{"product_id":"the-power-of-purpose-isbn-9780307337153","title":"The Power of Purpose","description":"\u003ci\u003eThe Power of Purpose\u003c\/i\u003e begins with a simple but remarkable statement: “The more you focus on helping others, the more you will succeed in reaching your own goals.” Peter S. Temes builds on this fundamental insight to share a simple plan for living with the truest and most enduring kind of happiness.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the heart of \u003ci\u003eThe Power of Purpose\u003c\/i\u003e are the “three levels of thinking.” At the first level, we ask, Who am I? and What do I want? At the second level, we ask, Who do other people think I am? How do I look to them? But the real magic happens when we hit the third level, forgetting about ourselves and asking the questions that lend a powerful sense of purpose to our lives: How do others look to themselves? How can I help others become the people they want to be?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTo help us along the way, Temes, who teaches humanities at Columbia University, draws on the wisdom of great thinkers including Aristotle, Søren Kierkegaard, and Abraham Lincoln; the life lessons of great achievers ranging from Mother Teresa to Michael Jordan; and home truths he’s gathered from his parents, his grandparents, and his three children. From all these sources and from his own life of great personal accomplishment, Temes identifies the essential knowledge that brings people happiness and success. He cites Aristotle’s notion that happiness is not a psychological state but a moral one, resulting from doing good in the world. Temes also believes in the pivotal importance of trust and team-building in every area of life, from the family to the workplace to the street corner.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Power of Purpose\u003c\/i\u003e is a map for finding the confidence and power, the opportunities and occasions, and—most important—the techniques and strategies for centering your relationships and work on helping others. It is a book with a point of view: the clearest path to your own success and happiness lies in helping others get to where they want to go.Peter S. Temes’s previous books include Teaching Leadership, Against School Reform (and in Praise of Great Teaching), and The Just War. He teaches in the Core Curriculum at Columbia University and has been a consultant to Goldman Sachs, Ernst \u0026amp; Young, British Telecom, and other multibillion-dollar firms.1\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    The Three Levels of Thinking\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          Make the leap from asking, \"who am I, and what do I want?\" to   asking that most powerful question of all--\"how do others see   themselves, and how can I help them feel stronger and more   successful?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          Games are played in all kinds of places--sports stadiums,   backyards, offices, classrooms, kitchens, and dining rooms. But games   are won in only one place--in the mind of the winning player. That's   why Michael Jordan was consistently better than the tallest player in   the National Basketball Association every year he played--having   better physical tools to work with was not enough to beat a player   like Jordan, thinking at a higher level. That's why some salespeople   consistently sell more--of the same stuff to the same people--than   the rest of their colleagues. That's why David slew Goliath, and   that's why your personal path for your success begins right between   your ears.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Here's the fact: how we think is the key to how we live. It's the key   to your happiness, the key to your personal goodness, and the key to   your success.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    East Versus West in the Pursuit of Happiness\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          One useful model of observation on how people think comes in the   classic description of the difference between Eastern thinking and   Western thinking. Begin with the observation that unhappiness is the   product of unmet desires. Eastern thinking says, change your desires   to match what you already have, and you will become happy. Western   thinking says, change the world to fit your desires, and you will be   happy. If you are unhappy because you live in a tiny house and want a   bigger home, the traditional Eastern view would be to change your   desire so that you want no more than you already have. The Western   view would be to go out and build a bigger house, at almost any cost.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          There's some wisdom in this model, but the world we live in   today is no longer easily divided between East and West; each   tradition has drawn on the other for decades now, and the habits and   patterns of thinking of each have blended together in important ways.   And in my experience, the most successful people have always combined   elements of both traditions in their thinking--they embrace the   ambition and outward focus of the West as well as the patience and   humility of the East.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          We all know people who are filled with the Western ambition to   go out and change the world. Many succeed, at least now and then, by   pushing against the forces of the world and reshaping them. But just   about all of them also fail now and then--because they come   face-to-face with people, ideas, or parts of the physical world that   are simply too strong to be moved. And we all know people who are   filled with Eastern patience and humility, ready to reshape their own   desires to fill the world. At times, this approach to life is   powerfully rewarding, with the ups and downs of the external world   softened by a philosophical detachment from external things. But how   many opportunities to make positive change in the world slip by, how   many chances to have a real impact on the world are missed, because   of this detachment?