The Art of Happiness at Work
Author: The Dalai Lama, Howard C. Cutler
List Price: $24.95
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ISBN: 1573222615
Publisher: Riverhead Books (25 August, 2003)
Sales Rank: 14,590
Average Customer Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
A remarkable, powerful and life-changing book!
The Dalai Lama is an incredibly active and hard-working individual, and despite the fact that he has never held a conventional 9-5 job, he nevertheless has tremendous understanding and insight into the underlying psychological processes that are the source of much of our dissatisfaction at work. Besides offering guidelines on how to transform one's mental and emotional responses to become happier at work, the Dalai Lama also offers readers an effective, practical and commonsense approach to dealing with the difficult conditions and problems that all of us are bound to run into at the workplace. As in The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living, the first book by the Dalai Lama and Howard Cutler, M.D., Dr. Cutler does a truly outstanding job in helping frame the Dalai Lama's ideas within a contemporary Western context. One advantage to the format, is that Dr. Cutler draws upon the latest scientific findings in support of the Dalai Lama's views, adds personal observations about the Dalai Lama and includes other poignant or entertaining stories that illustrate how to apply the principles - - showing the reader how to apply the Dalai Lama's ideas to become happier in one's daily life, at work or at home. There has been a lot of research showing that happy workers are more productive and more successful. I plan on giving a copy of this book as a gift, during the holiday season, to my employees, hoping that they too will find some effective strategies to become happier in their own lives. I am grateful that the Dalai Lama and Dr. Cutler have teamed up again. The topic of work, which takes up so much of our lives, is clearly something they needed to address to offer a comprehensive discussion of human happiness.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Calming, Reflective, Worthwhile
Although I agree with some reviewer's who feel that this book is mostly about Howard Cutler's efforts to draw out the Dalai Lama, I also feel that the Dalai Lama is a full party to this effort, is no fool, and understands that lending his name to this book could be helpful in reaching many many more people than would every give a hoot about anything Howard Cutler, MD, might have to say. On that basis, I give the book a solid four stars.
Although Peter Drucker and I have both written about "work as a calling" and the importance of finding joy in what you do, and that could serve as a one-sentence summary of the book, there is more to this book than that. Taken with patience, and used as a mind-calming exercise to slowly read a chapter or two and then apply it to one's own (presumably uncalm) work environment, the book could serve as a touchstone for "backing off" and reflecting.
There are a number of books on Zen Buddhism, and my very own all time favorite, not by a Zen Buddhist, on Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance, and they all seem to boil down to fulfillment within the circumstances, making the most of what you have, treating everyone as an equal, and being glad you are not in a Turkish jail on drug charges--life could be worse.
I bought the book, the Dalai Lama lent his name to it, it can't be any worse for you that a diet drink loaded with Nutra-Sweet.
Rating: 1 out of 5
Sadly 95% filler.
Howard Cutler's first book with the Dalai Lama, "The Art Of Happiness," was packed with wonderful and accessible teachings from the Dalai Lama. We owe Mr. Cutler much thanks for the work he put into his efforts on his first book when it was not sure thing anyone would either publish or read his collection of interviews with the Dalai Lama. This new book falls short however. The Dalai Lama doesn't have much of interest to say about the subject in general. Mr. Cutler, in what seems like an ego play, inserts himself into the book at every available opportunity, unlike his first book where he was much more a reporter. The conversations are endlessly boring and sophomoric.
What we do gain is an appreciation of how brilliant a thinker the Dalai Lama is even when he is being hassled by nit picking questions from someone who seems to think there is a sure thing going on. I do hope Mr. Culter gets back on track, becomes a reporter instead of subject, and focuses on topics that are more compatible with the Dalai Lama's keen intelligence.
Or perhaps the interviews have played themselves out and it is time to stop and appreciate the contributions made in the first book.
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