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Language and the Pursuit of Happiness
 
 
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Language and the Pursuit of Happiness [Paperback]

Chalmers Brothers (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

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Book Description

August 2004
What if one of the most powerful avenues to your achieving a balance of peacefulness and productivity - defined here as happiness - at home and at work, is so close that you may have missed it? What if by taking a new look here you can open truly unprecedented possibilities for yourself and your effectiveness, the quality of your relationships, as well as your emotional and physical well-being? And what if an incredible variety of your experiences and results – personally and professionally – have for years been connected to this, whether you’ve been aware of it or not?

This is the promise of this compelling new book by veteran consultant, certified personal coach and seminar leader Chalmers Brothers: A new way of understanding language provides a powerful new foundation and a new set of tools for literally designing your life, at home and at work and everywhere in between. This is especially relevant for anyone seeking to break free from repetitive and ineffective patterns, actions and outcomes. It’s immediately valuable for everyone for whom building and maintaining mutually-beneficial relationships is important. And it’s particularly useful for leaders, managers, administrators and anyone else who "gets paid to have effective conversations!"

In this book, the author leads you on an eye-opening exploration of yourself, your language, your conversations and their connections to your physical and emotional well-being. He introduces you to an emerging and thought-provoking way of thinking, one with very old and very new roots. You will see clearly that our collective common-sense understanding of language as merely a "tool for communicating" or "a way we describe how things are" is only a small and limited part of the full story. Having nothing at all to do with grammar, sentence structure or nouns and verbs, this book instead takes you on a journey through the many ways in which your internal and external conversations – fully inter-twined and braided together with your moods, emotions and physical body – are incredibly active, creative and generative (vs. merely passive and descriptive). Our language and our conversations are an ongoing force, a key causal element influencing and impacting virtually everything we do and how we do it, as well as every result we achieve and how we achieve it. In a very real way, we speak ourselves into the world!

Full of humor, real-life examples and practical how-to’s, Language and the Pursuit of Happiness is essential reading if you’re seeking to improve your openness and ability to continue learning, as well as to bring about desired changes in your life. It can be a source of new understanding and new practices that enable you to create and sustain healthier personal and professional relationships. It can support you in improving your effectiveness and productivity as a leader or manager (at any level), as well as your ability to influence and design your own moods and emotions. And it does all of this out of a sincere invitation for you to become a more powerful observer of the one person you can actually change anyway: yourself!


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Editorial Reviews

Review

Chalmers is one of the most thought-provoking speakers that I have heard as a TEC member... Endless possibilities. -- CEO's & members of TEC International, an international association of CEO's

In my 23 years in management, you are the best investment the SSA has ever made in management development. -- Harris N. Gibbs, District Manager, US Social Security Administration

What I have learned working with Chalmers continues to have profound impact on me, both personally and professionally. -- Dave Pendery - Director, Human Resources Information Strategy, The Coca-Cola Company

About the Author

Chalmers Brothers is a professional consultant, certified personal coach and seminar leader. For the past 20 years he has supported individuals, partners, leaders, employees and teams in bringing about positive changes in their lives - at home, at work, and everywhere in between.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 295 pages
  • Publisher: New Possibilities Press (August 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0974948705
  • ISBN-13: 978-0974948706
  • Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,834 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

Customer Reviews

23 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars READ THIS FIRST!!!, November 4, 2004
This review is from: Language and the Pursuit of Happiness (Paperback)
If I could go back in time to before any of the courses, seminars, workshops, and hard knocks that prepared me as a manager and part of an organization I would read this book first! It provides a much needed context into which all the more technical matters of human interaction fit.

Chalmers Brothers explains how language is so much more than a means of communication. Through it we define our limits and potential. Personal happiness and success in any area depend on language and the internal and external conversations we choose. His conversational, often humorous southern writing style presents powerful concepts in a friendly, usable way.
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Book for Personal and Professional Development, November 10, 2004
By 
J. Bedosky (Minneapolis, Minnesota United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Language and the Pursuit of Happiness (Paperback)
This book represents the cutting edge in personal and professional development. Human beings create through language, both in their speaking and listening. This book breaks through some of the destructive and manipulative myths contained technique-laden communications programs. Combine this book with Robert Hargrove's Masterful Coaching and Your Coach in a Book, as well as the The Last Word on Power by Tracy Goss and you've got the best approach for creating a fulfilling life. I cannot recommend this book too highly!
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Good ideas, but tough to read..., January 10, 2011
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This review is from: Language and the Pursuit of Happiness (Paperback)
As someone newly entering the world of business coaching I found the concepts in this book quite valuable, particularly in that there were a number of habits and ideas that we probably all consider "obvious," but which are not ones we often see practiced day-to-day. Ideas that stood out for me include "distinctions," "assertions" and "assessments."

However, I caution those interested in these subjects to note several of the books shortcomings. First, it is based on a very specific philosophy: that there is no absolute reality, but that reality is a construct created by language and symbol. This philosophy is essentially a Heideggerian construct, and if you don't buy in to the premise, the rest of the book quickly falls apart.

Second, there is an incredible irony in the way the book is constructed in that, despite the author's lean towards phenomenology and the construction of meaning, he forces you to note exactly what HE means by tremendous overuse of bold, italics, etc. It's almost as if he's saying: "meaning exists in the space where language lives, except for this book, where I insist you pay attention to what I mean..."

And, finally, the book could use the help of an experienced editor. The structure, grammar, language, etc. is passable, at best, and annoying, at worst.

So, in sum: good ideas but mediocre execution. For those interested, I recommend reading (as opposed to studying) it. Get through it in a couple of sittings and don't think too hard about it. Key topics will stick, and you will have an easier time.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
My main purpose for writing this book is to share with you an incredibly powerful way of thinking and observing, one that can be a new foundation for designing your life at home and at work. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
ontological coaching, taking new action, committed speaker, unique observers, responsible complaints, external conversations, powerful observers, committed listener, managing commitments, effective requests, grounded assessments, persistent mood, possibilities press, internal conversations, background conversation, fatsia japonica, public identity
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Humberto Maturana, Don Miguel Ruiz, Rafael Echeverria, Julio Olalla, Chris Argyris, Fernando Flores, First Order Learning, Second Order Learning, The Four Agreements, Amber-Allen Publishing, Personal Freedom, Practical Guide, Shambhala Publications, Eckhart Tolle, Harvard University Press, Mike Papania, New York, Observer Action Listening Speaking Interpreting
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