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          But imagine the man or woman who looks at the world and   understands, this is when I should push, here is the opportunity to   reshape the world in some small way, and knows too when to say, here   is when I must step back, here is when my desire has to yield to   patience. The real power lies in being able to see both visions--both   the ambition of the West and the humility and patience of the   East--and being able to employ each when it best suits the challenge   at hand.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    Beyond East and West to the Three Levels of Thinking\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          For the world we live in today, the best model of human thinking   I've come across is built of three levels or stages,1 and it draws   from the best of both the East and the West.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          At the first level, the most important question for   understanding the world and taking action is How do I feel? or How do   I look to myself? Picture a teenager waking up in the morning and   saying to his parent, I'm not going to school because I don't feel   well. Or the worker leaving a note on her desk right after   lunch--Gone home, not feeling well. That's level one. How you feel   about yourself is almost all you care about.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          One level higher, the teen turns to his parent and asks, Do I   look as bad as I feel? Or the worker decides not just to leave work,   but to go talk with a colleague and say, Wow, I'm not feeling well.   In reply, the parent may say, You look fine to me. Or the colleague   may say, You should sit down and let me have a look at you. This is   the second level, where you progress from asking How do I feel? or   How do I look to myself? to How do others feel about me? or How do I   look to others? This is a great leap forward--the individual is   beginning to realize that other people are important, and that the   ways other people see the world are important--but it's not remotely   as powerful an outlook as the next level up, the third level.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          At the third level, the central question is not about how I   feel, or about how others feel about me, but about how they feel   about themselves. That might seem like a small step forward, but it   can't be overestimated. Think about a sales situation--at the first   level, the seller is focused on doing a good job on her own terms; at   the second level, she's focused on making a good impression on the   sales prospect. But at the third level, the salesperson herself might   as well be invisible, because she has no interest in looking good,   but only in helping the sales prospect look good in his own eyes, and   reach his own goals.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          Or think about that teenager who doesn't want to go to school.   The teen wakes up and says \"I don't feel well\" at level one. At level   two, he's able to hear a parent say \"you don't look sick to me.\" But   at the third level, he's asking about how other people feel and   discovers the best possible motive to get out of bed into the world:   \"other people are depending on me today.\" The motive to get up and   out is not about what matters to me, but what matters to others.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          In this is some irony, and some magic. Once you focus on others   in this way--as a friend, as a citizen, as a manager, as a   colleague--you find that you yourself benefit as much or more than   the others you're trying to help. Focusing on the sales prospect's   needs instead of your own, you eventually reap the benefits of   greater sales--more money, more respect, more confidence. Focusing on   getting up out of bed because you understand that you can help   others--and what a transforming positive feeling that statement   carries with it: I can help others--you find that you become   healthier and happier. You help yourself as much as you help others,   because your life becomes infused with the purpose of doing good.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          My grandfather is a wonderful example of this effect. A   self-educated man, he worked most of his life in jobs that did not   satisfy his intellect or his desire to help others, but in his free   time he was devoted to political causes that he thought could improve   the lives of many. He was a socialist and an antiwar activist (though   a veteran of World War II himself). Although some might argue that   the specifics of his plan for improving the world were misguided, his   personal sacrifices to help make positive change filled his life with   a sense of purpose. I had the strong feeling that well into his late   eighties, he continued to wake up in the morning and get out of bed   in order to strike a blow against war, injustice, and poverty every   day. That kept him healthy and engaged with the world while many   others his age slipped out of touch. But my grandfather had a reason   to live and to stay strong: he felt he was needed, and that he could   help others.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          A woman I know in New Hampshire has a similar story to tell. She   calls herself a community activist, having worked for years to get   the local government in her town to provide more services for young   families and their children. She's spearheaded drives to create a   free day-care center, to offer medical services for small children,   and to give parents a safe and comfortable public place to bring   their children when the long New England winter drags on. Sundays,   she sets up out front of the local churches with her folding table,   raising money and getting signatures on petitions. Weekdays, she sets   up in front of schools and the one big food market in her small town.   