Alyceum

Igniting Leaders, Inspiring Revolutions

Alicia Curtis

Best Books for Aspiring Board Directors

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One of the questions I get asked often is my recommended reading list for aspiring or new board directors. Please note these recommendations are skewed very much for Not-For-Profit boards as that’s where my experience lies. I am also a big book nerd who loves reading about the processes, culture and people that make boards work effectively. A book to me is like an intimate chat with the author, listening to their knowledge and experience on a subject, and what better topic than boards to soak in the wisdom and experience of others!

 

Eyes Wide Open by Robyn Weatherley

 

This is a fantastic book and if you’re a new or aspiring board director, you should definitely check this one out now, go!

I interview the author, Robyn Weatherley in the Board Ignition course as she has written my number one recommendation for new and aspiring directors! I love Robyn’s book as it is jam packed with great information and advice. And it’s easy to read too!

 

Difference Makers BookDifference Makers by Dr Nicky Howe and Alicia Curtis

 

I have to plug my own book, right?

This is a great read on an emerging issue for ALL board directors – the beauty and brilliance of diversity in the boardroom. It shares the story of how the Engaging Young Leaders on Aged Care and Community Boards was started and also delves into the research to prove diversity is an advantage in the boardroom.

 

Not-For-Profit Board Dilemmas by Julie Garland McLellan

 

Julie is an Australian governance expert and her books are pure gold! Not-For-Profit Dilemmas gives you fantastic NFP case studies on regular issues that might be faced along with two expert opinions following each case study providing perspectives on what to do or should have been done.

 

101 Boardroom problems and how to solve them by Eli Mina

 

Oh, the boardroom can be an interesting place!

There is such a range of challenges that can plague the boardroom and Eli gives you a succinct and easy to read overview of all of them and some strategies to overcome them too. All great boards are striving to improve, this book gives an aspiring or new director an overview of the challenges that can and will occur on all boards so you can pinpoint and act appropriately.

 

Building Better Boards: A Blueprint for Effective Governance by David A. Nadler, Beverly Behan, Mark Nadler

 

I found this a really interesting and useful read about what makes top boards tick. The only caveat I would make is that it is a little dated now being written in 2005 and it’s also written for an American corporate context. That being said, I did find it easy to read and had many strategies that would be useful in the NFP context too.

 

Directors at Work: A Practical Guide for Boards by Geoffrey Kiel, Gavin Nicholson, Jennifer Ann Tunny and James Beck

 

This is a great reference book for board directors in Australia. It is a hefty book but this means it’s thorough. It includes the governance processes and procedures as well as the behavioural dynamics that support good governance. You definitely need at least one reference book like this in your collection. I highly recommend this be the one.

 

These are just a few…

 

Of course, there are many, many books on board governance, culture and the Not-For-Profit sector. Shout out too to a colleague, Paul Smith over in the eastern states of Australia on releasing his new book, Right Seat, Right Table too.

I would love to hear about the books you’ve come across in my Facebook group, Alyceum Leaders.

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How to achieve your goals with the WOOP method

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We all love an inspiring vision board – but is it really going to help you achieve your goals? We sit there daydreaming of what we would love to have happen in our life. But is it time well spent or just a waste of time?

I’m all for getting clear about the vision you have for your life, work project, or business. But some people get so wrapped up in the visualisation of their goal – they forget about how to get there. Do you focus on the process or the end outcome of your goals?

Gabriele Oettingen, a professor at New York University, developed a practical activity to help people achieve their goals. And visualising is only one part of the story! She breaks goal setting into four main parts and calls it WOOP.

 

The WOOP Method

Get your pen ready!

Wish – What is something you want to achieve? Make it specific and challenging – but also achievable.

Outcome – What will be the result or outcome of you achieving this wish? Imagine, visualise and feel what it will be like to achieve your wish.

Obstacle – Time to get realistic here! What could be the main barrier to you achieving your wish? It’s time to think about how it’s not going to work, and what obstacles or barriers may spring up.

Plan – You’ve brainstormed the challenges. Now it’s time to get that positive hat back on and make a plan to overcome the challenges! When these challenges pop up, this is the plan you turn to.

Now that I’ve outlined Gabriele’s model, I would like to add one more element. Let’s change WOOP into WOOPA!

Action – What is a small action you can take every single day to move toward reaching your wish?

 

Why I love this model

I love this model because it busts some serious goal setting myths.

