x the power of story

This, from my friend Norm Wood today:


Here is an other very cool book by the co-author of the "Power of Full Engagement....", Jim Loehr.

It's The Power of Story, and since you and I are both focused on story as a powerful entity, I wanted to share it with you. We are truly onto a main life theme.


Thanks for the heads-up on the Loehr book. Yes. Story is very foundational in our focus. Your pointing out The Power Of Story this morning gives me courage. It is comforting (and exciting) to see other surfers (like Loehr) ride with us, each on our our own uniquely crafted (like Nephi's ship) boogie boards, on a wave headed to the beautiful shore of sharing.

Lately I have been softly, steadily and surely feeling the power of my changing story.

I will nestle the news of Loehr's book inside my soil...and continue to nurture the good word I have planted inside me (the belief in the power of high-glory beliefs).


From Publishers Weekly
According to this pragmatic self-help, each person has a story they tell themselves about themselves, which is often flawed and misunderstood by the conscious mind telling it: "Residing in the subconscious is most of the hidden matter that influences our stories-all the instinctual urges coded in genes... all the conditioning that took place during childhood... all the trauma and conflicts festering." Performance psychologist Loehr, coauthor of The Power of Full Engagement, shows how these stories, which can be as broad as a worldview ("The world is full of traps and misfortune") or focused unhealthily on a particular "subplot" (like work), define our reality and "destiny." To fix a story gone awry, Loehr explains how to plumb the mind's depths with honest questioning and self-regard, then to rewrite stories using three basics of storytelling-purpose, truth and action-in order to fashion a new, healthy, mission-oriented narrative. Later chapters provide guidelines for rewriting, with instructions on "indoctrinateing yourself" and creating specific training "rituals" you can adopt to turn "story into action." Loehr draws a lot of complex, convincing points from his seemingly simple premise; his book should give anyone suffering from general life dissatisfaction or business malaise plenty to think over.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"Jim Loehr's principles have helped unleash the creativity, capability, and potential of top-performing people throughout P&G. This book can do the same for knowledge workers everywhere."
-- A.G. Lafley, Chairman of the Board & CEO, Procter & Gamble

"Jim has brought to print many of the key insights that he has so successfully used to help athletes, business executives, and other leaders as they confront and change their own personal stories. I know his coaching works because I have seen it change the lives of many of PepsiCo's leaders."
-- Steve Reinemund, former CEO, PepsiCo

"This book powerfully and inspiringly communicates that we are the creative force of our own life. We can write and act on the stories that give our life its greatest meaning and fulfillment. Jim Loehr has produced another brilliant and immensely practical book."
-- Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness

"This epic contribution from Jim Loehr is fully compatible with the prevailing science of human flourishing: More than actual events, people's interpretations of those events -- their stories -- determine their emotional states, and in turn their actions, health, and success in life. If you'd like to re-sculpt your life, the accessible synthesis of science and practice offered here can be a welcomed road map."
-- Barbara L. Fredrickson, PhD, Kenan Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

"Being fully engaged as a Navy SEAL demands skillful management of all four sources of energy -- physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. This passionate and convincing book can change one's life through the process of facing your own personal truth, determining those aspects of your life you hold most important, and crafting an action plan to complete your life's mission. The young men who successfully complete SEAL training have, in their own way, done just that! Jim's wisdom can be anyone's wisdom, and his energy and passion can be shared among us all."
-- Rear Admiral Ray Smith, former Commander of the Navy SEALs, U.S. Navy (retired)

 See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

Jim Loehr "Author of The Power of Story"'s latest blog posts
 Jim Loehr "Author of The Power of Story" sent the following posts to customers who purchased The Power of Story: Rewrite Your Destiny in Business and in Life

Ten Ways to Quiet Your Mind Through Story

9:51 AM PST, January 17, 2008, updated at 6:38 AM PST, February 11, 2008

When the going gets rough, our inner voices sometimes compete for center stage. Here's a list of ways to quiet your inner mind through story from The Power of Story: Rewrite Your Destiny in Business and in Life:

 1. Redirect Your Attention. Consciously turn to an activity that engages and absorbs you completely. Continue it until you can talk with yourself calmly.
2. Summon the Voice of Your Conscience. Ask yourself questions like, "Is this (the stress-producing activity) really something I should be spending my time or money or other resources on?"
3. Summon Your Voice of Reason and Wisdom. The next time disturbing inner chatter rises, write down the facts—just the facts—of what is happening. Then write about those facts, even just a sentence or two, using your best wisdom and perspective.
4. Summon Your Voice of Support and Encouragement. Whatever message you would send to those you care most about, send it to yourself.
5. Summon Your Voice of Toughness. Many of us are too easily pressured by the world. Listening to this voice will help you to "hang tough" in the face of temptation as well as attempts by others to influence you through guilt.
6. Summon Your "I Don’t Buy It" Voice. Maintain a healthy inner skeptic, or you risk becoming tragically gullible.
7. Suspend Your "I Don’t Buy It" Voice. This is the balance to point 6. Some of us tend to be overly suspicious. That’s good—up to a point—and then we have to make the leap of faith.
8. Summon Your Voice of Compassion. Every time you stimulate feelings of compassion within yourself, you increase this capacity.
9. Summon Your Voice of Sincerity. This voice gains volume when you listen to and acknowledge your deepest private voice, and then find an appropriate and honorable way of using that voice when speaking publicly to others.
10. Summon Your Voice of Intuition. Intuition doesn’t follow the standard pathways of conscious logic and reason.

 The ability to see clearly in the storm is neither inherited nor something that necessarily develops with age. It comes from repetition and practice, much like strength develops from workouts at the gym.
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Voice Lessons

4:31 AM PST, December 13, 2007, updated at 9:20 AM PST, January 17, 2008

Ever think about taking voice lessons? Perhaps you say, “I’m not a singer!” Neither am I, but I like to use the voice lesson analogy when I think about training my inner voices. Call it “self-talk” or “intrapersonal communication,” we all have private voices that articulate our intentions, thoughts, and emotions inside our minds. During busy times such as holidays, the tone can become frantic, leaving us vulnerable to thinking that the loudest voice—perhaps it's the voice of inner discord or the voice of duty and obligation—is the only voice.

By my estimation, we have at least nine “voices” that can be trained to take center stage at times like these. For instance, there are the voices of conscience, reason and wisdom, support and encouragement, toughness, skepticism, faith in oneself, compassion, sincerity, and intuition. All of these can and should be trained to speak clearly. It’s not something that time alone will teach; it has to be practiced consciously. It takes some effort, but with “voice training” you eventually grow confident that your voices will be at performance quality when you need them. The topic of inner voice lessons is covered in Chapter 5 of Power of Story: Rewrite Your Destiny in Business and in Life .
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The Training Effect

1:35 PM PST, November 19, 2007, updated at 9:22 AM PST, January 17, 2008

The more curls you do with free weights, the more your bicep grows. It’s not rocket science. It’s the simple effect of training your bicep.

The more energy you give to a thought or action, the bigger and stronger it becomes in your mind, emotions, habits, and practices. Imagine that you tell yourself you must have coffee and donuts at the same time everyday. You practice this routine over and over, even make schedule adjustments so that you won’t be deprived. Now, imagine that you run two miles at the same time everyday, making schedule adjustments so that you won’t be deprived. Don’t expect to outthink your body or your brain on this point. Whenever you invest energy in anything, there is a “training effect.”

Every story we tell ourselves has some training effect. Because of the power of the “story effect,” it’s imperative that the story you tell be a constructive, not destructive, one. It’s crucial to be utterly conscious about who you are, what you’re doing with your life, and what stories you're telling yourself. The training effect of stories makes it hard to break the bonds that form--so take care that your stories are ones that move you towards your ultimate mission.

On my Listmania, you'll see three books related to this topic:Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain, The Mindful Brain, and Evolve Your Brain: The Science of Changing Your Mind. I also discuss these concepts at length in The Power of Story and The Power of Full Engagement.