Everyone knows her, and she's got no shortage of critics as well as   staunch friends--in small New England towns, there tend to be plenty   of skeptics about providing public services, especially if they   require tax dollars to be spent. But this energetic woman, a mother   of two young children, says she loves her enemies. \"Two things that   motivate me,\" she says, \"are helping the little boys and girls who   need the basics and don't necessarily get them at home, and proving   to those folks who don't think we ought to do more that of course we   ought to do more. And I say this: thank goodness for those fools who   don't want to help! They keep me fighting. If I didn't have such good   and proper enemies, how would I know I was on the right track?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          She gets a good head of steam going as she talks. Clearly, this   is a woman who sees her life as filled with important work. She is a   hero in her own eyes--she's got to be strong to help the children in   her area, and so she is strong. Cause and effect. Because she asks   herself the fundamental level-three questions every day--How are   others living? What do they think of as their greatest needs?--she's   reaching ambitious goals, making an enormous contribution to the   lives of others, and filling her life with high purpose.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    The Story of Ed and Fred: Tuning in to What Other People Care About Most\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    We all want to be our own heroes, and hear our own stories. If you   grasp this truth, you can use it to reach your own goals.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          A famous story about the advertising business offers another   glimpse of the way the three levels of thinking work.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          Two advertising managers are arguing about the size of the type   in an ad they're planning to run in a newspaper. One of them--call   him Ed--wants to save money by using smaller size letters in the ad.   Smaller letters mean a smaller, less expensive ad overall. The   other--call him Fred--says, \"You dope, you need big letters to catch   people's attention. If we use smaller letters no one will stop and   read the ad.\" Ed says, \"Nonsense. If your message is the right   message and you say it clearly, everyone will read the ad.\" Fred's   not convinced. Ed proposes a wager: \"I'll bet you a thousand dollars   I can run an ad in tomorrow's paper that you'll need a magnifying   glass to read, and no matter how hard you try, you won't be able to   resist reading every last word.\" Fred smells easy money and takes the   bet. The next day, the paper comes out and there on the back page is   a block of tiny type. Fred laughs. \"OK, pal,\" he says. \"Pay up--I'm   not reading it. I couldn't even if I wanted to--the type's too   small.\" \"Well, OK, if you really think you won't. But you should know   what's in the ad. It's all about you. It's your life story.\" Try as   he might, Fred could not resist, and before the day was over he'd   gone out and bought a magnifying glass and read all about himself   over and over again.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          Fred was stuck at the first level of thinking--he was in love   with his own story, as most of us are. Ed understood that and used   his insight to win the bet and to save money on advertising by   writing ads that used insight into the three levels of thinking to   save on space. If you have no insight, your voice has to be loud to   be heard--and your ads need to be big. But if you have lots of   insight, your voice can be quieter and more civil, and your ads can   be smaller and less expensive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          Ed was at the third level--he understood that other people   didn't want to hear about the products he had to sell, or about him   as a salesperson, but were consumed by their own concerns about   themselves and their own personal struggles. He asked the right   level-three questions--How do other people look to themselves? What   do they care about most? Ed understood that if he could connect the   sale of his products to those personal concerns, his ads would be   more effective and he'd sell more.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e    The Story of Marty Edelston: How Second-Level Pride Hobbles the   Critics of Successful People\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          This is the story of a successful businessman with no shortage   of critics. But his critics were at level one and level two. Marty   was at level three. That's why the critics were working for Marty,   instead of the other way around.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          I first heard the story of Ed and Fred from Marty Edelston, the   founder of a company called Boardroom, Inc. Boardroom publishes the   newsletter Bottom Line\/Personal, a title that has at times had more   than one million paid subscribers. I first went to work for Marty   when I was nineteen, and the experience was tremendous. It was a   glimpse into big-time publishing and also a fantastic exposure to a   successful entrepreneur just hitting his stride as his company was   reaching sales of about $35 million a year. Marty is something of a   legend in the publishing business, an idiosyncratic man with an iron   grip on all the details of his company, requiring personal approval   of every word published in his newsletters and books and signing off   directly on just about every dollar spent. Throughout the day,   secretaries bring Marty healthy snacks of sliced fruit, which he   generally eats in the middle of meetings, with his fingers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e          One of Marty's great talents is hiring bright and hungry people   for key jobs. Many have publishing experience in more traditional   firms and some are put off by Marty's highly personal approach and   his total control of management at every level in the company.","brand":"Harmony","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300203712741,"sku":"NP9780307337153","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780307337153.jpg?v=1767741035","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/the-power-of-purpose-isbn-9780307337153","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}