Re-create Your Life: Transforming Yourself and Your World [Paperback] [2003] (Author) Morty Lefkoe

by Morty Lefkoe

The founder of the Decision Maker Institute offers a process that promises to identify the basic inner beliefs that stunt our behavior problems and then eliminate those problems with beliefs of our own choosing. 40,000 first printing. Newbridge Bk Club. Tour.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Business, Personal Development, Psychology, Spirituality, Personal Growth

Paperback

First published April 1, 1997

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book essentially focuses on one premise: When you eliminate a belief, you change your reality and create new possibilities. In theory, it is brilliant; however, lasting change is far more difficult to sustain. Lefkoe attempts to explain - through case studies and his rhetoric -- how to accomplish this in your life. I am not sure he succeeded in this endeavor, which is why I gave it 3 stars. However, he does make a few fascinating and worthy recommendations on parenting, health care, and education that made this read worth it for me.

For parents, he asks, "What is my child likely to conclude about herself and life as a result of the interaction we just had?" Oh, boy!

On achieving a better health care system, he offers, "If people trying to solve the health care problem sought solutions consistent with alternative paradigms, it wouldn't be long before alternative solutions were devised, accepted, and implemented."

Regarding education, he asserts that instead of emphasizing facts and acquiring the "right body of information, students today should "learn HOW to learn, ask good questions, be open to and evaluate new concepts, and be taught facts as if they might change."

[Heiki Eesmaa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible rehash of hippie era psychological and social ideas. I can't believe I tried reading this 3 or 4 times over 10 years before coming to the conclusion there is nothing more here. I guess at some point in my far gone youth I became convinced by the favorable reviews & recommendations (for example it is in Josh Kaufman's Personal MBA list). Out goes this book.

Perhaps if I hadn't been introduced to CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) in my teens I would have a more favorable opinion.

[Ca Williams · Rating 1 out of 5]

He spent way too much time building up his theory and downplaying psychotherapy and his theory was unimpressive to say the least. He unnecessarily said the same thing over and over. One can sum the entire book up with the phrase "your attitude determines your outlook which influences your behavior".

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uncommon commonsense exploration of how our interpretations of events shapes our beliefs, and ultimately our view of reality, or of THE truth of our lives. Many self-esteem problems, addictions, and mood disorders stem from these beliefs that become fears. Mr. Lefkoe describes the Decision Maker process: a systematic identification of the fears and core beliefs we have about the world, their origin, and how we mistakenly see these beliefs as THE truth about reality, not A truth with multiple explanations. He maps out how we can begin re-create our lives by becoming the creator of our reality, not just a creation of our beliefs about reality.

I read this book after listening to Morty Lefkoe's podcasts on iTunes. His Decision Maker process is a self-help program he is selling and his regular marketing spiels can get monotonous, but his information has encouraged me to take a second look at my beliefs and question the truth factor of this reality I'm living.

Try out some of his iTunes podcasts (search on Lefkoe) to see if you'd like to read a more in-depth treatment of his program.

[Azure · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the process presented here is fairly solid and really challenged me to dig into the origins of a lot of my beliefs. It's a very logical (rather than emotional) process, akin to other CBT techniques, so I found I had to augment it with other emotionally-stabilizing techniques in order to really get the most out of it.

While I found the method itself to be quite useful, I was a little disappointed to find that all the meaningful content (at least for me) was in the first third of the book. The rest is mostly case studies, which were mildly interesting and could serve as examples if one found the initial explanation of the process to be inadequate, but didn't really provide any further instruction or insight for me. There were also a few chapters at the end about parenting and running a business/organization, neither of which were particularly relevant to me.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book focuses on the idea: When you eliminate a belief, you change your reality and create new possibilities. You become the Creator of your life. Lefkoe spends the entire book sharing case studies for "The Lefkoe Method" (TLM) and the "Lefkoe Belief Process" (LBP) that he created but never really explains how to use it yourself.

The main take away I got from the book: Beliefs should be constantly evaluated and removed or changed if they are no longer beneficial and are holding you back. This applies to personal, professional and societal beliefs.

[Abhi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most effective real book about really changing your life, the cause is in real deep. Human is beleving creatures that's what we are. Fundamental change can't be done until you understand that there deep down there is some sort of belief which you created subconsciously. Don't know why this book is so underrated but this the best, really true book which van change your life.

[Mihai Cosareanu · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concepts are interesting but the book is a bit repetitive. I liked the proposal of applying this process in parenting and in creating a healthy company culture though, but I think the book could be much shorter.

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sweet story and quick read. Loved all the poetry woven throughout.

[Henrik Akselsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spent a long while reading this, and ultimately it was somewhat of a letdown.

- In typical american-style salesmansship Lefkoe builds and builds hype around his grand theory
- He ends the book by saying "I expect this book will spawn thousands of formal and informal research projects on how to use TLM in every area of life
- The two main concepts in the book, Lefkoe for some reason named after himself: The Lefkoe Method (TLM) and Lefkoe Belief System (LBS).

His grandeur and confidence crashes a bit with the main theme of the book: Eliminating beliefs you are stuck in, by finding alternate interpretations. Some humility would make this message much more persuasive.

It also feels repetetive, and at times boring. I finished the book over a course of 1,5 years which is never a good sign.

[Lincoln · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found some nuggets in here, the workings of the mind are subject to our interpretation of our events which might have many meanings. He uses some references to linguistics and language structure that really set this off for me. I would be interested in trying some of his stuff, changing your beliefs seems like it would give you some significant behavioural advantages.

[Philski · Rating 1 out of 5]

Basically believes as kids we come up with crude interpretations of our world hitch we extend into adulthood. And that by revision of those beliefs we can get rid of problems. Mostly est based crap. :(

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic book on how to change your life by changing incorrect beliefs

[William Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lefkoe essentially recreates Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and renames it after himself. that side the relatable stories in the book can provide insights into your own traumas, though they are disparate enough that you will only related to a small fraction.