Book Description

In recognition of a human condition that spans the entire spectrum from wonderful to miserable, and with a strong preference for the wonderful, Dr. John Chuck draws on over 30 years of experience as a family physician, wellness leader, and teacher to create this guide to help you struggle less, thrive more, and live your best life, one filled with joy and meaning. His "pearls" of insight and wisdom will help you to better understand our shared predicament as human beings, namely our suffering and mortality, and leverage evidence-based habits to meet your hierarchy of needs for survival, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization in the one very short life you have been given. Just as mollusks make pearls in response to irritants, you can use your struggles to create a new and improved version of yourself. In the pages of Pearls, you will find the makings of that metamorphosis. The book features 69 chapters divided into six parts. Read start to finish, it delivers a comprehensive message of hope and healing that begins with birth and ends with death. At the same time, each chapter is written so that it can stand alone as an inspirational message to be revisited or shared with others in need of perspective and encouragement. In Part I, "First Things First," he reviews the roles that nature and nurture play in setting our floors and ceilings, proposes a new twist on the age-old pursuit of happiness and achievement, shares a method for strategic winning, highlights the important role of connection to others, self, and a higher power, and offers a solution to the decision paralysis and self-consciousness that often hinder our progress. Part II, "The Work World," outlines the economic fundamentals of life and the attitudes and actions that maximize one's opportunities for paid employment and success in the workplace. Part III, "Lofty Goals," describes a life that rises above self, the pedestrian and mundane, to pursue aspirational team-based initiatives that lift up and transform entire communities and societies. In Part IV, "Getting Things Done," he writes about the many drivers of consistent productivity, including harnessing realms of energy, identifying and successfully navigating the chapters of life, exercising servant leadership, and engaging the emotions and intellect that drive human decisions and practices. Part V, "Struggles," focuses on the common challenges that impede our ability to claim joy and meaning and the adaptive behaviors that help us to turn our challenges into opportunities for growth. The book concludes with Part VI, "Doctor Stuff," Dr. Chuck's summary of the inescapable aging processes and degenerative changes that define our morbidity and mortality, and his endorsement of the perspectives, intentions, and habits that help us mitigate the sting of death and the finality of the grave.