Zen and the Art of Making a Living: A Practical Guide to Creative Career Design

Product Information

How often do we see a person, that we actually know personally, who have the impression that the whole universe is acting to satisfy his/her demands? – Apparently, not so often. Everyone can learn self-awareness. Cultivate a positive attitude. Express gratitude. A karate master once said that if he were a garbage man, he'd be the best garbage man in the universe. Taking pride in even the most menial task creates a positive state of mind and opens you up to possibilities. "When open, our minds have tremendous power to receive ideas." The most informative and helpful sections are the exercises that call for realistic self-analysis. Boldt recognizes that you can't just read the book and expect the perfect job to fall in your lap. Therefore, he makes the reader responsible for the job search by asking pointed questions and plenty of space for answers. This helps you contemplate everything from transition strategies to the "polygamous" life work trajectory of multiple ongoing careers. The reader, in dissecting his or her own written answers, achieves the type of self therapy only the most talented job counselors can offer. Boldt's exercises also leave you in control of your own analysis. The Zen teachings were unknown to Westerns for many centuries, but now we live in a different time. The access to these life-altering methods is available to anyone, and thus you can really begin your Zen journey. Start with the things that trouble you

In my late 20s, I got partway through the very extensive writing and reflecting that this workbook calls for, and that's it. There's only so much soul-searching that I can do. Zen and the Art of Making a Living is one hell of a book. I [feel] that [it] really challenges What Color Is Your Parachute? for leadership in the career field. Nice Job!" Very insightful book about the art of making a living with zen philosophy. I can see very clearly the tremendous effort from the Author by putting his thoughts and understanding together to make this book. He is passionate and has been patient enough to have consistently working on this book for 4 years to complete writting the book. Thank you for his effort.To be authentic, the play or action of your life must come from within, must flow from your heart. The spiritual or inner life cannot be separated from work - or anything else. A strong sense of purpose enables you to respond positively to the inevitable difficulties, annoyances and inconveniences of life in general and change in particular. The best answers come from the heart, not the head.To play the game, you must understand the rules.Peace comes from within, not from other people.Wait for the perfect time to make a change and you'll wait forever.Fear of failure can stand in the way of your dreams.Until you find what you love, love what you do.Giving up is not an option. More than twenty years ago, I began this work with the conviction that people of all ages and professional levels were ready to embrace the challenge of creating work they truly love. Through good economic times and bad, I’ve seen this conviction borne out in the lives of countless dedicated individuals who have found their own ways to put their passions to work. The success of this book and, even more, the many letters and comments I’ve received from readers who’ve found it helpful in mapping their own journeys to fulfilling work have been truly gratifying. This revised edition has given me an opportunity to sharpen and clarify my thoughts on a number of topics. Considerable revisions have been made throughout. The entire text has been updated, and a lot of new material has been added. For those familiar with this book, the bibliography and most of the Web resources that appeared in its previous incarnations have been greatly expanded and put online (empoweryou.com), where they can more easily be kept current. It's a normal career book with a bunch of zen babble. You have the "philosophy" aspects which take up most of the book, but the actual career advice is just the usual "discover your values, make a list of your talents, etc" that you get in these books.

The most innovative, unconventional, and profoundly practical career guide available–newly revised and updated We fear change. "Yet it's not knowing what's coming around the corner that makes life interesting." For over three decades, author Laurence Boldt, has been helping people to live their dreams, through his work as a writer, speaker, and career consultant. He is the founder of EmpowerYOU.com and author of five books, including the bestselling career classic Zen and the Art of Making a Living. This groundbreaking work has been credited by many with revolutionizing the career field, offering a new a vision of work and a new technology of vocational guidance. Boldt's other books include the bestselling How to Find the Work You Love, The Tao of Abundance, Zen Soup and How to Be, Do or Have Anything.All great teachers say that the road to happiness begins with the recognition "that beyond the transient desires of ego there lie deeper desires for love and service to all mankind." Most of us don't go this route because we "are too busy running down approval alley." We try to please others, and pleasing is calculated while "compassion comes from the heart." Whatever gets you really turned on, enough to work for with dedication, sacrifice, and excellence, has the quality of this blissful, original nature in it, and is moving you toward your life's work." This book helped me think about what it is that I truly do -- I am a consultant at heart - I love looking at problems, giving advice, and figuring out how to fix things.

Thousands of so-called ordinary people are every day involved in heroic service to their fellow man. Most of this service goes unrecognized and unnoticed by the wider public because it does not fit with the conventional view of what is valuable or important." In fact, nothing other than happiness matters that much. With all due respect to any career, you must remember that a job is nothing more than a way to earn a living. Putting it in front of everything will bring you in a position to beg, as we mentioned earlier. Transform your life with ZenOur staff enjoys] your book, and, of course, we share the book with our students. Your ideas about meaningful livelihood are important to me and to my students. Your book with its basic principle of choosing to be in control of one's career is very valuable to these people. It helps us to help them to create their new reality." Lccn 2009019516 Ocr ABBYY FineReader 11.0 (Extended OCR) Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.11 Ocr_module_version 0.0.14 Old_pallet IA12321 Openlibrary_edition Laurence Boldt't Zen and the Art of Making a Living is an inspirational manual that seeks to give people the tools to direct and control their lives so that they can find meaning in their work. It's philosophical . . . but upbeat, down to earth, and practical. Boldt, a career consultant never before published, has written a guide in the genre of What Color is Your Parachute? for job seekers, people unhappy in their jobs, anyone who feels dissatisfied with his or her life. The first half of this book argues that everyone has a purpose in life and we are responsible to pursue this purpose, for various reasons. Reading about the hero's journey was fascinating (incredibly so), and has made me consider reading Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces.