Wishcraft : How to Get What You Really Want

I bought Wishcraft 17 years ago after finding myself divorced and living alone in a studio apartment overlooking a Safeway parking lot. I worked in factories as a temp and drove a beat-up Renault--not much better than Lt. Columbo's. I was down, disgusted and needed to do something real with my life. Maybe even go for my life's dream. . . Ever since college I had a crazy dream about one day living in France. I'd fallen in love with the people and the country during my junior year abroad in 1979. But as the years rolled on, "real life" took over and the dream faded into the background. I kept up my French as best I could with books, movies and music, but that was about it. When my divorce hit, I was free to go anywhere, but I was broke and demoralized. I don't remember where I got a copy of Wishcraft, but I did and immediately devoured it. Did all the exercises and studied the book as if my life depended on it--I believe it did. To make a long story short, I'd planned to be permanently living and working in France in 5 years, at the time. Even on paper, it seemed crazy. But I shut up my inner critic and got down to working with Wishcraft. I started making tiny, baby steps of progress. Then worked some more. More progress. It wasn't always fun or easy, but I kept inching forward. And I did eventually reach my goal, but not in the 5 years I'd planned. I made it 3 ! It wasn't because I was super multi-tasking genius person, either. I ain't. I think there's a snowball effect from taking small steps and actions, especially the way Wishcraft teaches. I stumbled across resources, opportunities and contacts I could have hardly imagined when I first opened the book. I've been living my dream life for 14 years now, and it's getting better all the time. To say I highly recommend this book is an understatement. You might as well ask me if I recommend breathing. This book is that important if you want more out of life. I've read many, many self-help books, but Wishcraft is the only one that gave me the practical tools to not only help me get what I wanted, but show me that it was actually possible.

Most books on life planning have, to my mind, two fatal flaws: they assume that your "strengths" are an infallible guide to what you "should" be doing with your life; and they then attempt to map this to a "career." Barbara Sher starts with the basics: what is most important to YOU? Given that, how are you to get it? (And this doesn't necessarily translate into "career"!) Sher also takes the planning process beyond self-analysis and shows you, in clear and practical terms, how to get the help you need to achieve what you want. Her subsequent books are all worth reading, but start with this one; it's a breath of fresh air amongst the hundreds of "Find the Right Career For You" look-alike guides!