17 Lies That Are Holding You Back and the Truth That Will Set You Free

Which lies? Chandler explains that "These are the lies to the soul...[which] we send down inside ourselves that convince us that we don't have any power." His book is dedicated "to uncovering a racket -- the racket of conning ourselves into believing deep down inside we are helpless. The racket that talks us into believing in our defects instead of our energy." Chandler believes (and I agree) that honesty really is the best policy, especially with ourselves. The opposite is also true. Most of our wounds are self-inflicted. One way or another, the 17 lies he examines are forms of self-deception which can so easily enable us (key word "enable') to justify to ourselves almost anything. Ernest Hemingway once suggested that all great writers have "a built-in, shock-proof crap detector." (His own was often in need of repair.) Without such a device, we are vulnerable to lies told by others. Worse yet, we believe the lies we tell ourselves.Chandler explains, "The widespread popularity of self-deceiving might be due to its effectiveness. It gets the job done. It takes us out of the game. It sits us down at the end of the bench so we don't have to play. It even puts a cool towel around our necks, a towel in which we can hide our faces if we become ashamed that the world is passing us by." Even those who compete can always find a reason to justify lack of effort, selfishness, insubordination, etc.The material in this book is organized within two parts: "Lying to the Soul" which introduces the 17 lies, a chapter devoted to each; then "Finding Your Deepest Power" in which Chandler discusses the true source of power, the idea of owning one's life, the concept of self-control, and the process of locating one's "soul purpose." Frankly, I have by now become weary of (if not hostile to) books and articles on many of these same subjects. (You know what I mean: "Give yourself a big hug and then go buy yourself South America! You deserve it because you're wonderful!") For that reason I was somewhat skeptical as I began to read Chandler's book. Almost immediately I realized that Chandler really does have some very important insights to share, most of them obtained after years of lying to himself. As I approached the final chapter, I was eager to be told how to stop the deception..."all this lying." I was ready for THE ANSWER. Well, Chandler refuses to provide one. Only after I re-read the book did I fully understand what he means (in the final chapter) when he suggests, "The best way to stop the lying is to stop it your own way. Once you know [italics] the truth that you are powerful beyond measure, you will intuitively and immediately find your own way. The truth itself sets you free....Once you've found your own way to be straight with yourself, you will use it forever. It won't go away, because it's yours. You own it. When the time comes, don't forget to be happy. You are an owner of the human spirit."How easy it is to read comments such as these; how difficult it

True, many "self-help" books are low on substance and high on hyperbole. What a pleasant surprise to find that Chandler's "17 Lies" is high on substance and has no hyperbole. While most "self-help" books pander to the unthinking, Chandler relies on some of the greatest thinkers ever--both of our time and other eras. Consider, for example, that he quotes my fellow Mensan, Marilyn vos Savant--who has the highest IQ ever measured. That Chandler ends each chapter with an insightful quote from a great thinker is a nice touch, but no surprise. The evidence of the breadth and depth of his reading is marvelously evident in his writing.Chandler uses real-life examples, not just theory. These made me stop and think, "I've done that!" And now I can do something about that and be better for it. Chandler's recounting of an event in a retail outlet had me saying, "Good for you!" and "I can do that, too."Any serious student of the martial arts knows that to prevail against the enemy before you, you must prevail against the enemy within. Chandler deftly explains how to do this, in 17 ways that will free almost anybody to greater accomplishment and vastly more happiness.Chandler doesn't stop with exposing the 17 lies. That's in Part One of the book. In Part Two, he shows you how to use your newfound freedom.What I really like about the book is Chandler communicates these life-changing ideas in a way that is entertaining. This kept my interest up through the whole book. That is quite a feat, considering the deepness of what he covers in this most excellent book.

Having read and admired Steve Chandler's first two books, I was prepared for a lot of rehashing of the same material - which was okay as the first two were truly inspiring works. However, there's no recycling here. "17 Lies That Are Holding You Back & the Truth That Will Set You Free" is truly a book of practical thoughts to help you quit fooling yourself with self-inflicted falshoods and face life with a new attitude. Mr. Chandler does not allow for excuses (too old, not enough education, etc.) and he writes with an easy-to-read style that is without pretense. This is a guy who hit bottom, fought his way back, and plainly tells you how he managed to do it - and how you can too. This wasn't meant to be a deep psychological tome -- It was meant to be practical. For example, most "self-help" books are full of exercises that tell you that "you must stop right now and take this test," or "write this 100 word essay," before you can go on. You will find none of this in "17 Lies." Imagine sitting across a table with a man who has hit rock bottom in his life, and between sips of coffee he tells you his story and how he climbed back, and you batter him with questions which are answered without psychobabble and in a humble, enlightening way. If you listen carefully, you'll here truth that is simple, makes sense, and hear many things to make your own life better, whatever your lot in life. Imagine that litle scene and make it happen by spending a night or two with Steve Chandler's "17 Lies That Are Holding You Back & the Truth That Will Set You Free."

Steve Chandler's message is both simple and powerful: You are in charge of what you think and what you do. He focuses on 17 stalls that occur often in peoples' personal lives, such as helplessness, procrastination, complacency, and so forth. Each has a chapter, and he neatly ties them to a phrase that we have all heard others utter many times (and may well have said ourselves) such as There's Nothing I Can Do. He then proceeds to take the disempowering belief apart quickly and efficiently.In the brief second part of the book, he then gives you some new empowering beliefs to develop. The most important is finding your life's purpose, from the perspective of your soul. If you like Anthony Robbins' work, you will find this quite compatible. You will also find it much more succinct. This book is the only one that I can describe as the perfect companion to our book, The 2,000 Percent Solution. His thinking matches up nicely with the first half of our book on stalls and stallbusting. Anyone who liked our book will like this one, and find it to be a valuable extention of what we address.I STRONGLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK to anyone who is not getting all of the joy out of their lives that they can imagine having!

Steve Chandler's third book, 17 Lies That Are Holding You Back & The Truth That Will Set You Free, is an excellent, hard-to-put-down, fast read. Here he calls attention to the myriad of incorrect assumptions that hold us hostage. Actually it's not simply the assumptions themselves; that's really just another deception. As he points out, we do it to ourselves by accepting the lies and arguing for our limitations. By seeing through the lies, we may quit deceiving ourselves and thus move forward through life with enthusiasm and joy. Steve Chandler helps us to achieve profound shifts through his clear, non-fuzzy thinking and writing. If you don't get it after reading this book , no doubt there's a fovorite lie that you use to undermine your ability to set yourself free. --Fred P. Gallo, Ph.D., Author: Energy Psychology (CRC Press, 1998); Energy Diagnostic and Treatment Methods (Norton, 2000); Energy Tapping (New Harbinger, 2000).