Flow


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Paperback
303 pages
ISBN 9780060920432 Published Jan. 1990
Harper Perennial
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[INACTIVE] Flow
By Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi 

Related Blog Posts
The Play List
Posted Oct. 27, 2005 10:06 a.m. by todd-sattersten
In Lists - 800 CEO Read Blog

I found a gem locked away in my email this morning. Our friend Kevin Carroll sent me a list of the books he gives out at his seminars. It is a great list. I am just going to let it speak for itself.



A Whole New Mind: Meaning Portfolio
Posted March 25, 2005 1:21 a.m. by 800-ceo-read
In Excerpts and Essays - 800 CEO Read Blog

Take the 20-10 Test

I heard this exercise from Jim Collins, author of the blockbuster book Good to Great. He encourages people to look at their lives--in particular, their work--and ask themselves whether they would still do what they're doing now if they had twenty million dollars in the bank or knew they had no more than 10 years to live. For instance, if you inherted $20 million dollars, no strings attached, would you spend your days the way you spend them now? If you knew you had at the most ten years to live, would still with your current job? If the answer is no, that ought you tell you something. This test alone obviously can't determine your life course. But the approach is smart--and the answers will be clarifying.

Read These Books

Recommending Books about Meaning is difficult. Much of the world's great literature and religious texts tackle the topic of what Meaning is and how to find it. So the following book recommendations don't trump great novels or sacred texts. Read the Sermon on the Mount, sections of Torah, and parts of the Koran, too, if you'd like. But for more secular, contemporary, and prescriptive guides to Meaning, consider any of these fine books.

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl--Simply one of the most important books you'll ever read.

Authentic Happiness by Martin Seligman--It astonishes me that more people haven't read this book and absorbed its lessons. It's a perfect introduction to positive psychology and contains all sorts of exercises to help you put the findings into action in your own life. Also visit the accompanying Web site.

Flow by Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi--"Flow", when you're absorbed and enthralled in an activity that your sense of time and place, is an important component of Meaning. This book is your guide.

[There are a few other recommedations in the book -t.s.]



Worthwhile Business Books
Posted Dec. 7, 2004 3:04 a.m. by todd-sattersten
In Lists - 800 CEO Read Blog

I picked up a copy of the new Worthwhile magazine. Multiple bloggers (Curt and Halley) associated with the magazine report that sales are very good on the permiere issue . My personal effort to get a copy required calls to three bookstores in the Milwaukee area.

There are a number of business book references I wanted to point out.



Csikszentmihalyi
Posted June 25, 2004 7:12 a.m. by todd-sattersten
In Personal Development - 800 CEO Read Blog

On my long list of books to read is "something" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. In Re-imagine, Tom Peters recommends Becoming Adult. In May, The Monday Morning Book Club at the Miami Herald reviewed his book Good Leadership. You might also recognize the title Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.

Johnnie Moore is reading Good Leadership now and really likes it.

I am going to have to move Mihaly up on my list.



Jack Covert Selects - Bringing Your Soul to Work
Posted Sept. 7, 2000 5:20 a.m. by 800-ceo-read

Bringing Your Soul to Work: An Everyday Practice by Cheryl L. Peppers & Alan Briskin, Berrett Koehler Publishers, 200 Pages, $16.95 Paperback, September 2000, ISBN 1576751112

In the past, I have talked about how I choose the books for Jack Covert Selects, noting such key things as the pedigree of the author, the track record of the publisher, etc. With Bringing Your Soul to Work, I confess that what first drew me to this particular book was the cover. Books are piled all over my desk, often indistinguishable from one another. But after having an unusually stressful day, this book reached out to me. It has one of the most peaceful, serene covers I have ever seen. Imagine my surprise when I started to read it and couldn't put it down.

First, let me ask you a couple of questions. Do you have days when your job is just a job, and you dream of that tropical island, a fruity drink with a little umbrella, and the sound of the surf? Does the end of the workday simply remind you that there is another workday ahead? Have you ever sat in your car in the office parking lot, wondering if you have enough energy (or enthusiasm) to put your feet on the pavement and walk through the office door? I have. Maybe we all have. So, if something just doesn't seem right in your work life, then you need to read this book. Ideally, it will help you define the role work has in your life, and the role your life has in your work. Bringing Your Soul to Work is extremely well-designed and intended to be "user-friendly." After you have read the introduction and the first chapter, "The Inner Wilderness of Soul," you can pick and choose which sections you wish to concentrate on. The authors call it: determining your "own best rhythm." The authors then help you along with icons denoting any questions that could use deeper reflection, or should be put into a journal. Oh, and don't be put off by the references to "soul." I was concerned that this book may contain a religious agenda, but the authors add a great chart in the early part of the book that shows you what they mean by the word "soul"- the word has mixed Hebrew, Gnostic, Christian, Taoist, Greek and African philosophies.

This book is on par with some of my favorite books of the '90s: Repacking Your Bags by Richard Leider, and Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.




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