I've used this book a lot! We've come up with great birthday party activities from this-- or rainy-day boredom busters. One 4-yr-old child who had just had a $400 chuck-e-cheese birthday asked if she could have her party in my back yard next year! The obstacle course suggestions alone are worth buying this book. This book will educate you to look at your recycables in a new way. After reading this-- my own ideas flourished as well. In fact, every item in your house will start to reveal it's play possibilities to you. Anyone who has watched a kid play with a cardboard box or tube for hours will appreciate this book. Some of the things we have made from recyclables and found objects have been played with more than most other toys in our house.

A true inspiration in motivational concepts - individualized to work for everyone. I bought four copies to give out to friends and family.

We just got this book and we are already playing these games all of the time! The design of the book makes each game simple to understand, most of them don't need any special set up or props, and the activities are divided into age groups (2-7, 8-12, 13-15, 16+ and adult) But the book is about much more than fun activities, it is about a whole way of approaching life to find the joy in everyday situation (she includes activities to deal with getting dumped by a teenage boyfriend, on how to make important carrer choices, and on how to avoid the blues, even when they are the result of something very sad). One game I especially like is for ages 2-7, called "young ones" in the book. It is called Grouchy Food. The game is for when your child is grouchy or sad or in some other unplesant mood you say to them "Hmm, you look like you are in a grouchy mood today, I better adjust the lunch menu so you can eat what grouchy people eat. What do grouchy people eat, anyway? Worms, probably." Then you make spagehetti (we added food die until it was brown). The author notes that sad people sometimes need a little blue food coloring in their eggs, "lots of water to drink so they have extra for their tears," and "gental" pudding for dessert. How could any kid stay upset after that?! According to Barbara Sher laughter is an "organic, free, all-natural blues buster" and you and your kids will find plenty to laugh about with this book on hand.

I have never heard of a speaker or lecturer or workshop leader writing a book with all the secrets of how to run their workshop! In "Teamworks!" Barbara Sher gives away all her secrets of success! Barbara Sher truly wants home grown Success Teams to work! Using "Teamworks!" I run free Success Teams over email. Does that sound impossible? I do it right over jbrooks@svpal.org! The result is a supportive, friendly, encouraging, helpful, warm environment to pursue your dreams! Try it out!

At a difficult point in my career, I turned to this book to help me move to something new. I followed the steps described and it really worked. I had a dream of teaching environmental ethics at university, and now I am! A great thing about this book is that it is really written for sceptics like me who can't stand self-help books. Barbera Sher is particularly suspicious of resolutions and positive affirmations. She states quite clearly that you don't have to improve your character in order to get a good life - good news indeed! Another great thing about this book is that, just as she promises, all the exercises suggested are actually fun. This book moved me from a place of despondancy to a widening sense of wonder and excitement in life. Could you ask for more than that?

This is a really good book. It's very straight forward with none of the usual self-help fluffy stuff to get in the way. It helps you learn what motivates you and how to get the support you need from yourself. Then it gets you thinking about what you *really* want and how to get it. This and The Joy of Simple Living by Jeff Davidson are the only two "self-help" books most people will ever need. (If you are female add Real Gorgeous by Kaz Cooke to that list.)

I am a sucker for self help books. I usually feel great after reading one and then nothing. This book however is an exception. A truly insightful book that can change your life! We often read that if we think a certain way, and do things a certain way we can make what we want happen. Then of course we wonder what is wrong when things don't workout. The author explains why positive thinking, affirmations, and willing and wishing aren't always successful.

She describes how everyone is motivated differently and by using her techniques you will be able to determine what motivates you. She will help you learn how to take steps to make your desires come true even when you feel like you can't possibly succeed. The author describes techniques for a strong imaginary support system that will help you achieve your goals.

This book is very different than the usual "you can do it" book. If you follow the simple steps with this book "you will do it"! A wonderful book! You can start implementing the steps right away and be on your way to the life you love! As I read her book I put her suggestions to work. I can not believe how much easier it is to accomplish my goals!

Most books on life planning have, to my mind, two fatal flaws: they assume that your "strengths" are an infallible guide to what you "should" be doing with your life; and they then attempt to map this to a "career." Barbara Sher starts with the basics: what is most important to YOU? Given that, how are you to get it? (And this doesn't necessarily translate into "career"!) Sher also takes the planning process beyond self-analysis and shows you, in clear and practical terms, how to get the help you need to achieve what you want. Her subsequent books are all worth reading, but start with this one; it's a breath of fresh air amongst the hundreds of "Find the Right Career For You" look-alike guides!

