Eric Maisel

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About Eric Maisel

Eric Maisel, Ph.D., widely regarded as America's foremost creativity coach, is the author of more than 40 books. His titles include Secrets of a Creativity Coach, Why Smart People Hurt, Making Your Creative Mark, Coaching the Artist Within, The Van Gogh Blues, Fearless Creating, Mastering Creative Anxiety, Creativity for Life, A Writer's Paris, A Writer's San Francisco, and many others.

In addition to training creativity coaches, leading workshops nationally and internationally, and maintaining an individual creativity coaching practice, Dr. Maisel is in the forefront of the movement to rethink mental health. He writes the Rethinking Psychology blog for Psychology Today and among his books in this area are Rethinking Depression and Natural Psychology: the New Psychology of Meaning.

Dr. Maisel leads Deep Writing workshops at workshop centers like Esalen, Kripalu, Omega, Hollyhock and Rowe and in locales like San Francisco, New York, London, Paris, Prague and Rome. His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages, he has conducted hundreds of interviews, and his print column "Coaching the Artist Within" appears monthly in Professional Artist Magazine.

Dr. Maisel's websites are www.ericmaisel.com and www.naturalpsychology.net. He can be contacted at ericmaisel@hotmail.com.

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Author Updates

Titles By Eric Maisel

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Why Smart People Hurt: A Guide for the Bright, the Sensitive, and the Creative Sep 1, 2013

by Eric Maisel

( 98 )

$11.99

Make the most of your creative and intellectual gifts by overcoming the unique challenges they bring with this guide by the author of Natural Psychology.

Many smart and creative people experience unique challenges as a result of their valuable gifts. These can range from anxiety and over-thinking to mania, depression, and despair. In Why Smart People Hurt, creativity coach Dr. Eric Maisel pinpoints these often-devastating challenges and offers solutions based on the groundbreaking principles and practices of natural psychology.

Are you still searching for meaning after all these years? Many smart people struggle with reaching for or maintaining success because, after all of the work they put into attaining it, it still seems meaningless. In Why Smart people Hurt, Dr. Maisel will teach you how to stop searching for meaning and create it for yourself.
In Why Smart People Hurt, you will find:
·       Evidence that you are not alone in your struggles
·       Strategies for coping with a brain that goes into overdrive at the drop of a hat
·       Questions that will help you create your own personal roadmap to a calm and meaningful life

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Paperback

The Power of Daily Practice: How Creative and Performing Artists (and Everyone Else) Can Finally Meet Their Goals Sep 8, 2020

by Eric Maisel

( 24 )

$9.99

Learn the #1 Secret of the Most Successful Pros: Daily Practice

Eric Maisel knows from experience and observation that the single most crucial element of success for any endeavor is a regular, daily practice. Dr. Maisel, a preeminent creativity coach, therapist, and acclaimed author, shows how and why to implement a daily practice and addresses common challenges. His experience working with bestselling writers, entrepreneurs, musicians, actors, visual artists, recovering addicts, and rehabilitation patients shows as he outlines various ways to approach a daily practice and goes on to help you build a version of this important discipline that suits your life and goals. Real-world stories and practical examples will help you make measurable progress and build satisfaction in your most cherished pursuits.

Other Formats: Audible Audiobook , Paperback , Audio CD

Mastering Creative Anxiety: 24 Lessons for Writers, Painters, Musicians & Actors from America's Foremost Creativity Coach Mar 9, 2011

by Eric Maisel

( 78 )

$9.99

In his decades as a psychotherapist and creativity coach, Eric Maisel has found a common thread behind what often gets labeled “writer’s block,” “procrastination,” or “stage fright.” It’s the particular anxiety that, paradoxically, keeps creators from doing, completing, or sharing the work they are driven toward. This “creative anxiety” can take the form of avoiding the work, declaring it not good enough, or failing to market it — and it can cripple creators for decades, even lifetimes. But Maisel has learned what sets successful creators apart. He shares these strategies here, including artist-specific stress management; how to work despite bruised egos, day jobs, and other inevitable frustrations; and what not to do to deal with anxiety. Implementing these 24 lessons replaces the pain of not creating with the profound rewards of free artistic self-expression.

Other Formats: Paperback

Coaching the Artist Within: Advice for Writers, Actors, Visual Artists, and Musicians from America's Foremost Creativity Coach Sep 24, 2010

by Eric Maisel Ph.D.

( 67 )

$9.99

Have you ever wished you had a professional coach who could encourage your creative pursuits, help structure your efforts, and cheer you on? Coaching the Artist Within is the first book to explain the techniques that creativity coaches use to help their clients survive and thrive in the arts. Designed to help any person become more creative, this book offers a complete program for developing the habits that make creating an everyday routine. The book’s twelve lessons and numerous exercises are at once inspiring, practical, and fun. To spice up the lessons, Eric Maisel shares anecdotes about his clients, including painters, actors, screenwriters, novelists, dancers, and poets. Best of all, Coaching the Artist Within will teach you to be your own coach, and the results will transform your relationship with the creative process.

