The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die

John Izzo, Ph.D., a former minister and a psychologist, developed a television series based on the idea of interviewing 'wise elders' for their insights---people who have lived long lives and have found happiness and meaning in life. He and his co-workers interviewed more than 200 people age 60 and up, all of whom were described by people near to them as having that sort of wisdom. These people ranged from painters to barbers; spiritual leaders to businessmen; Holocaust survivors and victims of racism.

From these interviews emerged five common threads, or 'secrets.' These aren't secrets in the sense of being unknowns---many of us have some idea that these things are important to a good life. They're secrets in the sense that we aren't show more living them. We aren't applying them. We don't seem to know how to make them work for us from day to day.

Dr. Izzo mines the lives of his subjects, his friends, and himself---as well as his psychology and religious backgrounds---to help us figure out HOW to apply such obvious wisdom to our own lives. It's tempting when faced with an instruction that seems as bland as 'become love' to dismiss it as the suggestion of someone who's lived an easy life and isn't familiar with whatever our own hardships are. It's much harder to maintain that level of skepticism, though, when faced with the very personal stories of people who've survived horrible tragedies and catastrophes and yet gone on to find meaning in their lives.

The only difficulty Dr. Izzo faces with this book is the fact that, frankly, there's a limited amount he can do to teach us to apply these lessons to our own lives. There is no simple prescription for figuring out what your ideal career might be or how to stop worrying about what will happen tomorrow. That said, he does his best to give the reader ideas for where we might start.

See full review at ErrantDreams. show less

This book is supposed to be based on interviews conducted with over 200 older people (60 and older), but only about 50 of those are dealt with directly in the book. The "secrets" are nothing new, and less commentary or platitudes on the part of the author would have made this a more appealing read.

He includes a couple of different versions about what "sparked" the idea for the book, and some of the quotes appear twice. A tighter edit pass could have helped.

Most of us, if we think about it for a minute, will easily identify the one or two people we have encountered in our lifetimes who had very obviously discovered the meaning of life. Some of us may even have been lucky enough to have one of these wise elders as a parent or grandparent. But these wise men and women are everywhere, and others of us have been fortunate to have had them as teachers, ministers, co-workers or simply as friends.

John Izzo recognized that what all of these extraordinary people have in common is contentment with life and how they live it. Izzo, hoping to learn what the secret to such a successful life is, asked over 15,000 people in the U.S. and Canada to identify the wise elders in their own lives whom they show more believed had something to teach the rest of us. From the responses received, he and his colleagues identified 235 candidates between the ages of 60 and more than 100 and interviewed each of them in order to identify the secrets of life that had taken the 235 a lifetime to discover.

The result of those hundreds of interview-hours is The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die, a deceptively simple book that allows its readers to take advantage of the experiences of a lifetime now rather than having to work through them over the next decades on their own. The interviewers learned that the secrets to happiness are common and Izzo made the five that came up most often in the 235 interviews the basis for his book.

But knowing the five secrets to a happy life is only part of the equation and, for that reason, Izzo spends most of his time explaining how to actually put the secrets into practice so that their benefits may be felt and shared with others. And as I said earlier, this is a deceptively simple book. It has the potential to change the lives of those who read it, but no book has that power if it is simply read one time and put back on the shelf to be forgotten. The five secrets have to be worked at until they become habit enough to replace the less successful habits that need to be rejected if true happiness is to be found.

So what are the five secrets? Izzo devotes an entire chapter to each of the five and I do not want to oversimplify them, so I will mention only the one that I have decided to work on for now. It is the fourth secret: to “live the moment” by always being fully aware that the present moment is the only one we have and that there is little to be gained from regretting the past or worrying about the future. The present is the only moment a person can control or enjoy, so wasting it is a terrible mistake. Too many people plan to be happy someday, perhaps when they retire, but that day never seems to arrive for them because they are unable to live in the present even when it becomes the future for which they planned.

John Izzo wants you to have the wisdom of a wise elder right now. He wants you to be able to face death with the feeling that your life has been well lived and that you have made a difference, left your mark on the world. If you are ready for it, it is all here in The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die. The rest is up to you.

Rated at: 3.5 show less

My perspective on "self-help" books has drastically changed in the last year. I find I am drawn to those that are solidly based on research and data of people's lives and perspective. It is as if books of this nature do not seem as preachy or to carry the self-help stigma.. but rather hundreds if not thousands of people reaching beyond the pages saying "I learned or experience Y..I regret X....I live happily with Z." But what is compelling is that it is groups of people across the world with different perspectives and cultures saying the same thing. Hard to agrue with universal truth based on hundreds or thousands of conversations and surveys...I may not always agree or see points as truths BUT I do see merit in learning.

The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die
by John Izzo Ph.D.

I enjoyed reviewing this poignant 178 page charmer, it got right in there and tugged at my heart strings. I must applaud the author on his innovative idea of interviewing whole bunches of " happy" people, basically dubbed so by their friends and neighbors, and asking them a series of questions that ultimately lead him to the fact that their were some common denominators between them and their happiness.

This format was delightful, it listed the secret, and then discloses the stories and the philosophies that make it so. This unique and heart warming read was just what I needed to keep a soft heart and an enlightened mind. I would recommend it to seekers everywhere. This show more precious number has made it's way right into my spiritual toolbox. Thanks, John for the awesome blueprint.

Love & Light,

Riki Frahmann show less

The five secrets shared in this book are nothing entirely new. You will probably have heard each one before. However, being reminded of these basic principles every once in a while can be quite helpful.The author John Izzo came up with these "secrets" after having interviewed over 200 people over the age of 60, who apparently had found meaning and happiness in their lives.

The Secrets according to them:
1. Be true to yourself by living with intention. Know your heart's desire and seek it.

2. Live with no regrets by taking chances.

3. Become love by seeing yourself and others with kindness and compassion.

4. Live in the moment.

5. Give more than you take.

When I started this book I was expecting to hear more direct quotes from the elders show more that John Izzo interviewed. Instead most of the insights gained were paraphrased or summarized. I was a bit disappointed by that. A while back I had read a similar book "If I Live to Be 100: Lessons from the Centenarians" by N. Ellis and I truly enjoyed hearing the exact answers of the interviewee's.

Nevertheless "The five secrets you must discover before you die" is an inspirational read and should be reread every once in a while to help us focus on the important things in life. show less

I've rated this book 4-stars (out of five) only because it's easy and pleasurable to read. These secrets are not secret, but five of the virtues one knows can bring deep happiness. The stories about the secrets, how some have (or have not) implemented them in daily living, and the outcome, are encouraging.