I was going to order Hidden Treasures from Amazon a couple of months ago, but I changed my mind after reading the bad reviews that were posted there. Then, when placing another Amazon order recently, I wanted to add something to my order to get me to the $35 minimum so I would qualify for FREE shipping. I immediately thought of the Hidden Treasures book and reasoned that I would rather have something for my money than just paying the shipping fee. And, I thought–who knows?–the book might turn out to be helpful to me in some ways, even if it wasn’t that good, so I ordered it.
I have now read the entire book and was pleasantly surprised! It is not perfect. It did take a little patience to get through the beginning, since the first character scenario seemed quite far-fetched. But, most books do take a while to develop, so I stuck with it. Glad I did! It gives more visual and real images of how to accomplish all of the things that are part of the Fly Lady system and illustrates why and how they work. While I understand the ideas, I don’t always know how to apply them to my life or where to begin. When I look at the mess around me, it is all just so overwhelming! The fictional characters in this book are in the same situation, and they also struggle to apply the methods suggested in the book because they have trouble believing that such small things can really make a difference. But, being desperate, they finally agree to give it a try, even if just to prove it WON’T work!
For me, believing that the simplicity of the Fly Lady system could really work for my situation was a great Leap of Faith. Hidden Treasures can especially help those who may feel as I did, because the characters in the book must also make this great Leap of Faith, since the disorganization in their lives has made them desperate for change. Their fictional situations are much worse than mine, so their skepticism, struggles, and, finally, their successes give me the hope that I, too, can finally rise above the clutter and get organized. The book shows how just a few small steps CAN lead to big changes over time. One very important theme of the book deals with the power of our negative thinking to cause us to fail again and again, and how we must change our thinking if we want to truly change our lives. This book illustrated how to do just that. You really don’t have to have previously read Fly Lady’s book or emails for this book to help you. But, if you can get hold of a copy of Sink Reflections to read, I WOULD. It is there that these concepts are explained in more depth.
I suppose that naturally organized people will probably never be able to understand the problems with the ‘ordinary’ that people who are not naturally organized have, and how our ‘thinking’ keeps us from fixing what seems so simple to them. Perhaps this explains the bad book reviews. Or, perhaps, those reviewers were just not believers in the system’s ability to help them succeed. But, if you are unsure of how the Fly Lady system can be put into practice in your life, than I recommend you read Hidden Treasures. The cost is minimal, and anything that can help to bring me out of the CHAOS I have lived in is worth its weight in gold!
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