Over the years, I've read many a book on goal-setting and achievement. I started many years ago with the obligatory 'Think and Grow Rich', avoided Anthony Robbin's 'Unlimited Power' because it looked 'too American', floundered around some more in the Positive Mental Attitude books, and came back to Anthony Robbins in desperation. I was seeking something practical and effective, to help me manage my life, as I was having problems due to giving up a well-paid job to study full-time. At that point, I was hooked on NLP. However, if I had read Wishcraft, I might have bypassed Anthony Robbins altogether, and would not be where I am today (such at it is :-) ) Why? Because this book provides everything I was looking for in a book at that time.

It is split into two broad sections: the first helps you to answer the question "What are my goals?"; the second, "How do I achieve them?". The first section contains a number of fairly standard exercises to help you brainstorm your goals. If you are new to the idea of goal-setting, this is a great place to start; however, if you have done many exercises in goal-setting, then most of these exercises will be familiar. However, I suspect that most people will find something of use here, no matter how well- read they are.

The second section is where the book comes into its own. The authors outline a number of tools and methods to help you be successful once you know what your goals are. Some of them are to do with planning, some to do with emotions and managing your state, some are to do with getting the help of others.

The planning model is the best I've come across, and I've done some formal training on planning in a corporate environment. It doesn't cover complex ideas like GANT charts, critical-path analysis, and so on, but it does provide a simple, workable, and effective method of setting out what you'll actually need to do to reach your goal. And it all boils down to two simple questions .....

Can I do this tomorrow? If not, what do I need to do first?

Keep going through those two questions, and you'll end up with a plan consisting of achievable steps that you can do in a day, rather than huge steps which take days or weeks to accomplish. One of the difficulties that many people experience with tasks of this size is due to lack of specificity; breaking the task down into smaller ones helps to make it more 'real' and hence easier to get started on and to acccomplish.

However, in any planning model, particularly where you are venturing out into uncharted territory, there will be some points in your plan where you simply do not know what steps are required - if you are familiar with the idea of unconscious incompetence, then you'll know what I mean. (If not, take a quick look at the article below). Again, using one simple idea, the authors can help you to overcome those problems, based on the idea that if you can't do something, then you know someone who can, or you know someone who knows someone who can, or you know someone who knows someone who...

They call the idea 'barnraising', from the idea in certain communities where each person helps the others build their barn, and then receive help from each person in building their own barn. They suggest getting all your friends, family, and colleagues together; tell them EXPLICITLY what you want; and see how they can help. At the same time, help them with their goals or plans. Whilst not a new idea, the authors go out of their way to tell you that you don't have to do everything by yourself, and then give you a framework in which to work with others to achieve your mutual goals. Anyone familiar with Stephen Covey's Seven Habits will immediately recognize the win/win situation.

Where this ties in nicely with NLP is the 'explicit' part: the meta-model is the ideal tool here for: A) defining what you need B) clarifying exactly what help others can provide C) helping others define what they need.

The authors also provide two questions that will help if you encounter a problem in the form of 'I can't do/have X until I have/do Y' The two questions are:

How can I get X without having/doing Y? How can I get/do Y?

Later, the book covers some basic time management skills, and some general strategies for dealing with fear, including one called 'Lower Your Standards - at First'. The latter goes against many positive thinking-type books by saying if your goals are too far beyond your current beliefs about what you can do, you will most likely be afraid. The way to reduce your fear is to aim to do things badly, then there is no problem if you do actually do them badly. Then, when you've got some experience under your belt, you will be in a position to set realistic, challenging, and achievable goals.

The comments I've written here sound fairly mundane - I'm not one to rant and rave over a book. One of the biggest complements that I can give a book is to say that I will never throw it away, and I will read it at least once per year without fail. I've had this book for about 4 years now, and I've read it 5-6 times, and I will never throw it away (at least, I might, but only to replace it with a less dog-eared copy). Its simplicity, elegance, and plain- talking, combined with sold, practical advice, make it one of my favourite books.

