Shut Up Book

Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life
A Kick-Butt Approach to a Better Life
LARRY WINGET

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life

Shut Up, Stop Whining, and Get a Life
A Kick-Butt Approach to a Better Life
LARRY WINGET

John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Copyright © 2004 by Larry Winget. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NewJersey. Published simultaneously in Canada. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorizationthrough payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008. Limit ofLiability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representativesor written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. The publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services, and you should consult a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental,consequential, or other damages. For general information on our other products and services please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 5723993 or fax (317) 572-4002. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed by trademarks. In all instances where the author or publisher is aware of a claim, theproduct names appear in Initial Capital letters. Readers, however, should contact the appropriate companies for more complete information regarding trademarks and registration. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com.Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publications Data: Winget, Larry. Shut up, stop whining, and get a life : a kick-butt approach to a better life / Larry Winget. p. cm. ISBN 0-471-65465-5 (cloth) 1. Life skills—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Conduct of life. 3. Success. I. Title. HQ2037.W57 2004 646.7—dc22 2004005529 Printed in the United States of America. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

I lovinglydedicate this book to all of the crap that ever happened to me. It has made me what I am. It caused me to read, to search, to pay attention, to learn, to detach, to accept, to gain perspective, and to create the life I have always wanted. Without all of the crap that ever happened to me, I would be like 99.9 percent of the world: leading a life of mediocrity, full of blame, resentment, and whining. Ineeded the crap to happen to me because without it, there would be no book for you to read and you would have no reason to listen to me. So for every crappy thing that ever happened to me, I give thanks!

Contents

Preface Acknowledgments About the Author Before You Start Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter...