Although overall, book sales are down, the Self Help book market continues to expand.  According to the Christian Science Monitor, in 1998, total revenue for the genre was just under $600 million.  By early 2008, it had mushroomed to over a billion dollars.  Why?  If you have one self help book on your shelf, I’m willing to bet you have 5.  We keep seeking the magic bullet, the one thing we can do or not do or say or not say or eat or not eat that will result in our having the life of our dreams.  Some of us are willing to do some work to reach the promised land.  So, we not only read the books, we faithfully do all the exercises.  Sure, we find them interesting, we gain some valuable insight, yet we can’t quite seem to turn it all into sustainable action. 

For the most part, we continue to do what we’ve always done, even though we just read everything we need to know to do it differently.   Do you want to know why?  Because we can only see what we can see from our side of our eyes.  When we respond to questions, do exercises or describe our current practices, we’re describing them as WE SEE THEM, not as they are seen by others.  We can’t see what others see.  We can’t ‘think outside the box’ because we’re in the box.  What we see is the walls around us and what’s on those walls is our own perceptions, paradigms, limiting beliefs, habits, unconscious behavior, inner voices.  They are the instructions for how to play it safe and stay inside the box.  In other words, the things we need to change are the very things that are preventing us from being able to change.  We need the support of someone who’s outside the box.

Think of it like a frozen, microwavable dinner entree.  The entree needs to be transformed from its solid, frozen state to a soft, hot state so that it is delicious and appealing.  Indulge me for a minute and imagine that the food has a brain and can think.  It knows it needs to be heated but it can’t do what it knows is necessary by itself.  Why not?  Because the instructions and the necessary resources are on the OUTSIDE OF THE BOX.  That’s true for you, too. Now, you are a lot more capable than a frozen dinner but, you need the support and resources that exist outside the box you live in.  You need to get a more complete picture and a different set of instructions that will guide you to take effective action.  You need a fresh, new set of eyes and ears to help you see your circumstances from a different perspective, to suggest new, more effective ways to respond to things, to test the beliefs you hold as true, to cheer you on as you take some risks.

One on one coaching and group coaching programs can provide just the right balance of external perspective, information, insight, support and accountability to help you act on your intentions and make the changes you want to make once and for all!