1. Vision boards are really popular. But I think they can sometimes have the opposite effect. When you only imagine your goals and aspirations, it can soon turn destructive if you can’t achieve it. The more time we spend thinking about our goals, as if we’ve achieved them, it can downplay our sense of motivation to actually achieve them!

2. Another popular saying in goal setting is to “always think positive.” The trouble with this is that any goal worth achieving is going to encounter challenges. We need to dive into the obstacles that we might face to consider innovative ways around it.

3. Focus on the process – not the overall goal. Once you have a clear sense of your vision, then focus your attention on the daily actions required to achieve it. Make this your focal point and get good at smashing the everyday activities needed for your success. Yes, it’s not as alluring as focusing on your big goal – but it will make all the difference in actually achieving it!

 

Same Goal, Different Approach

Even the biggest goals can be broken down into small actionable tasks. Take the NaMoWriMo Challenge for example. Every November, thousands of writers globally challenge themselves to write a book in a month. 50,000 words is the target.

Now you may be thinking, “50,000 words – that’s huge!” But if you break it down, it’s just 1,667 words each day for 30 days.

Small but consistent action can be really powerful. When you focus on the daily action, the results will take care of themselves. Dare to try?

 

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How much time does a NFP Board position take?

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Before you read further, take a moment to estimate how many hours a week/month a role on a NFP Board involves? What would be your guess?

Serving on a community board is a wonderful opportunity. When you find the right board role for you, it should energise you despite the time you devote to it. It may energise you through the tasks you are completing, the people you are working with (your fellow board directors) or the impact you are creating.

Let’s face it though, it’s really important to understand exactly the hours involved in a NFP Board position before you accept. The true answer to the time questions above is that it depends on the board, role and organisation as to many hours you need to commit.

However let me break down what the commitment could look like so you can get a sense of the components of a board role.

Board Meetings

Most Boards would meet either monthly, every second month or quarterly from 2 hours to 5 hours each. This would be your core responsibility to prepare, meet and participate.

Most board meetings might require this same time again in preparing for board meetings by reading the board papers, thinking through decisions and questions. You may pose these questions to the CEO or staff before a meeting or let them know that you will ask these questions at the meeting. You may also need to prepare reports for the meeting yourself such as Sub Committee reports, Board papers with an idea or suggestion, or you may have prepared a piece of work for the Board’s consideration such an update to a policy document.

Board meetings are the foundations of your board responsibility so attendance at each and every one is critical.

Sub Committee Meetings

Most Boards have Sub Committees that you would either lead or play a role in to support the Board in the work that’s required.

These Sub Committees have their own Terms of Reference and meetings can occur sometime occur less often than a Board meeting for 1- 2 hours. These Sub Committees could include Governance, Audit and Risk, Financial/Budget, Fundraising, Board Nominations, Clinical Governance and Marketing and Communications as examples.

Sub Committees are used to delegate work by the Board so they can focus their time at Board meetings. Sub Committees can provide information and make recommendations to the Board for action that’s needed.

Annual Strategy Session/s

Most boards may have a separate session focused on reviewing the strategy. This could involve a day or two to review the current strategy, monitor progress of the strategy or develop a new strategy. It may be an off site event where the board travels to a different location. There may also be a number of meetings to prepare for the annual strategy session too.

Leadership Responsibilities

If you hold any leadership responsibilities (Board Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Sub Committee Chair), this will involve further hours to prepare, connect with staff or your fellow board members. Preparation could include developing reports, agendas, work with the CEO or gather information for the Board papers. And let’s not forget emails too – this is a responsibility of all board directors!

Representation

You may be called to represent the board at further meetings and events. This could include meeting various stakeholders, speaking at events on behalf of the organisation, attending networking events or meeting with donors.

Social Activities

Many organisations have a range of social activities that board directors can or must be involved with. This may give board members an opportunity to meet and speak with staff, members or recipients of their services. This could include Christmas parties, National Volunteer Week or an annual awards celebrations. Some boards may share dinner together before or after a board meeting too.

So how much does this equal to?
So a Board commitment could be anywhere between one to four days a month. This would mostly be done outside of normal working hours. In fact, in a previous Australian Institute of Company Directors NFP Governance Report, it suggested that most NFP Board members contributes 35 days a year to their board position. 35 days per year is just under 3 days a month.

So how does that sit with your expectations of serving on a NFP board?

Surprised at the commitment? Ready for the commitment? It’s definitely good to know what you’re in for!

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Think you’re too young to join a board, think again!

