You know you can accomplish almost anything you put your mind to, but you're not sure what you should be accomplishing. If that's the case, Barbara Sher's book, I Could Do Anything if I Only Knew What It Was, can help you get from here to there.

The book helps you focus on what you really want to be in your life. It also helps you create the right direction for yourself. Learn how to reconnect with long-lost goals, overcome negativity and create your own luck -- instead of just wishing for it.

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I Could Do Anything If I Only Knew What It Was: How to Discover What You Really Want and How to Get It,
by Barbara Sher
Published by Bantam Doubleday Dell
1995

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Before you can begin to build a plan, Sher says you must first ask yourself, "What am I supposed to be doing with my life?" In order to become more specific about what you really want, you must first ask specific questions about what you've been "expected" to do with your life.

What has your family expected you to do? Why? How have those messages altered the course of your life? Were you expected to grow up and become a lawyer or a doctor, or did you receive more subtle messages?

Through two exercises, Sher leads the reader to break through the myths of what our families wanted us to be. She explains why their dreams are impossible for us to fulfill. And she points out that what we want to become is a real possibility.

In the following chapters, Sher reveals that the secret to "getting lucky" in our lives is to engage in action. She also teaches us how to identify and break through the resistance that is holding us back from achieving what we want.

Sher says that we tend to avoid action if we're not sure what we want. But through action, we learn what our true resistance is to knowing what we want. Then we can break through these barriers. Sher shows readers how to target their resistance issues, and then melt them.

Readers are prompted to define what the world believes is "meaningful work," what our personal job from heaven would be, and how to use specific techniques to help uncover and meet our resistance head-on.

Are you cautious? Do you avoid adventure because the outcome is not a sure thing? Or, are you really afraid of success? Or maybe you have so many things you want to do that you can't settle for just one slice of all that's available to you.

If you find yourself in any of these predicaments, Barbara Sher's book offers a handy set of soul-searching exercises to help you conquer these personal gremlins. Find out if you're a "scanner" or a "diver" and how to productively deal with those traits.

If you're on the wrong track and moving at a breakneck speed, you'll learn how to get in touch with your real feelings and how to manage them. Sher also helps readers effectively cure boredom as well as burnout.

She gives us a handful of scenarios to help us work through issues, such as imagining our own business. She also shows how to reacquaint yourself with an old dream locked deep inside that you may have forgotten.

Whether you're struggling with disabled desire or battling a desire that flies in the face of what your family or friends believe is right, Sher's book provides a common sense, thoughtful guide for teaching readers how to recognize and overcome these difficulties.

If you long to live a life you love, but you need help defining it, you'll find I Could Do Anything if I Only Knew What It Was to be an invaluable life tool, as well as a must-have addition to your bookshelf.

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