5.0 out of 5 stars From here to Epiphany: the Meaning of Life Project

K.K. · September 8, 2012

Awesome book...Joe also Mathews also leads seminars using this material. Recommended reading for anyone who wants to unlock their potential.

5.0 out of 5 stars Out of the park!

P.B. · July 23, 2012

Joe has an uncanny talent for taking the complicated and boiling it down to its essentials in a way that is fun to read, makes sense, and has the potential for changing lives. Joe doesn't give you a blueprint for life, but more a coloring book. He gives the reader a broad outline and some tools to create a picture of the life they want and maybe even the life they really would have been better if they had wanted. He is able to go from a cosmic perspective down to how to make sense of what you are doing right here, right now. I used to think that Joe was a common sense philosopher but I am convinced that common sense is often just common nonsense. Joe thinks large with a grounding in science, philosophy, and psychology but can do it without acting like a scientist, philosopher, or psychologist--just a mensch with a great mind, great heart, great vision, and great practicality. Look forward to his next book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Produce a Better Life through Improved Attitudes and Goals

D.M. · November 10, 2004

Like most people, I find it valuable to relook at my basic assumptions about life and where I should go next. Fortunately, talented authors and speakers are constantly offering new ways to perform this important set of tasks. Reading their wonderful books and attending their outstanding seminars helps me discipline myself to take these important relooks.Every so often, I am very fortunate and come across a book that teaches me something that I didn't know before. The Meaning of Life Project is just such a book, and I am very grateful for having had a chance to read it and apply the book's lessons.Although most of us would benefit from having a life coach, few of us have one. Mr. Mathews is such an experienced coach, and he built the book to allow you to coach yourself using the methods that he employs with his coaching clients.The book relies extensively on several of the best psychological assessment tools. As a result, you'll come to know your own perspective much better than before . . . and be able to contrast that perspective with others you could choose.Mr. Mathews has the great talent of simplicity as a writer. He is able to introduce and explore very complicated subjects in just a few simple pages . . . and make the material work. He does this through using clear words, uncomplicated explanations and helpful exercises. To give you a sense of this, he will help you explore your religious beliefs about God in just 14 pages. Think of that!I liked the breadth of the subjects he covered very much. I don't remember any other book this slim covering so much. It's almost like reading ten books. In fact, although I could have easily read the book in one sitting, I found myself putting it down repeatedly so I could mull over what I had learned from doing the exercises.As someone who likes to encourage people to accomplish big things, I was very thrilled by the chapter on achieving the impossible.If you only read one book about designing a better life for yourself, you would do well to read this one.As for myself, let me share a few things I learned that made big difference to me. First, if I find myself being critical of someone for some reason, it's probably because I'm experiencing that fault myself . . . and projecting it onto the other person. Second, rather than assume that everything should be changed (my usual mindset), how about accepting that things are as they should be and dealing with them as I find them? Third, stop assigning meaning to everything that happens. By taking the emotional tinge away, it's easier to find out what's really going on and act accordingly.I hope you will have similarly valuable epiphanies from this book.By the way, Mr. Mathews also provides instructions and encouragement for how to coach others by using the book. If you have children or grandchildren you would like to help, please consider becoming their coach after you have finished applying the book for yourself.May God bless you and your purposes!

5.0 out of 5 stars Going through the motions?

J.D. · August 21, 2005

Are you going through life, just going through the motions, or are you living with meaning? There are exercises in "The Meaning of Life Project" that give you a way to think about what you are doing on this planet. For example, you write an essay after answering the questions "Am I here by accident or God's choice?" There are no wrong answers, but after you choose the answer above, you write a list of things that inspire you, an inventory of your skills, what results you want to have happen, and what the initial choice above MEANS to you. Either way, you'll choose a purpose and start to make it happen.For young people, with a faltering sense of direction, or for someone going through a crisis of self-doubt or needing redirection in life, this is a handy manual and could prove a very important tool to craft a new path in life.