25 Reasons Why You Should Pre-order the Happiness Project Book
Communicatrix wrote a wonderful post in support of pre-ordering Gretchen’s book – Referral Friday: 10 reasons why you should pre-order The Happiness Project. I loved this idea, so I decided to do one of my own.
Happiness is not a talent. It’s a learned skill. The more you can apply happiness techniques to your life, the more they will become a habit. That’s why we all must create a Happiness Project for ourselves.
Just think: What if everyone in your family put themselves on a happiness diet? What if they worked on improving their relationships, improving themselves, and getting the results out of life that made them feel excited about every single day?
You would have one encouraging and fun family to be around.
Gretchen, who I now consider a friend after we enjoyed a cup of tea together at SxSW, is the real deal. She is an author who truly cares. I learned so much in those two hours that the whole conference was worth the admission.
I’m basing my recommendation off of my meeting and her blog. I am 100% sure I will love her book. If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t be going through all this trouble to convince you to pre-order it too.
Pre-order on Amazon Today - The Happiness Project
Here are my 25 reasons to pre-order the Happiness Project on Amazon:
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Personal Development for Smart People – Book Review
You’re a smart person, right? Of course you are or you wouldn’t be reading this blog.
The title of Steve Pavlina’s book and blog compliment the reader before they even start on the first page. Personal Development for Smart People has a ring to it that makes the reader want to pick it up and check out what’s inside.
The genius behind Steve Pavlina lies in striking the right chord at the right time. He created a personal development blog when all the personal development gurus had static sites. He wrote valuable content on a daily basis and his audience grew fast.
Steve refused to dumb it down so it would be easy to access the information. He asked you to join him on his level and this helped the readers lift themselves up out of their present cyclical thinking.
He can now boast that he maintains the largest personal development website in the world. That took strategic planning and creativity. Few people are willing to dig as deep as Steve has done to discover new personal development ideas. He understood how to stand out (weird posts), but he also understood how to connect with a mass audience (common sense writing).
Steve’s first book is filled with common sense and fresh ideas that will satisfy the most critical reader. It’s already on the best seller list on Amazon and other sites.
Foundation
Steve has learned to adjust his vibrational tuning fork to connect with millions of people. If you enjoy personal development, you have probably already visited his website. Doesn’t it seem like every other personal development blog that you read is influenced by Steve in some way? That is a tribute to a man who paved his own path.
Like his blog, Personal Development for Smart People is a well rounded book. It gives the reader the foundation to create a prosperous life.
The three main themes of the book are:
- Truth
- Love
- Power
I love how he weaves these ideas throughout each concept.
How this Book can Help Your Career
The section on careers is very useful. I’ll share two of my favorite quotes from this chapter:
“When we express ourselves creatively we are sharing what’s most important to ourselves.”
He goes on to say:
“Think of your career as a primary outlet for creative expression.”
He breaks down his thoughts in a user-friendly way to help you apply these ideas to your own life. That’s the most that you can ask for in a personal development book – easy to understand and applicable ideas that encourage the reader to take action.
I encourage you to check out his website in order to supplement the information in the book.
His website gives such gems as:
- How to discover your life purpose in about 20 minutes
Steve’s writing within the book is incredibly polished and easy to follow. The thoughts connect and always come back to the central themes.
I would recommend this book to anyone trying to reach a deeper understanding of themselves.
Spirituality
One of my favorite sections was the one on spirituality, toward the end of the book. We have an amazing opportunity that few people have had before this time period. We can learn from any culture with a click of the mouse. You and I can learn how Buddhists, Muslims, and Christians handle certain situations. We don’t need to look through one religious lens. We can explore many perspectives to help us gain a better understanding of our lives.
This was also one of my favorite topics that he touched on in his blog, but in his book his ideas really came together to help me gain a better understanding of how to improve my outlook.
Your Choice
It’s your choice to buy this book, but I promise it will change your life, especially if you have never read his blog. If you’ve read his blog, many of his thoughts are brought together with his book into a cohesive pattern that helps the reader understand Steve’s thinking.
Getting inside an intelligent man’s head and taking a few nuggets of knowledge to improve your life is worth $20.
Work Happy Now Interview with Steve Pavlina
Steve was awesome enough to give me an interview that I recorded over Skype. It was really amazing to have the opportunity to ask him anything I wanted. As you can tell I’m a big fan of his.
I broke the interview into five parts:
- Building Your Career Foundation – 8:36
- How to Overcome Fear – 7:53
- Why Passion if More Important Than Money – 6:21
- Spirituality – 4:23
- Steve Pavlina’s Core Principals – 10:39
I will post all 5 Podcasts tomorrow. He answered the questions that I thought would help all of you the most. So stop by tomorrow and enjoy a fun interview.
* Update: Click here to check out the Steve Pavlina interview – enjoy.
Articles Related in Interviews and Careers:
- Pig-Headed Determination and Discipline
- Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It, Book Review
- How Toyota Became #1 and a Peek into the Short Interview with the Author
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Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It – Interview with the Authors
This site has given me the ability to be in contact with some great thought leaders. Cali and Jody ofWhy Work Sucks and How to Fix It, (read the book review here) were kind enough to grant me a interview.
Their book really emphasizes on creating results instead of just “being there.” An employee’s ability to produce positive results is what really matters. Every company that I’ve ever worked for threw sludge (snide comments from co-workers). Just last week I heard a comment about me coming in late when in reality I was giving a talk to a local organization, promoting our services.
Check out the interview and see if your company may be interested in creating a Results Only Work Environment (ROWE).
Here are my questions:
1. When sludge is the norm, what is the best technique to break these habits?
The first step is realizing that Sludge exists, and that it’s affecting productivity levels and bringing people down. The second thing you can do is start being conscious of the comments you’re making in the work environment. If, for example, you see someone getting up to leave at 3:30 p.m., you might think “She’s leaving early again. The rest of us have to sit around here like slaves and she gets to leave!” The key here is not saying these things out loud. Instead, examine why you’re so upset by your co-worker leaving at 3:30. Is it because you believe that people who are dedicated stay until 6:00 p.m.? Is it because you believe that people who “leave early” are getting by with something you’re not? This examination of beliefs helps people see how outdated their thoughts are – and how they’re not focused on the one thing that matters: results.
One of the things that is so effective about ROWE is that every piece of the migration, including Sludge Eradication, happens with an entire team together. So as people are examining and shifting their beliefs, everyone around them is reinforcing them and holding them accountable. Trying to shift your beliefs on your own – or being the only person trying to help someone else shift their beliefs – is difficult. But moving together toward a common vision of focusing on results is powerful, effective, and motivating.
2. I loved the testimonials in the book, but one caught me off guard. How does an employee go on tour with a band for a couple of weeks without causing dissension in the organization? Do you have a method of airing grievances?
In a ROWE, work isn’t a place you go – it’s something you do. This means that there are many employees that don’t work in the physical office setting for days on end. Whether they’re touring with a band, sitting in their home office, at their lake cabin, or in Jamaica, it doesn’t matter – as long as the work is getting done. Not seeing someone does not equate to the work not getting done. In the instance of Trey in the book, he tours with his favorite band and his productivity has increased by four times in a ROWE – now that’s getting to your results!
3. You have been doing the book circuit and talking to companies about ROWE. What is their biggest opposition to it and what do you say to calm their fears?
The biggest opposition we run into is the shift from focusing on time/number of hours worked (or perceived to be worked) to results. Moving to a ROWE takes a complete paradigm shift. The culture of work needs to change and one of the things we can do to move in the right direction is stop implementing flexibility programs over the existing industrial model of work. Flexibility programs are all about time, and tracking when people are working. Just about every employer says they value output over face-time, but then they reinforce outdated rules and policies about when, where, and how long work should take. Ultimately, we’re serving two masters under the current system: time and results. Until we completely eradicate time from the equation, we will never be fully invested in results. Organizations are full of managers in their late 40s and early 50s who have clawed their way to the top within the industrial model. But they, too, want a better life. Generation Y will force the issue, and ROWE will be the vehicle of change that will allow all of us to achieve the lifestyle we want.
In ROWE teams, productivity is up an average of 41% – this, in itself, is testament to the benefits of shifting the focus from hours to outcomes.
4. Have you been able to convince any other companies to try ROWE?
Yes. We just recently migrated an insurance and investment firm, JA Counter and Associates in New Richmond, WI. Companies worldwide have purchased The ROWE Launch Kit: Office Edition which contains the step-by-step, proven, systematic change management approach that enables facilitators inside organizations to establish a Results-Only Work Environment.
5. I’m curious about a company that has both hourly and salary employees. What does a company do with hourly employees? Did Best Buy ever try ROWE in their stores?
Best Buy corporate has both hourly and salaried employees operating in a Results-Only Work Environment. The key difference is that hourly employees must follow the department of labor guidelines for tracking hours. But, corporate hourly employees do not have work schedules and they can do whatever they want, whenever they want as long as their work gets done. They do not have to ask permission to manage their work and life any way they see fit. Hourly employees flex with the demand of their lives and the needs of the business just like salaried employees.
Thank You Cali and Jody for answering my questions. If you liked their answers then I would suggest checking out their Blog and book atAmazon.com.
Articles That Will Knock Your Socks Off and Are Also Related to this Interview:
- Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It, Book Review
- Leisure Expert Alison Link Answers a Work Happy Now Question
- How Toyota Became #1 – David Magee Responds to My Interview Questions
- How You Are Silently Signaling Your Co-workers to Treat You
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Image Courtesy of Cali and Jody’s Blog
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Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It, Book Review
Let me list the ways in which I’ve complained about my past jobs:
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I hate waking up early to come in to work.
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No freedom.
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My boss is a micro-manager.
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I have to take an hour for lunch, even when I only need a half hour.
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My co-workers never get their work done on time.
The list can go on and on, but I’ll stop my whining right here. Work doesn’t have to suck, and Cali and Jody of “Why Work Sucks and How to Fix it” have proven their success at Best Buy. They understood the most important point to being a successful business: Get things done and whatever else gets in the way should be eliminated. They figured out the best way to create an environment that accomplishes great work and also makes the employees happy was to focus on results and nothing else.
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No need to attend a meeting (Yes that’s right)
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No boss waiting for you to arrive late and ready to chew you out
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No worry about trying to look busy
Just produce and we will appreciate your hard work.
They overcame many difficulties when developing this concept, but it seems to be worth the effort. In their book they describe the hardest part, sludge. Sludge is the snide comments made by bosses and co-workers that undercut the culture of Results Only Work Environment (ROWE).
We’ve all heard those pesky comments by co-workers, “You going home already?” or “It must be nice to be able to take such a long lunch.” In ROWE those comments are outlawed. If you are producing good work that’s all that matters.
When I finished the book I felt like I wanted more. I would have liked to see Best Buy’s sales figures from before ROWE to the book’s final draft. It would have also been interesting to see how they could apply the concept to different types of company cultures. Both complaints are small for such a powerful concept.
The ROWE system is based on trust. That’s what I really like, trusting others to do good work. When we allow other people to get their work done at any time of day, wherever they want, and any way that allows them to do a good job, that’s all that matters.
Tomorrow I will post a short interview with Cali and Jody, the authors of the ROWE based work environment. If you aren’t subscribed to the Work Happy Now RSS feed then now is the time to join, so you don’t miss any more great work happiness tips and ideas.
Check out their blog or buy their book on Amazon.com, I highly recommend managers and business owners to check both out.
Why do you think your company could or couldn’t implement the Results Only Work Environment?
Other Book Reviews and Related Articles:
- Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It – Interview with the Authors
- How Toyota Became #1 and a Peek into the Short Interview with the Author
- Create the Work Atmosphere You Want
- Tell Your Boss You Need Leisure Time
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Image courtesy of Cali and Joy’s Blog
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