Life Is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally

Amazing Read. (2010-07-16) : 5/5
I purchased the Kindle edition of this book and am very pleased with my purchase. Each story in the book is simply amazing and will make you look at your life and want to fix the things that are keeping you from living your life right now. I am going to purchase the hard copy of this book as well, and I can see that the exercises in it will be revisited over and over. Well worth the money.
Life is like a box of... (2010-07-04) : 5/5
What a joy it was to hear the author speak at the June, Metro Chapter of ICF! As awesome as she is a story-teller, her gift for being a `noticer' most impresses. Every page is like a Godiva box of fine, dark-chocolate wisdom designed to touch the heart, open the mind, and encourage the appetite for more. Her talent for infusing her writing with tasty images is mind food I've never before consumed. (I was going to use "gustatory pleasure" but figured if I had to look up `gustatory' it was a word better left in the refrigerator.)

She writes on page 182 of this breath-taking analogy of learning that truly inspires me as a coach:
Physicist Hermann von Helmholtz likened knowledge to an alpine climb - when you climb a mountain, you don't go straight from the bottom to the top, you zigzag, you go around and through, eventually getting to the tip where you can see both the top and bottom and the straight line between them. When you're at the top, you can show others what Helmholtz called the "royal road." But being shown the royal road isn't learning, it's only the explanation, just as being taught to read a map isn't the same as reading one.

As a coach, my goal is not just to direct my clients along the path I've climbed. It also is not simply to help them to discover their own path, which is a laudable goal. Often, coaching is about a shared journey of discovery since we are both still climbing the mountain. At our best, my clients and I experience the reality of being one with the mountain.

Rock on!

My own 37 days (2010-07-01) : 5/5
I read a number of the preceeding reviews and then bought 2 copies of "Life Is A Verb" in mid-January of 2009. My sister's birthday was coming up, and I sent one copy to her with the suggestion that we read it in tandem, sharing thoughts via e-mail. She didn't like the idea, and within a few weeks I had my very own 37-days experience--I was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer. "Life is a Verb" went to the bottom of my book stack as I headed for surgery and then months of chemotherapy--I was too busy making every minute count to read about making every minute count. However, a year later and feeling quite strong and well, I resurrected Patti Dighe--and I'm very, very glad I did. Not every one of her stories hits me, but many, many do, and have become personal mantras or themes for sermons or my work with church interim task forces (I am a clergywoman trained as a transition specialist). I do try now to celebrate every orange flag, wear pink glasses (mine are actually purple), and polish my mudballs--now if only I could get my son-in-law and/or husband to just let it be a barn! I still have about a third of the book to go--I savor it in tiny little bits--but I suspect it will be one of the few I re-read every few years, if indeed I HAVE another few years. If I don't, Patti Dighe will have made the last year richer, and I bless her for it.
life is a verb (2010-06-24) : 5/5
I haven't read much of this book yet...but if it was for nothing more the the quotes...it's worth it!!!! simply beautiful...full of wisdom and exercises to wake up your soul...actually ways to living a more soulful life...do you self a favor...buy the book!!!!
A book you must have! (2010-05-31) : 5/5
This book will change your life! I bought four copies, for myself and my closest friends and mother. A "must-read"!!