Zen and the Art of Making a Living: A Practical Guide to Creative Career Design

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In Zen and the Art of Making a Living, we are not told what Zen is, but, after perusing it,we intuitively know exactly what it means and how this philosophy can enhance our life at work and play.

Identifying what moves you, your passion and purpose, is the place to start. After all, if you don’t know what you are aiming for, your chances of hitting it aren’t very good. Many who can’t or won’t admit what they want to do hide behind the “impossible” meme. Since the desires of the soul must subordinate themselves to the demands of money—why even bother identifying those desires? This is a rationalization—not an argument. It’s clearly possible for people to make a living doing what they love to do, since many are doing it every day. The real question is: Can you do it? Once we admit what we want in our hearts, we immediately confront another challenge. At one of my workshops, the group listened intently to a young woman who stood speaking before them. With obvious joy and elation, she was telling the group what her true passion was. She described the profound sense of freedom she felt in proclaiming before others what she really wanted to do with her life. She was describing how she had come to this realization and what it meant to her, when, suddenly, she stopped abruptly and said, “I feel scared.” She turned from the group toward me and asked, “Is that normal?” I assured her that she was expressing something I’d heard many times before (and since). When we reveal our heart’s desire with respect to work, we feel an emotional vulnerability not unlike what we feel in our first confessions of love for a would-be partner. In contrast to the responses of a would-be lover, we have much more—though far from complete—control over our career destinies. Still, it’s worth pointing out that there is a marked emotional difference between claiming what we would really love to do and discussing the merits of a good job or sensible career. Yet it is only after making that claim that we have a chance of creating a life where what we do matches what we are at the deepest levels. The most innovative, unconventional, and profoundly practical career guide available–newly revised and updated More than twenty years ago, I began this work with the conviction that people of all ages and professional levels were ready to embrace the challenge of creating work they truly love. Through good economic times and bad, I’ve seen this conviction borne out in the lives of countless dedicated individuals who have found their own ways to put their passions to work. The success of this book and, even more, the many letters and comments I’ve received from readers who’ve found it helpful in mapping their own journeys to fulfilling work have been truly gratifying. This revised edition has given me an opportunity to sharpen and clarify my thoughts on a number of topics. Considerable revisions have been made throughout. The entire text has been updated, and a lot of new material has been added. For those familiar with this book, the bibliography and most of the Web resources that appeared in its previous incarnations have been greatly expanded and put online (empoweryou.com), where they can more easily be kept current. I have been a Career Counselor . . . for the past ten years. In all of this time, I have not found a book that is as effective and well-rounded. . . . Your book has become a fixture in my career center. But beyond its appeal to me, I think it finally takes career education in the many directions necessary to establish, not only one's identity, but an assessment of what makes work meaningful to an individual. Few, if any, texts I've worked with in the past have accomplished this."Zen tells us that if we want to be free to play, we must be done with the agitation of envy and shame. otherwise, we can be triggered, through prize and ridicule, into performing like trained monkeys -- without ever knowing how or why" Everyone can learn self-awareness. Cultivate a positive attitude. Express gratitude. A karate master once said that if he were a garbage man, he'd be the best garbage man in the universe. Taking pride in even the most menial task creates a positive state of mind and opens you up to possibilities. "When open, our minds have tremendous power to receive ideas." This book opens with the following quote from Shü-an. "When one happens on a book of this kind, he is well advised to throw it away...". Well, not necessarily in this case- at least not until one has read it and thought deeply about the issues it discusses. If one is searching for a book not necessarily about "getting a job" but about discovering one's life work and purpose then "Zen and the Art of Making a Living" is not only a fine addition to your library but a book that can transform your life. The book does not concern itself with Zen per se. Its breadth is amazing and it pulls from diverse sources of wisdom spanning the arts, philosophy, all religions, anthropology, science, etc.

Laurence G. Boldt is a career consultant and an author born on November 18 th , 1954. He is the author of several inner healing types of books like Zen Sou, The Tao of Abundance and others. Laurance has also given speeches on happiness all across the U.S. “Zen and the Art of Making a Living Summary”

Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2018-08-20 00:23:13 Associated-names Boldt, Laurence G. Zen and the art of making a living in the post-modern world Bookplateleaf 0006 Boxid IA1321622 Camera Sony Alpha-A6300 (Control) Collection_set china External-identifier I am a career/placement counselor located in New York City. I wanted to thank you for writing such a wonderful book. It seems . . . the unfortunate trend is for people to keep their work and emotional/spiritual lives separate. I believe the integration of the two is the very essence of happiness in one's work life, and I was glad to learn that someone [had] elaborated so eloquently on the topic. I also loved the way your book was laid out-it is very user friendly and interactive, without losing its deeper meaning. Thank you." He then provides an insightful look at the realities of working in various settings, including government jobs, freelancing, starting your own business, and corporate work. He discusses the details of working in specific positions, providing so much insight and factual information that the reader is naturally guided to the right job in the right setting for his or her unique personality. I actually liked the philosophy at start, which posits that currently we are in a "little king" model of control and deny, and we are conditioned that being good means following society's rules as opposed to creating the life we mean to live. But then we get into very simplistic and wrong "eastern wisdom good, western rationalism/religion bad"that makes you roll your eyes, since if anything social control and materialism is probably much greater in those societies than in the west. There's a lot of stuff about serving others, but if you are needing to read a career book, most of the time you aren't in any position to serve or think about grand service and love.

urn:lcp:zenartofmakingli0000bold_j8m3:epub:fd740e88-81c2-4579-83b9-cb143d20a7f3 Foldoutcount 0 Identifier zenartofmakingli0000bold_j8m3 Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t21c9502w Invoice 1213 Isbn 014019469X The book is organized as a play with sections denoting "prologue", acts and scenes within acts. The major acts include: (1) Act 1: The Quest for Life's Work, (2) Act II: The Game of Life's Work, (3) Act III: The Battle for Life's Work and Act IV: The School of Life's Work. Act I is to create and define the tapestry of one's life and shape it actively and creatively- not based on societal convention but based on joy, service to mankind and a hero's spirit. Act I involves vision questing, clarifying values, pointing to purpose, targeting talents and marking mission objectives. Act II is identifying your new career or work. It involves reality testing, careful evaluation and visualization. Act III involves implementing your strategy to achieve your life's work: "taking it to the street", marketing strategies, "sailing the entrepreneurship", "wielding the free lance", looking at non-profit opportunities or landing the right job "street smarts". Act IV is involved with getting there, transitional strategies, training skills, self image, enlisting support and finally loving what you do til you are doing what you love. This book is highly recommended and should have a transforming and beneficial effect on your life.With Laurence Boldt's guidance, we not only set a firm foot on the bridge between East and West, but we traverse it with a strong, confident stride. Our staff enjoys] your book, and, of course, we share the book with our students. Your ideas about meaningful livelihood are important to me and to my students. Your book with its basic principle of choosing to be in control of one's career is very valuable to these people. It helps us to help them to create their new reality."