Zen and the Art of Making a Living: A Practical Guide to Creative Career Design

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In a chapter called "Vision Questing," Boldt provides startling statistics on living conditions throughout the world. The inclusion of these numbers serves to illustrate the limited perception with which we operate. While these types of moral lessons are not normally contained in a job manual, they are inherent to Boldt's. Limited awareness of the potential of those around you points to limited awareness of your own potential. You may take or leave Boldt's advice, but his diagrams and lessons will make a lot more sense and prove far more beneficial if you give his views an honest shot rather than dismissing them as unrealistic.

This is far more than a "how to" discussion, though. While the reader will discover how to get on the mailing list for federal job opportunities and how to write grant proposals for funding a nonprofit organization, he or she also will be treated to a beautiful essay explaining the Zen view that everyone is talented and knowledgeable. Laurence Boldt't Zen and the Art of Making a Living is an inspirational manual that seeks to give people the tools to direct and control their lives so that they can find meaning in their work. It's philosophical . . . but upbeat, down to earth, and practical. Boldt, a career consultant never before published, has written a guide in the genre of What Color is Your Parachute? for job seekers, people unhappy in their jobs, anyone who feels dissatisfied with his or her life. All great teachers say that the road to happiness begins with the recognition "that beyond the transient desires of ego there lie deeper desires for love and service to all mankind." Most of us don't go this route because we "are too busy running down approval alley." We try to please others, and pleasing is calculated while "compassion comes from the heart." It's hard to imagine that Boldt has forgotten anything in this massive, unconventional volume. He shows a strong understanding of the need for a new view of work in Western cultures. "So often today, white-collar workers are hired for their brains alone, blue-collar and service workers for their bodies only, as though these could be detached from the beings who possess them," he writes. "As a consequence, there is so much emotional pain around work in our culture. This pain spills over into virtually every aspect of life. Families, relationships, and communities are deeply affected by it. We can't really blame anyone for this, or at least, it does us no good to do so. Freedom can't be demanded from others—it must be created for ourselves."How often do we see a person, that we actually know personally, who have the impression that the whole universe is acting to satisfy his/her demands? – Apparently, not so often. In fact, nothing other than happiness matters that much. With all due respect to any career, you must remember that a job is nothing more than a way to earn a living. Putting it in front of everything will bring you in a position to beg, as we mentioned earlier. Transform your life with Zen

Only a few people can count themselves fortunate, being in a place where they can actually express their full potential and feel respected. The other and probably most important part are the monthly incomes and are you satisfied with your current financial situation. The real question is what to expect from 40 hours weekly job? Is it okay, to add a bit of inner satisfaction, instead of focusing only on money? It makes the perfect sense, but it’s also a distant reality for most people nowadays.To be authentic, the play or action of your life must come from within, must flow from your heart. The spiritual or inner life cannot be separated from work - or anything else. Lccn 93017225 Ocr ABBYY FineReader 11.0 (Extended OCR) Ocr_converted abbyy-to-hocr 1.1.11 Ocr_module_version 0.0.14 Openlibrary_edition When it comes to the fundamentals of vocational guidance (determining what to do), nothing significant has changed since this book was first written. Indeed, nothing essential has changed in the more than two thousand years since Aristotle wrote, “Where your talent and the needs of the world cross, there lies your vocation.” Were he alive today and whispering in your ear, Aristotle could give no more relevant or timely advice. Over seven hundred years ago, the Sufi poet Rumi wrote, “Everyone has been made for some particular work and the desire for that work has been placed in every heart.” This too is every bit as relevant today as it was the day it was first written. In a sense, either of these formulations (Rumi’s or Aristotle’s) provides everything you need to identify your vocation or life’s work. Zen and the Art of Making a Living has been, for many years, a treasured and often referred to addition to my very selective library. It is that rare combination of the inspirational and the practical."

Revised edition of: Zen and the art of making a living in the post-modern world. Lightning Press, 1992 With Laurence Boldt's guidance, we not only set a firm foot on the bridge between East and West, but we traverse it with a strong, confident stride.For good thoughts... towards men, are little better than dreams, except they be put into action; and that cannot be, without power and place." -- Francis Bacon William Shakespeare once wrote, "Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt." Fear of falling short often prevents people from seeking their true calling. Allow your natural compassion and bliss to ripen, and you are sure to find your vocation sooner or later." In this one-of-a-kind compelling, and engaging book summary you’ll find why, how, to find a job that will match not just your skills, but your spiritual energy as well. Who Should Read “Zen and the Art of Making a Living”? And Why? Laurence G. Boldt is a career consultant and an author born on November 18 th , 1954. He is the author of several inner healing types of books like Zen Sou, The Tao of Abundance and others. Laurance has also given speeches on happiness all across the U.S. “Zen and the Art of Making a Living Summary”