17 Lies That Are Holding You Back & the Truth That Will Set You Free Steve Chandler Renaissance Books, Los Angeles (2000) What we achieve depends on what we believe.  All too often we tell ourselves lies that limit our accomplishments, our relationships, and our satisfaction with life itself. Book Review © Dr. Terry J. van der Werff, CMC

When we limit our thinking, we, well, limit our performance.  Such is Steve Chandler's premise.  Similarly, when we expand our minds to embrace new possibilities, we expand our performance.

The 17 lies of the title are the ones we tell ourselves often enough to absorb them into our belief system.  As we learned recently from Lou Tice's Personal Coaching for Results, that which we believe, we ultimately cause to happen.  Whether it is positive or negative is our choice.

Let me highlight a few of the lies to give you a flavor for the book.  The rest you have to read for yourself.

	Lie One: "It's who you know."  The truth is it's what you do.  Doing, not schmoozing, is the real work.
	Lie Three: I'm too old for that."  The truth is we fall into bad habits of diet, exercise, mental stimulation, and entertainment.  Our habits are to blame, not our age.  Fix our habits, and we reclaim our capabilities.
	Lie Five: "I'd love to do that, but I don't have the time."  The truth is we do not lack time; we lack purpose to use time wisely.
	Lie Nine: "The longer I have a habit, the harder it is to break."  The truth is how long we've had a habit means nothing. The new self-perception we create and the purpose with which we follow it mean everything.
	Lie Fifteen: "That's just the way I am."  The truth is we can change our fundamental being in profound ways.  Change always starts from the inside with our intention to change.
	Not being excited is to have missed the whole point of life.

Chandler's fluid writing is strewn with gems that enrich the reader:

	All problems can become action plans if we're willing to stay with them and follow the truth wherever it may lead.
	Search for action in the direction of our dreams.
	The beauty of exposing the way we lie to ourselves is that it frees us up to live on purpose.  (Purpose is one of his recurrent themes.)
	We live into our pictures of ourselves.
	Slow down.  Do less.  Accomplish more.
	Not being excited is to have missed the whole point of life.

Steve illustrates each lie with examples, mostly from his own life, making this a deeply personal book.  Personal for the reader too: I found myself more than once saying, "I've been there!"

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