economics-times

I am so grateful to the authors of this book! First, I realize I'm not alone in being frantic...but this goes beyond "misery loves company..." it's "misery gets a makeover!" I have used several of the book's tips, and read a couple more pages each day. It lifts my spirits, makes me laugh, but most importantly gives me manageable, real world solutions to balancing life as a working woman, mother, wife, daughter, and active participant in my community. In fact, I have purchased several as gifts for birthdays, and the ones I have given are met with overwhelming enthusiasm.

I hope by the time I finish reading this book (which won't take me too long because it's so reader-friendly) there will be news on what else these 2 women have to offer those of us navigating life in the frantic lane. In the meantime, I'll keep pulling out my Frantic Woman's Guide to try various ideas and tips as I make my way through my house, my life, and the year ahead!!

Finally, the book I've been waiting for! I love the month-by-month format--which is so different from other organizing books I've read. The checklists in the back of each chapter will help me keep track of what I've done each month and what I have yet to do. In addition, the book is very easy to read. In fact, I had read through the month of May in my first sitting. Here are two of my favorite suggestions:

1. I especially liked the tips about freezing baked goods the day you make and buy them. They even recommended freezing potato chips--give it a try!

2. I also liked the suggestion of putting a snack box full of healthy alternatives like granola bars and cereal mixes in the car. I've already saved money bypassing the fast food places!

There are so many more good tips, I can't tell them all. They talk about everything from winterizing your car to getting a good tutor for your kids and uncluttering your closet. Any women with too much on their plates should pick up this book. It's been a life saver already. Thanks!

Love the reminders in February about how to keep that love light burning, and the furniture primer in April that sets out all the things I feel I'm supposed to know about buying wood furniture, but can never remember. But the neatest tip I've found so far might be the piece on page 280 about how to use department store coupons before the date. I tried it yesterday on some rather pricey bed linens. It really works! Thanks Mary Jo and Judith for organizing all these goodies.

It not only teaches time management, and how to effectively use a Day Planner, it teaches how to understand values in your life, and how to utilize those values to create goals and inner peace with yourself. If you're trying to become more organized, and need a little harmony and peace with what you want out of life, this is a terrific book,

If you are like me, reading a book on how to organize yourself is nearly as hard as doing the organization itself! This book really helped simplify the process with clear, common-sensical advice and an approach that was EASY! As one of the co-authors was formerly as disorganized as I was and used the methods to organize herself, (and documented the process in the book!) it made it 'real' for me in a way that I hadn't seen in other books on getting it together. This book is a keeper, and I continuously refer to it to help me keep myself on-track!

Few books have ever done so much for me. This book has helped me organize so much of my life, it's not even funny.

The best part of it, is it's not about making lists and filing papers, it's about what's important to you and really helping you prioritize what really matters in your life.

You'll be amazed at how easy it really is to be focused all the time.

I am a "simplicity book" junkie, and I have to say that this is one of the best I've read! It is a short, easy read with lots of good tips (and motivation!) for tackling the clutter in your life. Each chapter deals with a different area of your home or life, including a chapter on uncluttering your thoughts that alone is worth the price of the book. This book is a keeper, and inspired me to part with 5 bags of books last weekend that should have been passed on long ago!! This book is not comprehensive or a cure-all, but it has some good sound tips that can be easily implemented for almost immediate improvement. I highly recommend it!

I've checked out and read a lot of books on living a simpler, more organized life. This is the one I wanted to buy and keep. It's straightforward, clear, helpful - and covers a wide range of topics: philosophy of simplifying, wardrobe, decorating, cooking, traveling, home office, kitchen and closet organization, and more. I've gone back to it again and again for inspiration and ideas.

Other reviewers remarked that this isn't "Your Money or Your Life". That's true; the books serve different purposes.

This also isn't a "save the earth" book, although its suggestions about challenging materialism and living with less certainly would benefit the environment.

The authors aren't zealots, they've just written an excellent book full of practical suggestions, and provided food for thought for those wanting a simpler life.

When I first sat down to read this book, I grabbed a notepad and began
making lists of ways it suggests to get more organized. Then as I got into the book, I realized that little boxes were provided for making checklists of things to do. What a great idea!

I love the authors' quote about "how much money is spent on our bodies and how little is spent on our souls." A great reminder about what's really important in life!

