Wisdom to Live Your MAGIC!

A motivational book of words to live by and how to live by them.

The self-help industry teems with pep talks for improving one’s life. Anderson (Inspiration to Live Your MAGIC!, 2011) rises above the chatter by demonstrating how to turn inspiration into action. This work, part of a motivational program Anderson created specifically to empower youth, follows approaches that he used to turn his life around from unemployment and aimlessness, along with pointers on how to follow in his footsteps. Anderson uses the arc of his own life, from high school dropout to business owner to financially independent family man, world traveler and philanthropist, to testify to the possibility of making one’s dreams come true. Each chapter spotlights one of Anderson’s role models and explores how the author applied their words and examples to his own growth and success. The diverse spectrum of influence ranges from ancient historical figures (Confucius, Marcus Aurelius) to modern newsmakers (Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, Oprah Winfrey) and includes artists, philosophers, writers, statesmen, scientists and people who changed the course of history, such as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Anderson’s charitable efforts, for example, take a page from Microsoft chairman Bill Gates’ strategy of amplifying other people’s work. The collection is a kaleidoscope of life advice, addressing such topics as personal beliefs, one’s relationship with oneself, responsibility and consequences, and creativity and practicality. The book’s bedrock messages draw on themes of choice, optimism and possibility. For example, Anderson recommends keeping a journal to record quotes and conversation snippets, then reworking them into one’s own language, connecting them to stories from one’s own life, and then applying the resulting wisdom.

A valuable guide that encourages and enables self-actualization.