I don't tend to think of self-help books as "exciting"... but, unlike any of the others I've read, this is one I turn to again and again whenever I need some inspiration. I got it out of the public library originally, then bought my own and have given it to more than one friend since. The second time I read this book, it got me to sit down and actually sketch out the characters, plot, and scenes for the novel idea I'd been kicking around. (Now I have to read it again to make myself get back in gear!) It's worth reading just for the exercises in the first half: creative takes on the usual 'brainstorming' sort of activities, which actually yield useful insights into what makes life satisfying to you on a day-to-day level. Altogether excellent for reorganizing your priorities and your direction in life -- in big ways or small ways.

Barbara Sher has a knack for getting right to the point and I've found that she is always right on. There is a lot of insightful and helpful information for everyone in this book. I always look for things that will teach, inspire, help me recognize where I've been and look forward to where I'm going. I would love to see her write a version with a different title that applies to all ages. There is a lot of information in this book that applies to all stages of life, not just those 40 and over! I buy this book as gifts for everyone in my family and all of my friends -- They love it too!

This book won't tell you anything you don't already know. (In fact, as one of the other reviewers snidely noted, some of the "facts" are pretty questionable, and I doubt all readers will agree with the author's contention that people enjoy essentially no free will until the age of 40.) What this book will do is give you the "Aha!" reaction when you recognize some of the things that may have motivated you in the past, and make you realize that you now have the power to change those things and put together your future in a new way. If you're stuck in a feeling-sorry-for-yourself, midlife rut, this book may be enough to kick you in your butt and get you going again. I liked it so much that I came back to Amazon.com to buy three copies for friends!

I liked the easy format and the way that you can see where you have been and where you REALLY want to go. Helped you to understand that life is about choices and not about illusions. You are where you are today because of choice over the past 20 year so you really can make choices about what is impt. in the next 20 years. Not as straightforward as you might think and you are not as "stuck" as you think that you are either! I would recommend this book to anyone that is in a transtion period in there life...it is helpful and informative.

I've read this book more than once, and I recommend it very highly but with some warnings. I recommend certain chapters very, very highly, as they've changed my perspective on midlife and aging tremendously. Barbara Sher does a masterful job of explaining how and why, if we're willing to be open to new possibilities, we can create lives that are *more* exciting, meaningful and rich after age 40 than before. She does an amazing job of showing how standard ideas of post-40 life are based on cultural propaganda rather than facts, and on skewed perspectives promoted by our youth-obsessed culture. (Quick example: Stereotypes say that after 40 people lose their individuality and creativity and become stodgy, boring old farts whose lives eventually dwindle to nothing more than bingo. She shows that in fact, *teenagers* are far more conformist and self-limiting than middle-aged people, and that age 40 is, for many of us, the age at which we finally get enough sense of ourselves to develop true individuality instead of going with the herd.) She explains how the youthful drive to impress people and "get to the top" may be biologically motivated by the need to impress potential mates, but then shows how, as that kind of narcissism starts to fade away at around 40, we can begin to perceive possibilities for deeper, more meaningful success, based on who we truly are rather than on needing to score points with people. I'm 41 now and I've been finding that a great deal of what she says is dead on.

My only caveat is that, as she's offering sympathy and understanding for some of the difficult aspects of midlife, she sometimes sounds dogmatic about how universal and inevitable some aspects are or the timetable on which they can be expected. For example, in the first chapter she works very hard to convince the reader to come to terms with loss of physical beauty and romantic possibilities. I first read the book when I was pushing 38, and that chapter left me with the impression that I could pretty much mark the date on my calendar when I would be totally unattractive and unable to get a date again in my life. I'm 41 now and still -- in all honesty -- very attractive, with men expressing interest in me frequently, and I know plenty of other people my age who are very good-looking and have lots of sex appeal. But that chapter almost sounds like she thinks that anyone who's pushing 40 and still thinks they can turn heads is just living in fantasyland and they should just "deal with reality." So I think she laid it on a bit thick there, and in a few other places as well, where she's trying to convince the reader "It's no big deal, this aspect of aging happens to everyone and it's not the end of the world" but it may be bewildering or frightening to readers who aren't yet 40 and are wondering whether all these things will happen exactly on schedule, or for people whose experience of being 40-something doesn't precisely match what she describes. So I recommend this book to my late-thirty-ish friends, but I warn them not to take every last bit of it to heart, like the implication that they're guaranteed to look like hell by age 40.

Having read many, many self-help, motivational books, this one is 'top notch'. As a 45 year old nurse contemplating (again), a career change, this book has helped me decide to 'go for it'. Barbara has an uncanny way of having you look back on your life....and making you want to step forward with great anticipation for the future. I recommend this book to anyone who is nearing midlife....it will help you through a very tough time of life.