This book is a primer for organizing and tidying up clutter both in the
mind and the environment. Cris and Connie present hundreds of tips in a concise style. They don't mince words or waste your time. I organized my photography work area using the principles from this book.

I wonder what the odds would be of yet another reviewer from Scottsdale, AZ giving this book five stars?

I wish Amazon had a better system of cleaning up obvious abuse of its ratings system. I've already suggested a "Ratings Abuse Notification" option through their email customer service which is yet to be acted on. Would be a good idea if readers of Amazon reviews could make it a point to alert others of suspicious book ratings.

As someone who has struggled to diagnose the reasons for communication breakdowns, I finally found practical solutions in this book. Essentially, what I realized is that for all of my education, I knew nothing about communicating. Specifically, I learned that words are not factual or literal, but symbolic... I was often trapped by trying to logically respond rather than hearing the underlying emotional message. This book taught me how to turn this around and get to the heart of the issue, and saves me ALOT of time. Having a practical nature, I would rather enjoy the benefits of making my point than being "right". I strongly recommend this book.

How great to find a book I can adapt to a retired lifestyle, be
more comfortable in social situations and enrich my life through words." Say it Right the First Time" did just that.

A retired widow from North Scottsdale, AZ

I bought this book on the strength of the reader reviews here hoping that it would make a good gift for a friend of mine whose home is a fire hazard, it is so cluttered with more than a decade of junk that she cannot throw away. However, the first chapter that would have been relevant to her needs deals with... how to keep your files straight! My gosh, for someone who is in great need of organizing help, that is one of the last matters to address. I found some of the examples in the book parochial and off-putting - who outside of LA and New York City spends $1,500 on a dinner party for six other couples?! And who in the world told Ms. Leeds that the purpose of a mezuzah for Jews is to ward off evil? That is absolutely ill-informed and incorrect. She should have checked that information out before printing it. In sum, you might find this book helpful if you are slightly to moderately disorganized. If you are nearly hopeless at keeping your life in order, this book will not help a bit.

"Creating Order and Peace in Your Home, Career, and Life," is a tall order and author Regina Leeds is up to the task. The Zen of Organizing goes beyond helpful tips (although it is full of them) to help the reader explore the nature of their relationship with their possessions. Leeds takes you by the hand on a journey to a better life beyond the clutter. The book opens with a discussion of how and why you can succeed in organizing, continues with a detailed area-by-area action plan, and finishes by tying it all together and addressing maintenance.

In the "Getting Started" section, Leeds prepares you for the journey ahead. Organizing isn't easy even though it's simple. Everyone carries emotional baggage that ties in with the physical clutter in their lives. Prior to accomplishing anything, one must identify goals and challenges and then plan for success. The Zen of Organizing lets you know that you are in for a challenge in putting your life in order. It assures you that you're up to that task by helping you break it down into manageable tasks and providing some exercises geared to establish your motivation.

The main body consists of several chapters with specific advice for dealing with your work space, closets, bathroom, kitchen, common rooms and children's rooms. At each way point, you get a helping of common sense advice as well as deeper insight into why the common sense advice has been so hard to follow before. It's obvious from the stories she tells that Leeds has worked for and with people who have more money than the average reader. The principles she espouses, however, are universal: Eliminate, Categorize, Organize. This stuff works whether you're organizing your villa in Spain or your bachelor pad in Venice. Everyone has stuff. Everyone has issues. If you follow the advice in this book, your stuff and your issues will both become easier to manage.

The spirituality in The Zen of Organizing fits seamlessly into the functionality. It's about getting your life organized which is impossible unless your life can reflect your own inner peace. There is one chapter on Feng Shui which I've always thought of as a load of superstitious hooey. After reading this chapter, I see it as some common sense rules for space management as well as some superstitious hooey. A short chapter can be forgiven and doesn't detract from the clarity of the book as a whole. An important message that spoke to me is where the author says that organization shouldn't be used as a weapon in the relationship wars. You cannot create harmony while destroying someone else's peace. That alone is worth the price of admission.

The Zen of Organizing is well-organized (no surprise) and as profound in its details as it is detailed in its profundity. It lives up to its promise and has helped me create order and peace in my home, career and life. Anybody who is already organized could probably pick up a few pointers here and anybody who isn't already organized needs the kind of help offered in this book. Reading this book is the closest thing to having a personal organizer/spiritual guru/shrink/friend stand by and support you while you get your life together.

The Zen of Organizing: Creating Order and Peace in Your Home, Career and Life is one of the first organizing books that I have read that made sense and that actually made a difference in my life. The book has resulted in my creating more peace (zen) not only within my home, but also within my life. The author, through her suggestions and stories, helped me to identify solutions and provided insight to my organizing. Ms. Leeds' inspirational approach to organizing has assisted me in getting organized and staying organized.
If you are looking for lasting changes...Give yourself a gift and get this book.

Do yourself a favour, save your money and do not purchase this book. You will gain more valuable information elsewhere. A lot of the stuff presented really does not hold up to the cold harsh scrutiny of backtesting. Mr Miner might be a knowledgeable man, however, you have to wonder. Why is he selling rather expensive software/courses/book, has a website, subscription service, seminars, etc, etc? Why isn't he trading and making huge amounts of cash, successfully applying the information "taught" in this book? Why is he even sharing this information with us? Do you reckon that Morgan Stanley or Goldman Sachs provide any information about their trading strategies and quantitative models that take years to develop and validate?

You also have to wonder about the format of the book. Huge thick pages, largish fonts, wide separation of lines. Maybe Mr Miner believes these sorts of things impress readers, like his, at times, irrelevant drivel.

I bought this book because it was highly recommended by a friend, and because of the great reviews received here - although there was at least one bad review that appears to have been mysteriously removed - what a mistake that was.

This is a huge binder-sized book, packed with so much information it's a bit daunting at first. But it's worth the work, as it is one of the best books around for people who want to learn the art and science of trading in a disciplined fashion. Miner focuses his teachings on ideas developed by Gann and Elliot having to do with dynamic ratios and patterns in financial markets. Thus there is a lot here about Elliot wave analysis and Fibonacci ratios. However, he tempers these academic theories with a heavy dose of common sense practicality, which makes them much more usable for traders. The book begins with chapters on analyzing chart patterns using Elliot wave principles, dynamic price analysis, and dynamic time analysis. The remaining chapters focus on how to use this information in everyday trading. In reading these final chapters I realized areas in my own trading that could use improvement-compared to Miner's rigorous method, mine has been a bit sloppy.

Robert Miner is not only an expert in his field, he is also obviously an experienced teacher who knows how to present information in the proper steps for maximum learning. He has a very interesting mind-he's one of those rare people who has a metaphysician's visionary propensities coupled with a very down-to-earth common sense and dry wit. Thus the book, though at times difficult, is never dry or pedestrian.

Robert Miner has done an excellent job integrating Elliott Wave, Gann, Fib ratios, and money management into a solid and sound trading approach.

I have had the opportunity to work with many traders and system developers and I recommend DYNAMIC TRADING as a quality product.

If you apply the material in this book your trading will improve!

THIS BOOK WAS VERY BORING AND HARD TO READ!! I WANTED SOMETHING THAT WAS QUICK AND EASY TO DO IN BETWEEN FAMILY DEMANDS, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE DONE WITH THIS BOOK. IF YOU HAVE LOADS OF TIME, THEN YOU CAN USE THIS BOOK. I DON'T

I've tried many books on house cleaning and organizing in the past 25 years of being a wife and also a mother to our 6 kids. The systems were either too rigid for my fun-loving personality, or didn't help me see what was causing the MESS in the first place, so it would eventually reappear. I heard Kathy Waddill being interviewed on a radio station and ordered the book from Amazon.com that very morning. Although still reading through the introduction, I have already decluttered and reorganized my desk drawers, dresser, and closet. The Organizing Sourcebook meets you inside your own front door, helps figure out your own #1 source of irritation, and then gives ways to resolve it (mail and other things piling up on my kitchen table ARRGGGHHH!!!). This book gives 9 strategies to create your own workable plan. Check out the 22 pages that are previewed and get a glimpse of what The Organizing Sourcebook can do for you.

I've read this wonderful organizing tool from beginning to end and have been using it ever since as I organize a room at a time in my home. Kathy Waddill has put down the right words to describe the nine steps to making a clutter free environment. What I best like about her book is the recognition that each one of us, individually or as a family, will go through different stages in our lives - stages that reveal the reasons why messes begin happening in our lives and our homes. No matter what the circumstances, if we become aware of where we stand, we will see an opening for change; it is this opening that is needed to start the process toward a reasonable, organized life! I have recommended this book to several colleagues & clients because it offers abundant personal stories. Most people change when they see their own life reflected in another's. When people see themselves in another's shoes they feel not alone, and not like the only one with such messiness at home or in the office. Such affirmations give people the hope that they too can change! I've tried other organizing books, but it is only this one that has really helped me start changing my messy home into an organized one. Thank you Kathy!!

