The Power of Purpose: Find Meaning, Live Longer, Better - Softcover

Leider, Richard J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1605095230 ISBN 13: 9781605095233

Verlag: BERRETT KOEHLER PUBL INC, 2010

Inhaltsangabe

NEW EDITION, REVISED AND UPDATED
We all want to find our purpose—our reason for getting up in the morning. Purpose is fundamental to human life. It is what makes us human. Purpose gives us the will not just to live but to live long and well. The good news is, purpose isn’t a grand concept reserved for a gifted few but something each one of us already possesses, needing only to be uncovered.

Twenty-five years after the publication of the first edition, legendary personal coach Richard Leider has completely rethought and revamped his bestselling classic on realizing what truly makes your life worth living. Revised, expanded, and updated throughout, the second edition features new chapters, new stories, and new tools and resources.

Purpose, Leider explains, is nothing more or less than a mindset. It is a choice you make every day to bring who you are at your core to whatever you are doing. Citing a wealth of new research proving that purpose is key to longevity, Leider details a graceful, practical, and ultimately spiritual process for making your unique purpose central to your life. This revitalized guide will help you find your reason to get up in the morning and integrate it into everything you do.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Richard Leider is consistently rated as one of the top executive educators and coaches in the world. He is ranked by Forbes as one of the"Top 5" most respected executive coaches and by Linkage as one of the "Top 50" executive coaches in America. Founder and Chairman of The Inventure Group, a coaching and consulting firm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Leider has a worldwide practice working with many leading organizations such as Ameriprise, Caterpillar, Habitat for Humanity, MetLife, Pfizer and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He is on the faculty of executive education programs at Duke Corporate Education, the University of Minnesota Carlson School's Executive Development Center and the Harvard Business School's General Management Program. As a speaker and seminar leader, he has taught over 100,000 executives from 50 corporations worldwide.  Leider is the author of Something to Live For, Claiming Your Place at the Fire, Repacking Your Bags, and Whistle While You Work.
 

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PREFACE
Why Do You Get Up in the Morning?
Your purpose.

Your aim or direction.

Your reason for being.

Your reason for getting up in the morning.

You may not have considered the first three items, but most of us have wondered about a reason to get up in the morning, at least occasionally. The Power of Purpose, Third Edition, is about that reason: to help you unlock the power of purpose in your life.

What Is Purpose?
Our purpose is the essence of who we are and what makes us unique.

Our purpose is an active expression of the deepest dimension within us—where we have a profound sense of who we are and why we’re here.

Purpose is the aim around which we structure our lives, a source of direction and energy. Through the lens of purpose, we are able to see ourselves—and our future—more clearly.

You have a purpose no matter what age you are, how healthy you are, or what your economic or social situation is. Your purpose is the reason you were born, and it can be what gets you out of bed in the morning.

Purpose is actively living your values, leaning toward compassion for others, and getting up in the morning to contribute value to the world.

Purpose is what gives life a meaning.

What Is the Power in Purpose?
Power is the other key word in the book’s title that needs attention. Webster’s Dictionary defines power as the “ability to do, act, or produce.” Only certain kinds of purpose have the potential to be empowering, so being deliberate about identifying our purpose is essential. What determines the power in purpose, ultimately, is the worthiness of the aim. Having purpose that provides real power requires an aim outside ourselves. Only when our purpose is larger than ourselves can meaning be deeply savored and long lasting, not just a goal completed and then forgotten.

At our very core we need to matter. We need evidence to believe that we are growing and are giving—becoming the best we can be. Naming our purpose helps us satisfy a basic need that we’re being used for a purpose that we recognize as worthy.

Many of us say we don’t have enough time to take care of our careers and our lives. Then before we know it, we’re right! We are so busy trying to survive in an increasingly complex world that we don’t have time to notice time passing. We do many things to answer the question Why do I get up in the morning? However, our busyness can also be a way of avoiding the question. In addition, it is an anxious way of living that can lead to unease and psychological and physical problems. And finally, we might end up asking, What have I done with my life?

