101 Things NOT to Do Before You Die
by Robert W. Harris (Thomas Dunne, $12.95 paper)
It’s a self-help book, disguised as a self-preservation manual, written in the light tone of a Dave Barry column. Got it? The author writes that there are scores of situations in life that have just as much chance of being frustrating as they do being gratifying. It’s up to you to decide how to handle them.
1. Don’t listen to prognosticators. “People who make predictions are trying to convince themselves, and you, that they are able to see patterns . . . that have escaped others.”
2. Don’t be thwarted by a dead battery. “Buy a rechargeable emergency starter and keep it in your trunk.”
3. Don’t try to solve problems by force. “After defining your problem, thinking intensely about it, and forming a deep desire for a solution, relax. . . . Let your unconscious mind take over.”
4. Don’t let others tell you what’s in the Constitution. “It will take you only about fifteen minutes to read the original document and the Bill of Rights.” Both are at www.constitutionfacts.com.
5. Don’t think failure is the opposite of success. “Realize that success is not an event but a process, and that failure is part of that process.”
