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HAPPINESS IS A SKILL YOU CAN DEVELOP!
Are you tired of self-help books which offer fuzzy anecdotes of inspiration, but leave you wondering what are science-based ways you can improve your life starting today?
Then this book is for you.
Jim McCarthy had a Stanford MBA and a successful career in Silicon Valley. But a cancer diagnosis suddenly changed his life, forcing him to ask questions such as
• How much longer will I live?
• What do I need to repair in my relationships?
• How can I use my work to help others?
• What, after all, would make me happy?
Since then, Jim has spent years studying the latest in neuroscience and psychology in an effort to understand what helps people thrive with abundant pleasure, purpose, and peace. His conclusion: Happiness is a skill you can develop.
Wanting to share his findings, Jim developed an innovative and highly acclaimed “Happiness Workshop,” which he has presented to organizations of all sizes across the U.S. and internationally. His talks aren’t just inspirational — participants take away proven strategies, science-based insights, and daily practices to lower their stress, boost their confidence, and find greater meaning.
Jim delivered the talk “What Cancer Taught Me About Happiness” at TEDxOakland in November, 2018.
He has distilled what he’s learned from his research and his workshop experiences into the new book, Live Each Day: A Surprisingly Simple Guide to Happiness. It’s an intriguing, enjoyable, immediately applicable blueprint for anyone seeking to live more fully. Throughout Live Each Day, Jim encourages readers to explore existential questions through focused, thought-provoking writing activities, with the ultimate aim of helping each person design their own path to happiness.
“Live Each Day is an ambitious achievement. Jim McCarthy takes fascinating anecdotes from his intriguing career and provides the reader with a robust framework to understand happiness.”
Chip Conley — Strategic Advisor to Airbnb and Bestselling Author of Wisdom@Work: The Making of a Modern Elder
"I’ve read many books on happiness and living a better life, but Live Each Day is different — providing the ideal balance of research, personal stories, and practical insights.”
Ariane de Bonvoisin — Bestselling Author of The First 30 Days, Speaker and Executive Coach
“For happiness books, it is one stop shopping … combining the common happiness activities with practices of depth, wisdom, and profound insight.”
Frederick Luskin, Ph.D. — Senior Consultant, Wellness and Health Promotion, Stanford University
“It would be hard to overstate the incredible value I got from this book. I highly recommend doing the activities with a close friend or loved one, as you will help each other uncover and implement changes to make your life more fulfilling, peaceful … and even fun.”
Heidi Roizen — Partner, DFJ Venture Capital
"Jim does a terrific job translating complex psychological research into accessible but powerful action steps.”
Dr. Daniele V. Levy — Clinical Psychologist
Industry Reviews
“Live Each Day is an ambitious achievement. Jim McCarthy takes fascinating anecdotes from his intriguing career and provides the reader with a robust framework to understand happiness. He is a Modern Elder, sharing his hard-earned wisdom while also asking the right questions. A must-read for anybody who seeks to find more pleasure and purpose in their life — at any age.”
Chip Conley — Strategic Advisor to Airbnb and Bestselling Author of Wisdom@Work: The Making of a Modern Elder
“We all face challenges. Some of us know how to respond intelligently and bounce back. For the rest of us, we need Jim McCarthy. Jim’s teachings will help you reset your life so you become more resilient, make wiser choices, and enjoy a more balanced, meaningful journey. Backed up by real world experience, Live Each Day is a practical guide that truly works. Gift a copy to anyone you love.”
Tony Surtees — Serial Entrepreneur, ex-Yahoo VP, Co-founder of Laava.id
“With a healthy dose of humility and sense of humor, Jim McCarthy presents a roadmap to help us find meaning in life, live in the present, and connect with people and projects that matter to us. Jim does a terrific job translating complex psychological research into accessible but powerful action steps that can drastically improve your emotional well-being.”
Dr. Daniele V. Levy —Clinical Psychologist
“Jim McCarthy uses a Silicon Valley approach to ‘hack’ happiness. Innovative and practical, science-based but also personal — Live Each Day gives you the strategies and daily tactics to be both successful and happy. His Happiness Workshop was amazing, and this book is even better. Highly applicable for smart, hard-working people everywhere.”
Anil Sethi — Serial Entrepreneur, Founder and CEO at Ciitizen
"I invited Jim McCarthy to give a TEDx talk. His talk was simply phenomenal — inspiring yet practical. I'm so happy to see that he's taken his wealth of knowledge and condensed it into this book. A must-read for anybody seeking to lead an intentional life!"
Christopher Ategeka — Serial Entrepreneur, Founder/CEO UCOT Inc.
In Live Each Day, Jim expertly marries more esoteric happiness concepts with real-world tactics, weaving a highly-readable tapestry that not only inspires, but demands action. Ideal for the modern professional who sees the benefits of happiness in life and work, but needs a blueprint for how to make it happen.
Chris Butsch — Author, The Millennial's Guide to Making Happiness
“Jim’s Happiness Workshop helped me achieve a major breakthrough in my life a few years ago. Thanks to the writing and discussion activities, I found a greater sense of clarity on a vital decision I needed to make. I am delighted to see him expand his workshops with this book — sharing practical tools with a greater audience, while guiding readers to develop lasting habits in key areas of personal growth.”
Judith Duval — CEO, Media & Education Startup
CONTENTS
Introduction: How to Use This Book 1
The Process: Writing and Exploration 2
The Process: Practices 7
Getting the Most Out of This Book 8
PART ONE
Purpose — Decide What You Want to Do
Chapter One: Live Like You Have Cancer 12
Imagine Your Death Day 18
Chapter Two: Relationships 24
Family, Friends, and Community 24
All You Need Is ... Kindness 27
How to Practice Compassion 29
Volunteer Work as a Compassion Practice 33
How Much Volunteer Work Should You Do? 36
To Live Long ... Be Kind 36
The Wisdom of Age 38
“Community? I Don’t Have a Community.” 42
Loneliness by Gender 44
Compassion at Work? 49
Chapter Three: Work 51
Your Work ... Viewed from Your Deathbed 52
The Importance of Meaningful Work 53
Screw Your “Job” — Define Your “Calling” 56
What Does the World Need from You? 60
Use Nonnegotiables to Overcome FOMO 63
How to Know Your Nonnegotiables 65
Ask, “What Would It Take?” 70
The Limits of What Money Can Do for You 71
How to Spend Your Money to Buy Happiness 75
Write About Your Work 78
Facing Your Fate ... with Love 85
Think Long Term So You Have No Regrets 89
PART TWO What Is “Happiness”?
Chapter Four: Happiness Framework 98
Are You “Happy”? How Happy Are You? 98
What Would Make You Happier? 100
A Framework for “Happy” 102
Balancing Pleasure and Purpose 107
Finding the Right Balance for You 112
Happiness, Unhappiness, and Suicide 116
Chapter Five: The McCarthy Happiness Matrix 119
Low Pleasure and Low Purpose 123
High Pleasure and Low Purpose 125
Low Pleasure and High Purpose 127
High Pleasure and High Purpose 129
Feeling Awe 132 Experiencing
“Flow” 133
Chapter Six:
How Much of Your Happiness Do You Really Control? 137
PART THREE Presence
Chapter Seven: Serenity Prayer 140
Chapter Eight: Beware the Comparing Mind 143
Why Don’t Comparisons Bring Happiness? 145
Why Is It Hard to Avoid “the Comparing Mind”? 146
An Alternative Path 149
Hope That the Comparing Mind Lessens with Age 151
Chapter Nine: Enjoy the Journey 155
The “I’ll Be Happy Only When ... ” Syndrome 155
Impact Bias and Hedonic Adaptation 157
Instead, Enjoy Your Journey 161
What Is “Stress,” Anyway? 162
A Bucket List for Mindfulness 167
You Can Have It All — Just Not at the Same Time 170
Looking Backwards and Forwards 173
Unhappy Ending 177
Chapter Ten: Forgive 178
The Two Prisoners 178
What Forgiveness Is and Isn’t 179
Forgiveness at Work 181
Forgiveness Practices 185
Reaching Out for Forgiveness 188
Forgive and Build Your Resilience 192
A Mindset for Resilience and Growth 193
Chapter Eleven: Embrace Equanimity 195
PART FOUR Practices
Chapter Twelve: Meditation:
How to Keep Calm and Be at Peace 205
ISBN: 9781733675000
ISBN-10: 1733675000
Published: 2nd March 2019
Format: Paperback
Language: English
Number of Pages: 334
Audience: General Adult
Publisher: Happiness Media, LLC
Dimensions (cm): 22.86 x 15.24 x 1.78
Weight (kg): 0.45
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