Michael Ray has nailed it! The highest goal as he describes it is what some might call their unique calling or the deep yearning that lies at the very core of their being. Like his Path of the Everyday Hero book, this one addresses what many have called true happiness. - John Renesch, author, Getting to the Better Future

I recently read on Google that a thousand books are published every day in the United States. However, in my opinion, there are only a very few that are personally transformational or life changing. My short list of books that changed my thinking or made me sit up and take notice includes:

"The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck
"The Art of Selfishness" by David Seabury
"Man's Search for Ultimate Meaning" by Viktor E. Frankl
"Ideas Have Consequences" by Richard M. Weaver
"Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom
"Witness" by Whittaker Chambers
"Guide for the Perplexed" by E.F. Schumacher
"The Way of the Peaceful Warrior" by Dan Millman
"Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius
"The Lessons of History" by Will Durant
"Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill
"The Richest Man in Babylon" by George S. Clason
+ any books by Mortimer Adler and Eric Hoffer.

Now, I can add one more title to my list:--"The Highest Goal" by Michael Ray.

As a book junkie and an avid reader, I have skimmed and read many books, sometimes three or four times. Many of them have provided some wonderful insights and some new wisdom, but seldom does a book capture on every page profound thoughts and ideas of value. "The Highest Goal", in my opinion, does just that. When I read it, I took the time to underline key phrases and words, and wrote my own thoughts and ideas in the margins as well. After I was done, I was amazed at the number of entries I had made. For me, that is one important way to judge the value of a book. Moreover, the book is very well written in a clear and lucid style, and very well organized as well. Simple but quite profound, which is my highest accolade for a book.

I also call "The Highest Goal" a capstone book, which means for me, a book that brings together a lot of ideas under one framework. Michael Ray introduces eight simple life steps in his book and reinforces these life steps with a powerful mechanism he refers to as heuristics or "rules of thumb for insight and learning." What is truly powerful about these heuristics is that they are quite simple to understand and, of even greater importance, they are easy to put into practice on Monday morning--in business or in our personal lives. I believe this book can easily change the life of anyone who puts these eight life steps and heuristic "live-withs" into practice.

Here's my challenge to each of you. Buy the book, read it carefully, underline those ideas or thoughts that resonate with you, and in the margins write ideas or thoughts that are prompted by your reading. When you complete the book, I think you will be amazed at what has occurred. Michael Ray is a voice of value and his book is one to be shared with family, friends, and business colleagues. I would love to hear back from anyone who reads it. [...]

If you experience a lack of connection between what you love doing - what you are genetically and physically programmed to do - and your work, the misalignment can make you miserable. Author Michael Ray contends that life doesn't have to be that way. He guides you through some soul-searching steps to put you in touch with that one thing that really brings you joy. He calls this your "highest goal" - the quest that drives you to fulfill your purpose. He explains that you can think creatively, discover your highest goal, and steadily follow a path that leads to satisfaction, joy and meaning. We recommend this book to readers who are interested in self-help literature; Ray does a good job of explaining how to define your highest goal and get started on the path to achieving it.

Michael Ray, a professor at Stanford University, has some wonderful ideas for living fully in the present. In his book The Highest Goal, he suggests a concept for initiating meaningful change in our lives called "live withs."

A live what? A live WITH is a conscious way of seeing and perceiving the world. A live with allows us to purposefully choose our perceptions easing change and bringing awareness to our filters that we see through.

One of the live withs suggested is to "Have no expectations"
I discovered I have expectations for everything.In fact ,it is my expectations that cause so much dissapointment and misunderstanding in my life. That discovery along with the perseverance to really "live with" no expectation has allowed moments of aliveness and a fresh feeling about life that I had no idea I was missing!

This is a life changing book; equivelant to the work of Dale Carnegie and that genre.

Quite a live with, isn't it? What about trying it for the week?

Alicia Fruin

This book is full of eastern religious philosophy and has little to do with reaching your highest goal. This book was assigned as required reading for an MBA program and I was extremely disappointed. Even if the author is a well-known Stanford professor, I believe he's a yogi first. Buyer beware! Needs to be -5 stars.