The shelves in our book shops are already groaning under the weight of books dedicated to positive thinking, self-motivation and changing one's life. Kevin Kelly, 31, knows it. He also accepts that lots of people who buy these books get all enthusiastic about making big changes in their lives and then proceed do nothing.

"I'd say easily 50 per cent of people fall into this category for a couple of reasons," he says. "First, a lot of the books in the self-help and life-changing categories are written by Americans and, while people can read them and get a buzz, it's very easy to stand back and dismiss them as happening to somebody else in another country. This gives people an escape route - the advice is not applicable to me - so they do nothing."

Second, says Kelly, many of the books contain a lot of thought and information but very few make practical suggestions about putting things into action.

"By writing for Irish people, using Irish examples to illustrate the text, I've closed off the escape route - and, to get over the second hurdle, I've included a lot of practical suggestions, examples, checklists and action plans for people to follow."

Responding to the suggestion that he has almost tried to cover too much ground by offering ideas on everything from relationships to the workplace, from stress reduction to diet, Kelly says: "There's more to life than one thing. Life is a cocktail of things and what I'm suggesting to people is that they should strive to get the different aspects into balance.

"For example, people talk about the ability to `switch off' - if they're unhappy in their job when it comes to 5.30 they say they `switch off' and go home. But I don't believe it's that simple. If they're frustrated at work this will carry over into other areas of their life so it needs to be changed."

For those of you too world-weary to even pick up a self-help book for fear of being put under pressure to go out and seek professional help, Kelly offers comfort. "People have the power to change within themselves, they don't have to go off on some tortured journey to find it. It's about getting in touch with something inside you which allows you to achieve your dreams.

"This can mean finding the right people to listen to who can be helpful in pointing out a direction to you or taking time out to just `be' and to rest your mind and sort out your thinking.

"Most of us are so much on the go these days that we don't give our minds time to slow down at all. We all need to take time out to relax and focus on something outside ourselves - to have a complete break from everything.

"This can be done in any number of ways - but not, for example, by reading a newspaper or watching TV because you're still engaging with what you're seeing or reading and your mind is still in a very active state. In the book I give advice on how to start training yourself in relaxation through deep breathing exercises which can be really beneficial."

Before setting up his own management consultancy company seven years ago, Kelly who is a business studies graduate, worked in marketing. He now works extensively in the area of communications training with companies, voluntary organisations, schools and local enterprise boards throughout the country.

What differentiates winners from losers, he says, is action. The winners take it, the losers don't - it's that simple.

He is also convinced that the way we handle failure is central to having a fulfilled life. "Each of us will experience failure but it's not the experience that is significant but how we interpret it. To some, failure is an excellent learning experience. To others it is the signal to throw in the towel. I'd say it's the interpretation that counts and that failing at something should not be a problem or a reason to be downcast if we learn from it. Happiness is an internal reality and you write the script yourself."

However, he accepts that there are those who find it very difficult to act, very difficult to change and are unhappy as a result. "I think there are probably two main factors affecting people's ability to act - conditioning and knowledge. By conditioning I mean the amount of times people may have been told that something wasn't possible so they end up with lots of reasons not to do things.

"By knowledge I mean getting the information you need to succeed. Most people who fail are illinformed before they take action. They need to ask more questions."

Kelly is completely hooked on goal-setting. "Setting goals, and even more importantly working on them, is the most empowering, life transforming activity you will carry out," he says. "You will feel the buzz that comes with taking control of your life. Take this seriously. Trust with your heart and watch your life become one of adventure and magic."

How? When You Don't Know How by Kevin Kelly is published by On Stream publications at £7.99.