What do you think?
Rate this book
I Ain't Much, Baby--But I'm All I've Got: Turn the Corner into a More Beautiful Life-Five Minutes at a Time
"What are some of the discoveries I have made? I found I needed people because I needed the love they could give me. I found that love was something I did. I found that the way I showed people my need and love for them was to tell how it was with me in my deepest heart. I came to feel that was the most loving thing I could do for anyone -- tell them how it was with me and share my imperfections with them. When I did this, most people came back at me with what was deep within them. This was love coming to me. And the more I had coming to me, the more I had to give away. I ain't much, baby -- but I'm all I've got."
From his experience comes "I Ain't Much, Baby -- But I'm All I've Got." Lair originally wrote this book for his students, but when it gained widespread popularity he rewrote it for publication. It is a book meant to help people share in the success of finding themselves.
From his experience comes "I Ain't Much, Baby -- But I'm All I've Got." Lair originally wrote this book for his students, but when it gained widespread popularity he rewrote it for publication. It is a book meant to help people share in the success of finding themselves.
256 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1974
16 people are currently reading
700 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 17, 2009
I read this in the early l970's during a very difficult period of
my life. One sentence grabbed me: "I will never again do anything
I am not committed to." I taped it to the wall of my office.
It gave me courage to leave an unhappy marriage. I did so and have
not looked back.
Thanks Jess Lair for positively changing my life.
Very inspiring writer.
my life. One sentence grabbed me: "I will never again do anything
I am not committed to." I taped it to the wall of my office.
It gave me courage to leave an unhappy marriage. I did so and have
not looked back.
Thanks Jess Lair for positively changing my life.
Very inspiring writer.
June 24, 2022
These were the first 'self-help' books I ever read - didn't even know there was such a thing as 'self-help' books back then.
April 30, 2023
Part of the peace we need to make with our past requires compassion.
No matter how bad a parent someone has told me about, All I need to do is ask what were your parent's mother and father like?
Accept yourself and others five minutes at a time.
We are continually planning and looking ahead to tomorrow, we walk right on by so many of the things that are in our life today.
If there is a problem here, I caused it.
Acceptance doesn't mean approval.
Take your eyes off of the problems and lives of others and focus on your own life.
The main object in life is to enjoy it to the fullest.
Examine your life and then translate your ideas into deeds that touch the people around you.
No matter how bad a parent someone has told me about, All I need to do is ask what were your parent's mother and father like?
Accept yourself and others five minutes at a time.
We are continually planning and looking ahead to tomorrow, we walk right on by so many of the things that are in our life today.
If there is a problem here, I caused it.
Acceptance doesn't mean approval.
Take your eyes off of the problems and lives of others and focus on your own life.
The main object in life is to enjoy it to the fullest.
Examine your life and then translate your ideas into deeds that touch the people around you.
September 2, 2012
Jess Lair really inspires one to live their truth in "I Ain't Much Baby But I'm All I Got," by being straight forward, to the point, and gives all a reality check. Being inspired by true life situations that can move people past their current state of being is what is done in this book.
The book was published in 1995 and still lends to the "old way" of doing things that works and is simple. You have the ability to change yourself and this book says how. It shows why and how things can be changed to assist you be the best you that you can be.
There are funny and sad times in the book and you can embrace yourself better when reading this book and seeing through the eyes of being true to yourself.
The book was published in 1995 and still lends to the "old way" of doing things that works and is simple. You have the ability to change yourself and this book says how. It shows why and how things can be changed to assist you be the best you that you can be.
There are funny and sad times in the book and you can embrace yourself better when reading this book and seeing through the eyes of being true to yourself.
May 16, 2013
I realize this was written in the early 70's, when everything was very touchy feely and introspective. That said, it's overly wordy with tons of stories that take a long time to get to the point, and others that never finish. It's not terribe, there are certainly some great points, and for the time it was written...it was probably about the right speed. All that being as it is, this book takes a lot of focus to pull the main points out of the stories and tangents here.
