My key highlights from the Introduction:

• change is unavoidable
• each moment is different from every other. nothing remains static for an instant, from a planetary to a molecular level
• the action stage is simply one of six stages — following precontemplation, contemplation, and preparation, and preceding maintenance and termination
• fewer than 20% of a problem population are prepared for action at any given time. and yet, more than 90% of behavior change programs are designed with this 20% in mind
• [successful] self-change requires that you know what stage you are in for the problem you want to overcome
• even people who are not ready to act can set the change process in motion
• 45% of clients drop out of psychotherapy prematurely, since treatments too often don’t match the stage clients are in
• there are fewer differences between therapy-changers and self-changers
• it can be argued that all change is self-change, and that therapy is simply professionally coached self-change
• the key is always to use the right strategy at the right time
• very often, failure is due to lack of guidance — most self-changers are so busy reinventing the wheel that they become exhausted during the course of their struggle