Other Formats: Paperback

Unleashing the Artist Within: Breaking through Blocks and Restoring Creative Purpose Feb 12, 2020

by Eric Maisel

( 14 )

$9.99

“Maisel intimately understands the anxieties of the creative process and the psychological landscape that artists inhabit. Strong on the psychology, he is equally strong on practicalities.” — The Writer Magazine

Are you a painter, writer, actor, dancer, musician, or would-be creative? Are you stuck in the process of creating and sharing your art?
In Unleashing the Artist Within, Eric Maisel, PhD offers lessons, anecdotes, and real-life case studies that will help you unlock your creative powers. Dr. Maisel focuses on the reality of artistic development, explaining that unfinished and disappointing works are not a matter of personal weakness or unfortunate circumstances; they are simply daily occurrences in the lives of imaginative people. His twelve lessons demonstrate how to recover from dashed hopes and restore lost meaning. Helpful exercises show how to work through the process, managing the daily grind and pushing past everyday resistance.

Other Formats: Paperback

The Van Gogh Blues: The Creative Person's Path Through Depression: The Creative Persons Path Through Depression Aug 21, 2012

by Eric Maisel Phd

( 64 )

$9.99

Creative people will experience depression — that’s a given. It’s a given because they are regularly confronted by doubts about the meaningfulness of their efforts. Theirs is a kind of depression that does not respond to pharmaceutical treatment. What’s required is healing in the realm of meaning.

In this groundbreaking book, Eric Maisel teaches creative people how to handle these recurrent crises of meaning and how to successfully manage the anxieties of the creative process. Using examples both from the lives of famous creators such as van Gogh and from his own creativity coaching practice, Maisel explains that despite their inevitable difficulties, creative people possess the ability to forge relationships, repair themselves, and find meaning in their work and their lives. Maisel presents a step-by-step plan to help creative people handle their special brand of depression and rediscover the reasons they are driven to create in the first place.

Other Formats: Paperback

Life Purpose Boot Camp: The 8-Week Breakthrough Plan for Creating a Meaningful Life Sep 15, 2014

by Eric Maisel

( 33 )

$9.99

A no-excuses, cut-to-the-chase program for defining, training for, and achieving your goals

As life gets busier and more complicated we crave something larger and more meaningful than just ticking another item off our to-do list. In the past, we’ve looked to religion or outside guidance for that sense of purpose, but today fewer people are fulfilled by traditional approaches to meaning. Bestselling author, psychotherapist, and creativity coach Eric Maisel offers an alternative: an eight-week intensive that breaks through barriers and offers insights for living each day with purpose. Once you understand how meaning operates, how meaning and life purpose are related, and what concrete steps you can take toward fulfilling your purpose, you will never run out of meaning again. This program will develop self-awareness and self-confidence and give you what you need to fully live the best possible life.

Other Formats: Hardcover , Paperback

Become a Creativity Coach Now! Feb 12, 2018

by Eric Maisel

( 9 )

$34.95

Become a Creativity Coach Now! introduces you to the art and practice of creativity coaching. It is the text used in Eric Maisel’s Introduction to Creativity Coaching training and will give you a solid sense of what creativity coaches do. Many coach-in-training responses are included, to give you a sense of what coaches who are starting out think about and encounter as they begin to get their feet wet in the field of coaching. This text is not a substitute for trainings or for practical experience but it does provide a wide-ranging introduction to creativity coaching.

Bio - Master coach Eric Maisel is the author of more than 50 books in the areas of creativity, coaching, life purpose, and mental health. He has practiced as a coach for the past 30 years, trained coaches for the past 15 years, and presents classes, workshops and keynotes nationally and internationally. His many books include Coaching the Artist Within, Secrets of a Creativity Coach, Humane Helping, The Van Gogh Blues, and The Future of Mental Health. Dr. Maisel, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, writes the “Rethinking Mental Health” blog for Psychology Today and presents regularly at workshop centers like Esalen, Kripalu, Omega and Hollyhock.

Ten Zen Seconds: Twelve Incantations for Purpose, Power and Calm Oct 17, 2018

by Eric Maisel

( 26 )

$9.99

In the midst of life's ongoing pressures, a powerful, ten-second technique can change fear or worry into calm, strength, and centeredness. The basis of Ten Zen Seconds lies in using a single deep breath as a container for a specific thought. Blending Eastern principles of breath awareness and mindfulness with Western principles of positive psychology, this guide presents meditative incantations that offer powerful antidotes to stress, procrastination, and anxiety.
The technique is simple to grasp, simple to use, simple to practice, and simple to master. It can be used anywhere, anytime, by anyone, and it provides profound benefits. You'll find yourself able to do things that previously felt too painful or too difficult to attempt and discover how to quiet and center yourself before an important meeting or conversation. Ultimately, you'll change your basic attitudes about life, becoming peaceful and upbeat instead of anxious or pessimistic.

