Resources
Following are books and other resources that we recommend to our clients and all Women Who DARE.
[Revisit soon—we'll link these to Amazon and elsewhere!]
BOOKS
Authentic Happiness, by Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D., whose expertise is “the psychology of optimism.”
Bibliotherapy: The Girl’s Guide to Books for Every Phase of Our Lives, by Nancy Peske and Beverly West
The Break-out Principle, by Herbert Benson, M.D., and William Proctor. All about the scientifically proven relationship between mind and body, and how to harness the power of your right brain to relieve stress and increase creativity.
Changing Course: A Positive Approach to a New Job or Lifestyle, by Maggie Smith
Cinematherapy – The Girl’s Guide to Movies for Every Mood, by Nancy Peske and Beverly West
Classical Music 101, and Opera 101, by Fred Plotkin: Two excellent guides, to learn the stories behind the music that has moved men and women for ages.
Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow, by Marsha Sinetar.
Flow: The Psychology of Optimum Experience, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Ph.D. How to understand, seek out, and master experiences that bring you maximum happiness, energy, and pleasure; activities you could wile away hours doing without even realizing the time. The author calls it ”flow”… others call it “getting in the zone.”
The Gap Year for Grown Ups, 3rd ed., by Susan Griffith. Griffith covers it all, from the reasons for doing a “gap year”—such as “burn-out, turning 50, sensory overload, bereavement and depression, shaking out the cobwebs”—to how to manage career and financial implications, and even logistics of dealing with e-mail and renting out your home if you go away.
The Joy Diet: 10 Daily Practices for a Happier Life, by Martha Beck, Ph.D. How to feed your head and your heart. Chapters titled: Nothing (as in, the merits of doing nothing); Creativity; Risk; Treats; Play; Laughter; Connection; Feasting. Think that’s all fluff? Without joy, you’re at highest risk of dying of heart disease.
Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change, by William Bridges.
Navigating Midlife, by Eleanor S. Corlett and Nancy B. Millner.
The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classic Guide to World Literature, Revised and Expanded, by Clifton Fadiman and John S. Major. Short summaries of the greatest authors and their works—it’s great for those of us who are sorry we haven’t yet paid enough attention to Shakespeare or Faulkner and other great authors.
This Is Your Brain On Music, by neuroscientist Daniel Levitin, is an excellent book on how music changes your brain waves for the better, and how to choose music to help you solve problems, think up new ideas, and generally expand the energy of your brain cells.
What Color Is Your Parachute?, by Richard Nelson Bolles.
Your Life As Story, by Tristine Rainer, an easy guide filled with ideas for writing your memoirs. Chapters on: ”How to Write What You Dare Not Say,” and “Dealing with Your Dark Side“ are too fun to resist.
WEBSITES
http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu – by Martin E. P. Seligman, Ph.D., whose expertise is “the psychology of optimism” – is filled with reputable advice, as well as self-assessment quizzes to help you increase your positive thinking.
http://www.berlitz.com – Berlitz specializes in “total immersion” – you engulf yourself in the history, culture, people and other facets of the country whose language you want to master.
http://www.franklincovey.com – planning and organizational tools of every type imaginable, geared to your life goals and lifestyle.
http://www.hayhouse.com: The leader in self-help and transformation resources.
http://www.hbswk.hbs.edu/archive, the Website of the Harvard Business School: an excellent article on Executive Coaching can be found here.
http://www.laughteryoga.us – Laugh to keep from crying. Dr. Madan Kataria, an Indian medical doctor, has created “laughter yoga” – whole-body exercise of laughter with yoga breathing. So respected, he was brought to Iraq to cheer up our soldiers.
http://www.readyminds.com – reputable, expert career counseling.
http://www.rosettastone.com – learn a language fast, even if you’re just venturing a little out of your comfort zone.
http://www.toastmasters.org – Toastmasters specializes in helping almost anyone become a better speaker for almost any venue or occasion.
http://www.vocationvacations.com – on a “vocation vacation,” you’ll be paired up with a guide in your career of interest. Worth it, if you want to pursue your second act, but need direction.
http://www.workoutz.com – a free site with clips of every exercise you can imagine – and some you probably wouldn’t believe – like Burpees: a full body combo of squats, jumps and leg lifts, no equipment needed. Likewise, chair boxing, or chair aerobics, plus Wii fitness and Zumba, which is pumping aerobics set to Latin music. To really pump it up, try a hula-hoop, jump rope or trampoline. Learning any new sport – whether you intend to master it or not – can wake up your muscles, strengthen your bones and boost your calorie burn.
http://www.writersonlineworkshops.com – offers trial runs of courses. Feed your inner Emily Dickinson via a poetry class, or become a gossip girl via a blog-writing course.
iPhone Apps
The Ambiance app, a compendium of more than a dozen soothing sounds like Lake, Rain, Coast, etc., is just the antidote for that insomnia that strikes at three A.M. the night before a big presentation.
The Bloom App – soft chiming music with visual pops of soothing color that you can manipulate or put on auto-pilot.
Leave a Reply
Join Us