Basically, it's turning your message into a commerical since the average person can only hold their attention for 30 seconds thanks to (M)TV. It's useful in getting a message across to individuals who either don't want to talk to you or are too busy quicky. It can be seen as "brute honesty" if it's news the individual doen't like to hear, especially, regarding personal performance.Could be very useful in sales and retail. The book uses the 3 Ks (KKK). Unfortunately, it's not a good (PC) memory aid. I perfer the 3 Cs. "Catch Em", "Ceep Em", "Convince Em". I love the saying "Talking to many is the same as talking to one."
Worth a look at about 110 pages. You can finish it in one sitting.

Milo O. Frank shows step-by step how you can improve your communications skills by using a 30-second message. While we all often gab for minutes or hours, you should be able to get your point across within 30 seconds. The rest is simply preparation or follow-through. The techniques of crafting a 30-second message will help you focus your thinking, writing and speaking. Using these techniques, you can also be more effective in conducting meetings or speaking to groups. This skill will give you better all-around results in business. The technique has three main steps: identify your objective, know your listener and find the right approach. The author shows how to build the most effective message and then tells you how to present it to an audience. The last chapter shows how the 30-second message can be used in other forms of communication, from business letters to sales pitches and press conferences. We [...] recommend this clear, concise book for business people or professionals who want to get their ideas across more effectively, particularly in public speaking.

One of the most practical and helpful books I have read. I bought it on a whim because of the title. The author soon drew me into his topic and convinced me that if we have something worth saying, we must make sure that people hear it. Concise speach and writing helps that happen. As part of my job, I teach communication, especially public speaking and writing, to future missionaries. This book helped shape my teaching notes AND my delivery. I always recommend it to my trainees. None of them has ever been disappointed. Thank you, Milo O. Frank.

Finally--a book with practical "life management" advice written in a readable, often hilarious style! Catlin offers valuable tips on how to make the most of one's time and money by suggesting strategies which easily apply regardless of income. Contains many pearls of wisdom!

I love this book! It's easy to do and I did it. I haven't
worked in the past 2 years by choice, by following his advice
in this book. If I can do it on 25k a year anyone can. He
really challenges and gets you thinking about the American
Dream. Don't wait until you are 65 to retire, read this book.
It's easy reading and hard to put down. I've read it 5 times.

This is a great read ! Thought provoking, & well written. After reading this book, you'll find yourself saying "Jeez, maybe I could do it !" At the very least, you'll be thinking about the quality of your life now, and the way it could be. Don't hesitate - just buy the book......

Larry Williams appears to be very good at investing -just ask him. According to his web site, the man is "a legend". Having been foolish enough to believe the hype, I alone am at fault for taking the bait and buying the book. But the crux of this review is it is rude to promote yourself and your merchandise while promising to show how to buy "The Right Stock At The Right Time", unless one is really prepared to deliver on that searing promise.

To the author's credit, the book was released last year, when Bubble 2 had not yet come into fruition. The book is subtitled, "Prospering in the Coming Good Years", and it takes certain courage and conviction to assume the role of a guide to the stock market when most of us would have guessed that conditions were about to get much worse. The problem is Williams' advice is muddled, and much of it is laced with sleazy self-interest in the form of other products offered by guess who.

At first glance, many will rest assured that Larry Williams offers lots of research in his book "for your perusal, study and edification". At times, as is noted in Chapter 11 of "The Right Stock At The Right Time", Williams even updates these studies on his web site: www.larrywms.com. Maybe you should stop by Williams' site for a flavor of the edification he offers if you believe this review is merely an effort to stigmatize the book and its author.

"The Right Stock At The Right Time" seems to offer a full investment system for the stock market. And like any really good investment book, it offers a chapter on money management.

Only it really doesn't. Williams unveils some ratios, many of which have already been revealed by other investment writers with much less fanfare. But he doesn't quite say how to make use of them. And the system Williams nearly articulates in his book appears already to be usurped by a newer system called "The Dow Darlings", which readers can pay $200 to learn more about in a newsletter offered by Williams. Then Williams promises astute and novel insight on money management. Only what he offers is less than half-baked, ultimately summarized in the following ill-defined formula: account balance * risk percent = contracts or shares to trade. The equation is pretty much left as a dangling platitude, although Williams says this amounts to "the keys to the kingdom". If you are confused, don't worry. There is always the possibility of elucidation in the form of some money management software offered at Williams' website.

