Q&A with Richard Fast

How would you like to achieve financial independence in 29 days? Or lose weight in 29 days? Well, we found an expert (or, rather, the expert found me)!

Today, we welcome Richard Fast, author of the "29 Days" series.


Q: Tell us about your “29 Days” book series.
A: They’re about making massive and permanent change to our thoughts, behaviors and beliefs in just 29 days.
The “29 Days” series is based on the book 29 DAYS ... to a habit you want!, which has spawned four programs are targeted
toward helping us gain complete control of one major area of our lives. The four programs are titled:
• 29 DAYS ... to your perfect weight
• 29 DAYS ... to your life without cigarettes!
• 29 DAYS ... to save money and achieve financial independence
• 29 DAYS ... to becoming a great listener and communicator
The programs are designed for one purpose – permanent change. Although combining the concept of just 29 days together with lifelong permanent change may seem like an oxymoron, in reality this 29-day journey is the all-important gateway to changing the most crucial part of permanent change: our thoughts, behaviors and attitudes.
When we successfully change our thoughts and feelings then permanent change becomes easy and effortless.
As we all know, it’s not hard to do something we want to do nor is it difficult to refrain from doing something we don’t want to do. By changing our true want and desires we affect permanent change and new lifelong habits.



Q: What inspired you to write these books?
A: I was inspired because of the simple fact that the world really doesn’t need another how-to book. All the information is out there. In fact, we’re drowning in a bottomless sea of information. My inspiration came from realizing that we really need something that motivates us to take action and begin to apply what most of us already know. But in addition to the application, we need to be sure our desired changes are permanent, none of this short-term willpower nonsense.
If we look at the weight-loss industry over the past 75 years, for example, we can see the same stream of solutions year after year. We see a never-ending stream of diets, pills, chocolates, gadgets and gimmicks, with each new “amazing secret discovery” billed as the amazing new answer to all our weight problems.
But when it’s all said and done we still have to burn more calories than we consume. There’s simply no way around that and we all know that.
So my inspiration wasn’t about giving people more information or some crazy gimmick but to simply show and guide them
toward taking action and making the simple changes that lead to a new way of living and a desirable new habit. Believe it or not – and this is the key – unless the changes we make are easy and sustainable, we’re setting ourselves up for certain failure.
The 29DAYS programs are designed to take someone through a very easy, step-by-step procedure that will result in a massive attitude change and a permanent new behavior and lifestyle.


Q: What makes your book different from other self-improvement books and plans?
A: I might be playing with semantics here, but I would really call these programs rather than books. These programs are designed to take someone on a 29-day journey of self-discovery. Together with their online coach, we take you through a metamorphosis of change. The entire focus is on application – taking action. Knowledge without application and action is useless. Most of us know what we should do, but if we can’t get ourselves to do it then that knowledge isn’t making the slightest difference to our lives.
Giving people a 300 page book that is chock full of wonderful information that isn’t read or applied is frequently what happens.
Many people purchase solutions and then perhaps hope they will receive the results through osmosis.
In these 29DAYS programs, we make sure you don’t try to do too much or too little each day. If people try to do too much they are heading for failure, because what they are attempting is not sustainable. On the other hand, if we go too slowly we may not see the beginning of change quickly enough and so we lose our focus and desire and we end up quitting.
The entire focus of 29DAYS is to gently interact with you twice each day to create a transformational way of thinking. People are
consistently blown away by what they accomplish simply because they stuck with something and really thought and focused on it for a solid 29 days. The results in these programs have been both predictable and spectacular.


Q: Where can we get more information on your books?
A: There is lots of additional information on the 29DAYS website, www.29daysto.com, and then of course the programs are available to purchase either through the website or at major online retailers.

I have his books sitting on my shelf and have not yet had the chance to try them out for 29 days. Been too busy to even try. But now that I am back from my trip to Arizona, I guess there is no excuse.....except I really want to start at the beginning of the month.