This was the first of many books that I read of Dr. Phil's. I can honestly say that I read this book because of his affiliation with T.D. Jakes. I watch his show and find that some of his analysis is pretty on the money but when I read the book I found that it was just a rehash of his show. When I read this book it reminded me of sitting my couch at 5 in the afternoon and listening to him discuss his ideas on what should and should not be done. If you have had the opportunity to read this book you will find that this book is again an adaptation of his show.

I haven't refered this book to anyone and I've read two other books by Dr. Phil that I thought would offer me some insight into his professional views. So far; I'm not impressed.

Life Strategies was the first book I had read by Dr Phil, given to me as a gift. I read it in college and didn’t get as much out of it as some others were. For me it was as if what he was saying didn’t apply to me, but it could have just been my college attitude. It does offer some good advice and strategies that you can apply to your life if you are ready, you just have to get through the book first. I don’t recommend it if you aren’t read to take a good look at your life and be honest with your self and complete the exercises. All the lists and exercises were a bit much for me, it really felt like homework instead of an enjoyable read for me. I have yet to pick it up for a reread and to be honest I don’t think I will ever attempt to reread it. For me I think the biggest drawback aside from the preachy attitude was the long exercises.

I happen to love him for his tough love tactics! Here's the bottom line...you would like to make more money? then stop making decisions that don't make you money. Turn off the TV, turn off the sports page, stop talking about nonsense with simple minded people and start doing things that make money. Same with anything. Want to be good at sports? Stop doing the things that keep you from that... video games, fast food, etc. By getting real with yourself and shouldering the blame, you see the errors of your ways and begin to heal and begin to work towards those goals. I gave this book 4 stars because it just rehashes the same thing over and over and over using different examples. Its true that by the end you really get the message at the end, but there seems to be too few concepts for so many pages.

Life Strategies was the second Dr. Phil book I read and I found it to be the same as the first: helpful, encouraging, and full of good strategies you can really use. I also found that after you have read one of Dr. Phil’s books it is almost as if you have read them all, if you can read between the lines. It is like watching a remake with the same plot only the way the characters work their way through is similar rather than the same. Also with a remake, you may chose to omit some characters as I feel Dr. Phil has done here. I'd suggest Self Matters if you're thinking of purchasing this book. It deals with much of the same principles addressed here with the added advantage of simplicity and more intensive self-shaping.
Life Strategies doesn’t accomplish quite as much as I would have hoped for, but it’s not a complete waste of time.

Every person's experience in a reading a book is their own, and therefore, unique. I took away a sense of this book "making me think" and asking myself hard questions about life. I felt the exercises were way too long, but I got a much needed dose of mental focus from reading it. I may just be impatient with longer books, but this may not apply to you. You may be more of a patient person. I had a friend that actually enjoyed the exercises a great deal. I will let you be the judge.

Dr. Phil offers so good, sound, ideas that will cause you to look at how you are managing your life and how you can do it in a better way. I recommend that you read this book if you are ready to take a long and hard look at yourself deep inside.

This book was just "okay". I felt that it had a tendency toward being "preachy" and doing the "right thing". It didn't present anything new or give me any great insight. I felt like he wrote this book to make money, and as a result there is no "wow" factor there. Not that it has to be, but he has written so many books now they should at least be compelling.

The book starts out with him talking about when he assisted Oprah with her Texas beef trial. I didn't really get what he was trying to say by beginning the book this way. Maybe something about her character and she was able to win this trial because of her "Life Strategies", I dunno. I just didn't get it. Wish I had more to say about it, but it wasn't memorable.

And by the way, I like Dr. Phil and watch his show quite a bit.