Confidence Works: Learn to be Your Own Life Coach (Overcoming common problems) (Paperback)

As the author says, life coaching "is about developing a life strategy and a way of feeling better about who we are and the world we live in". It encompasses four skills sets:

1. Creating and sustaining positive impressions
2. Developing a healthy thinking style
3. Managing emotions
4. Managing behaviours

If you find yourself feeling out of control emotionally, dissatisfied with communications with friends, family, loved ones or colleagues, this book could point you back in the right direction.

I was surprised to find that it covered much of what I had read in other books that were devoted to the subjects covered (see next paragraph for details of subjects), only it had the distinct advantage of distilling the information into no more than a few pages or short chapter of information. Despite this, the important messages did not loose their value and methods and techniques were still clearly explained and exemplified.

Broadly speaking this book tackles ways of improving self-esteem, becoming more assertive, instilling self-confidence, communicating effectively, overcoming stress and the pursuit of relaxation.

Specifically, the book prompts you to investigate what lead to you lack of self-confidence and self-esteem; aspects of non-verbal communication (body talk/body language) that can be improved on; making small talk and improving your listening skills (reflective listening/active listening); other peoples' impressions of you; what motivates you; your learning/thinking styles and how to think more positively; relaxation and how to overcome stress; how to be more assertive.

It contains lots of helpful information, background theories, examples and exercises for you to perform to improve your self-awareness. It is an ideal book to get you started if you are suffering from low self-esteem and want to become a stronger, happier person. If you then want to delve into specific aspects of self-improvement, you will be able to find other books with even more information and more detailed examples to further improve your knowledge.

If like me, you've already read about it, done it and got the proverbial t-shirt, this book is still a really handy synopsis of the key skills and information you might need to dip into in the future. It can almost be thought of as a revision or study guide, and is one of the most useful books I have read to date.

I hope this has been of use to you, and that if you are pursuing self-improvement, it will help you on your way.

Best wishes.