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Is your mindset holding you back from a board role? I’ve heard a lot of barriers that stop people from their aspirations of serving on a board. The two main ones I hear are:

• I’m too young

• I don’t have enough experience

And actually, all those beliefs might be true – you might be young and inexperienced, but you do have skills, you have networks, you have lived experiences, you have a perspective and a curiosity that may be useful to some community organisations.

Plus if you’re willing to learn fast, commit to the responsibilities of a board directorship, work hard, be a strong team player, be humble and be an advocate – you might just be stopping some community organisation from gaining a fantastic board director – you!

So the question is… are you holding yourself back?

too-young-join-board-think-again-alyceumMeet Cecilia

Cecilia is a 23 year old solicitor who is involved in commercial litigation and human rights law. She had an aspiration to become a board director and give back to society but thought she was too young and inexperienced to pursue this aspiration straight away. Cecilia attended an UN panel discussion and heard Alicia Curtis speak about the importance of diversity in governance and the role of young directors in the boardroom and this challenged Cecilia’s perception. She signed up for the Board Ignition course straight away!

 

 

Check out my full interview with Cecilia here..

Or read our conversation here.

Hi Cecilia. Thank you so much for joining me. Now, you did the Board Ignition course and I’d love to hear a little bit about your experiences with the course. But before we get started can you just tell me a little bit about yourself?

Yes, I can. I’m 23 years old, and I’m a solicitor. I’m experienced in commercial litigation and human rights law and I was interested in being a more valuable part of the community.

So tell me what made you want to join the Board Ignition course? You wanted to step up your volunteering. Tell us about that.

Well I’ve done a little bit of volunteering in the past and I just felt really good when I was sort of being more than just a passenger like a member of society. But when I started working full time I stopped really making time for any volunteering. So, I was really just developing my skills related to my job and leaving my other skills behind and I was looking for something more. I thought about joining a board but I just saw that as more of a long-term goal for when I was more experienced. I didn’t think that someone at the beginning of their legal career was going to get a position on a board. And I actually went to a panel discussion run by the UN in Australia that you were on the panel for and you were talking about how young people do have a place on boards and I was like, oh wow maybe I should do this now, maybe it’s not a long-term goal. So, I got in touch about the talk and I found out about the course and just thought what a great way to use the skills I have to make that valuable contribution but then to also be able to get involved with an area that I like that it’s not related to my job.

Yeah, absolutely. It gives your life a really lovely balance, doesn’t it? You’ve got your work and you’re volunteering and your family.

I think it’s really valuable to have a sense of achievement that doesn’t relate to what your paid job, like an everyday job is.

You’ve realised that you can actually give your technical skills to the community as well as to your work as well. So, I’m so glad that you were inspired at that event to just reframe, you know, who can be board directors and realise the value that you could bring onto the board. So, what made you consider the board ignition course? What did you like about it? Were you hesitant about anything before you joined?

I wasn’t hesitant about anything. I liked the sound of the board ignition course because you can do it at your own pace. Because a big thing for me was like am I gonna have time to do this with work and everything? But I was just really relieved to know that it’s kind of just the materials are there and you can do 3 modules in a day if you really feel like it and then you can sort of put on the back burner for a few weeks. That’s what really appealed to me. And I also really liked that your role was quite hands on. So, it wasn’t just reading a course and at the end you just sort of aren’t able to ask questions or clarify things, that guidance for me was what really pushed me to do it.

And tell me what was some of the most valuable parts of the course for you? Did you like the video interviews or was it the reading or the practical challenges, what was it for you?

I found the board director interviews were really valuable. Being able to hear from people who are actually on boards and to understand in a practical sense how their roles work was very interesting and something that I don’t think I’d be able to go and find on my own if I hadn’t done the course. I mean you can find books and reading but to be able to hear directly from people who are doing it was very valuable. But in my case the practical challenge in module 2 which was to attend an AGM I thought that was probably the most valuable thing that I did during the course because again I was like “oh why would I go to an AGM? What am I going to say?” And it was through searching for AGMs to go to that I found that WA Youth Theatre company were having an AGM and that’s what led me to sort of end up in the position.

So, tell me about the WA Youth Theatre Company and just, you know, what’s happened since you doing the Board Ignition course.

