Happiness , livre ebook

White Pine Mountain - A. Smith Douglas

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93 pages

English

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In the midst of a successful business career, Doug Smith received life-altering news that set him on an entirely new journey to understand what leads to truly joyful, meaningful living-in other words, what leads to happiness. Through research and study he begins to understand what the most joyful among us have in common is that they remember the past with peace, anticipate the future with confidence and live in the present with joy and exuberance. He futher discovers that what gives them this perspective is a set of skills that they consistently, even if subconsciously, practice. He also realizes that he is not particularly good at several of these skills. In Happiness: The Art of Living iwth Peace, Confidence and Joy the author recounts, with insight and humor his journey to better understand and practice the skills of happiness with the goal of helping other on their own paths to joyful, meaningful living.

Sujets

motivation

Assertiveness

Popular psychology

Self-help

Mind

Body

Spirit

Informations

Publié par	White Pine Mountain
Date de parution	02 janvier 2014
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780986070815
Langue	English

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0400€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Praise for “Happiness: The Art of Living with Peace, Confidence and Joy”
The clarity and thoughtfulness that Smith brings to this book have been distilled through years of teaching a class on happiness at DePauw University, and he offers clear advice with quiet authenticity, grace and none of the distasteful aggressiveness that can be found in the methods of some self-help books. Smith’s tools are simple but not simplified, aiming for, in the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes, “simplicity on the other side of complexity.” He neither turns his back on his corporate past nor insists on applying a CEO’s toolset to a more mindful approach to life, making his words more broadly appealing. Smith tells his own life story, sharing the challenges and successes he found in articulating and manifesting the skills of happiness, and how he enriched his life by spending time alone in nature and with his wife and two sons. He shares his journey confronting the realities of his illness—chronic lymphocytic leukemia—while trying to nurture five thing in life: “grace, gratitude, courage, peace, and time,” each with deep sincerity. Yet he doesn’t infuse his own narrative with a much grander meaning, as can be common in books written by those who teach from their own lives. Instead, his well-articulated though not quite groundbreaking story helps by sharing one way to find personal joy by focusing on how we relate to ourselves and others. A big thinker turns his mind to the essence of his happiness in a memoir that’s easy to read and maybe even follow.
— Kirkus Reviews
“Read this book with joy and gratefulness as I did and it will lead to happiness.”
—Mark Liponis, M.D. Canyon Ranch Corporate Medical Director Author, “Ultra-Longevity” and “Hunter/Farmer Diet Solution”
“In confronting life’s triumphs, as well as personal challenges, Doug Smith emerges with a balance and view that is remarkable. His book draws you into his personal journey and his insights have application to our everyday lives.”
—Richard P. Mayer Former CEO of Kraft Foods; Former CEO of KFC
“From a ledge on White Pine Mountain, the oracle of happiness identifies the secret sauce of life, and shares it in poignant stories and easy-to-follow teachings. Carve out some quiet alone time, and let Doug share his journey and teachings with you.”
—John Lowe CEO, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
“Doug has approached the subject of happiness in the same way he solves business problems: with humor and analytics, intertwined with razor-sharp thinking and writing.”
—Parker MacDonell Principal, Invergarry Partners
“Doug Smith’s generously honest book offers wise guidance to readers interested in pursuing a happy life. His infectious optimism and love for the world are reflected throughout this book, and his open and genuine narration of his own journey towards happiness is inspiring.”
—Brian Casey President, DePauw University
“Doug’s book should be on everyone’s bedside table to remind us, in troubled times, that we can overcome obstacles with mindful attention to finding meaning, purpose, flow and cherishing others. Doug gives generously and honestly of his life’s experiences so that we, his readers, will know that we are not alone.”
—Nancy Williams Executive Director, Lake George Land Conservancy
“Reading this book will benefit everyone; for many it will be life-changing; for some it may be life-saving. Heartfelt, moving and impactful, a must read for all.”
—H. S. Sunenshine, PhD Former President, Walker Research
“Take a journey with Doug Smith’s ‘Happiness’. It is a remarkable book and personal story that I highly recommend. This book will make you smile and maybe even start you on your own journey toward achieving a higher level of personal contentment and self-actualization.”
—Peter R. Dolan Former Chairman and CEO of Bristol-Myers Squibb
“Happiness . . . That warm and fuzzy thing, right?? No. Absolutely not. It’s that necessary and very real thing we all seek. Doug shares his life experiences while teaching us the skills of happiness in a very moving and real way.”
—Andrew R. Summerfield President & Creative Director, Summerfield Advertising
“This powerful book guides us along a path of faith and determination to reach our dreams through forgiveness and compassion.”
—Prof. em. Dr. Guido Mislin ETH, Zürich.
“Doug Smith brings great insights to an extremely important topic. It makes terrific reading for anyone going through life changes and challenges.”
—Stephen Sadove Former Chairman and CEO, Saks
“When adversity found him, Doug found happiness, and, in so doing, blazed a path that many readers will benefit from following.”
—Josh Sommer Executive Director, Chordoma Foundation
“With a business leader’s smarts, a father’s love, a husband’s devotion, Doug tackles the questions of happiness in his own life and gives away the secrets to his readers.”
—John P. Schuster Author of “Answering Your Call” and “The Power of Your Past”
“Doug Smith provides us all with a truly rare and unsparingly honest glimpse into the inner life of a CEO—and one man’s journey from being driven by fear and judgment, to leading from love and happiness. The concepts and skills Doug describes are invaluable to us all.”
—Ken Murphy Former EVP of Human Resources, Altria
“The lessons in this book are a poignant reminder that the values of gratitude, friendship, forgiveness and optimism are universal and true for all of us. This is a moving story of one blood cancer survivor’s journey, his story will inspire other patients and their families who are living with a blood cancer, as well as anyone who wants to pause for a moment and reflect on themselves and their impact on others . . .”
—John E. Walter President & CEO, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
“This book is a gift that has made me a better father, better friend and better leader. This book is the most important book I have read in years.”
—Tom Krouse President, Donatos
“In the true spirit of altruism, encouraged within these pages, Doug has graciously given us the gift of better understanding how to find happiness.”
—Dennis Bland CEO, The Center for Leadership Development
H APPINESS
The Art of Living with Peace, Confidence and Joy
by Douglas A. Smith
Published by
White Pine Mountain
445 Hutchinson Ave., Ste 270
Columbus, OH 43235
Copyright © 2014 by Douglas A. Smith
Edited by RobinLee Allen
Cover design and illustrations by Summerfield Advertising
2nd Edition, 2014.
ISBN: 978-0-9860708-0-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013954900
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
Printed in the United States of America.
To Sparky
and
To everyone working to make it a cancer-free world
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prologue
MORNING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF COMPLEXITY
Chapter 1     Sunrise from White Pine Mountain
COMPLEXITY
Chapter 2     The Long Ride Home
Chapter 3     A Blank Calendar
Chapter 4     27 Students, 20 Letters and a New Purpose
THE JOURNEY
Chapter 5     What it Means to be Happy
Chapter 6     Making Peace with the Past
Chapter 7     Facing the Future with Confidence
Chapter 8     Living in the Present with Joy
Chapter 9     All the Ways I Went Astray
LIVING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF COMPLEXITY
Chapter 10   Simplicity on the Other Side of Complexity
Chapter 11   The Five Things
Chapter 12   The One Thing
Chapter 13   Call me Mr. Lucky
Epilogue
APPENDIX
Skills Summary

My great-grandfather told how during the Great Famine, when everyone around his part of the country was starving, a crow flew past with a potato in its beak, which meant it was a good potato, not diseased, and men, women and children set off after the crow, stumbling into ditches, falling, jostling each other to be the one to get the food if the bird dropped it. That’s what the pursuit of happiness is like. This is one of life’s mysteries there is no coming to terms with — that as long as we have breath we have no choice but to go running after happiness, our poor faces strained upward as if we cannot get enough of it, as if happy is what we were meant to be, as if without happiness we would starve. As we would.
— Nuala O’Faolain, Chasing the Evanescent Glow
PROLOGUE

This is a book about happiness. More specifically, it is about my own journey to discover and increasingly practice the skills that lead to happiness. It is not about plastering a smile on my face or always being in a good mood. It is about something much deeper, much more fundamental.
What I am seeking to know more about, better practice and share with others, is that which enables certain people to have an underlying and predominant sense of well-being and contentment even in their darkest, most difficult days. Genuinely happy people, I believe, have a kind of ballast that lets them meet with the loss of a job, a broken relationship, a major health challenge, a financial reversal or any number of setbacks, and still bounce back. They realize that anger, remorse, guilt and denial are all stages; they aren’t permanent places of residence.
I further believe what enables happy people to have this resilience is a set of skills that give them a perspective about three things. The first is that they remember the past with peace. They don’t carry around a lot of remorse or anger about the past. They have learned from whatever adversities they faced and mistakes they made, and then they have moved on.
Second, they anticipate the future with confidence. As they look to the future, they plan and prepare for it, but they also realize they cannot control it. They recognize that the future will invariably be different than the scenarios they envision. How they adjust to the divers