Barbara Sher's honest and down-to-earth style is what makes her the "queen" of "self-help." Sher's easy-to-read and easy-to-understand style turn psycho-babble into common sense. In this book, Sher puts the normal fears of aging into perspective in the humorous down-to-earth style that has become her trademark. Sher is the real thing -- a real person dedicated to helping others build the foundations under their dreams. In doing so, she's not afraid to lead the reader through psychological territory that makes TV's "Survivor!" seem tame.

No doubt, if you actually read the book and do the work, you will achieve amazing results with your life. Sher makes it easy. Of course, if you'd just rather continue to complain, well, Sher would support you in putting on the biggest pity party of your life -- until you finally got sick of yourself enough to change! A more positive way to consider your life and everything in it, is only the beginning of the benefits of reading this book.<...P>Barbara Sher and her message are an American, and International, treasure.

Most activities in this book are only appropriate for very young children. I am a fan of Barbara Sher's other books so I bought this without browsing it first. Many of the '300' activities are chants with various words. For example: "we've all got a name, first and last, tell us your name and we will laugh". Another activity is to let the child smell food flavorings. Fun stuff if you're 3 but there isn't much for an 8 year old.

This is a great book to be able to grab when you need an activity. One thing that I really enjoy about B. Sher's activities is that the are low prep. and you know that anything you find in her book will be of value to the children.

Wonderful book for parents, teachers, baby-sitters, etc. Gave the Hebrew edition (available in Israel) to a friend who enjoyed using it to entertain the children on a trans-atlantic flight. I highly reccomend this book and others by Barbara Sher, including "Extrodinary Games with Ordinary Things"

Psychologist and career counselor, Barbara Sher, the best-selling author of WISHCRAFT, has synthesized a ground-breaking work of psychological insights and practical exercises that help us ferret out what we knew all along: we really do know what we want. There are many reasons for this sometimes lifelong memory gap. For some its fear of success, for others it's fear of failure, for many its insecurity or a lack of self-esteem. Whatever the reason, Sher has devised creative exercises from writing our own wish scenario to revisiting that point in our life where everything started to go wrong.

The question to ask of any self-help book is: can it really help? Yes, definitely, if you approach Sher's book without any expectations. If you think it's going to make you get up and quit that job you dread going to day after day, forget it. Sher's work here is to adjust your thinking not your life - that's up to you. As stated in the Upanishads: "As one's thinking is, such one becomes. " After reading this book, you just might appreciate that "dreaful" job you have and see how it actually helps get on with the work you really love to do. On the other hand, you might also find that the lifelong work you have been dreaming about can truly be a nightmare. It's all a matter of perspective as Sher points out so effectively.

I would recommend this book to anyone who felt it was time for a change and a little introspection. Whether you are highly creative or down-to-earth and practical, everyone can learn a lesson or two from Sher's revealing insights.

"Wishcraft" knocked my socks off many years ago. While this didn't pack the same punch for me, I still recommend it heartily as a follow-up to the previous book: she builds upon its insights to offer eminently practical help for discovering what you want in life. I like Sher's approach for two reasons: (1) she makes it clear that achieving what you want in life doesn't necessarily shape itself neatly into "career" (a common mistake in career and life-planning books), and (2) she recognizes that not everyone has one GRAND passion; some people are generalists by nature, and that's just as valid (and achievable!) a way of life. Her down-to-earth and realistic approach is refreshing, and she makes no extravagant promises. In fact, her books WILL change your life -- but only because she's shown you that you know what you're looking for, and just need some practical guidance about how to find it!

I have imagined myself doing thousands of different careers, but the interest in each career would fade as fast as it appeared. Each day was a new idea. Then I found this book and couldn't put it down. It helped me realize the patterns and interests I had all my life, but never pursued as a career. I just didn't have a formula to create a career out of what makes me the happiest. How to do find your life's desire when you feel so confused? The answer: Get this book. The exercises, when done honestly, really help flush out all the garbage you have learned along the way on what you "should" be doing versus what you need to do deep down inside. The author focuses a little much on blaming parents and other significant figures we have had in our lives, but they did only as well as they could. Each chapter, even if they don't entirely relate to you, teaches you something about life and the choices you have made. This book is practical and thought provoking. It really got me excited about finally living my dream. Here I go! A must read!