Well I found out that they were having an AGM and that they actually had some spots on their board. So, I went revised my coursework, got in touch with the manager and the chair of the board and sort of was like Hi I’m interested, I really like the arts, so, I thought that would be a good place for me to make a contribution. Remembering the Ted Talk by Chris Gardner, I don’t remember which week it was; he said passion is not enough. And when he said that that really resonated with me because there are a lot of things that I’m interested in and I’m passionate about like you know human rights or helping people with disabilities. But I realised I need to pick an area that I’m kind of up to date with and able to actually make a contribution to. That’s more valuable than just being like, hey I really like this. So, I was in touch with them, they were really keen, I got to know some of the members before the AGMs so that when it came to the AGM I wasn’t doing my pitch to a room of strangers and I got elected and that was fantastic. And I’m actually, it only happened two days ago, I’m now the secretary.

Oh, great job. So amazing. And it’s just so great to hear you’re reflecting on some of the key learnings that you have gained from the course and how beneficial it has been through your journey to getting onto board as well. These things, they’re not difficult to learn, any really intelligent, passionate, determined person can pick up on these things but I find with boards it’s still a secret society and we just don’t give a range of people an opportunity to learn about this and how they can give back in this way. And once they pick up and they know the difference between boards and management, yes passion is good but it’s not enough for board directors. You know you can get onto the right pathway to finding the right board position for you. It’s something that’s very well aligned with your skills experience, knowledge, passion, networks and history. So, it’s so great to hear your story.

So, were there any other parts of the program that really helped you with achieving this goal of being a board director?

I think it was really important not only to talk about how boards work in a practical sense but also being able to understand that board directors have legal obligations that are quite serious. I think is really important because then when you’re coming onto a board for the first time you’re not in the dark you really understand the magnitude of your role and the scope of your role. That was a really important part of the course that really legitimises what you’re doing.

Absolutely. I think it’s so important just to be really clear about the expectations of board directors. What are they coming in there to do? What’s their legal obligations? What’s the time commitment involved? And to make sure that you can sign off on all of those areas so you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into as well.

So, you know I’m just really pleased to hear your story. Is there anything else you want to share about you know maybe things that you really enjoyed or surprised you about the course or any pieces of advice that you would give that people who are maybe considering the board ignition course and wondering whether it’s right for them?

My advice would be to just do it. It’s so great. And to not be worried if they’re a few weeks that past where you haven’t looked at it, it’s always there and you can always go back to it which is great. And what’s really good about it is it caters to different learning styles. If you’re not someone who likes a lot of reading just watch the videos and you get the gist of it and the videos are even summarised if you don’t have time to watch the videos. It’s really got all different types of resources so it caters to everyone and I think that’s really important and it makes it less daunting.

Yeah, absolutely. We want to try and make it as easy as possible for people to commit and being involved and gather this information and really help them on their journey. And you’re so true like there’s no feeling of being behind because even if you sign up and it takes you 3 months to get into the coursework it’s there for you at any stage. And we do do live launches of the course so you know if you miss one or you sort of get a little bit behind you can always catch up in the next live round, ask questions of the Facebook group and just really take it in the way that is gonna best suit you.

But what you’ve done is take it one step further and put it into action and now you know you get into the fun stuff of actually being an advocate and an ambassador and somebody who’s sitting at the table, getting to make those decisions and direct the vision and the values of a not for profit organisation. So, well done to you.

Thank you.

And thank you so much for sharing your journey with us today, I really appreciate that.

About Board Ignition

Board Ignition is a dynamic online course that helps you fast track your board journey to get your first board position and serve a community organisation. There are 8 modules to the course which you can complete at your own pace (while you also receive an 8 week email series to help you discover the modules). Check out the course here. Join before 18th June and attend our next Board Ignition live Online Summit with current participants and alumni!

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25 questions to improve your emotional intelligence

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There is a lot of talk about the governance experience required by board directors to fulfil their duties on a board(which is a good thing!). What is talked about less so though but is becoming more and more important is the ability for board directors to bring emotional intelligence into the boardroom.

Exceptional board directors lead with humility, respect, have the awareness of the impact they have on those around them and know when to speak and when to listen.

Need a reminder about what EQ is all about?  Emotional intelligence is described by Perter Salovey and John D. Mayer as:

The ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and emotions, to discriminate amongst them and to use this information to guide one’s thinking and actions.

Daniel Goleman in his book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ, he classifies emotional intelligence into five domains:

Self Awareness: Knowledge of your states, preferences, resources and intuitions.
Self Regulation: Management of your states, impulses and resources.
Motivation: Emotional tendencies that guide or facilitate reaching goals.
Empathy: Awareness of others’ feelings, needs and concerns.
Social Skills: Adeptness at inducing desirable responses in others.

