Newt Gingrich, as Life Coach, Offers Success Story Based on 5 Principles

By Peter Roff, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has rarely strayed from the public's eye since leaving the House of Representatives more than a decade ago. The author of several books, fiction and nonfiction, Gingrich is now adding "life coach" to his list of accomplishments.

With daughter Jackie Cushman, Gingrich has coauthored the forthcoming 5 Principles for a Successful Life, a book inviting readers to re-examine the purpose and goals of their daily activities with a focus on increasing personal productivity and achieving success.

The book has its origins, says Cushman, in conversations she had with her own two children about their famous grandfather. "A few years ago, Maggie and Robert began to ask how Grandpa became speaker of the House," she says. "It was important to me that they understand it took him years of dreaming big, working hard, and learning every day," hence the book.

Cushman and Gingrich illustrate the five principles—dream big, work hard, learn every day, enjoy life, and be true to yourself—through examples from their own lives as well as through contributions from a group of notables including former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw, political consultants James Carville and Mary Matalin, and Gen. David Petraeus, the former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.

"My dad has been talking about these five principles for years," says Cushman. "He often refers to them during commencement speeches and in his discussions with young people. We thought this would be an important project that would help others, and we should work together on 5 Principles for a Successful Life."

Cushman says she hopes the book will provide specific principles and concrete examples of how to live life successfully. "We hope people understand that there are principles that lead to success, that life has its ups and downs, but if you live by these five principles, you can live life successfully."

5 Principles for a Successful Life, published by Crown Forum, hits bookstores May 12.

On Facebook? You can keep up with Thomas Jefferson Street blog postings through Facebook's Networked Blogs.

• Read more by Peter Roff.
• Read more about Newt Gingrich.