Every once in a while, I read a book and am whisked away by how good it is. Normally, a fiction author can transport me to another world, another place. But Neil Pasricha's new book, You Are Awesome: How To Navigate Change, Wrestle With Failure, and Live An Intentional Life, rises above other self-care books most helpfully.

Pasricha sets up a pretty simple premise: He breaks the book into nine different "secrets" about positive actions (or ways of thinking) that you can incorporate into your everyday life that's manageable. That's no small feat.

But the two aspects of his book that I value the most are his heart-felt personal stories. He shares how he made mistakes, fell on hard times, and went through dark times only to come out stronger. We've all had times when life hits us hard. Seeing how Pasricha deals with challenges is extremely helpful. The second aspect that he incorporates into the book is a memory tool.

At the beginning of each new section of the book, he lists out all the secrets. Not only is seeing the list extremely helpful, but I learn better through repetition.

In the seventh section of the book, I found seeing all the previous secrets on the page in large type great mnemonic devices.

Often with other self-help books, I'll hold the philosophical concepts in my mind for a few days, but then I'll forget some of the specifics. Pasricha boils down the nine secrets into short phrases. Some I found more helpful than others, and none of the secrets are revolutionary. I don't say that to disparage Pasricha's book, but rather to compliment him on his ability to take nine ideas and package them together into a way to live one's life.

In today's high-paced world, there are a lot of quick schemes out there: Fad diets, get rich scams and shallow platitudes that don't help in the long run.

The secret that I've found in life is to change how we think and act. Pasricha focuses on that as being positive is key to his nine secrets.

All of us have an opportunity to make a choice. When we get hit hard by a rough time in life, we can either find a way to get through a difficult time or get stuck. Even when something small happens, such as spilling a glass of coffee onto a rug, we can get angry or say "pyt" like the Danish to and shake things off.

If you're looking for an easy read to help you with some of your day-to-day challenges, then I highly recommend Your Are Awesome. I finished reading the book coming to and from work over a week and a half. I've also found that I had some great conversations with my wife about the tenets in the book.

All in all, a great book with lots of heart and soul. The mix of the two with easy to implement ways of living your life makes for a solid foundation to help you grow and living more intentionally.

(I received an Advance Reader’s Edition of You Are Awesome from the publisher and I’m reviewing it honestly and voluntarily.)