Although I did not know anything about Williams before seeing and reading this book, it turns out I have met him before in an endless parade of gaseous, self-merchandising business books by other meatless and notoriously self-aggrandizing authors such as Robert Allen (who fittingly pens an endorsement on the book's jacket), Wade Cook (whose abilities need not be further described), Donald Trump (the great businessman who doesn't really make money), Van Tharp (the trader who doesn't really trade) and James Cramer (the stock buyer who was really selling). As in the case of books by those authors, you will likely not be referring back to this text in 10 years to find hidden meanings.

Larry Williams is a prolific author, trader, educator, and money manager. With over a quarter century of experience, Williams has provided investors with practical and easy-to-implement market timing and stock selection strategies in this just published book.

Williams initially focuses on the recurrent seasonal patterns in the market. Williams reveals one interesting strategy where he notes that excellent times to go long the market are years ending in twos (e.g., 1952, 1962 ...... 1992) and threes. Just look at charts in those years or view them in this book to see those excellent buying points.

Williams also covers the best years of each decade to invest - fifth, eighth and ninth years. The consistency of these three years performance is 80%(positive returns in 8 out of 10 of those decade years). Next he covers the four-year cycle from 1858 to the present time (last 4-yr cycle years were 1994, 1998, 2002) showing that they were good times to buy at their yearly lows, many times occurring in the September/October timeframe.

Another strategy Williams covers in buying in October and selling in April. This strategy was offered by Stock Trader's Almanac in 1986 developed by Yale Hirsch, and it still works today. This strategy has produced significant returns while reducing risk as investors are out of the market for half the year.

Williams provides a look at indicators to determine that a market bottom is in place. He covers such items as the Fed's Stock Evaluation Model, margin credit, odd-lot short sales, Investors Intelligence Bull/Bear Index, US Bonds, and gold prices.

Williams covers in detail the fallacy of long-term investing and the devastation that it can wreak on investors portfolios. Investors who are die-hard "buy-and-holders" should read this chapter to learn that to use that strategy is dangerous.

To do well in the market, Williams urges investors to find stocks that have the capability to outperform the market, and then find the best time to buy them. He totally disagrees with the Wall Street cognoscenti that market-timing is useless.

He spends a chapter on buying stocks at a discount, and one on measuring investor sentiment on individual stocks. He lists seven traditional measures of value (e.g., P/E ratio, Price/Book) and elucidates on which ones work best.

All-in-all this well-written, easy to understand book provides investors with a systematic, time-tested approach to investing. Williams has again provided investors with another classic.

I have had the distinct honor to know the author for over 3 decades both professionally and socially. There is not a stitch of difference between the author and person. Both are sincere, knowlegeable and charismatic. I had the fortune to meet Mr. williams in 1971 after he had made his mark and notoriety in sthe stock market and was well on his way to conquering the commodities' markets.

As with the response most will have once they have read this book, I had the same reaction to Larry when we first met. His sincerity and willingness to give and share with his readers his original research may at first appear to be promotional. Upon further reading of the book and further talking to him, one realizes he is genuinely concerned that the reader and listener at least consider the experiences and knowledge he has acuired and he is willing to share. His interest in the readers'trading welfare and success is for real.

Many other books in the investment area are written to promote the author and the information is a rehash of worthless information that others have offered before. Larry does not operate on this level. The value a reader derives from his book is many times greater than its cost.

This book is intended not only for the new, inexperienced trader, but also for the professional who has acquired his own methodology of trading. Larry information can fill the holes experienced traders may have in their trading approach.

I cannot emphasize enough the value associated with his work and anything he may write. He has enjoyed the benefit of being obsessed with the markets for 35 plus years and a reader is able at a small price to acquire a portion of this legend's wealth of knowledge.

I am not inclined to recommend anyone's book or research until I have researched the ideas and been able to accept their trading ideas as being reasonable and applicable to trading. In the case of this author, I can only write that it would behoove all traders to at least acquaint themselves with the work of this trading legend. You won't be disappointed. He has been an inspiration to me and my career and without his profound influence upon me in the early years of trading I would not have enjoyed the success in trading that I have.