The Optimism Advantage


Book Description

Sharpen your skills and shape attitudes to achieve high levels of success personally and professionally The Optimism Advantage offers tangible, proven techniques for turning life's obstacles into opportunities with confidence and competence. Today's economy offers plenty of reasons to feel powerless and frustrated. But why would you, when it offers just as many reasons to be optimistic, resourceful, and persistent? After all, adversity is everywhere...but it's how you handle adversity that makes the difference in your personal and professional life. Each chapter provides new ways to sharpen your own skills and help others to face ever-present organizational and personal challenges with the kind of positive attitude that leads to resilience and results. Presents important truths for maintaining your sanity and effectiveness during times of economic or organizational turmoil Shows you how to turn yourself into a valuable, recyclable asset, rather than a disposable "employee" Author Terry Paulson is a preeminent expert on the human side of optimism and a powerful, renowned professional speaker The Optimism Advantage offers much needed relief, hope, and practical tools for everyone who feels trapped and powerless in the face of current economic conditions.




Learned Optimism


Book Description

In this international bestseller, the father of positive psychology draws on more than twenty years of clinical research to show you how to overcome depression, boost your immune system, and make yourself happier. "Vaulted me out of my funk.... So, fellow moderate pessimists, go buy this book." The New York Times Book Review Sharing simple techniques anyone can practice, Dr. Seligman explains how to break an "I-give-up" habit, develop a more constructive explanatory style for interpreting your behaviour, and experience the benefits of a more positive interior dialogue. With advice on how to encourage optimistic behavior at school, at work and in children, Learned Optimism is both profound and practical, and valuable for every phase of life.




The Optimism Bias


Book Description

Psychologists have long been aware that most people maintain an irrationally positive outlook on life—but why? Turns out, we might be hardwired that way. In this absorbing exploration, Tali Sharot—one of the most innovative neuroscientists at work today—demonstrates that optimism may be crucial to human existence. The Optimism Bias explores how the brain generates hope and what happens when it fails; how the brains of optimists and pessimists differ; why we are terrible at predicting what will make us happy; how emotions strengthen our ability to recollect; how anticipation and dread affect us; how our optimistic illusions affect our financial, professional, and emotional decisions; and more. Drawing on cutting-edge science, The Optimism Bias provides us with startling new insight into the workings of the brain and the major role that optimism plays in determining how we live our lives.




The Optimism Advantage


Book Description

Sharpen your skills and shape attitudes to achieve high levels of success personally and professionally The Optimism Advantage offers tangible, proven techniques for turning life's obstacles into opportunities with confidence and competence. Today's economy offers plenty of reasons to feel powerless and frustrated. But why would you, when it offers just as many reasons to be optimistic, resourceful, and persistent? After all, adversity is everywhere...but it's how you handle adversity that makes the difference in your personal and professional life. Each chapter provides new ways to sharpen your own skills and help others to face ever-present organizational and personal challenges with the kind of positive attitude that leads to resilience and results. Presents important truths for maintaining your sanity and effectiveness during times of economic or organizational turmoil Shows you how to turn yourself into a valuable, recyclable asset, rather than a disposable "employee" Author Terry Paulson is a preeminent expert on the human side of optimism and a powerful, renowned professional speaker The Optimism Advantage offers much needed relief, hope, and practical tools for everyone who feels trapped and powerless in the face of current economic conditions.




The Happiness Advantage


Book Description

INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • An engaging, deeply researched guide to flourishing in a world of increasing stress and negativity—the inspiration for one of the most popular TED Talks of all time “Powerful [and] charming . . . A book for just about anyone . . . The philosophies in this book are easily the best wire frames to build a happy and successful life.”—Medium Happiness is not the belief that we don’t need to change; it is the realization that we can. Our most commonly held formula for success is broken. Conventional wisdom holds that once we succeed, we’ll be happy; that once we get that great job, win that next promotion, lose those five pounds, happiness will follow. But the science reveals this formula to be backward: Happiness fuels success, not the other way around. Research shows that happy employees are more productive, more creative, and better problem solvers than their unhappy peers. And positive people are significantly healthier and less stressed and enjoy deeper social interaction than the less positive people around them. Drawing on original research—including one of the largest studies of happiness ever conducted—and work in boardrooms and classrooms across forty-two countries, Shawn Achor shows us how to rewire our brains for positivity and optimism to reap the happiness advantage in our lives, our careers, and even our health. His strategies include: • The Tetris Effect: how to retrain our brains to spot patterns of possibility so we can see and seize opportunities all around us • Social Investment: how to earn the dividends of a strong social support network • The Ripple Effect: how to spread positive change within our teams, companies, and families By turns fascinating, hopeful, and timely, The Happiness Advantage reveals how small shifts in our mind-set and habits can produce big gains at work, at home, and elsewhere.




