Book Review - Simplify, Structure, Succeed - Shannah Kennedy
by Janine Fitzpatrick
The title of this book drew me in, Simplify, Structure, Succeed. Three little words that seem to offer a plan to move from chaos to achievement. Could it be that easy?
Shannah Kennedy is a Life Coach who has created this "practical toolkit for modern life". Kennedy gives a step-by-step plan for restructuring your life to help you achieve your goals while remaining in tune with your beliefs, your personality and your circumstances.
The book opens with a series of set questions to ask yourself to help determine who you are, what you value and your vision for the future. There are simple tasks to complete to remind yourself of all you have accomplished thus far, and where you would like to go from this point in time.
In the second stage of the book Kennedy encourages us to simplify our lives. To rid ourselves of energy drainers and clutter to enable us to focus on what's important. Urging us to set boundaries in tune with the values identified earlier. This is also the section where we are asked to create visions and goals for the future.
When we hit the third stage of the book, structure, I realise we may have met my own personal stumbling block. I have ideas and goals aplenty, it's creating the right system to manage the conflicting demands of wife, mother, employee, creative person that it all starts to full apart. Kennedy's advice moves from the practical (get yourself a planner and lay out your life in a daily, monthly, yearly frameworks) to the more cerebral (responsibility vs blame, commitment vs trying, self-sabotages).
By the time we get to "succeed" Kennedy is inspiring us to create a definitive version of what success looks like in our own life. There is a toolkit of steps to take to ensure we are able to experience that often elusive goal of success.
Simplify, Structure, Succeed is an easy-to-read book filled with inspiring quotes and beautiful photographs. Case studies sprinkled throughout show practical examples of implementing Kennedy's advice. The book provides note sections for you to fill in with your thoughts and responses to the ideas presented. I found it to be a very useful resource for providing direction and clear focus. The step-by-step nature of the book is helpful if you are feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of combining your responsibilities and your dreams. All in all this is a handy book to remind you of what you need to do to create a balanced, successful life.
Janine Fitzpatrick blogs at Shambolic Living where readers get to feel far happier about their lives when they experience the chaos of hers. She is coming to terms with being the mother of two teenagers, has given up on the dream of a tidy house and still plans to write a book one day.