So many things in life drive us crazy. Traffic, work, demands, kids, our partners, bad relationships, queues, arguments, frustrations, misunderstandings, expectations, bad service, things that don t work, equipment that fails, debt, rip-off artists, to name but a few. And then there is just life in general and trying to make sense of it. Why do other people behave and react as they do? Why don t things turn out or work as they should? What s the matter with everyone? In this stressful life we all live these days, so many things make everything worse - but the root cause of it all is, believe it or not, inside ourselves. It s inner conflict. The less we are able to predict, shape and control our lives, the worse things get. The worse things get, the less we are able to cope. The less we cope, the more things go wrong, the more we lose our grip - until we feel that we are going absolutely crazy. This guide is basically the learning path that I took myself through. It is my belief and hope that it will take you from a hectic, mad, rushed, frantic - or confused, frustrated, helpless space into a calm position of strength, peace, control and understanding. We can gain a lot more control over our lives and over the things that happen to us. Empowerment and personal leadership should be deliberate choices that we make, but for most people, a few things need to change in us before we are really able to make those choices. The lessons in this book will teach you skills and techniques and give you tools to help with a number of important things such as coping with inner conflict, combating guilt and fear, and relating more effectively and successfully with others. You will learn to make sense of a lot of things that happen, and to cope more easily with all the things that might normally drive you crazy. It will teach you how to create for yourself a much happier and more peaceful life. It s not meant to be the kind of book you just read once. You can, and probably should, keep referring to it because it has so much in it on so many levels. The concepts, wisdom and revelations are collected from a wide range of sources, so you could see it as a kind of textbook. Each chapter stands alone and can be read on its own. You can read the bits you feel you need without having to read any other part of the book first. Twelve years of intensive study, research and practical application has gone into this collection of applicable wisdom from various sources. I feel confident you can completely trust every word in it as sound, sensible, usable, workable advice because it was gleaned from the works and writings of the very best gurus, mentors and personal growth specialists of our time. I then tested it on the many clients and students I have helped through teaching and counselling. You may recognize bits and pieces from many great authors everywhere. It is the lazy way to read one hundred books. I read and studied at least four hundreds books, and found profound wisdom in about twenty-five per cent of them. This book is the result of my studies, and my conclusions. So many times in life we don t see the wood for the trees, and we push the lifeboat to one side because it is blocking our way and our view of the shore we are so desperately trying to swim towards. It is my hope and belief that this book will illuminate the lifeboat for you and give you a set of paddles as well.