Top
Note: Supplemental materials are not guaranteed with Rental or Used book purchases.
Purchase Benefits
Free Shipping On Orders Over $35!
Get Rewarded for Ordering Your Textbooks! Enroll Now
Customer Reviews Read Reviews
Write a Review
What is included with this book?
| Foreword | xv | ||
| Find Work You Love That Supports You Financially | 1 | (4) | |
| It's Easier to Get into Things Than It Is to Get Out of Them | 5 | (2) | |
| Think Positively: You Will Live Longer Than a Pessimist | 7 | (6) | |
| In Really Tough Times, Regularly Take Time Off | 13 | (4) | |
| Don't Lay Down a Law with a Child That You Are Not Prepared to Enforce | 17 | (4) | |
| Travel Heavy | 21 | (2) | |
| You Don't Have to Prove Anything to Anyone | 23 | (4) | |
| An Invitation Is Not an Obligation | 27 | (2) | |
| Be Grateful but Don't Expect Gratitude | 29 | (4) | |
| Pain Is Inevitable; Suffering Is a Choice | 33 | (4) | |
| Be More a Generalist Than a Specialist | 37 | (4) | |
| Open Presents Slowly | 41 | (2) | |
| Give Anonymously | 43 | (4) | |
| Feel, Don't Just Think | 47 | (4) | |
| Maintain Your Unique Friendships with Both Sexes | 51 | (2) | |
| Unplug Technology with No Apologies | 53 | (4) | |
| Remember That Everyone Is Struggling | 57 | (4) | |
| When You Discover Something You Love, Stock Up | 61 | (2) | |
| Don't Be on Time, Be Early | 63 | (4) | |
| Listen to the Wisdom of Your Children | 67 | (2) | |
| Tell Yourself You Have Done Nothing Wrong | 69 | (2) | |
| Learn to Style Your Own Hair | 71 | (4) | |
| Don't Assume Anything | 75 | (4) | |
| Have Your Own Mad Money | 79 | (2) | |
| Move Your Feet | 81 | (4) | |
| Overlook Things | 85 | (4) | |
| Preparation is Paramount | 89 | (4) | |
| The Five-Hour Rule | 93 | (4) | |
| Express an Original Point of View | 97 | (2) | |
| Don't Save the Best for the Last | 99 | (2) | |
| No One Else Really Knows or Understands | 101 | (4) | |
| Onward and Inward | 105 | (4) | |
| When You Change One Thing, Feel Free to Rethink Everything | 109 | (4) | |
| Stick to Your Plan | 113 | (4) | |
| Don't See People for How They Could Be, but as They Really Are | 117 | (4) | |
| There Is No Security Except Within Us | 121 | (4) | |
| Exercise the Vocabulary of Thanks and Appreciation | 125 | (4) | |
| Develop the Rhythm of Buffer Time | 129 | (2) | |
| Think of Yourself: By Being Self-Centered, You May Be Benefiting the World | 131 | (4) | |
| Keep Doing What You're Doing | 135 | (4) | |
| Your Soul Is Not for Sale | 139 | (2) | |
| Have Your Own Independent Financial Advisor | 141 | (2) | |
| Don't Feel Guilty About Your Feelings Toward Your Parents, Stepparents, or In-laws | 143 | (4) | |
| Find a Way to Share Your Gifts | 147 | (2) | |
| Embrace Change | 149 | (2) | |
| Listen to the Wisdom of Your Body | 151 | (4) | |
| Finish Up Strong | 155 | (6) | |
| Love Your Own Company | 161 | (2) | |
| Remember That People Are Funny About Money | 163 | (4) | |
| Do Your Best and Leave the Rest | 167 | (4) | |
| Living Takes Time | 171 | (4) | |
| Be Careful What You Give Up | 175 | (2) | |
| Hurry Never | 177 | (4) | |
| You Are Smarter and Wiser Than You Think | 181 | (2) | |
| When You've Made Your Point, Sit Down | 183 |
The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
Chapter One
Find Work You Love That Supports You FinanciallyTo find out what one is fitted to do, and to secure an opportunity to do it, is the key to happiness.
