Review: 10-10-10: A Life Transforming Idea by Suzy Welch

10-10-10: A Life Transforming Idea is an amazing book, chock full of great ideas, anecdotes and humor and it is written by best-selling author Suzy Welch, a mother of four and a columnist for Business Week and O, The Oprah Magazine. Suzy developed this 10-10-10 principle from her own experience as a mom and businesswoman. The 10-10-10 principle is a wonderful tool to help you think through choices and determine how a decision would impact your life immediately (10 Minutes), in the short term (10 Months), and over a longer stretch of time (10 Years). This approach is similar to looking at things with a pro and con viewpoint but it takes it much further. It allows you to look at things over time and think through how a decision may effect you. It is not always wise to go with that first gut reaction that we often do, myself included, it really is important to think things through before reacting. When we go by the gut only, it's often emotional based and we also need to engage our brains and think about our values and beliefs to make some of those more serious decisions. We can use our gut instinct but also challenge ourselves to think beyond the here and now. I believe that this approach can blend with a person's religious beliefs and faith. Here is a quote that Suzy mentions in the book:

"You can consider 10-10-10 another approach in that it's powerful means to make sure you are living in accordance with your values, no matter what their source"

Suzy shares her own story and others and how they have used the 10-10-10 method to make choices and decisions that are big and small and how using this method has transformed their lives. The 10-10-10 approach has helped everyday people make decisions about buying a house, career choices, changing jobs, having more children, staying in a marriage, ending a friendship, etc. I enjoyed reading the real life stories and how they applied this approach. Suzy shares through different chapters how to apply the 10-10-10 method to motherhood, working and stay-at-home moms, marriage, friendship, jobs and career changes. I really enjoyed the practical nature of this book and it was easy to read and understand. I believe that this approach and style promotes ease in trying to apply this method as it is not an overwhelming process. In the chapter where she explains the brain and science behind 10-10-10, she quotes Fyodor Dostoevsky:

"It is not the brain that matters, but that which guides it--the character, the heart, the generosity, the new ideas."

I used the 10-10-10 approach with my husband when we were having to make a recent major decision. It allowed us to look closely at the short term and long term possibilities and opened up a dialogue where we shared feelings, concerns and possibilities on both sides. We haven't resolved this issue completely yet but it helped us to move closer to a final decision. I look forward to using this as a tool in my own life and I encourage you to explore this as well. I think that this will be a great tool for moms to apply to their own lives, share with your children and use in your families.

10-10-10: A Life Transforming Idea will be available for purchase today, April 14th. You can find out more information about the book, view an an Author video and even listen to an Audio Excerpt with the author Suzy Welch at her 10-10-10 website here.

Thank you to Mothertalk for choosing me to participate in this book blog tour.