Although international business life coach John M. McKee and business consultant Helen Latimer's new book "The Plan" presents no new information in the self-help field, the book's simple style and hands-on approach make it a great place to start when making big changes to one's personal life, financial situation and career.
Despite the fact that the information presented is nothing new, "The Plan" is mildly interesting and fairly helpful for three reasons.
First, the authors encourage big thinking. Readers are asked to imagine what their lives would be like after they make the important changes needed in order for them to achieve happiness. Although this does not do much to physically change any situation, it is inspiring and motivating enough to get the reader moving in the right direction.
Another reason why "The Plan" works? It focuses on achieving happiness as well as success, redefining the concept of success altogether. McKee and Latimer aim to break their readers of the habit of seeing success as a competitive sport in which the only way to win is to have the most and be the best in the eyes of everyone else.
The authors encourage the reader to do some deep thinking in order to set goals that will help them realize true happiness and help them discover what real success is.
Readers are able to work out their own plan within the pages of the book, which makes "The Plan" easy to use and gets the reader working towards change right away. The spaces available to write down dreams, goals, strengths and weaknesses are substantial enough to accommodate even the most elaborate and complicated ideas, and because "The Plan" supports a more hands-on approach, the reader is more likely to take action.
"The Plan" also provides many online resources to help one stick to the plan he or she has created. These resources could prove to be very helpful to those who spend a lot of time in front of computers, or to those who appreciate more hands-on methods.
While the ideas presented in "The Plan" are simple and straightforward, more experienced readers should take note: despite the fact that the book promotes professionalism, it is not presented professionally.
Some may find it difficult to get past sections with deviating subjects, mistakes in grammar, frequent changes in font and layout and some cliché or wishy-washy ideas.
Though it serves as a good starting point, "The Plan" needs polishing before it can measure up to other books on the same subject.
Andrea Aguirre can be reached at andrea.aguirre@student.shu.edu.
