The Power of Losing Control: Finding Strength, Meaning, and Happiness in an Out-Of-Control World

by Joe Caruso

Book Overview

A public speaker who survived an incurable illness recounts his journey to discover the meaning of life and provides step-by-step techniques on how to let go of fear and the need to control while... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1592400035
• ISBN13: 9781592400034
• Release Date: February 2003
• Publisher: Gotham Books
• Length: 237 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

It changed my perspectives!

This book shifted my perspectives about "Control". It's one of those books that I come across once in a while that makes an impact on how I work, think and live. The title itself was interesting - the power of losing control. Sounds oxymoronic, right? How could anyone gain power by losing control? What I understand now is that there wasn't any power to exercise in the first place. As Caruso wrote, what we really have is an "Illusion of Control". That's the essence of what I learnt -- we DON'T have control of many things in the first place, so we're worrying about noting! The author doesn't preach or anything. What it did for me was to reframe how I could view the concept of control (or lack of). Subsequently, that changed how I viewed things -- my job, my work, my relationship with my wife. I've become a happier person now, and when I cite things from the book, my friends think I'm some genius. I tell them to read the book. : )

It could change your life.

The Power of Losing Control by Joe Caruso is a book about how the true power of losing control lies in knowing the difference between what you can control, what you can effect, and what you need to accept. When you realize the only person you can change is yourself and stop wasting energy trying to change others you will have more peace and personal satisfaction. Caruso's book gives you an opportunity to experiment with yourself, learn new truths and become more aware of how you can enhance the meaning of your life. He points out how you are the stories you tell yourself and how rewriting your personal driving myths can reshape how you live your life. His book has helpful insights such as the real story of who you are isn't about what happens to you as much as it is about how you interpret it and define what happens. Also the more you repeat the story to yourself the more powerful it becomes and the more you allow the story to determine your behavior and behave as if it were true. My early life illustrates his point. I felt abandoned as a child so I believed I would be abandoned as an adult and I was until I wised up. He says the key to fulfillment is to keep asking, "Is the story I am telling myself serving me?" Caruso's book is packed with other powerful insights and advice: the difference between responding and reacting and a commitment and a decision. Also the 10 ideas and attitudes you need to let go of and the five stages of wisdom. If you use what you read in this book and apply it to the five stages of wisdom it could change your life.

Help for the inner soul

While the basis of the book deals with the energy consumed on things we have little or no control over, I found far more wisdom than this morsel. From my prospective of the book, what grabbed me most was this insite; We all own images of ourselves based on myths and fears and I own myths about myself that prevent me daily from being the best version of myself at work, home and play. The author does an excellent job of using stories and examples to light a path to self-betterment from within. Most self-improvement books I have read deal with external processes such as setting priorities and time managment. This book deals with the inner set of beliefs we maintain true that hold us back from being the best version of ourselves. One example: Why do physically abused people choose frienships and partners that continue to abuse them? Answer: Until they change the inner belief that say's I'm not good enough, the cycle will continue. The book challenged me to differentiate from precept and preception. The author includes exercises that I found very helpful.This is an extrordinary book, easy to read but challenging to read. It has changed my life. Buy it! Believe that you're worth the $20 investment.

The Power of Losing Control teaches you to take control!

I saw myself throughout "The Power of Losing Control"! There were "truth's" in every chapter that I could relate to on a personal level. This book gives us powerful tools with which to enrich our lives and is a must read for anyone who thinks they are in control in an out of control world. Read it today!

Inspiring and Uplifting

As I read "The Power of Losing Control" I realized that I have found myself in many of the situations discussed in the book. What surprised me though was the options I actually had in the situations that I had never recognized before. I am currently in the process of reading this book a second time, once wasn't enough to learn and fully understand how to apply these lessons in my own life. This book is a great guide for anyone trying to find meaning in their life, and to find some strength in the decisions that we make daily!