The 21st Century will be an unprecedented and unpredictable time for change. Yet despite the uncertainties that may appear unsettling for some, the new millennium can be a bright and exciting place to build a rewarding, positive future, according to the new book, Winner Takes All: Exceptional People Teach Us How to Find Career and Personal Success in the 21st Century. Whether we are Baby Boomers, Generation Xers or individuals just coming of age at the turn of the century, to be successful in a future of unknowns we must be willing to embrace change and tackle problems differently. The old rules no longer apply, according to Nelson, an Encino, California clinical psychologist and author. Traditional problem-solving approaches will be insufficient or ineffective.In Winner Takes All, Nelson includes the incredible stories of exceptional people who have risen above the challenges they faced. These "Winners" are individuals from all walks of life, from so-called "ordinary people" to celebrities like Christopher Reeve and Muhammad Ali. Winner Takes All shares the secrets of how these Winners faced a future suddenly filled with frightening unknowns without traditional moorings (as many of us will face in the 21st Century), and yet were able to create successful and satisfying lives for themselves. Nelson shows, in a seven-step process, how Winners reach out to the future for solutions to their problems and challenges instead of into a past that holds less and less relevance. She discusses what constitutes a Winner's belief system and how a certain type of belief opens the future in a positive and dynamic way. Nelson also explores how Winners focus on their dreams for the future to pull them forward and how those dreams are translated into compelling and realistic goals. She delves into a Winner's approach to resources and shows us the attitudes that Winners use to lead them into a successful future and the attitudes that must be left behind. Finally, she examines the skills that Winners use to keep on winning, even as the future shifts and changes. Winners come in all shapes and sizes, representing all ages, ethnicities, physical capabilities and genders. What sets Winners apart from those who view the future with trepidation, is not their outward appearance, education or ability, says Nelson, but their inner traits and qualities, she believes, we all share but often fail to use in a winning way. “I wrote Winner Takes All as a manual for success in the coming century,” Nelson explains “Anyone who looks ahead wondering 'How am I going to succeed?', 'How am I going to make it?', will find their confidence restored in the inspiring stories and advice contained in the book. I believe we can all live better, happier lives, but most of us simply lack the skills to do so. I'm out to change that.”
My mother named me "Noelle" because, being French, she wanted me to have a French name that couldn't be mispronounced in English. Didn't work. I've been called "No-No," "Noellie" "the First Noel" (among others), but my favorite is "Noilly" (think no-oil-ee). Poor woman, she meant well . . . Meanwhile, growing up in California with a French mom and a Cincinnati, Ohio, born-and-bred Dad was an adventure: European discipline, MidWest values and organic foods before anyone knew what organic was. My stylish Parisien mother would have loved fashion-plate children, instead she got my tomboy sister and a bookworm - me.
My not-very-straight-line path took me to Wellesley (briefly), UCLA (BA), the Sorbonne in Paris (Doctorat), United States International University (Ph.D.) with assorted jobs along the way: medical receptionist, department store salesgirl, 2nd stage manager at the Lido (Paris), actress (inevitable - I grew up in SoCal), acting coach, clinical psychologist (really), trial consultant, AUTHOR! Finally. The thing I love best to do. Well, along with giving seminars, speeches, creating videos . . . enough of that.
For the detailed serious professional bio, please visit http://yourmaniswonderful.com and click on "Author."
The one outstanding lesson life has taught me over and over, and that runs through all my writings in a variety of ways is that life, this life, and everything that is in it - you, me, the animals, the earth, our planet, the galaxy, God, all of it - is most present, most fulfilled when it is grandly, genuinely, thoroughly appreciated. Appreciation is the cornerstone of love, for only when you value something, cherish it, do you come to love it. And so it is that I write about what I discover anew every day - the greatest gift of all is appreciation.
Thank you for giving me yet another opportunity to appreciate. You.
