LIFE STRATEGIES: DOING WHAT WORKS, DOING WHAT MATTERS by Phillip C. McGraw

This book teaches 10 laws that could be a helpful guide in life.  The message in general is for a person to take full and conscious ownership of his/her actions.     

The following are the life laws in the book:

Life Law 1: YOU EITHER GET IT, OR YOU DON'T

This reminds that you have to make a plan and work the plan. Life is not a dress rehearsal.

Life Law 2: YOU CREATE YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE

This tells you to acknowledge and accept accountability for your life.

Life Law 3: PEOPLE DO WHAT WORKS

To analyze why you act a certain way, you have to determine the payoffs that elicit and sustain the behavior.

Life Law No. 4: YOU CAN'T CHANGE WHAT YOU DON'T ACKNOWLEDGE

When you see the world like a censored letter, with 50% of the of the word cut out, you are living a fantasy.  You need to get real with yourself about your life and everybody in it.

Life Law No. 5: LIFE REWARDS ACTION

You have to be committed, do what it takes, and you will have what you want.  The difference between losers and winners is that winners do things losers don't want to do.

Life Law No. 6: THERE IS NO REALITY, ONLY PERCEPTION

You only know and experience this life through the meaning that you assign to it, thus you should identify the filters through which you view the world.

Life Law No. 7: LIFE IS MANAGED; IT IS NOT CURED

If you continue to do what you've always done, you will continue to have what you've always had. If you do different, you will have different.

Life Law No. 8: WE TEACH PEOPLE HOW TO TREAT US

This tells you to own, rather than complain about, how people treat you.

Life Law No. 9: THERE IS POWER IN FORGIVENESS

The power of forgiveness is the power to set yourself free from the bonds of hatred, anger and resentment.

Life Law No. 10: YOU HAVE TO NAME IT TO CLAIM IT

Indecision creates inaction, inaction leads to results you do not want.  You should be clear about what you want and take action.

The book further teaches that willpower is unreliable emotional fuel as it is only "temporary".  The only way to guarantee forward movement during down times is to design a solid strategic plan that sustains your commitment in the absence of emotional energy.