How to Ruin Your Life is a powerful self-help tool in the form of a work of humor. It is sardonic advice, presented in a tongue-in-cheek style, explaining how people can "ruin" their lives. Topics include essays such as "Convince Yourself That You’re The Center of the Universe," "Think The Worst of Everyone," and "You Can Change People." Seriously, though, to anyone who reads this book, it is an earnest warning about falling into traps of self-destructive behavior that can ruin any man or woman’s life. More than that, it comprises 35 steps which—if read and understood—provide a road map to making life work in the most effective way possible. It is humor and self-help all in one, delivered by Ben Stein, a man who has witnessed more than his share of people who did ruin their lives—as well as those whose lives have been wildly successful.