It's Never Too Late to Be What You Might Have Been: A Guide to Getting the Life You Love

At times, we get urges to make a move, career change, or a major life change and it's easy to allow ourselves to give into negativity and think that there's no way we can make these changes. But that is not true at all and this book brings to mind that no matter where you are in your life or what life change your seeking to make, you can do it. Where there is a will, there is a way. BJ Gallagher's "It's Never Too Late to Be What You Might Have Been" is an inspirational guidebook that not only gives you the push but the help to make life changes. It definitely leaves readers with a can-do attitude. With positivity and encouragement, anyone can find both comfort and help in this book!

In challenging economic times, some people tend to despair and others tend to dream. BJ Gallagher's latest book encourages us to ask the big questions and think the big thoughts: Where are we - in our careers and in our lives in general? Have we left our hopes and aspirations behind, and if so, what can we do to regain them? This is not a typically woolly "inspirational" book. Gallagher, a consultant and trainer who is the former manager of development and training at the Los Angeles Times, writes with simplicity and humor. She takes her examples from the lives of real, named people, some in the public eye and some not. She interviewed people in their thirties, forties, fifties, or older who learned to fly a plane, went back to school, started a new business, or found romance late in life. Adrienne van Dooren, one of Gallagher's subjects, spent more than 20 years in the U.S. Army and then retired and started a new career as an artist, even though she had never painted before. She rose to the top of her field of decorative painting, wrote a book, and donated thousands of dollars in profits to charity. "Fear is the biggest block for most people," she told Gallagher. Jennie Richards was an advertising copywriter and literature student, but at age 52 she went back to school for the third time, this time to get a doctorate in sustainable enterprise. She told Gallagher, "I didn't want to live with regrets. My subconscious had never let go of the idea of making a difference in the world, so I knew it was right to leave my job." It's not necessarily the right thing for each of us to leave his or her job, and Gallagher doesn't advocate that. She simply tells us that we can still fulfill our dreams and can still grow and change. Sometimes, a period of upheaval is just the right occasion to focus attention on those possibilities. This book can be read quite easily in one sitting. But don't mistake Gallagher's breezy style for superficiality. I can't say that this book will change your life, but I can say that it will probably get you to think about the directions you'd like to go in. Incidentally, Gallagher says her title. "It's Never Too Late to Be What You Might Have Been," is a direct quote from the great 19th-century novelist George Eliot. It's not clear that Eliot ever said that in so many words, but I'll give Gallagher the benefit of the doubt.

This is one of the most valuable self-help books I have read.... and used. It has the right combination of "inspiration and perspiration" - That is, it motivated me to take some steps to make changes in my life, and provided some concrete (but doable) steps I could try to implement those changes. The author presents a series of things you can try, but reminds us that some will work well for some of us, but nor for others. There were a few that I could tell didn't apply to my situation, but the suggestions for action plans I have followed are helping me to make some much-needed improvements in my life. This is an excellent book, from an author who obviously has "been there", and provided us with the accumulated wisdom of her experience. Thank you!

Gallagher, BJ. "It's Never Too Late To Be What You Might Have Been", Viva Editions, 2009. "What Happens to a Dream Deferred?" Amos Lassen As I read BJ Gallagher's "It's Never too Late", I could not help be reminded of what Langston Hughes said about a dream deferred. We all have dreams but we do not always find ways to make them come true. Gallagher wants to help us get those things we have always wanted from life and does so in a simple and straightforward way. We must first recognize who we are and what our talents and passions are. We all have certain qualities and traits that we can share and even if our dreams are a bit impractical, it does not mean they are impossible. It is all about knowing ourselves and gaining the confidence to act. Many times when our dreams die, a part of us dies with them. But they can be resurrected. We should spend countless hours trying to find ourselves; instead we should create ourselves based upon what we want. Gallagher shows us how to do just that. We get advice, guidelines and inspiration and that is what we really need. The book is physically a pleasure to read. It is a pleasure to look at and has a great deal of information. Whatever is not working for you can be improved if you follow what is here. I personally feel better already just for reviewing it.