Here are some reflective questions to ask yourself to develop your emotional intelligence as a board director or team member.

Self Awareness

1.  Honestly do you know the strengths and weaknesses you bring to the boardroom?
2.  How do you define yourself? Are these self perceptions accurate? How do you test these?
3.  Do you listen and seek opportunity to understand how others perceive your strengths and weaknesses?
4.  What are your personal values and are they aligned with the organisation you serve?
5. Do you rate yourself as a continual learner? Would others have the same view?
6. Do you act with humility rather than arrogance?

Self Regulation

7.  Are you respectful in your language and actions to your fellow board directors, staff and stakeholders?
8.  Are you able to keep calm during conversations?
9.  Do you listen openly to other’s points of view?
10.  Do you notice when you’re frustrated during conversations?

Motivation

11.  Do you truly understand what motivates you to serve on a NFP board or in your work team?
12. Do you serve the long term interests of the organisation rather than your own concerns or short term objectives?
13. Do you act from a place of authenticity?
14. Are you self motivated to serve on a board or at work?
15. Do you set and aim to reach goals personally and as a collective on the board?

Empathy

16. Do you put yourself in the shoes of the people you serve?
17.  Do you understand the values, strengths and goals of your fellow board directors or team mates?
18.  Do you share the workload equally on the board?
19.  Are you willing to see how others perceive situations and decisions to be made?
20. Do you work hard to be trustworthy?

Social Skills

21. Do you commit to working respectfully with your fellow board directors?
22. Do you reach other to develop a strong relationship with your fellow board directors?
23.  Do you make time to have conversations outside of the boardroom to deepen your relationship with your fellow board members?
24. Are we committed to working as equals in the boardroom?
25. Do you act with a positive attitude?

Emotional intelligence is a critical component of an effective board. Are you actively cultivating the skills of emotional intelligence?

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My Top 10 Books on Purpose

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Let’s face it – the last few years has many of us reassessing how we live our lives and got us thinking about the legacies we will leave behind.

Spending the last 20 years as a community change-maker and  leadership facilitator, creating and facilitating programs like the online Greater Good Collective, I’ve read a lot of books about creating meaning and purpose.  I often find these books to be some of the most inspiring and awe-creating reads.   They ignite your soul and boost the joy for life.   They connect you with what is most important in life by cutting the noise that we can so easily get caught up in.

 

What could these reads inspire in you?

I can name two books that have had a monumental impact on my life.  I note one of them below – Business as Unusual by Anita Roddick as it very clearly inspired me to start my business as a vehicle for social change.  As was the book, Half the Sky by Sheryl WuDunn and Nicolas Kristoff being a huge catalyst in starting 100 Women.

Purpose will mean something slightly different to everyone so I’ve tried to add a variety of books so each book might appeal to someone different. There are a few new book releases as well as some that have been around for a long time.  Choose one book that resonates with you and give it a go!

 

Here are ten of my favourite books on purpose

I’ve collated a list of books that might help you spark your journey to defining, refining and living your purpose.

 

The Alchemist by Paul Coelho

My husband to be gave me this book for my 19th birthday. It’s not only a favourite of mine but for many all over the world. This book is a poetic fable about a shepherd on his way to find his treasure. It’s a story about finding your way in the world, living your purpose and trusting the teachers and omens along the way. Coelho’s writing is a dream to read.

 

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
— The Alchemist

 

Power by Kemi Nekavapil

This book is hot off the press!

From what I’ve read of this so far, this book is POWER-ful.  Seriously, it’s a delightful read as Kemi walks you through her five step framework to build your  power – presence, ownership, wisdom, equality and responsibility.  Kemi is a great storyteller (and she has incredible stories and experiences to share) and that combined with the reflective activities and tools she provides makes it an exceptional read.  She is unapologetic (point of the book) of sharing the intersections of power and race, and how power can be redefined.

It is positioned for women, in particular, being a guide to live and lead without apology!  Who doesn’t want that? But more, importantly, I believe it talks about how we can all be part of redefining the power that oppresses some in our community, while belonging only to the chosen few.  This makes it an important read for everyone.

“We want to build power-filled lives, not power-fuelled lives.”
— Kemi Nekavapil

Presence by Amy Cuddy

This book is not specifically about purpose per se but it’s not just about power poses either.  Have you watched Amy Cuddy’s TED talk on power poses?  This book is more about stepping into your own power using simple techniques to overcome fear and perform at your best. I love the idea of strengthening your personal power in the world. This book does not disappoint.

