"A Simpler Life" Now Out!

A Simpler Life, the audio book Annabel Shaw and I have written for Creative Content Digital, is now up on the flippy bar of the audiobooks section of itunes. If you have an itunes, please go and listen to the sample – and if you like it, give it a good rating and/or review!

A Simpler Life is also available on Audible Downloads - a snip at £7.99 for our Tips and Tools for maintaining a simpler life.

“For the past few years, many of us have been on the ‘go, go, go, get, get, get’ treadmill – and ‘having it all’ has often simply meant ‘doing it all.’
But now outside events have forced some of us to pause and ask: Is more better? Is busy is best? Is it all worth it – or is there a simpler, more satisfying way to live?

What happened to the dreams and ambitions that once inspired us, filling us with excitement and happiness? At work and at home we’ve been so carried away with doing, having and achieving more, that we’ve left ourselves no time to stop and check on where we’re heading and why we’re going there. We’ve lost touch with what it is that gives our lives meaning, nurtures our unique talents and brings us true fulfilment.

Maybe it’s time to reconnect and to become reacquainted with our authentic selves.
Through a series of integrated, enjoyable exercises, work/life balance experts Lucy McCarraher and Annabel Shaw provide a map for the listener to embark on a journey to re-discovering genuine values, needs, desires and hopes, providing positive and well-defined goals, clearly marked destinations, a planned itinerary and regular signposts to keep the listener on track.

Topics covered include:
Why ’simple’ is ‘the new black’
Establishing personal values
Living with integrity
Reconnecting with abandoned dreams and aspirations
The six areas in which you can live a simpler life
Writing your own fairy tale
Bringing your life into balance
Making your dreams a reality
Quick and easy ideas to implement your simpler life – today!”

A New Low For Radio Norfolk...

... was what one listener rang in to say about the discussion of masturbation on Graham and Karen's BBC Radio Norfolk's morning show yesterday. But - surprisingly perhaps - this was the only negative response to what must be quite a provocative subject matter for morning radio.

Martin Price from SinSin - his Norwich "love shop" - and I were on as guests to discuss Graham and Karen's choice of subject matter. Martin's credentials are obvious; mine perhaps less so. I'm a self help writer, but more specifically I was part of the team who, back in the late 80s (or was it early 90s?) produced the pioneering Lovers' Guide videos, books etc. And my novel, Mr Mikey's Ladies, does draw on this experience and includes at least one scene of self-stimulation.

Amazingly, we managed to avoid all smut and inuendo and, over the hour, had a pleasingly grown up and reasonable discussion about an activity that 99% of men and 93% of women say they practice. And, as we suggested, practice makes perfect. Martin made the point that if you don't know how your own body works and responds, how can you help another person to please you?

We emphasised that masturbation was normal, natural and even good for you; it keeps the sexual circuitry in order, releases tension, gets endorphins flowing and helps your sleep.

We also said that parents should be sensitive to their adolescent children's developing needs and that boys, perhaps especially, needed respect and privacy. We suggested that parents should be open and available, and always answer questions factually and honestly.

If anyone has any questions about "Lifestyle" issues of any kind, from work-life balance (which I'll be talking about on Radio Norfolk on Thursday 16th July) to... virtually anything, you can post a question in the form of a comment on the My Wonderful Life Advice blog - which either I or Annabel Shaw, my self help writing partner and social psychologist, will reply to.

A Simpler Life

Creative Content, the digital audio publisher founded by Ali Muirden and Lorelei King, is launching their new imprint, “The Lifestyle Lowdown” with A Simpler Life - by me and my self-help writing partner, Annabel Shaw. The title has been fast-tracked, as CC believe it is particularly relevant in the current economic downturn.

Lorelei said “At times like this, it’s crucial to re-connect with what’s really important to you. We’re so happy to be able to publish a title that will help, written by two experts who, between them, have a vast amount of both hands-on and clinical experience in the work/life balance field.”

Ali agrees. “We think there has been a real shift in the way people feel. During the past few years, for many of us ‘having it all’ has really just meant ‘doing it all’. The recession has made some of us rethink our busy lives on the ‘go go go, get get get’ treadmill, and to look at what we really want. We wanted to produce something that would help us to reassess the path we’re on and to show us how we can change direction.”

A pre-publication reviewer said: “I have just been lucky enough to hear A Simpler Life.This is a great title, full of self improving tips – and a simple concept: Great tips on how to achieve our goals and dreams – and good advice on how to break bad habits! At last, a publisher that makes useful & interesting audio.I would recommend this to everyone .You are never too old learn. A Simpler Life has given me a real boost, thank you.”

Lifestyle Lowdown: A Simpler Life is a new way of looking at how you really want to live, the person you really want to be and the way you really want to spend your precious time.
In recent years, both in the workplace and on the home front, we’ve all been so carried away with doing, having and achieving more, that we’ve left ourselves no time to stop and check on where we’re heading and why we’re going there. Now, it seems, outside events have forced us to pause and take stock; made us question whether more is better, whether busy is best; and whether, without losing our ambition or our need to achieve, there’s a more satisfying, simpler way to live.

The fact is, you can make choices between what really matters to you, and those things you’ve come to believe you ought to have, do or be. But to do that, you must know what it is that gives your life meaning, nurtures your unique talents and brings you true fulfillment. Reconnecting with your authentic values, needs, desires and hopes can help you discover what that is
It’s not necessarily easy, but it is – simple.

Through an hour of integrated and enjoyable exercises, some of which will involve nothing more than closing your eyes and recalling times, places and feelings and others requiring paper and pen or a PC, we show you how to launch a refreshing revision of your life. You will revisit your deep-seated personal values, return to childhood dreams and youthful aspirations and learn to set clear, positive goals for achieving your fundamental desires.

It’s really very simple…

A Simpler Life, out next month, will be priced at £7.99 as a download or is available as an on-demand CD at £9.99. More on http://www.creativecontentdigital.com/ .