Shut Up and Listen to Yourself

By Joshua Estrin

     Joshua Estrin's self-help book, Shut Up and Listen to Yourself, is a very quick read, with half the book printed as blank journal pages. Much like the famous Who Moved the Cheese?, the book on preparing for change in the workplace, Shut Up and Listen to Yourself offers deceptively simple advice on how to come to know the inner you. The title, though appearing harsh, really is Estrin's way of getting the reader's attention while offering his first lesson in life: Be still, be quiet, don't speak, shut up. In that stillness we can tap into our inner expert, our inner teacher. Here we learn about what we are really about, what motivates us, what is the basis of our fears.

     From this place of quiet comes action, then ability and awareness. This is a unique approach to inner wisdom. Usually awareness comes first and then skills are developed (ability). Action is the result of this inner quest. Estrin, however, suggests that wisdom or knowledge of our goals comes from the silence, and from that we act and then find the skills necessary to do what we need to do.

     Estrin draws from many spiritual resources, including the Kabbala, but does not espouse any one path. That's not his reason for presenting this material. It is drawn from his work as psychotherapist and a life coach. This material is written with high energy and humor, as if Estrin is speaking to you at a seminar or is in your office coaching you. There are asides, stories, testimonials, and assignments sprinkled throughout his message.

     Shut Up and Listen to Yourself offers a brief outline of Estrin's approach to life coaching. His ideas seem simple, but they are really complex. Some readers may not have the tools or guidance in order to go to that quiet place and listen to their inner teacher. Just being quiet is only the beginning. Readers need to know what questions to ask themselves. Shut Up and Listen to Yourself is the first step. Estrin's seminars may teach a variety of ways to be still and tap that inner wisdom.