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Life! By Design: 6 Steps to an Extraordinary You
Are you one of the 123 million people in this world who is dissatisfied in your life? Do you run day-to-day on autopilot? Have you settled for “good enough”? Are risks just too risky? Are you living in a coma and don’t even know it? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you are living by default and not By Design! This book will help you discover a passion for life that extends beyond your career and material success—a passion that involves your identity, your self-worth, your relationships, and your health. It is time to emerge from your coma, embrace renewed vitality, and approach life By Design!
In this dynamic hands-on guide, world-class success coach and motivational leader Tom Ferry reveals the secrets to achievement at work and at home, and how to create a greater balance between the two. This book will help you conquer the four addictions that are holding you back from living up to your greatest addiction to the opinions of others, addiction to drama, addiction to the past, and addiction to worry. By becoming aware of these addictions, you will be better equipped to respond to uncertain times and to the challenges that crop up in your daily life.
Tom Ferry’s unique six-step approach to living By Design will help you emerge from complacency into action and accomplishment.
Step 1: Explore the Core Seven life assessments—your career, your intimate relationships, your finances, your physical body, your spirituality, your attitude about the world, and your intellectual self—and pinpoint the areas in which you want to improve.
Step 2: Make the conscious, deliberate choice to change your life and find fulfillment, no matter the obstacles.
Step 3: Create your Life! By Design by declaring what you want for yourself, defining your goals, and devising a concrete plan to make it happen.
Step 4: Identify the actions you can take to ensure that you thrive in all areas of your life.
Step 5: Visualize your life as you want it to be. This simple but profound exercise is a proven technique that will lock in your vision and will lead you toward achieving your goals.
Step 6: Create accountability and structure to break old habits and gain the discipline required to live life to your fullest potential.
It’s time to draw the line between the past and the present as you face your fears, and go for everything you really want. This is Life! By Design . And the results will astound you!
In this dynamic hands-on guide, world-class success coach and motivational leader Tom Ferry reveals the secrets to achievement at work and at home, and how to create a greater balance between the two. This book will help you conquer the four addictions that are holding you back from living up to your greatest addiction to the opinions of others, addiction to drama, addiction to the past, and addiction to worry. By becoming aware of these addictions, you will be better equipped to respond to uncertain times and to the challenges that crop up in your daily life.
Tom Ferry’s unique six-step approach to living By Design will help you emerge from complacency into action and accomplishment.
Step 1: Explore the Core Seven life assessments—your career, your intimate relationships, your finances, your physical body, your spirituality, your attitude about the world, and your intellectual self—and pinpoint the areas in which you want to improve.
Step 2: Make the conscious, deliberate choice to change your life and find fulfillment, no matter the obstacles.
Step 3: Create your Life! By Design by declaring what you want for yourself, defining your goals, and devising a concrete plan to make it happen.
Step 4: Identify the actions you can take to ensure that you thrive in all areas of your life.
Step 5: Visualize your life as you want it to be. This simple but profound exercise is a proven technique that will lock in your vision and will lead you toward achieving your goals.
Step 6: Create accountability and structure to break old habits and gain the discipline required to live life to your fullest potential.
It’s time to draw the line between the past and the present as you face your fears, and go for everything you really want. This is Life! By Design . And the results will astound you!
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
59 people are currently reading
199 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 9, 2012
"Life! By Design: Create Passion And Purpose In Your Life" by Tom Ferry with Laura Morton is one of the newer books on living with passion, purpose, and as Ferry puts it, by design and not default. In it, Ferry teaches his six steps to an extraordinary you. If you have read other books on living life to its fullest and achieving your dreams and goals, you might find much of this book similar. After all, basics are basics, each person just has a different way of teaching them. It's sort of like the martial arts. There are numerous styles, all teaching variations of hitting, kicking, blocking, and so forth. But different people will connect with different styles and instructors better than with others. I'm sure many people will connect with Ferry's six steps and other advice in this book. And for those that have heard a similar message before, it does not hurt to hear again. I'm sure those that follow Ferry's system will achieve more and live more by design than by default. That is, if they apply his system and follow through.
Ferry's book is a motivating read that is divided into two parts. There's an introduction and an introductory chapter, then you get into the main two parts of the text. Five chapters make up part one, Living By Default. The final four chapters make up part two, Living By Design. After an introduction that explains a little of who Ferry is and where he came from, he continues in Chapter One discussing how he created his own future and asks if the reader is ready to do the same.
