cover image Life's 2% Solution: Simple Steps to Achieve Happiness and Balance

Life's 2% Solution: Simple Steps to Achieve Happiness and Balance

Marcia Hughes, . . Nicholas Brealey, $18.95 (261pp) ISBN 978-1-85788-365-7

Hughes's road map to happiness and balance is anything but simple, with a 10-step program, the "fab four" payoffs, rules of engagement and more to master. President of Collaborative Growth, a consulting firm for corporations and coauthor of Emotional Intelligence in Action , Hughes begins with a simple enough premise: setting aside 2% of personal time, or 30 minutes a day, toward examining an inner passion will lead to "a more richly textured life." This pursuit, according to the author, will connect you with a fundamental core self, insure happiness and stimulate emotional and social intelligence, or EQ, which includes self-regard and empathy. The bulk of the text is so heavy with self-tests, a 10-point action plan and a myriad of other instructions including strategies for increasing happiness, that only highly motivated readers will pursue it. The author does present some inspirational success stories of those who have tried the 2% plan, such as Carolyn, who learned how to overcome fear of change; Raul, who recovered from alcoholism; and Karen, who discovered an ability to harness her professional ambitions. (Jan. 23)