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The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die | 
 enlarge | Author: John B. Izzo
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Category: EBooks
List Price: $15.95
Buy New: $9.99
You Save: $5.96 (37%)
Rating:  23 reviews
Sales Rank: 4211
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 178
Dewey Decimal Number: 170.44
ASIN: B001BU8K32
Publication Date: December 31, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Product Description
What are the secrets to finding happiness? Why do some people live well and die happy? John Izzo asked thousands of people to identify the wisest person they knew. "The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die" shares what he learned from over 200 people aged 60-106 whom others said had found the meaning in life. From town barbers to Holocaust survivors, from aboriginal chiefs to CEO's, these people had over 18,000 years of life experience. With warmth and wit, this book shares the "Five Secrets" to a happy and purpose-filled life which Izzo distilled from listening to these stories. Dr. Izzo also shows the reader how to put these secrets into practice in our lives. This book will make you laugh, bring you to tears, and inspire you to discover what matters long before you die. Based on a highly acclaimed TV series appearing on public television, this book takes the reader on a heart-warming and profound journey to find lasting happiness.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die, by John Izzo (Reviewed by Andrea Goeglein, Ph.D.) November 12, 2008
John Izzo begins his book: The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die with a question we should form our entire life around: "Why do some people find wisdom and die happy?" This query is one that should sit quietly in the back of our minds from birth until death. When we sit with a question like this, we open ourselves to the endless possibilities of the answer.
John Izzo seeks to provide his audience with a roadmap to discovering our own answer to this. Through his book, he invites us to create lives of wisdom and happiness, no matter what our circumstance. Before beginning the five-step lesson, Izzo outlines the greatest challenge of all. He reminds us that time is passing. In our powerlessness over that, we have huge opportunities. We can manage our priorities and our choices. We are the stars of this one-person, one-lifetime show.
This book was, in some ways, a collaboration. Four thousand people were nominated by friends or loved ones as being true pillars of wisdom and joy. The author then chose 235 of those candidates between 60 and 105 years old - the most knowledgeable section of our society. These subjects have experienced the most. They can separate the hard knocks from the great lessons. Through those subjects and their wisdom, Izzo came up with five tenets for a life worth living:
1.Be true to yourself.
2.Leave no regrets
3.Become love.
4.Live in the moment.
5.Give more than you take.
Although each of these is vital and approached with great depth and focus in the book, one or two demand a moment's inspection and are worth implementing this very moment.
* Living in the moment. If one of the five tenets to living a happy life is to live in the moment, we are literally behind the eightball before we even begin. We are taken out of the "moment" a thousand times each day through our own technology. (Can you say email?) The author recounts taking his dog for a walk one day. The dog was enjoying that walk so much more than Mr. Izzo himself. The dog paused to enthusiastically enjoy smells or the company of other dogs (friends). The author was simply busy timing himself to accomplish his daily speed walk.
* Become Love. Izzo asks us to recognize that love is not an idea, it is an action. It means choosing to spend time with friends. (Even dogs do that!) It means embodying thoughtfulness and a loving tone. We must not miss an opportunity or spend a day in human disappointment - there simply are no do-overs. You will pass through today only once, and love will sustain you.
* Leave no regrets. The author's grandfather offered him the idea, early in his life, to judge his days by how satisfying they are. Each day will pass, it is simply the law of time and space, but how we live and how fulfilled we are, will become the foundation of great choices. Quite simply, we get this one chance to create a life that leaves no regrets. Do what thrills us.
Like all great books on positive psychology, gratitude is the prevailing thought throughout this book. To be able to rebound every day (if necessary) and choose to live a joyous and meaningful life. To create time to be still and find the timeless beauty hidden behind to do lists and ever-full inboxes. To author our own sonata, our own academy-award winning existence. That is the good life, and John Izzo wants us to know it. The rewards of each of these five principles are limitless, and amazingly, they are free. It's the free lottery ticket - your one true life.
To your success every day!
Andrea Goeglein, Ph.D. (aka Dr. Success)
Expert on Positive Psychology and Executive Success Mentor
[...]
Inspirational to say the least October 22, 2008
I'm a recent college grad. and I took this book with me while I backpacked through most of Western Europe. I read it within the first 3 weeks of my adventure and it made a difference on how I saw the rest of the trip (which lasted another 9 weeks). I honestly slowed down to experience more, to take it all in. I became better friends with my two buddy's who were traveling with me, the sites seemed that much more intriguing and beautiful, and I met dozens of people, who I probably would have met if I hadn't read the book, or had, but it helped me to see things about them in a different light.
The use of stories and interviews helped to make this book so interesting. While there is more to life, then these 5 ideals, they have changed as well as reinforced many of my beliefs. I would recommend this book to anyone who needs enlightenment about their life, and everyone around them.
What Are They? October 20, 2008
The title of this book, the five secrets you must discover before you die, intrigued me - what are these five secrets, are they different from my own beliefs I wondered?
As I started reading the book, the way the author conducted his research inspired me to read more. You see, this book contains secrets not written from theory but secrets from actual life experiences of people. And, the secrets discovered are common reoccurring themes from the author's research. In my opinion, the book has creditability, as it is not a book of theory. One last point about the research conducted; the interviews were all done with people 59 and over. The author, in my view, truly did find wisdom from these people.
I would highly recommend this great book!
Great Hook and Fabulous Follow-through August 21, 2008
You can go to the contents page to discover the five secrets of living well. But what you find there are straightforward principles that you probably already sense are good values for gracious living. John Izzo and his associates interviewed 235 people who seemed to have learned how to live well. They found that people who were respected had lived through most of their life experiences. What they learned were not so much secrets, as common insights that these people shared about how to make the most of life. The pages are full of insight and advice that is inspiring reading, well written, and very much worth your time and attention.
 Good spur to tackling the Big Picture components of a life well-lived July 19, 2008
No one ever said on their deathbed, "I wish I had spent more time at the office."
I saw this book at an airport bookstore and was intrigued by the title. Author John Izzo, a former Presbyterian minister, undertook to interview about 200 people (mostly elderly) about the ingredients for living a fulfilled life. The results he has distilled into five separate precepts.
These may not necessarily be "secrets," in that we have all likely heard them expounded from time to time. Still, the reinforcement is helpful. Each chapter on one of the "secrets" closes with a short list of practical tips and questions for how to implement these steps into your daily life. That is the kicker - not knowing but doing.
"Five Secrets" is a useful spur for all of us to slow down, step back from our busy-ness and to invest time and effort in those things in our lives that really matter.
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