Phase 1: Living By Default contains chapters on by default versus by design, waking up, the problem with no problems, addictions, and turning to face the changes. These chapters get you thinking about where you are today and what kind of life you are living. If you take the time to really think about your own situations and ask yourself the difficult questions Ferry asks you to ask yourself, you will be rewarded by the discovery. He ends phase 1 by asking if you will choose to live by design or default.
Phase 2: Living By Design contains chapters on the six steps to living by design, the conscious and subconscious mind and the power of self-talk, the benefits of a healthy body and healthy mind, and the five evolutions to master by design living.
The six steps are found in chapter seven and consist of:
1. Wake up from you coma - become aware of the areas in you life that need attention.
2. Make the choice to change your life.
3. Create your life By Design.
4. Do the things that bring you power!
5. Practice visualizing yourself already there, in possession of what you want.
6. Create structure and accountability by telling others around you about your plans.
The six steps are explained well and Ferry provides examples and exercises to help you along the way. Again, I think the system has merit for those that actually implement his ideas.
The next chapter is on positive affirmations. Why? Because they work says Ferry. Chapter nine contains a few basic principles of health. Nothing in depth here, but I agree with Ferry 100% that taking care of your physical well-being is critical to achieve success in other areas too. Where there is much more to living healthy that Ferry provides, his basics are sound and would help anyone not already following a healthy lifestyle. The final short chapter is on mastery with a motivating message to go be extraordinary.
I enjoyed the book. Even though many of the concepts were very familiar to me, and things I do already, I thought Ferry did a good job of motivating and providing exercises for readers to take command of their own lives and as he says, many times, life by design, not default. If you are looking for a book to pep you up and help you live with more passion, check this one out.
Ferry's book is a motivating read that is divided into two parts. There's an introduction and an introductory chapter, then you get into the main two parts of the text. Five chapters make up part one, Living By Default. The final four chapters make up part two, Living By Design. After an introduction that explains a little of who Ferry is and where he came from, he continues in Chapter One discussing how he created his own future and asks if the reader is ready to do the same.
Phase 1: Living By Default contains chapters on by default versus by design, waking up, the problem with no problems, addictions, and turning to face the changes. These chapters get you thinking about where you are today and what kind of life you are living. If you take the time to really think about your own situations and ask yourself the difficult questions Ferry asks you to ask yourself, you will be rewarded by the discovery. He ends phase 1 by asking if you will choose to live by design or default.
Phase 2: Living By Design contains chapters on the six steps to living by design, the conscious and subconscious mind and the power of self-talk, the benefits of a healthy body and healthy mind, and the five evolutions to master by design living.
The six steps are found in chapter seven and consist of:
1. Wake up from you coma - become aware of the areas in you life that need attention.
2. Make the choice to change your life.
3. Create your life By Design.
4. Do the things that bring you power!
5. Practice visualizing yourself already there, in possession of what you want.
6. Create structure and accountability by telling others around you about your plans.
The six steps are explained well and Ferry provides examples and exercises to help you along the way. Again, I think the system has merit for those that actually implement his ideas.
The next chapter is on positive affirmations. Why? Because they work says Ferry. Chapter nine contains a few basic principles of health. Nothing in depth here, but I agree with Ferry 100% that taking care of your physical well-being is critical to achieve success in other areas too. Where there is much more to living healthy that Ferry provides, his basics are sound and would help anyone not already following a healthy lifestyle. The final short chapter is on mastery with a motivating message to go be extraordinary.
I enjoyed the book. Even though many of the concepts were very familiar to me, and things I do already, I thought Ferry did a good job of motivating and providing exercises for readers to take command of their own lives and as he says, many times, life by design, not default. If you are looking for a book to pep you up and help you live with more passion, check this one out.
February 7, 2013
a typical self help book.
quick takeaways:
(1) resistance in any areas of life means a red flag; we must learn to face the demon
(2) 4 addictions in life (to other people's opinions, to the past, to worry, and to drama)
(3) 5 important questions that we need to ask ourselves:
(a) why are you here and what's your purpose
(b) how do you want to come across to others, what are your values
(c) what are your God given talents
(d) five years from now, how will the world experience you
(e) who would you be if you were already there?
(4) the author's 6 steps to a Life By Design
quick takeaways:
(1) resistance in any areas of life means a red flag; we must learn to face the demon
(2) 4 addictions in life (to other people's opinions, to the past, to worry, and to drama)
(3) 5 important questions that we need to ask ourselves:
(a) why are you here and what's your purpose
(b) how do you want to come across to others, what are your values
(c) what are your God given talents
(d) five years from now, how will the world experience you
(e) who would you be if you were already there?
(4) the author's 6 steps to a Life By Design
October 10, 2017
Excellent book great advice on how to change your life
How will be referring this book over and over again in the future it's more than just a book or it's a guide
How will be referring this book over and over again in the future it's more than just a book or it's a guide
November 3, 2017
It may seem like saying ordinary things but it depends on the people who is reading the book. The book suggest some practical exercises which I applied and found useful to improve.
December 16, 2019
I admit that I judged this book by it’s cover. I expected a cheesy self-help book that stated the obvious. But I was happily susprised to be wrong. This book is gold!
First of all I liked the personal stories of the author. They helped me trust his message a little bit more, other than it’s a sound advice.
Secondly, I liked the structure of the book. How it makes you realise what you need to improve. How it helps you identify the steps you need to take. And finaly the call to action.
I would suggest this book to anyone
First of all I liked the personal stories of the author. They helped me trust his message a little bit more, other than it’s a sound advice.
Secondly, I liked the structure of the book. How it makes you realise what you need to improve. How it helps you identify the steps you need to take. And finaly the call to action.
I would suggest this book to anyone
February 6, 2017
Enjoyable, energetic, but Tom, you're not a Doctor. Some of the advice in this one seemed more appropriate to be coming from a medical professional. Still enjoyed this one and got some great ideas from it.
February 9, 2011
Life! By Design helps you to design the life you want instead of leading a life by default. I read one book each year on goal setting and personal development. This is my favorite to date because it helps to develop all areas of your life. It touches on career, exercise, intellectual development, personal relationships, giving back, and finances. It provides steps to stay organized, focused and accountable. I recommend this book to anyone wanting to continue to develop and improve upon all areas of life. Life! By Design is not just for people in difficult situations. It can help anyone set goals and reach them, even people at the top of their game.
December 27, 2010
A solid book overall.
I do feel like he is missing an important 'pow' that would help deliver his message. The reason I say that is that it took me a while to read the entire book. Something about the way it was written could have made it a faster read for me. Especially since the content is good.
I love self help books and a lot of what he suggests is written by Tony Robbins.
I do feel like he is missing an important 'pow' that would help deliver his message. The reason I say that is that it took me a while to read the entire book. Something about the way it was written could have made it a faster read for me. Especially since the content is good.
I love self help books and a lot of what he suggests is written by Tony Robbins.
May 28, 2012
Meh... It was okay, but really more focused on people who had some sort of a disaster or have a real need to change, and wasn't terribly useful for someone who is just looking for advice on how to change their life.
Overall, the book was okay, but really wasn't was I was looking for.
Overall, the book was okay, but really wasn't was I was looking for.
September 10, 2012
Life coaches apparently make a lot of money.
I like Ferry's idea of living "by design." I didn't find the list of "addictions" that people have (like addiction to drama) to be relevant at all though.
I like Ferry's idea of living "by design." I didn't find the list of "addictions" that people have (like addiction to drama) to be relevant at all though.
April 27, 2013
"LIFE! By Design" is Tom Ferry selling Tom Ferry. Most striking poser moment: In the text, the author speakes of the his desire to write a best selling book (not a good book); and then heralds that achievement in the book itself. My copy was a free "give-away" at a real estate event.
June 1, 2010
Great to finally have Tom's teachings in book form. I've been following this young man for many years and he is right on. I highly recommend it.
October 7, 2010
Tom goes into his life as a child and how he came into being a coach. GREAT book!
December 6, 2010
Thought-provoking, eye-opening, and makes you sit up and pay attention to your life and how you got to where you are, and ultimately how to choose where your headed.
February 16, 2011
Just finished reading this for the 2nd time. A great book to get life headed in the right direction...again.
December 29, 2012
Absolutely amazing book. Changed my life when I applied a lot of these principles.
July 12, 2021
Want to truly live your life your way?
Living by design is an amazing book about you truly taking control of your life. Definitely a just read book.
Living by design is an amazing book about you truly taking control of your life. Definitely a just read book.
January 19, 2023
Working with Coaches is the key to Mastery!
~Author Noelle Hipke
~Author Noelle Hipke
August 22, 2012
Tom Ferry can get excited and yet I enjoy it! What a great Coach!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews