Thrive
The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
In Thrive, Arianna Huffington makes an impassioned and compelling case for the need to redefine what it means to be successful in today's world.
Arianna Huffington's personal wake-up call came in the form of a broken cheekbone and a nasty gash over her eye--the result of a fall brought on by exhaustion and lack of sleep. As the cofounder and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group--one of the fastest growing media companies in the world--celebrated as one of the world's most influential women, and gracing the covers of magazines, she was, by any traditional measure, extraordinarily successful. Yet as she found herself going from brain MRI to CAT scan to echocardiogram, to find out if there was any underlying medical problem beyond exhaustion, she wondered is this really what success feels like?
As more and more people are coming to realize, there is far more to living a truly successful life than just earning a bigger salary and capturing a corner office. Our relentless pursuit of the two traditional metrics of success--money and power--has led to an epidemic of burnout and stress-related illnesses, and an erosion in the quality of our relationships, family life, and, ironically, our careers. In being connected to the world 24/7, we're losing our connection to what truly matters. Our current definition of success is, as Thrive shows, literally killing us. We need a new way forward.
In a commencement address Arianna gave at Smith College in the spring of 2013, she likened our drive for money and power to two legs of a three-legged stool. They may hold us up temporarily, but sooner or later we're going to topple over. We need a third leg--a third metric for defining success--to truly thrive. That third metric, she writes in Thrive, includes our well-being, our ability to draw on our intuition and inner wisdom, our sense of wonder, and our capacity for compassion and giving. As Arianna points out, our eulogies celebrate our lives very differently from the way society defines success. They don't commemorate our long hours in the office, our promotions, or our sterling PowerPoint presentations as we relentlessly raced to climb up the career ladder. They are not about our resumes--they are about cherished memories, shared adventures, small kindnesses and acts of generosity, lifelong passions, and the things that made us laugh.
In this deeply personal book, Arianna talks candidly about her own challenges with managing time and prioritizing the demands of a career and raising two daughters--of juggling business deadlines and family crises, a harried dance that led to her collapse and to her "aha moment." Drawing on the latest groundbreaking research and scientific findings in the fields of psychology, sports, sleep, and physiology that show the profound and transformative effects of meditation, mindfulness, unplugging, and giving, Arianna shows us the way to a revolution in our culture, our thinking, our workplace, and our lives.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
After her own traumatic brush with burnout, media entrepreneur Arianna Huffington—founder of The Huffington Post—began reevaluating her own lifestyle and our collective definition of success. Thrive is the seasoned political commentator’s call-to-arms, in which she explores the philosophical, psychological, and physical implications of chasing money and power. Threaded through with real-life anecdotes, compelling research, and straightforward advice, Huffington’s lively guidebook is an important resource for anyone seeking work-life balance, and a passionate plea to add a “Third Metric” of success that’s built on “well-being, wisdom, wonder, and giving.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Media mogul Huffington lays out steps to creating a lifestyle where success is measured not by money and power, but something more meaningful. She criticizes "America's workplace culture... fueled by stress, sleep-deprivation, and burnout," and compliments efforts by companies like General Mills for its "mindfulness program" and LinkedIn for "managing compassionately." Huffington Post, she reports, exemplifies the "third metric" tenets "well-being, wisdom, wonder and giving" with nap rooms, meditation classes, and an app called "GPS for the Soul." Huffington cites studies on the health benefits, both physical and psychological, of meditation, adequate sleep, and exercise. One study finds people who had participated in volunteering reported feeling healthier, happier, and less stressed. Huffington also recalls incidents in her own life that have led to wisdom, including her hospitalization for exhaustion, a stillborn baby, and her daughter's struggle with addiction. Discussing death, she advises opening up a dialogue with the dying, powerfully evoking the dignified passing of her own mother. Huffington draws from both Eastern and Western philosophy, and though it's a bit rich when she criticizes the media for chasing viral stories, this is otherwise an excellent guide for individuals aspiring beyond the rat race or businesses seeking to elevate employee morale and well-being.
Customer Reviews
Love the book!
It is very helpful. It taught me great lesson. Also I shared it to my best friend hoping to help him find himself, that living a happy life is not about money, power and fame. He has a stressful life and sharing the excerpt thoughts and lesson from the book to him, remind him how stressful his life is and wanted to correct them for the better. Thanks to "THRIVE".
Fantastically Relatable
Even though the majority reading are most likely not millionaires traveling non stop to exotic locations and running a multi platform media company, the book was still relatable to those of us that struggle with a work/life/family balance. Well written and gentle reminders of how important the simplest of things are, from sleep to exercise to meditation to keep us all centered and healthy.
Great book to read for reconnecting to self
This was a great book to read for reconnecting to self and was a good reference for sources of helping you to chill out.