How Do You Unlock It?
There is a better way. Having a reason to get up in the morning can add not only years to your life, but also life to your years!

Finding that reason is not easy. If it were, we’d all know exactly why we’re here and be living that purpose every minute of every day. However, my experience shows that when you unlock a clear sense of who you are, everything else follows naturally.

Some people will come to the purpose quest with a natural bent toward reflection. Others will find the process uncomfortable, or unnatural. A few will just roll their eyes. The key to engaging both the seekers and the skeptics is to offer a step-by-step practical guidance process. And, that’s what this book offers to you.

If you are looking for a reason to get up in the morning or asking questions such as these, this book is for you:

• I feel that I’ve missed my calling in life. How do I find it?

• I’ve successfully reached midlife. Is that all there is? What’s next?

• I’ve been growing spiritually. How do I connect my spiritual growth with my work?

• I’m in a major transition (graduation, marriage, new job or job loss, divorce, illness, death of a loved one). How do I find meaning and direction?

• I have enough outer success. How do I find inner fulfillment?

This book was developed by interviewing older adults about such deep questions, then combining their wisdom with my studies in the fields of adult development and counseling psychology. Specifically, I asked a cross-section of older adults this question: “If you could live your life over again, what would you do differently?”

Three themes wove their way through all the interviews. The respondents consistently said they would be

• more reflective,

• more courageous,

• clear earlier about purpose.

From these interviews, I concluded that purpose naturally resides deep inside the human soul. All people seem to have a natural desire and capacity to contribute somehow to life. Each of us wants to leave footprints. And each of us has a unique purpose. Each of us is an experiment of one. We can learn from, but not adopt the purpose of, another person; we must unlock our own. Each of us is on a lifelong quest to find our purpose, whether we are consciously pursuing the quest or are vaguely aware that something is missing.

The quest for unlocking your purpose begins with believing you have one. No book, of course, can convince you of this. You must arrive at your own decision. But, the process works if you work the process. And, many people today are doing just that. Unlocking your purpose is not a single revelation; it is a process that must be experienced.

What Is the Purpose Movement?
Over the past decade, there’s been an explosion of the interest in purpose. Psychologists describe it as the pathway to happiness. Scientists point to it as essential to brain health and well-being. Business experts make the case that purpose is a key to exceptional productivity and organizational credibility, and medical professionals have found that people with purpose in their lives are less prone to disease and even live longer.

Throughout history, humans have sought to make sense of their lives, searching for meaning through prayer, retreat, art, music, nature, community, gratitude, forgiveness, and multiple other ways. Traditionally, purpose was connected with the spiritual aspect of people’s lives, and healers, priests, and shamans were the ministers who helped people connect with the sacred to restore bodies and souls to health and wholeness. Now science is increasingly validating what people have known all along: that purpose is fundamental. When it comes to life’s inevitable breakdowns, purpose can provide a breakthrough. Purpose can give us the will to live. Without purpose, we can die. With purpose, we can live in dignity and compassion. Purpose is the one thing that cannot be taken from us.

Indeed, I believe that the process of unlocking your purpose and finding the courage to live it—what I call the power of purpose—is the single most important developmental task we can undertake today.

The twenty-first century shift to an accelerated, global, technology-driven world is driving a purpose movement. Such periods tend to spotlight what does not change—what remains constant and nonnegotiable in our lives. Purpose is one of those constants. People of all ages are seeking a new perspective on how they fit into this changing world. We are challenged to find relevant answers to the age-old questions of purpose and meaning. In this era, purpose has the marks of a movement—an inner-directed quest. We could say that we are living in the Purpose Age.

In addition, many of us have come to acknowledge publicly what we privately knew all along: that surviving adolescence and early adulthood did not ensure a tranquil, jolt-free passage through the rest of our careers and lives. We...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: BERRETT KOEHLER PUBL INC
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2010
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1605095230
• ISBN 13: 9781605095233
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 192
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar