Seen in Newport Coast Living Magazine
By Bryan Rutberg
Gina Maier Vincent’s new book, Exquisitely Aligned: A Pocket Guide to Your Magnificent Future, begins like no other self-help book I’ve ever read. She tells the harrowing story of her husband’s near death, first from kidney disease and then from complications caused by a medical system that is over-compartmentalized and rigidly resistant to change.
A medical system that is, to borrow Vincent’s language, un-aligned.
And just as surely as doctors failing to connect and join forces threatens the body, Exquisitely Aligned shows how personal mis-alignment is every bit as damaging to the spirit.
Fortunately, Vincent has answers for those who seek to align intentions and actions to create a full and fulfilling life.
Without platitudes or unrealistic shortcuts, Exquisitely Aligned weaves compelling stories and direct advice to create a roadmap anyone can follow to envision the life they want, and begin to make it so.
Over and over, Vincent invites readers to consider their lives, current and future, through different lenses and with different choices. Simple and powerful thought experiments challenge the status quo—not to scold for old choices best left behind, but to reveal the gap between where those choices have gotten you and where you would like to be.
The gap between the life desired and the life being lived is the space that Vincent wants to fill with more meaningful actions, more mindful approaches to everyday life, with focus on the decisions and achievements that create the contours of a life worthy of the name.
When you are in that gap, she says you are short changing yourself and failing to share your full gifts with family, friends, and the world. You are “Underliving”.
And the opposite of Underliving is living in alignment.
After pulling you in with the excruciating saga of her husband’s illness, Exquisitely Aligned settles in and encourages you to define your “More,” the life you want to lead. Vincent isn’t against defining “More” as fame and fortune, but the examples she generously shares tend to emphasize more relatable goals—better relationships, more trust, time with family, travel, security.
With “More” defined, Vincent provides a roadmap to live each day in pursuit of it. Her common-sense approach leaves room for deep dives into passions, for more balanced moments, for changing priorities over time—in other words, for growth, and for all things in their respective seasons of life.
My own journey through Exquisitely Aligned got its greatest meaning from a new perspective on old wisdom, in Vincent’s chapter six, “Honor Your Divine Resources.” With imaginative and fresh looks at how we spend those resources—time, money, and energy—Vincent offers practical hints and encouragement to treat each of them carefully, curating each to deliver the aligned result we want, the one that takes us to our “More.” I understand these Divine Resources will be the key lesson of Vincent’s upcoming TEDx Talk, and I’m looking forward to seeing what additional insight she offers in that format.
And that’s the highest praise I think is available for a book. When you immediately want to hear more from an author, you know they’ve given you something valuable. Vincent’s something valuable is the work you’ve done by the end of Exquisite Alignment’s journey, unlocking your “More” and starting the march toward living it every day.