Lifestorming: Creating Meaning and Achievement in Your Career and Life (Hardcover)

Introduction ix

Chapter 1 Setting Our Own Aspirations 1

How We Can Become Programmed 1

An Evolutionary Journey 4

Applying the Right Criteria 8

The Impossible Dream 10

Life’s Detours 13

Chapter 2 The Importance of New Friends 17

Why Old Friends and Old Habits Tend to Stick Together 17

Breaking Out of the “Good Enough” Trap 19

The Best Relationships Grow with Us 20

Watertight Doors 22

Letting Go to Reach Out 25

Why We Halt the Journey 28

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons 32

Chapter 3 Behavioral Metamorphosis 35

Making Deliberate Change 35

Ugly Caterpillars and Uglier Butterflies 40

Metabehavior 43

Aspiration-Appropriate Behavior 48

Chapter 4 Believe It or Not 55

Breaking into the Belief Vault 55

Challenging and Evaluating Your Belief System 60

The Creation of Attitudes for Growth 65

Beliefs Manifest in Behavior 68

Chapter 5 The Importance and Evolution of Character 73

Character’s Composition 73

Character Test 77

Ethical and Moral Behavior 80

A Slow, Steady March 82

The Meaning of Presence 86

Consistency in Turbulent Times 90

Assuming Formal and Informal Leadership 93

Self-Assessment 98

Chapter 6 Critical Abandonment (Knowing When to Hold and When to Fold) 103

The Dynamics of Keeping and of Changing 103

Adjustments and Accommodations 111

GPS and Roadside Assistance 115

Staying the Course 118

Chapter 7 The New You 123

Overcoming Fear 124

Banishing Guilt 128

Ending Shame 131

Maintaining High Self-Worth 133

Gaining and Sustaining Leverage 134

Chapter 8 Sustaining the Journey 141

Growth through Generosity 141

Evolution through Exploration 146

New Dimensions of Relationships 151

Legacy 155

Chapter 9 Self-Mastery: The Lifestorming Field Guide to Your Successful Journey 161

Testing Yourself 163

Index 185