Live Healthier Resolution #NewYearBooks #SundaySalon

Good morning, one and all — and especially the Sunday Salon and New Year’s Resolution Challenge participants.

We’re into the last week of January — how are your New Year’s Resolutions going? This is our second-to-last link-up for the New Year’s Resolution Challenge. There are more details at the sign-up post. Or, you can just jump right in here. The link-up below is for progress reports, book reviews, and your best suggestions of books that support common New Year’s Resolutions. Or, you can play along in the comments.

I completed the book I wanted to read for my Live Healthier resolution. I’ll link to the review of A Short Guide to a Long Life by David B. Agus below. From the perspective of my resolution, the book assured me that when I’m at the top of my game I’m doing pretty well — which is motivating. I’ve been motivated with New Year energy this month, so I’ve been at the top of my game. Now, I just need to keep it up!

For me, I know from experience that motivation isn’t enough. I need structure. That’s why I set up the Healthy Lifestyle Books Reading Challenge of 2015, so that I’ll keep reading books like this for the whole year. My next pick will directly help me build structure to sustain my healthy life choices — Thinfluence by Walter Willett, Malissa Wood, and Dan Childs. On the cover, thinfluence is defined as “the powerful and surprising effect friends, family, work, and environment have on weight.” Walter Willett is one of my heroes in the weight loss world for consistently looking at the scientific research and pulling out what has been proven to work and what hasn’t. He’s a voice for reason in the face of whatever the latest diet trend is.

So, I have two books left to meet my New Year’s Resolution Reading Challenge. Do More Great Work by Michael Bungay Stanier proved to be a workbook, which is a bit more effort than just reading. I’m getting some good results, so I’ll keep plugging along with it.

My last book is our Read Along book for the New Year, The War of Art. It’s a short book — you could still catch up if you want to join us for the last discussion. Let me know if you want to participate. I’ll send out discussion questions on Wednesday in advance of our final discussion post on Saturday.

A Twitter Chat. Next Sunday, we’ll chat about The War of Art, creativity, and our New Year goals in a Twitter Chat. Join us on February 1 at 9PM Eastern / 8 Central / 7 Mountain / 6 Pacific / 5 Alaskan / 4 Hawaiian. It will be a great way to start the second month of 2015 energized to continue making it a great year.