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To Live Deliberately: Ten Secrets to a Successful and Fulfilling Life

by Matthew Shaw

229 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #00-0219; ISBN 1-55212-553-X; US$21.50, C$23.95, EUR17.50, £12.50

This is a short novel about a likable young man who, over the course of a summer, becomes slowly and painfully aware that his life is heading nowhere. In the midst of his internal struggle, he finds a mentor who imparts ten life-altering truths to him, and this helps him break from his mediocrity.

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about the book      about the author      sample excerpt      catalogue info

About the Book To Live Deliberately is a personal growth book. It is the narrative account of a likable young man who, over the course of a summer, becomes slowly and painfully aware that his life is heading nowhere. As he begins to observe those around him, he realizes that, like most people, he has "ended up" in his present situation without really knowing how he got there. He makes a few perfunctory efforts to analyze his life and take control, but it soon becomes apparent that he has no idea what to do. In the midst of his internal struggle, the young man finds a mentor who imparts ten "truths" to him, which help him break from his mediocrity. These "truths" are unique, like nothing currently in print. They are ground-breaking philosophical principles with real-world applications which any reader can follow. The novel ends on an extremely optimistic note, with the protagonist profoundly changed and embarked upon a new and exciting course in his life. To Live Deliberately deals with some very important issues: conformity, individualism, and self-determination. It is written in a fresh, contemporary, often humorous, and sometimes sardonic style, designed to enthrall, galvanize, and change the reader. Anyone who applies the ten truths can fundamentally change his or her life. Today, people want to make sense of their place in modern society and culture. They want truth they can apply, and this book will give it to them. It delves into some very meaningful issues without being preachy. It is fun and easy to read without being overladen with theory. Overall, it is what modern thinking individuals are starving for.

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About the Author Over the last fifteen years, I have lived and studied in the U.S, Canada, and France. I have worked as a laborer, a financial consultant, and most recently, for the last nine years, an English and History instructor. My wife of fifteen years is also an English and History instructor. Our child is almost two. My wife and I live mainly in Prince George, a city of 75,000 in the center of British Columbia. During the summer, we spend a lot of time at our lakeside cottage, and in winter, we live in Southern California. I have spent much of my life analyzing how society has created myths that steal our freedom and undermine our individuality. I am not interested in haranguing against the evils of society. Instead, I want to explore optimistic, practical lifestyle alternatives designed to help people achieve a measure of peace and freedom. I believe very strongly in the principles outlined in my book. I know from experience that they work, and I want to disseminate them to the best of my ability. Matthew Shaw

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Sample Excerpt from Chapter 14

The young man, John, engages in his first dialogue with his mentor, Richard, and asks him how he has achieved such a degree of success. Richard replies:

"I can tell you precisely how we've achieved it. I haven't known you for very long, but I'm going to be frank. I liked you from the first moment I saw you over at Mr. McLaughlin's. You're an intelligent and introspective person, and I think you have enormous potential, but potential is often not enough.

"I'm going to share something very important with you. There are ten basic secrets, truths if you will, which have guided me through my life and helped me achieve more happiness and fulfillment than most people can hope for. I've spent the last twenty years refining these truths and putting them into practice, and the result is the life I have now. I'm certain that if you follow these truths, you'll find as much happiness and fulfillment as I've found. That said, everyone has to find his own path. What has worked for me, may work differently for you. So, I'd be glad to share these truths with you, but it's up to you to make them work in your own way."

Truths? I began to shiver a little. It was warm outside, but I began to shiver. I nodded.

Richard continued, "I guess the first question is, what do you want?"

"That's a good question. I've been thinking about it for awhile now."

"What have you come up with?"

Although I had posed that question to myself many times lately, I had never come up with an answer. However, after having observed how Richard and Cynthia lived, I was beginning to have a clearer idea. "A life something like yours."

"Okay. I understand. I'm flattered that you would regard my life as a sort of model, as it were." He took a sip of coffee and continued. "You should know that everything I have did not come easily or overnight. Cynthia and I have worked relentlessly toward creating the exact reality you now see.

"The first truth I'm going to share with you is this: A person must have a strong internal vision for the future."

"I'm not sure I understand," I said.

"Well, before anything else can happen, a person must understand that the external world, the world outside our heads, is extremely malleable. We can shape it, bend it, fold it around an internal ideal so that the two merge. If you can really grasp this concept, the world is yours."

I puzzled over Richard's words for a few seconds. "I'm not one hundred percent sure what you mean."

"Who are you?" Richard said. Again, I reflected for a few seconds. "I'm a guy who's almost twenty-six. I'm a gardener. I've lived in Walla Walla all my life. What else can I say?" I decided not to mention I was engaged.

"And how did you end up in your situation?"

"Well, I was born in Walla Walla, and I got my job a few years ago, and there weren't any better jobs around."

"So things have happened to you, and your situation is simply the result?"

I could see what Richard was getting at. "Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."

"John, forgive me if I sound judgmental, but you're a typical example of an external thinker. You view yourself as a pinball traveling through the great pinball machine of life, where external forces bump you around and determine your course. In order for you to achieve anything, you must shatter that perception of yourself. You must think of yourself as an intelligent person who knows what he wants, and because he is intelligent, he can figure out ways to reach his objectives. The external world hardly matters. It's the focus and determination which exists inside your head which can mold the external world like a piece of clay."

"I know what you're saying, but until now, I've never really known what I wanted," I said.

"That's the first problem with external thinkers. They feel that objectives are useless because external circumstances will impede them from reaching their objectives. The second problem is that they don't feel enough confidence in their own abilities to surmount external obstacles. Now let me tell you something, and I want you to really think this over. The achievement of an objective is never difficult, but the conception of an objective often is. The reason that few people ever achieve anything is not because they're incapable; it's because they have no clear vision of what they want. Nothing can happen without a clear internal vision. This is an incredibly complex and powerful concept. The external world will shape itself to reflect whatever internal vision you have. In other words, your internal vision can be much more forceful than any external reality. All visions, if they are strong enough, will move from the internal to the external world."

Richard sipped his coffee again and then held up his cup. "You see this cup? This cup is the realization of a mental concept; it existed inside the head of its designer and then manifested itself in the external world. You see how its handle curves around and makes this neat little point? The designer had a vision, and because that vision was strong enough, this cup now exists outside of that designer's head. Any of us can realize an ideal in exactly the same fashion."

Richard paused, and I thought about what he was saying for a few moments.

"So you're saying that any vision can be reality?" I said.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that any vision will be reality. The definition of a powerful vision is one that you truly desire right down to the pit of your stomach, and you will make any sacrifice necessary in order to achieve it. A weak vision can seldom be realized."

"But there are a lot of people who want certain things, but they don't get them," I said.

"Is that true? Think about it. Have you ever wanted something badly but failed to get it?"

I thought for a few seconds. "Uh, I guess not."

"Then how come you don't have more?" Richard said.

I could feel my face become a bit flushed. "I suppose I haven't really wanted much."

"That's probably true. Another thing that's true is that you've never been clear about what you wanted. Once you become clear about what you want, it becomes quite easy to make a plan of how to get it."

What Richard was saying was not completely new to me. For the past few weeks, I had thought about how Pete had a vision, and he was pursuing it, and I was aware that I didn't have a clue about what I wanted, and that it was holding me back. But I thought I had taken care of all that when I decided to commit to my Walla Walla life and get engaged. But now, talking to Richard made me acutely aware that I still didn't have a clear vision of what I wanted, and consequently, I was heading nowhere. The only vague notion I had was that I wanted a piece of the quality of life I saw Richard and Cynthia enjoying.

"I understand what you're saying," I said. "But to tell you the truth, the concept you've just told me sounds kind of abstract. How am I supposed to apply it?"

"That's up to you. And this concept is less abstract than you think. You first have to decide what you want, then you have to make a plan of how you're going to get it, and finally, you have to start working on it. And that's it. There's nothing mystical or abstract about it. It's all about making up your mind, committing yourself to your objective, and focusing your will. It sounds almost too simple, but very few people actually do it."

"I think I understand pretty well," I said.

"Good, because almost everything we'll talk about is predicated on this one concept. If you really understand it, you can engineer any sort of life you want for yourself."

"I've never thought of 'engineering' my life before."

"You need to start thinking about it now," Richard said. "Now, I'd like you to go home and assimilate what we've talked about. I think it would be most effective if I shared one truth with you per day. That way, you'll have a short period of time to absorb each one. Can you come by tomorrow after work?"

"I'd like that," I said.

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Catalogue Information

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