October 13, 2008
I read this account of the author's life on advice from my sister, many years ago. It got me interested in his quest for spirituality following a heart attack while he was just in his thirties. The guy is a prolific wordsmith and story teller, and all his books have helped me to live more in touch with others...
April 18, 2013
If you need a pick me up and you're ready (need) to stop feeling sorry for yourself...this book is AWESOME!!! Thank you Mrs. Sharpe for introducing me to this book my senior year of high school! I still quote parts of this book to my children (17, 14, and 10 months)!
May 25, 2008
i love this book. i have learn to love myself MORE.
January 25, 2017
If there were just one book that all human's must read, it is this.
April 30, 2012
Excellent advice on living life fully.
July 16, 2013
Only you can direct your growth. Only you can choose the lines that your growth can take so it truly reflects your uniqueness -- and adds to the strength you need to keep on growing.
April 22, 2015
One of the most memorable nonfiction books that I have read. Of course back when I read this, I had less to remember!
January 15, 2016
I read this at age 18 and it was rich with liberating and empowering ideas.
November 11, 2023
Deceptively religious. Yawn.
October 5, 2009
I have no idea where I got this book -- it was used when it fell into my hands and I still have that tattered much-underlined copy. I've pottered around with self-help books from time to time, but this one seemed so much from the heart.
He bases his life on the 12 Steps and says he attends AA meetings although he is not himself an alcoholic. He says one of the most important things in life is to have five good friends and it takes at least a year to find just one. Difficult for me, having had to leave my good friends behind in California when we moved here.
He says distant friends are nice to have, but don't count as among the five. They have to be friends you see and interact with often.
He bases his life on the 12 Steps and says he attends AA meetings although he is not himself an alcoholic. He says one of the most important things in life is to have five good friends and it takes at least a year to find just one. Difficult for me, having had to leave my good friends behind in California when we moved here.
He says distant friends are nice to have, but don't count as among the five. They have to be friends you see and interact with often.
Read
July 18, 2016This book is a must have for those who are readers and changers and dreamers. Merely, those who were willing to make a difference between today and yesterday .
Jess Lair explains how an acceptance of yourself and others can make you change.
This book was the result of a big drift in Jess's life after a non expected heart attack .
Jess notes.."And we all need to understand that each of us were uniquely created".
PS: I think I have Linda's book the women who reviewed this book in 2009, idk i bought it from the used bookstore and it's written 'Linda Hewton' on the cover ... or maybe it's just a coincidence...
Jess Lair explains how an acceptance of yourself and others can make you change.
This book was the result of a big drift in Jess's life after a non expected heart attack .
Jess notes.."And we all need to understand that each of us were uniquely created".
PS: I think I have Linda's book the women who reviewed this book in 2009, idk i bought it from the used bookstore and it's written 'Linda Hewton' on the cover ... or maybe it's just a coincidence...
June 4, 2018
This book is one of the few self help books I've read this year. It talks about how to be happier, and more mindful in your every day life. One of the few things I learned were:
1. Happiness is all about giving and receiving love.
2. You need to love yourself
3. To love oneself and others one must be sincere
1. Happiness is all about giving and receiving love.
2. You need to love yourself
3. To love oneself and others one must be sincere
November 8, 2008
I read this book while in college, and it gave me a new perspective on what is really important in life !! A new way to look at yourself.
December 10, 2024
If not acceptance that what? This book is real. The message is as Jess states between the pages. Jess is proposing that the way we show up in life matters. How we feel, the people we surround ourselves with, how we treat ourselves… all of it matters. By accepting ourselves as we are and sharing our acceptance we allow others the same privilege, to accept themselves. Only then is healthy change possible. The kind of change which leaves you stronger and healthier.
Why 4 stars? Some chapters are circuitous. As Jess says the meat of his ideas are in the beginning and the rest are examples of these ideas applied.
