Life Unscripted: Using Improv Principles to Get Unstuck, Boost Confidence, and Transform Your Life

Katzman and O'Connor simply hit this one out of the park! Read these short and concise 10 chapters carefully. They might just change your life. I am a mental health professional and have slogged through countless books focused on psychotherapy, self help, changing one's attitudes and how to "find yourself". "Life Unscripted" stares complex psychological and behavioral issues down, digests them and feeds them back to the reader in plain, simple and funny bites which left me wanting more and more.Now - disclamer, Jeff Katzman mentions me in the book's acknowledgments which I greatly appreciated. But - that being said - this little gem of a book blew me away. I told Jeff "To be honest I figured it would be pretty good but I had no idea that it would be great". I read one short chapter each evening and savored and contemplated the content and message. I actually applied (i.e., changed my behavior instead of just thinking about changing my behavior - can you relate?) the concepts in this book.I realize people don't read long reviews - so here it is:Read it. You will be glad you did.

This is a FANTASTIC little book. First, I want to say that I love little books. I love, for example, The War of Art. This book has a similar quality to it. This is a book about "unscripting" - being more open, more "in the moment", more courageous and more present in life. It is about breaking out of patterns and responding to life rather than "following the script" of patterned responses that we all learn to "cope" and "get by" in life. The "Yes and" premise offers an approach to life that is exciting and empowering. The analogy and examples of improv are fun and relatable - they are easy to approach, which makes them all the more profound and ultimately actionable. I highly recommend this book - it is fun to read and truly has the potential to "transform your life".

Witty and entertaining — with real, concrete advice on how to be more open to life. I love this book and I’ll be buying a couple more for friends!

This book has high emphasis on personal freedom and being opening minded; instead of being a sheep and follow the status quo/ what's expected of you in society.Instead of being a perfect role model in society, the book teaches you how to overcome unintended conflict as it's best to justify minor mistakes made, and improve upon it to make yourself better instead of beating yourself up over it.Helps you improvise when mistakes are made, instead of following set routine; so you can learn something form your mistakes instead of seeing it as punishment or loss progression/time resetting yourself back to neutralThe flow of the book is good. It doesn't linger on a particular short story/example, or focus on biblical references for those who are not religious. Each example is short enough and to the point. It's not drawn out, where if you don't' relate to it, you don't feel like quitting/put the book down when things start getting uninterestingTowards the end of the book it focus on empathy and how to integrate what's learned to collaborate with others without your ego getting in the way. But it doesn't go as in depth into it, focusing more on the individual in relation to society rather than society as a whole (aka doesn't show you how to be a leader rather a very good contributor)Gives a nice summary at the end of each chapter; rewording major points instead of copy/paste key concepts written. Also gives you suggested exercises to try out in a real life setting.Overall, good book as you may pick up something that you can integrate into your life. This book is for those who are open to change (going outside comfort zone for improvement), especially those who want to be more flexible and creative when solving problems.I wouldn't say it's a life changer, or can be used to cure depression/mental illness (may want to seek professional help if this is serious), but does give you good insight on how to tackle problems and learn something from it.

I've read a few self-help books and a lot of business books. This book offers a unique approach to both improving your life and building better relationships by the way we look at things, our inner dialog, and our choices. It's a fairly short read, with some parts you'll want to skim over, and others you'll focus in on and re-read over and over.Personally, I have a hard time reading business or self-help books that tell stories and ramble. You'll find some of that here. However, that's where I just glean through to find the real meat. When you get to the meaty bits, you'll find that this book is totally worth the read (even if you glean like I do!) and if you just read the chapter ending pages with the 'takeaways' and 'stuff to try' sections first, then go find the details of the bits that interest you most you'll build a nice little 'Life Unscripted' toolbox of tips.My favorite chapter - Five - The stories we tell. This was/is an important one I'll be working on for a while. Writing our own story, re-writing the one we've been given, and living in the moment. You may find a different chapter that resonates with you more, and though I might spend a lot of time right there working on this part, once I feel I'm ready, there's so much more here to work with. It's small but mighty, this book. Don't let the slow narrative keep you from getting the most from this book.