John Dewey
The work we choose to do each day accumulatively becomes our life'swork. The opportunity to do good work stimulates our life force. Mylife has been shaped, enriched, and transformed by my love of my work.I work for life satisfaction. Through the happiest times in my life, as wellas the most painful ones, my work has always sustained me.
The world doesn't owe us anything. We owe everything to theworld. Our work is our way of expressing ourselves, of being a cocreatorin this dynamic earthly journey we call life. You decide what yourwork is, and your work may be much larger than your "job." Try to envisionthe big picture as you move along.
Through our work we give back to the world a portion of whatwe've been given. Our reward emerges from the work itself. We workto grow, to stretch ourselves, to discover new truths, to deepen, and toserve. We become more aware and more alive when we find work that we believe is important and that we love doing. We transcend ourselvesthrough work that makes us discover more about what we really believein and what we truly love to do.
Through our work we're given opportunities to reconsider ourthinking. In my career as a decorator, I was trained to create formalrooms based on eighteenth-century aesthetics. Through experience andexposure, I realized I enjoyed a more relaxed, informal style for living. Itbecame my mission to help clients create homes that reflected theirunique personal style and needs. This mission eventually led to my currentcareer as an author and speaker on living beautifully. Thus our workexpands our personal potential; we're rewarded with a greater understandingof what is true for us and what our contributions can be.
Why am I so happy that my work is always available to me? I amself-employed. I am a self-starter. I can prepare a lecture or seminar. I canwrite. I can decorate or sell art. Whatever I do, I enjoy the process. I ama student of life, of truth. I study the classics in the interstices of the day.I carry a tote bag with me when I travel so I can read, write in notebooks,and continue to learn.
When you find work you love that supports you financially, that isideal. Hundreds of people have confided in me that when they do workthey love -- as a teacher or a librarian, a yoga instructor, a college advisoror a dancer -- they don't need as much money because they arehappy. When people are not happy in their work, they have a tendencyto want more money because they are unfulfilled by their work.
If you don't love your work, but it puts food on the table and providesfor you and your loved ones, this is not ideal; but working to surviveis honorable. An actress waits on tables at a restaurant while sheauditions for roles. Temporarily, this is fine; you do what you have to doto live. This shouldn't be the case indefinitely, because it can be draining,sapping your vitality and enthusiasm, and selling your soul. This is not your true work; it is a paying job. If you must do this, enrich the restof your life by seeking out activities that will feed your soul.
What would be ideal work for you? What are you doing to movetoward this goal? What if you find work that fulfills your monetaryneeds and involves you to some degree, but is not wholly satisfying?What then? Try to enjoy fully the parts of it you can and satisfy otherinterests through volunteering, hobbies, and spending time with yourfamily. Your untapped skills may be put to good use through volunteerwork that may enrich you nontangibly.
Stay in touch with your feelings. You can't afford to become bitterbecause your job isn't what you hoped it would be. Keep striving forwork that really fits the big picture. Aim high. A key to a happy, well-livedlife is to find work you love that allows you financial independence.
Don't settle forever, or for too long, for work you don't love. Youneed to aspire to work that makes you thrive, that you're proud of, thatis a perfect fit to your talents, gifts, and passionate interests. In order touse our energy constructively, we need to pursue work we love. Whenwe love our work, we will sustain true, inner happiness. Work and love,love and work, become one.
When we love our work, we become energized by it, not enervated.Seek and find work that allows you to give your gifts to the universe asyou teach yourself new skills. We shouldn't merely work for a living: weshould work to make a life. Work can be what leads us to help our communityor our world, and to produce something lasting. For a blessedfew, history has shown us, work can bring immortality.
No matter what happens to you, when you love your work, you willmaintain your independence and, therefore, your freedom. As an adult,finding work you love is your responsibility and, I believe, your duty. Ifyou find it, it promises to bring harmony to the rest of your life. We're here to develop our gifts, to share them with others in service. The idealis to find paid work that nourishes you and others. Loving our work isprimary to accomplishing this goal.
Things I Want My Daughters to Know
Excerpted from Things I Want My Daughters to Know: A Small Book about the Big Issues in Life by Alexandra Stoddard
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
Need Help? Copyright © 1999-2024