I am happy I came back to this book. I stopped reading for a while and came back to it. I am glad I did. The ideas in this book from the late 1960s is eternal… reading this book and comparing it to the many self-help books I have read in my early teens shows me that the ideas in those books are the same as those in this book. They are overlapping. They are eternal. Acceptance and love will be as part of the human condition as air and water. And the lack of acceptance and love will torture us in the same way as starvation of basic needs.
Love, be free, and accept the world as it is, for if it was different it would be a different world.
Why 4 stars? Some chapters are circuitous. As Jess says the meat of his ideas are in the beginning and the rest are examples of these ideas applied.
I am happy I came back to this book. I stopped reading for a while and came back to it. I am glad I did. The ideas in this book from the late 1960s is eternal… reading this book and comparing it to the many self-help books I have read in my early teens shows me that the ideas in those books are the same as those in this book. They are overlapping. They are eternal. Acceptance and love will be as part of the human condition as air and water. And the lack of acceptance and love will torture us in the same way as starvation of basic needs.
Love, be free, and accept the world as it is, for if it was different it would be a different world.
July 8, 2020
I basically tortured myself through this book :/
I found it extremely hard to continue reading it so I basically ended up skimming most of the later chapters!
The majority of the ideas can be gotten across in one or two paragraphs but instead lengthy chapters were used! Also, not that these ideas are new or anything!
I made a poor choice when I decided to give it a shot! I would say this book is not for this era, it might have been when it was first published but not for our time! So invest your time in something else!
I found it extremely hard to continue reading it so I basically ended up skimming most of the later chapters!
The majority of the ideas can be gotten across in one or two paragraphs but instead lengthy chapters were used! Also, not that these ideas are new or anything!
I made a poor choice when I decided to give it a shot! I would say this book is not for this era, it might have been when it was first published but not for our time! So invest your time in something else!
August 6, 2020
The key to loving others is self-love, self-realization, and vulnerability. While he himself states that the place for physical intimacy is only in the context of marriage, I loved the fact that he exhorted being more open to accepting others and not judging them by one's standards.
April 11, 2021
Good content but I did find it quite often repetitive
April 21, 2021
I bought my second copy of
I Ain’t Much Baby But I’m All I’ve Got
in 2000 as somewhere over the previous twenty years my first copy became so dog-eared that it was falling apart, as is this copy now.
This great book is one of the first books I read back in the ‘80s that really showed me practical ways to improve my self-esteem and emotional well-being.
Mr. Lair addresses many areas of life – from self-acceptance, to grief and death, love, relationships and sexuality, and spirituality – as he understands them – for him, in his life.
I love Jess’s writing style. It’s very casual and it feels like, he’s sitting across the table from you having this philosophical discussion about life. A lot of the book uses examples from his life, his students and scientific research to demonstrate his philosophy.
This book gave me the courage to begin to look at all my woundedness, fears, false beliefs about my own lovability and what love really is. This is an ongoing process decades after my first read.
I highly recommend this book
(PS – I was saddened to read that Jess Lair passed away in February 2000.)
This great book is one of the first books I read back in the ‘80s that really showed me practical ways to improve my self-esteem and emotional well-being.
Mr. Lair addresses many areas of life – from self-acceptance, to grief and death, love, relationships and sexuality, and spirituality – as he understands them – for him, in his life.
I love Jess’s writing style. It’s very casual and it feels like, he’s sitting across the table from you having this philosophical discussion about life. A lot of the book uses examples from his life, his students and scientific research to demonstrate his philosophy.
This book gave me the courage to begin to look at all my woundedness, fears, false beliefs about my own lovability and what love really is. This is an ongoing process decades after my first read.
I highly recommend this book
(PS – I was saddened to read that Jess Lair passed away in February 2000.)
February 17, 2016
Exceptional little book. Out of print, but well worth finding. The focus of the book is self-acceptance, accepting your limitations and opportunities and learning to work with the resources provided you rather than focusing so much negative energy on reviewing what you don’t have! Note particularly Chapter 11, “If there’s a problem here – I caused it.”
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews