chief of Staff to CEO Anne Wexler. Clients included Fortune 100 companies, non-profits and trade associations.

In 2010 through 2011, she was honored to serve as Executive Director of the Ronald Reagan Centennial Commission, a bipartisan, year-long effort appointed by President Obama. Ms. Woodward was a principal organizer of the State Funeral of President Gerald R. Ford and previously organized the State Funeral of President Ronald Reagan, heading ticketing and staffing operations for all events in Washington, DC.

Earlier in her career, Ms. Woodward was Lead Press Advance in the Reagan White House, constructing some of the memorable photo opportunities of that presidency, and was Director of Press Advance for Dole for President ’88, coordinating the national press on the campaign plane.

She is the author of several books and has appeared as an expert in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Harvard Business Review, PsychologyToday.com and other key outlets. She’s a sought-after speaker, leads workshops and classes around the country, and writes a popular blog.

Reviews

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tough 2 stars feels like harsh rating to me, the book was "okay". Not more, not less. I wanted to read it because the reviews were so positive. Perhaps that is the reason why I expected too much of it. The title led me to believe I would learn something concrete, a particular strategy to save money and an approach to decluttering. (I have no problems with my weight or my love life, but was still interested if the book could offer useful advice.)
The only advise I got is: "Think positive, be yourself, relax and don't try to hard." This, however, is not only repeated excessively, the way it is presented is not very original. Most of the anecdotes were nice, but lacked the eye-opening effect I had expected in this kind of book.

If you are searching for adivice on decluttering, I sincerely recommend "the joy of less" by Francine Jay. If you're interested in intelligent and beautifully composed anecdotes, I recommend "the merry recluse" by Caroline Knapp. Unfortunately, I found neither in this book.

[Cherie Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collection of Michele's Sunday blog posts ... She has more wisdom in her little finger than most people have in their whole bodies.