Other Formats: Paperback

Lighting the Way: How Kirism Answers Life’s Toughest Questions Jun 10, 2020

by Eric Maisel

( 30 )

$9.99

Finally, there is a contemporary philosophy of life that matches our knowledge of the universe and our understanding of human nature.

Lighting the Way is the powerful introduction to the revolutionary philosophy of kirism. Created and developed by Eric Maisel, kirism answers life’s biggest questions, about life purpose, meaning, the entanglements of personality, the nature of ethical action, and more: about who we are, where we find ourselves, and how we might choose to live. Kirism is a twenty-first-century philosophy of life with the power to uplift millions.

“I'm about half-way through Lighting the Way. It is like reading poetry. Every word counts. It is so beautiful, so wise. Thank you, Dr. Maisel!”—Jim B.

“Reading Lighting the Way I kept saying to myself: Yes, that's how I see it. Yes, that's how I feel. Yes, that's how my clients talk, act and feel. Yes, that's how we effect change individually and together. Yes, that's how we're going to get out of this mess. Yes, yes, and yes.”—Coleen C.

Stoicism, Epicureanism, Hedonism, Existentialism, Rationalism, Modernism, Postmodernism. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism. Now, to stand alongside these and the many other world religions and philosophies, is the brand-new philosophy of life called kirism.

If no philosophy or religion has quite spoken to you or made enough sense to you, experience kirism. Lighting the Way is your door to kirism. Open it and enter.

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WHAT READERS ARE SAYING

“Dr. Maisel has brilliantly and eloquently synthesized his ideas and expanded those ideas into a cohesive philosophy of life. Written with a light, playful touch and imbued with his gentle steeliness, Lighting the Way provides a road map to meaning and a powerful call to action.”—Andres K.

“Reading about kirism left me feeling quite hopeful. I think that with the uncertain future of this planet there will be much to despair about and we will need a philosophy like kirism.”—Jane E.

“Kirism is a rational, comprehensive, and compassionate call to be a better human being. If kirism were widely adopted, what a fine species we could be!”—Clare T.

“Lighting the Way was easy to read because of its clarity and its ability to break down philosophical concepts into bite-size bits. I found it interesting, thought-provoking and fun to read.”—Tina M.

“Kirism reflects a great understanding of what it means to be human, with the unique blessings and burdens of consciousness. I particularly admire the way kirism champions the uniqueness of the individual wherever he or she may be on life’s path, emphasizing the role of choice and personal responsibility. Kirism is a no less than a call to bring forth the best part of who we are, and all that we are truly capable of being.”—Naomi M.

“Wow. What a gift. Having read just about every spiritual text and scripture from every religion, I loved the structure of this piece. It felt scriptural in its style, without any of the time-wasting things that make other scriptures boring, dense and confusing. Sweet.”—Scott G.

“Kirism is a new approach to a philosophy of life that explores the psychology of individuals, their feelings and their thoughts, their contradictions and their impermanence. Dr. Maisel’s new work reads brilliantly like a Socratic dialogue, providing excellent examples of our contradictory behaviors, desires and ambitions.”—Jean A.

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About Eric Maisel

Eric Maisel, Ph.D.

Other Formats: Paperback

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Rethinking Depression: How to Shed Mental Health Labels and Create Personal Meaning Jan 15, 2012

by Eric Maisel

( 40 )

$9.99

In this provocative and pathbreaking distillation of a career spent working with individuals seeking help with mood and motivation, Eric Maisel reveals the implications of one of the most dramatic cultural shifts of our time. In recent decades, much of the unhappiness inherent in the human condition has been monetized and labeled as the disease of depression and related “disorders.” Maisel persuasively critiques this sickness model and prescribes a potent new therapy. The existential cognitive-behavioral therapy (ECBT) he details here marries the proven methods of CBT with the powerful meaning-based orientation of existential therapy. The result is a revolutionary reimagining of life’s difficulties and a liberating model of self-care that optimizes the innate human ability to create meaning and seize opportunity — in any circumstance.

Other Formats: Paperback

Creativity for Life: Practical Advice on the Artist's Personality, and Career from America's Foremost Creativity Coach Sep 24, 2010

by Eric Maisel

( 16 )

$9.99

As a therapist and creativity coach, Eric Maisel has worked with thousands of creative people. He knows firsthand the struggles that writers, musicians, artists, dancers, and actors face and has helped them find balance in their lives while pursuing their artistic endeavors. His new book presents a comprehensive approach to the much-misunderstood life of the artist. Creativity for Life offers practical ideas as well as exercises and inspiration to nurture growth as an artist and as a person, exploring such subjects as:

Establishing your creativity practice

Obscurity and stardom

Blocks

The artist’s personality

Moods and madness

Artists in love

Craft

The rewards and perils of isolation

Social interactions and community

Other Formats: Paperback

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