 

“Focus less on the impression you’re making on others and more on the impression you’re making on yourself.”
— Presence

 

How to Begin by  Michael Bungay Stanier

A new release from Michael Bungay Stanier, this is a very easy read and also highly practical book to finding work or a project that matters to you.  This is a great book if you’re at a crossroads in your life or looking to start your next big quest.  As the book title suggests – it’s all about how to begin.  How do you set a meaningful goal? And how do you know if it’s truly a worthy goal?  This book is also a fun and joyful to read.  Bungay Stanier bring a lightness to the content, while still being clever and useful.

He says ‘we unlock our greatness by working on the hard things’.  I couldn’t agree more!

 

The Power of Meaning by Emily Esfahani

This is a newer book written in 2017. Emily does a great job in deconstructing the research to living a meaningful life and the core elements in doing this. Her four pillars include belonging, purpose, storytelling and transcendence. I really loved her storytelling and how easy it was to read – a great book, for sure.

 

“To Aristotle, eudaimonia is not a fleeting positive emotion. Rather, it is something you do. Leading a eudaimonic life, Aristotle argued, requires cultivating the best qualities within you both morally and intellectually and living up to your potential. It is an active life, a life in which you do your job and contribute to society, a life in which you are involved in your community, a life, above all, in which you realize your potential, rather than squander your talents.”
— The Power of Meaning

 

Business as Unusual by Anita Roddick

This is my number one favourite book – ever! Big call, I know. I was eternally inspired by Anita Roddick and the business she started, The Body Shop (unfortunately she passed away many years ago). This book is her business manifesto and explores the opportunity for purpose in business. When I should have been reading my textbooks in the university library, I was reading this book…unsurprisingly it wasn’t long till I started my own business. I still go back to this book years later for Anita’s boldness of vision.  If you’re in business or want to be in business, this one is for you!

 

“Be courageous. It’s one of the only places left uncrowded”
— Anita Roddick

 

Strengths Finder by Tom Rath

Want guidance about what to do in your life, start with your strengths!

When talking about purpose, I would always recommend people start with self awareness and reflection about your core strengths. Where do you start to reflect on your strengths? Strengths Finder is a great reference book to help you clarify your strengths (as we can be terrible at doing this ourselves!). Buy the book, do the test and start understanding the strengths you can bring to the world.

 

The Lightmaker’s Manifesto by Karen Walrond

This is the read for any change-maker out there!

For many of us, having a purpose is having a calling to something bigger than ourselves.  Often this can be advocating against the injustices in our world.  At times, this can be challenging – when it feels like no progress has been made or the challenges of the world keep mounting.  Karen walks us through how to use our gifts for a greater cause and do so with love, light and joy.  Walrond also includes a highly practical manual at the end of the book with journal prompts, templates and exercises to cultivate your own “joy-filled advocacy practice.”  I also really enjoyed her conversation with Brene Brown on the Unlocking Us podcast.

Joyful activism – Love it!

 

Me to We by Craig and Marc Kielburger

This book is written by Canadian brothers and talks about finding meaning in life. A deeper meaning through choosing the right goals, focusing on community and service and giving your practical guidance and strategies to stay engaged with your life meaning. For me, purpose is what you can give to the world and this book perfectly shares this.

If this book resonates, the brothers recently teamed up with Richard Branson’s daughter, Holly Branson to write WEconomy which is another great read.

 

Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Don’t manage your time – manage your energy, or most to the point – your flow!

Back in 2008, Csikszentmihalyi wrote this book which talks about this state of consciousness he named ‘flow’ which is essentially the feeling you get when you are in top form. This book unpacks the science of flow and gives you some great strategies to evoke it in your life.

 

“To overcome the anxieties and depressions of contemporary life, individuals must become independent of the social environment to the degree that they no longer respond exclusively in terms of its rewards and punishments. To achieve such autonomy, a person has to learn to provide rewards to herself.  She has to develop the ability to find enjoyment and purpose regardless of external circumstances.”
— Flow

 

I shall stop there…

I could actually keep quoting more books to read but these ten gives you a good start and hopefully there is something that resonates with you. If you’re after something more practical, check out my post, Four Practical Experience to help you form your Purpose.

Books and practice are a dangerous combination!  Read, act and reflect – repeat! That’s a sure fire strategy to defining, refining and living your purpose.

Tell me what books have inspired you in building your purpose in life inside the Alyceum’s Facebook group.

 

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