Prosper: Create the Life You Really Want - Softcover

Willis, Ethan; Garn, Randy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1609940709 ISBN 13: 9781609940706

Verlag: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2011

Inhaltsangabe

For many, prosperity simply means wealth. But if you have to drag yourself out of bed every morning to do unfulfilling, uninteresting work, this kind of prosperity comes at too high a price. True prosperity is when there is no conflict between money and happiness— the way you make a living is true to who you are.

For the past twelve years Ethan Willis and Randy Garn have helped tens of thousands of people find their own paths to prosperity. In Prosper they share six Prosperity Practices that will enable you to create a life that is rewarding, enriching and renewing.

Willis and Garn teach you how to “earn from your core”—to start with what you have, clarify what you really want, and develop an action plan that leverages your passions, experience, and expertise. Because this plan is rooted in your deepest goals and aspirations, you create prosperity that is sustainable over the long term—the very opposite of a get-rich-quick scheme. You will not simply succeed—you will truly prosper.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Ethan Willis is the CEO of Prosper Inc. He is also coauthor of the #1 New York Times bestselling book, The One Minute Entrepreneur.
Randy Garn is one of the founding members of Prosper and Executive VP for new business development. The two were named Entrepreneurs of the Year by Ernst and Young in 2005.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

INTRODUCTION

The Path to Prosperity
Isn’t What You Think It Is

The journey to prosperity is like driving a car at night.
You can only see as far as the headlights, but you
make the whole trip that way.

—unknown

Much of what we are taught about prosperity and how we achieve it is just plain wrong.

Human beings have pursued prosperity since the dawn of civilization. Achingly few have achieved it. More recently, its pursuit has become an industry. There are thousands of books, courses, programs, and videos that promise to create prosperity. Yet for most of us, the path to prosperity seems bumpier than ever.

Today’s financial turmoil has shaken everyone’s conception of prosperity. Parents are concerned that their children will be unable to attain the same level of prosperity as they have. Everyone in this economy is facing challenges, whether it is college students starting their careers, middle managers trying to get ahead, entrepreneurs hoping to launch a business, or workers getting ready for retirement. All face harsh realities of employment, advancement, compensation, and job security.

WHAT IS PROSPERITY?

Now, before we go much further, let’s try to define what we’re talking about. What exactly do we mean by prosperity?

The first question we ask our students is to define prosperity. Probably every one of our students has a unique definition of prosperity. That’s as it should be since everyone has a different definition of what a prosperous life would mean for them.

Here’s just a sampling of how people we have surveyed around the world defined prosperity.

Lisa Prosperity is a way of living and thinking, and not just having money or things.

Deepak Prosperity means having the time and financial freedom to enjoy life at your own leisure.

Javier Being in the flow, having what you need at the time you need it.

Pearl The ability to achieve personal growth and financial security without sacrificing family and health.

Dieter Not living paycheck to paycheck. Not having to worry about money for bills.

Monique Prosperity is a blend of health, wealth, familial fulfillment, and personal self satisfaction, blended correctly and in balance and harmony.

Tom To be able to do what I want, when I want.

Maria Prosperity includes making the best of what you have, accepting the physical conditions that you can’t change while working toward good health, giving of yourself to family and friends, working with our community to help those in need, being true to your religion, with enough finances to live comfortably.

Larry Being debt free with the ability to pay cash for everything and to have cash available for emergency situations.

Jann Living a rich life, one of love and compassion, wealth and complete joy, one of caring and sharing, filled with laughter and exploration; the joy of loving a child; seeing the world and its wonders—to be able to do this in life is prosperity.

Pat The ability to weather all storms of life—financial or physical—and to assist friends to cope with their struggles by financially coming alongside them and helping them rise above the tumult.

We noticed many commonalities. Many of the definitions included terms such as money, wealth, income, security, savings, health, family, and friends. We were struck by how many of the definitions of prosperity included the word love. It was also heartening to see how many definitions included service to others, volunteering, serving the community, and other selfless acts.

Now It’s Your Turn

Here’s your chance to come up with a working definition of prosperity, one that works uniquely for you.

Go ahead, you try it. What does prosperity mean to you? Take a minute to think about it. Write down a sentence or two. We’ll wait. And please don’t worry about pinning yourself down. We’re not going to hold you to what you come up with now. Later in the book, you will have a chance to revisit the question. It should be interesting to see how your perspective on prosperity shifts after you have read this book.

PROSPERITY DEFINED

We see prosperity as multidimensional. When you are happy, when you have enough money and are at peace with how you are earning that money, this leads to the sustainable state that we describe as prosperity. Balancing these three things—money, happiness, plus sustainability—leads to prosperity. The prosperity that we value depends on creating an income consistent with our inner selves, our core selves; without that, no amount of external compensation can fully make us happy.

Our definition is represented by the following equation:

MONEY + HAPPINESS + SUSTAINABILITY = PROSPERITY

These are terms with lots of meanings. Let us tell you what we mean by money, happiness, and sustainability in the context of prosperity.

Money

Money is important, no doubt about it. We subscribe to the notion that while money isn’t everything, it is an indispensable component of prosperity. Money is not, as has been asserted, the root of all evil. It is the want of money that is the problem, and by “want” we are talking of both the desperation for and the constant unfilled need for money. The lesson of history is that it’s the love of money above what we truly value that creates misery.

Money is a key concept of this book. If it weren’t, then it might as well just be another book about happiness. This book is not about happiness—it is about how money interacts with our lives and how we spend our days and efforts earning it. This book is less about a means to an end and more about the means and whether your true potential and passions are being fully engaged in the process. Once they are, we are convinced that more money will come and you will be able to sustain your efforts and be happiest.

By money, we mean income sufficient to support your goals. Earning enough money is absolutely essential to our concept of prosperity. Earning money is the difference between a business and a hobby. We believe it is possible to be happy with a hobby, but it takes income to generate and sustain prosperity.

The big question, of course, is, How much money is enough to ensure sustainable prosperity? The answer: Enough to support your financial dreams in a way that honors your deeply held values and principles but not so much that your money distracts or alienates you from those very values and principles. The trick is to make your work feel more like an activity you enjoy than an activity you dread.

Happiness

For the purposes of this book, we are including under the general concept of happiness the following elements:

• State of mind—having positive feelings about ourselves and the world

• Authenticity—living life consistent with our deepest beliefs, values, and principles, and knowing that our earnings are aligned with our passions and purpose

• Commitment—adhering to what we most value, such as family and relationships

• Health and wellness—pursuing a prosperity that supports complete health in mind and body

It is beyond the scope of this book to summarize all that has been written about happiness. Here’s how it looks to us. When we jump out of bed ready to live the day as fully and completely as we can, when we make money doing what we enjoy, when we are living a life consistent with our beliefs, when we are satisfied with our relationships, when we are in touch with our health, when we are moving forward to realize our dreams, that’s happiness.

Sustainability

We believe that...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2011
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1609940709
• ISBN 13: 9781609940706
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Auflage: 1
• Anzahl der Seiten: 160
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Berrett-Koehler; https://www.dc.com/tv; ; 1333 Broadway Suite P-100; Oakland; CA; 94612; USA
• Verantwortliche Person: eucomply; hello@eucompliancepartner.com; ; Pärnu mnt 139b-14; Tallinn; 11317; Estland