Learned Optimism


Book Description

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The father of positive psychology draws on more than twenty years of clinical research to show you how to overcome depression, boost your immune system, and make yourself happier. "Vaulted me out of my funk.... So, fellow moderate pessimists, go buy this book." —The New York Times Book Review Offering many simple techniques anyone can practice, Dr. Seligman explains how to break an “I–give–up” habit, develop a more constructive explanatory style for interpreting your behavior, and experience the benefits of a more positive interior dialogue. With generous additional advice on how to encourage optimistic behavior at school, at work and in children, Learned Optimism is both profound and practical—and valuable for every phase of life.




The Adversity Advantage


Book Description

From the world’s foremost blind athlete and a Harvard Business School lecturer comes an inspiring, seven-step program for converting both mundane and dramatic struggles into the kind of fuel that spur personal and professional greatness. Adversity is one of the most potent forces in life. It shapes your character, clarifies your priorities, and defines your path. It can also fuel your greatness. Each of us faces a rich assortment of adversities every day, ranging from minor hassles to major setbacks and challenges, even tragedies. Nobody knows this better than blind adventurer Erik Weihenmayer and adversity expert Dr. Paul Stolz. In this exciting new edition of The Adversity Advantage, this dream-team joined forces to offer incredible experiences and practical science to teach you how to turn life challenges into a powerful advantage. Weihenmayer, who is the only blind person to climb Mount Everest and the Seven Summits, shares his struggles on high mountains to turn adversity on its head and do the impossible. Coauthor Stoltz has spent decades decoding the human relationship with adversity and is the creator of the globally acclaimed Adversity Quotient. Fully revised and updated, this new edition of The Adversity Advantage offers lessons from real-life adventure, seemingly insurmountable challenges, and extensive research to help you achieve greatness. This unique book provides an exciting and insightful framework for surpassing obstacles and reaching higher goals. Its seven proven principles will help you harness the adversity in your life and turn it into agility, innovation, energy, and happiness: · Take it on! · Summon your strength · Engage your core · Pioneer possibilities · Pack light, pack right · Suffer well · Deliver greatness, every day Let The Adversity Advantage inspire you to overcome obstacles, no matter how daunting!




The Advantage ePub eBook


Book Description

Go from ordinary to extraordinary with 7 essential soft skills. You need Adaptability, Resilience, Optimism, Integrity, Critical thinking, Pro-activity and Empathy to stay one step ahead. Our world is changing - so fast, so furiously, so ferociously - that to stand out at work you need to change what you're doing. And quickly. To get ahead, you need soft skills. To stay ahead you need The Advantage. Just doing your job won’t get you to the top, but what does it take? Soft skills are your secret weapon. These days we’re all working harder and longer, but finding it harder than ever to make an impact and get the results we want. Traditional skills like being a good team player, a solid leader or a brilliant negotiator don’t seem to be as effective anymore. To really stand out, you need to be doing something different, something better. You need The Advantage. In this groundbreaking book, we set the scene for seven new skills that will propel you and your career forward. Through a combination of scientific research, no-nonsense advice, practical exercises and case studies, this book shows you how to understand, develop and use: Adaptability - respond effectively to challenges and grab new opportunities Resilience - learn from experience and attack the next challenge with equal boldness Optimism - be the most positive person you know Integrity - trust, values and honesty are the name of the game now as is authenticity Critical thinking - challenge assumptions and find solutions Pro-activity - thinking and acting ahead Empathy - respect and nurture your relationships STAY AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION.




The Coffee Bean


Book Description

From bestselling author Jon Gordon and rising star Damon West comes The Coffee Bean: an illustrated fable that teaches readers how to transform their environment, overcome challenges, and create positive change. Life is often difficult. It can be harsh, stressful, and feel like a pot of boiling hot water. The environments we find ourselves in can change, weaken, or harden us, and test who we truly are. We can be like the carrot that weakens in the pot or like the egg that hardens. Or, we can be like the coffee bean and discover the power inside us to transform our environment. The Coffee Bean is an inspiring tale that follows Abe, a young man filled with stress and fear as he faces challenges and pressure at school and home. One day after class, his teacher shares with him the life-changing lesson of the coffee bean, and this powerful message changes the way he thinks, acts, and sees the world. Abe discovers that instead of letting his environment change him for the worse, he can transform any environment he is in for the better. Equipped with this transformational truth, Abe embarks on an inspirational journey to live his life like the coffee bean. Wherever his life takes him, from school, to the military, to the business world, Abe demonstrates how this simple lesson can unleash the unstoppable power within you. A delightful, quick read, The Coffee Bean is purposely written and designed for readers of all ages so that everyone can benefit from this transformational lesson. This is a book and message that, when read and shared, has the power to change your life and the world around you. You just have to decide: are you a carrot, egg, or coffee bean?




Before Happiness


Book Description