Month: December 2014

This book was yanked out of the author by readers. The content is that vital. Last fall, Amy Morin a psychotherapist, wrote a blog post on mental strength that went viral and was read by hundreds of thousands. Then the content was used by Forbes Magazine and it was read 10 million times. It was clear there was a need for this conversation on mental strength in the working world. We’re constantly told to mind our health, so we take care of our body, watch what we put in it and how we use it and let it rest. What about the mind? In a busy working world, do we watch what goes in, how we use it and how we rebuild it when we work past its limit? And there are a ton of self-help books out there about resilience and stress management, what made this article so special? Why did so many people read and share it? Two things: 1) This wasn’t about self-help, it was a business article in Forbes for those of us who rule the working world. A resource for the strong on strength. The author is now a Forbes contributor on the psychology of business life. 2) The author had a secret that made the content hyper-authentic and people smelled that truth. Sure Amy Morin is an experienced psychotherapist who has helped many people through challenging times but she herself faced powerful setbacks in her life and work, overcoming them forced to her create these 13 powerful tips from a very a raw and real place. Last fall I shared the tips on my own LinkedIn feed and had my own viral moment as people really responded to them, as I did myself. I wrote this blog post and my wife made me a poster that I shared but put up on my own wall so the tips could help me daily. Now, Amy has released this insightful book. Expanding on each of the tips, sharing actual stories of people she has helped overcome each issue. It is practical, it is powerful. At this time of year when people ( me included ) are thinking:

• How can I keep this up?
• How did I become so resentful?
• Where did this negativity come from?
• How can I deal with daily attacks on my positivity and productivity?

I’ll say it again, this isn’t self-help book. You’re reading a business book blog, this is about being better at work. Reconnecting with strengths you know you have but are losing touch with. It’s about winners winning more. This book is like taking vitamins for your attitude. When you finish it you get that feeling like getting out of the shower in the morning when you think “yes, I can own this day, it won’t own  me”. I’m so happy to have that feeling back! Amy, you are a woman of wisdom, strength and power beyond belief. You have lived through a couple of my greatest fears in life and by sharing how you got through them you’ve helped me quiet the growing paralyzing fear I had of them. Want to keep learning from Amy? Follow her on Twitter. This is part of my plan for a better 2015, I would encourage anyone who engages in personal planning and self reflection for business success to pick up this book. I leave you with a quick video about how it all came together and the powerful events Amy herself overcame to create these tips. It’s quite a story. Best wishes for a restful, reflective end to 2014 and a powerful, positive productive start to 2015!    Thanks for reading,

               Paul Nazareth

13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do by Amy Morin

This post is for those in the club. Not VIP`s, the opposite, the servants of good. The people who live inside the moving parts of fundraising, philanthropy, charity, non-profit, social-profit – the people that are open to discussion beyond golf, moustaches, ice-buckets and chocolate almonds. Who are tired of hearing about the usual conversations on this topic. Donors, fundraisers, volunteers, boards, lawyers, accountants all the people who make it happen and see inside the sausage factory that is often expressed as neat, clean, feel-good, dimple-faced philanthropy. As usual the folks at the Walrus Magazine and Foundation take their talks further, behind the curtain on a subject. This fall they chose philanthropy. What a unique line up of speakers that assembled the body parts of giving ( the heart), funding ( the legs), doing (the hands), investing (the head) and marketing (the mouth). Read more in this review of the evening – this is a reflection on one talk. She’s a poet, a writer, a thinker but she’s also a spy into this profession and way of life. I met Sonnet L’Abbe now a decade ago working in a university advancement office as a writer. She has worked for causes in healthcare, community, in civic engagement using her command of head, heart and all that lies between as an asset to fundraising teams – this makes her an insider. It`s a dangerous magic but as a poet she gets to say things that none of us, not the donors, the fundraisers, the institutions can say. And she did. Watch it by clicking here. I personally made sure a few dozen in my network were in attendance and after the performance they all said ‘how does she know our hopes, fears, dreams, anger, even our words!?”. She reached into us, and showed us our own guts. It can be uncomfortable for some, I loved it. Every word. So as 2014 comes to a close and we all reflect on what we do, what we’ve done, where we are going. What better medium to help in that reflection than poetry? What happens when the heart and head start working together in the world of philanthropy? Powerful things, I`ve seen it. Thanks to the Walrus team, this is why I subscribe and give to you. Because you create conversations like this. And to Sonnet, I have said it before, I’ll say it again, besides what Gord and his Tragic friends think, I think poets are a gift to humanity. Certainly a gift in my life. And I’m grateful just to know her. If you haven’t already, click here to watch that insightful poetry on philanthropy – would love your thoughts in the comment section below! Thanks for reading, Paul