The Intelligent Optimist's Guide to Life: How to Find Health and Success in a World That's a Better Place Than You Think (UK PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS Management / Business) - Softcover

Kamp, Jurriaan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 162656275X ISBN 13: 9781626562752

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2014

Synopsis

The world isn't coming to an end, contrary to what you may have heard, says Jurriaan Kamp. Certainly there's upheaval and economic, political, and social instability, but the media's near-exclusive focus on conflict and disaster means that the progress and everyday acts of brilliance taking place across the globe go unnoticed, which contributes to the sense that apocalypse is at hand.

Not only that, pessimism can be fatal: Kamp sites research showing that those who indulge in negative thinking are more likely to smoke, be overweight and have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and an increased risk of Parkinson's. Meanwhile, evidence abounds that optimism-intelligent optimism, not a rose-coloured-glasses brand of wishful thinking-is not only good for your mind, but your body too.

Kamp demonstrates that on the whole we're living longer, becoming smarter, working less, and growing richer. Not only that, democracy is on the rise, and violence is declining. He explains how we can cultivate an outlook of informed optimism that will make our lives and the world better-because, as he quotes Helen Keller, ""No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed an uncharted land or opened a new doorway for the human spirit.""

About this title

Review

"To read this work is to cease giving credence to the whiny naysayers and instead to join the band of angels who carry a passion for the possible, advance the solutions, and engage in the creation of an emergent positive, practical, and successful world."
--Jean Houston, PhD, author of The Wizard of Us

"More and more research confirms that optimism is a critical ingredient of longevity and a healthy lifestyle. Jurriaan Kamp's book shows how you can improve your health through optimism."
--Andrew Weil, MD

"Every person in the world wants the same thing--to lead a happy, healthy, and fulfilling life. Yet most of us feel that ultimate goal is determined by external factors. In this fact-based, simple, and pragmatic book, Jurriaan Kamp shifts all the power into our own hands by illustrating that our view of the world around us is a self-fulfilling prophecy."
--Bert Jacobs, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Optimist of The Life is good Company

"Optimism is both the precondition and the precursor for individuals and organizations in making meaningful change, and Jurriaan Kamp does a wonderful job of reminding us just how powerful it can be."
--Walter Robb, Co-CEO, Whole Foods Market

"This book is like a good companion: it cheers you up."
--Ben Knapen, former State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands

"An inspired and inspiring guide to living with optimism in a world that is increasingly jaded and pessimistic--uplifting, rousing, and challenging us to dream the world into being in a positive and creative manner."
--Alberto Villoldo, bestselling author of Shaman, Healer, Sage

"Optimism is a mindset, a lens through which to look at the world around us. It takes this mindset to be able to adapt to the changes that technology and climate change will bring our way. More importantly, this mindset also will give us the resolve to not just let change happen; we are the masters of our destiny and can shape a better world for all."
--Peter Bakker, President, World Business Council for Sustainable Development

"Thoughtfulness and inspiration are two ingredients that are mixed into a perspective that helps us look at the world as an optimist. There are many ways to journey through life, but the goal surely must be to live well. A good read and one you will want to pass on!"
--Arkadi Kuhlmann, founder and CEO, ZenBanx

"The world is full of opportunities for anyone wishing to see them. Media blur that vision and feed pessimism and depression. Optimism is in short supply. That should change and this book points the way."
--John Mackey, founder and Co-CEO, Whole Foods Market

"There's no problem in this world without a potential solution. What's too often lacking is the strategy to find these new solutions. That strategy is optimism--the desire to find the solution wherever it might be. It's the vital force for innovation in business and society. This is your handbook to create and contribute your solutions. Read and implement it!"
--Rinaldo Brutoco, entrepreneur and Founding President, World Business Academy

"This is a thought provoking, challenging and inspirational book. Jurriaan Kamp's unique way of looking at how we filter, use, and approach news and information is well worth considering. He is on a both a mission to help us all realign our thinking. Do yourself a favor and take the time to read and absorb, The Intelligent Optimist's Guide to Life."
--Robert J. Rosenthal, Executive Director, The Center for Investigative Reporting

About the Author

In 1995, Jurriaan Kamp left a successful career as the chief economics editor at the leading Dutch newspaper, NRC Handelsblad, to found, together with his wife, Hélène de Puy, the solutions journalism magazine Ode in The Netherlands. In 2005 Kamp and De Puy moved to California with their four children to launch the international edition of the magazine, renamed The Intelligent Optimist in 2012. Under his guidance, the magazine has more than once won the prestigious Maggie Award for journalism. As both editor-in-chief and CEO of the organization, Kamp has regularly come in ahead of the curve on stories that advance new visions of our world, whether he s advocating a more-is-better approach to sustainability or showcasing thought leaders like alternative health pioneer Johan Boswinkel or Muhammad Yunus, founder of microcredit, long before the mainstream media learns of their work. Kamp wrote his own book about microcredit, Small Change: How Fifty Dollars Changes the World. He has also brought people together through conferences like the Treaty of Noordwijk aan Zee, which laid out the principles of a world economy on a human scale. That theme became the subject of his book Because People Matter: Building an Economy That Works for Everyone, published in 2003.

About this edition

• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 162656275X
• ISBN 13: 9781626562752
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96