Winget - Shut up, stop whining, and get a life: a kick-butt approach to a better life

Copyright 2011 by Larry Winget Enterprises, LLC. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.
Published simultaneously in Canada.

Comic panels are printed with permission from SmarterComics, LLC and Writers of the Round Table Press Inc.; illustrations by Shane Clester.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Winget, Larry.
Shut up, stop whining, and get a life : a kick-butt approach to a better life / Larry Winget. 2nd ed., rev. & updated.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-118-02451-5 (pbk.); ISBN 978-1-118-07813-6 (ebk);
ISBN 978-1-118-07812-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-07811-2 (ebk)
1. Life skillsHandbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Conduct of life. 3. Success. I. Title.
HQ2037.W57 2011
646.7dc22
2011001513

I lovingly dedicate this book to all of the crap that ever happened to me. It has made me who I am today. It caused me to read, to search, to pay attention, to learn, to listen, to accept, to grow, to take responsibility, and to create a life I am proud to call mine.

Without all of that crap, I would be like 99.9 percent of the world: leading a life of mediocrity, full of blame, resentment, and whining.

I needed every bit of that crap to happen to me because, without it, this book wouldn't exist for you to read and there would be no reason for you to listen to me.

PREFACE

Just have a positive attitude and everything will be okay.

As long as you feel really good about yourself, everything will be terrific!

The key to happiness and success is to be yourself.

You can attract all of the success and money to you that you will ever need.

Heard that stuff before? Of course you have. All over the world you find people shouting that drivel from books, stages, and the airwaves. The Internet is full of it! All of the gurus will tell you just be happy, be yourself, and sit back and think your way to success and prosperity. What a happy load of crap!

My message isn't like that. I'm not into cute little sayings or platitudes or much of the other stuff the motivational gurus/ bozos are saying. I don't care whether you have a positive attitude or a negative attitude. In fact, I'm more in favor of the negative attitude, as you will soon discover. And I don't care if you feel good about yourself or care much about how you feel about anything. Feel, feel, feeldoesn't anybody do anything anymore? Not really.

People buy into all of this happy crap because the people sound good, and they make you feel good. The problem is, they don't produce many tangible results. Then folks get frustrated and disillusioned and end up abandoning their pursuit of being more, doing more, and having more. They become complacent and settle for less than they have to. Some even become bitter and just quit trying. Sound familiar?

Here is my bottom line message. The message you need to understand going in.

Your life is your own damn fault!

Welcome to my world. No excuses allowed. Just go to the mirror, look yourself in the eye, and say to your own face, This is all my own damn fault!

No real success can be achieved until you accept the fact that your life is your own fault. You are responsible. Your thoughts, words, and actions created the life you are living. Even on the outside chance that something horrible happened to you that you had nothing to do with, how you react to that event is still your fault. What you do about it is your fault. It's always your fault. Once you understand that and take responsibility for your life at every level, you will begin to achieve success.

That stance is what makes my approach different from others in the personal development industry. (That plus the earrings and the shirts and the boots!) I don't believe in blaming or making excuses, and I won't listen to your whining, complaining, or pointing the finger of blame anywhere other than your own face. You may think that is a mean, heartless approach but I assure you it isnt. It's an approach that is rooted in caring and truth and reality. I care enough to tell you the truth so you will face reality.

That's why I wrote this book and why I am so excited that you are reading this new revised edition of my first bestselling book. This Wall Street Journal #1 bestseller is the book that started it all for me and set me apart from all of the warm and fuzzy pat-you-on-the-head-and-tell-you-its-all-going-to-be-okay motivational books on the market. The success of this hardcore self-help book led me to write four other bestsellers: It's Called Work for a Reason ; You're Broke Because You Want to Be; People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It; and Your Kids Are Your Own Fault .

My goal in writing this book is not to make you feel better. My goal is to remind you to go to the only place in the world where you can lay blame: the mirror. And it will give you a simple, easy-to-follow plan that can point you in the direction of success, happiness, and prosperity.

The book is divided into three parts:

Shut Up! Chances are you are talking too much and need to listen. Or as my Dad used to tell me: You're broadcasting when you ought to be tuned in.

Stop Whining! Wallowing in your problems doesn't fix your problems so stop complaining, blaming, griping, bitching, moaning and groaning, and take responsibility for your life.

Get a Life! Create the life you want to have by living by design and not by default. Make a decision, create a plan, and then go to work to make that plan come to life.