Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life: A Kick-Butt Approach to a Better Life

. This book contains the same message that you find in most of the better self-help genre. `Take responsibility for your life, your problems and your situation; then you can move on.' In short, it IS your fault, accept it, deal with it, move on. This book is very well written, and makes for an easy, enjoyable read. Larry has a knack for illustrating his points. He very convincingly knocks out the "you become what you think about" theory. However, Larry has written this book with all the tact, grace and compassion of a Drill Instructor. So if you are looking for a cuddly-feely "it's not your fault" book...keep looking...this ain't for you. If you want honest, constructive guidance for getting your life back, buy this book. Oh, one more thing...HE IS ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, DEAD-ON RIGHT!

I bought this book in an airport, and by the time I got to my destination, I had read it, underlined it, and highlighted the heck out of it. It smacks you around, shakes you up and hangs you out, and it's been the greatest turn-around book I've read in many years. His deal with stress "Stress comes from knowing what's right and doing what's wrong"- or " Do not loan anyone your books"- wish I'd heard that years ago, I'd have a bigger library- are incredibly simple, but since we've all gotten to the point where simple is difficult, it really hits home. Consider this the dry version of a cold bucket of water in the face!

Larry Winget is an unbelievably honest writer! He cuts through the BS and says things exactly how they are - and it is so true!!! I could not put this book down- not only did it help me put my life and stupid mistakes I have made into perspective, but it also made me laugh and feel much better about taking on the obsticles of life. Larry basically reinforces the fact that life goes on- so if you made a mistake, realize it, learn from it, and move on! If you find yourself hating whatever situation you are in, whether it is a relationship, a job, feeling unsuccessful and downright discouraged - I strongly recommend this book!!! He provides countless ways through which a person can overcome the struggles and strifes of everyday life - and these methods really work! Contrary to the same lines used over and over by motivational speakers that sound good in theory but really do not work, Larry forces you to realize that you have to WANT CHANGE and YOU HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!! No one else can do it for you! Complaining and lamenting will get you no where and you will just irritate everyone else. This book covers every facet of life and I am so incredibly thankful that Larry took the time to write it. It also includes ways to eliminate the negative things/people out of your life, and how to live a truly wonderful life, being happy, doing what you love, and most importantly being good to others - and not wasting your time on the BS!!!!! A+++++++++++++ Read this book!!!

The honest, no "kick-butt"-pulled approach to discussing health in the 8th chapter of this book should be read by those struggling to start a healthy lifestyle. First, a few stats, then what works and what doesn't work about the advice in this book. The Stats: A report last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that less than half of the U.S. population engages in the minimum recommended level of physical activity of 30 minutes of moderate exercise most or all days of the week. Plus, 15.6% are inactive, reporting 10 minutes or less of activity each day. So, the practice now determined to be the most important in keeping good health is actually practiced by less than 1/2 of the U.S. population. We live in a box, drive a box, work in a box and claim we don't have time to escape from our box and move around to preserve good health. Just one of many articles published (New England Journal August 1999) showed that walking one hour only three days per week did more to prevent heart disase than any blood pressure or diabetic or cholesterol drug on the market. Yet, there's still much misinformation out about how to walk, why walk, and for those reasons and more many don't walk. So, first the most effective advice in this chapter (and then a couple of places where I'd recommend something different): ***"Willpower is totally overated....Here is what works for me: lack of opportunity." Most people make it very easy to find junk food or alcohol with at most a few steps and a reach to a low shelf. But, they'll make exercise a 10 step process that involves travelling to a gym or meeting 3 people in a walking group that varies in it's meeting according to weather, emotional state, and whether we're on vacation this week. Environment is key and making the bad unavailable and the good easy to find is one of the crucial success factors I see in healhty people. ***"Turn off the T.V., get off your fatt butt and do something." Less than 1/2 of people will exercise, and most who don't use lack of time as the reason; yet, most Americans watch more than an hour of T.V. each day (the time in which it would take to walk 3 miles at a very comfortable 20min/mile pace and maintain a 30 to 40 pound weight loss without a change in diet by one calorie). Either watch your first hour of T.V. every day on a treadmill, or give your T.V. to the Goodwill. I haven't been able to watch T.V. in my home since I left home at age 18 (I'm 46 years old now), not because I don't like T.V., not because it's trash (much T.V. can be inspirational and educational), but because if it's there, I'll watch it and I won't go outside and walk or read a book or talk to my children. ***"Now Let's Get Really Ugly about Your Health...is that Twinkie really more important to you than your kids?...Fat people die quicker." Most people without realizing it will use their children/family as a reason to not care for themselves. They say they don't have time to exe