Be the Hero Noah Blumenthal

I am off to the Berrett-Koehler Co-op Author's retreat.  I am not a BK author but I am very honored to be a part of this community.  Over the next few days I will be sharing with you some of the books I previewed on AM AZ over the years.  You can purchase any of the books featured from Amazon or BK direct.  Happy watching and happy reading, Andrea www.DontDieBooks.com

A forever Hero

Why do books matter?  Because they continue to impact the reader long after the book is read!

August 2009 Be The Hero was released.  January 30, 2010 master coach and author Noah Blumenthal presented his book at a fundraising event for Stillpoint Center for Spiritual Development.  October 2010 -- ten months later -- someone who attended the presentation and read the book commented that book and presentation marked a positive turning point in their personal development. 

The same week I sat in a board meeting for Stillpoint.  Board members asked if the author we had the year before Noah -- Steve Donahue of Shifting Sands -- had another book out yet.  They wanted him to come back!
AM AZ Shifting Sands
Time passes but good books live on in the hearts of their readers.  Read on. 

Thank you,
Andrea Goeglein, PhD
866 975 3777
DrSuccess@ServingSuccess.com

Connections

Dr. Success Challenge: Today when you encounter someone you know, think through thoroughly how you first became acquainted with them, what connections were made because they came into your life, and how many things in your life are now connected because of that one meeting.

I have always been intrigued with the concept of how we are connected – especially in ways that you find out about after you know someone for a while. Many years ago when I developed my tree logo as a symbol of how ServingSuccess is about the tree of life and how to grow people, I also used an exercise in business meetings that got people thinking about how they were connected to others in their business circle. I had found that over time we lost track of how and why people came into our business lives (or any part of lives) and in losing track we also lost a sense of the magic of relationships, connections, and appreciation.

Reading When God Winks caused me to resurrect that activity in my own life and work. Then I was involved in the book launch of Be The Hero by Noah Blumenthal and the mystery of how we are all connected became all to obvious yet again.

This is what my worksheet of some seemingly unconnected life events ended up being very, very connected over a 10 year period.

2000 Las Vegas. I met Mary Jane W. At the time she was a business associate of a client.

2001 Mary Jane’s husband is instrumental in the life-saving medical care my Dad received.

2003 Mary Jane attends one of my Positive Psychology Executive Women’s Groups.

2005 Mary Jane co-facilitates the next Executive Women’s Group with me. One of the members of that group, who Mary Jane attracted into the group, gives me a book, Shifting Sands, by Steve Donahue.

2008 I feature Shifting Sands on the second segment of Books that Matter on AM Arizona. The publisher of Shifting Sands calls to thank me. The publisher puts me in touch with their author’s coop and I telephonically meet Noah Blumenthal. Later that year Noah asks me to review a draft copy of his upcoming book, Be The Hero.

2009 August: I write a testimonial for Be The Hero. The book is published.

December: I give a copy of Be the Hero to Mary Jane as a Christmas gift.

Mary Jane calls to tell me that she was shocked to see my testimonial for the book right below the daughter of a nursing school friend from Canada, where Mary Jane lived for some period.

2010 Mary Jane meets Noah at an author's event in Las Vegas I organized. I have a telephonic meeting with Gwyn, the person who wrote that testimonial and who knew Noah and Mary Jane even though Noah and Mary Jane had never meet, were born in different countries, decades apart.

I find this really a fun exercise to play with. It helps me sit with the mystery of where does it all start and where is it all going.

Most of all I enjoy being reminded how, in some mysterious way, we are really all connected.

Happy Connecting,

Andrea T. Goeglein, Phd
Dr. Success™
1 866 975 3777
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Our New Cathedral

The book Be The Hero by Noah Blumenthal has been a big part of my life the last ten months or so. On January 30, 2010, about 80 lucky people in Las Vegas got to hear Noah present his thinking which is incorporated in the book. As you would expect, we spoke about his presentation and what follows is the blog he posted about that conversation. For those who enjoy his thinking you can follow Noah on his blog.

Our New Cathedral
February 1, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Where do we learn our values? Who teaches us what is important in life?

Some of these lessons come from our parents and our upbringing, but they continue to be shaped throughout our lives.

My friend Andrea Goeglein made an interesting observation. We were talking after a speech I had given to the Stillpoint Center for Spiritual Development in Las Vegas. She said that whereas people used to regularly attend weekly religious services and draw moral guidance from that experience, attendance in such services is dwindling. Instead people are spending more and more time at work, and we as a society are drawing more and more of our values from the company we keep.

This notion will undoubtedly scare some who see corporate America as evil. However, there is good and bad in every system. Some organizations bring out the absolute best values in their employees, their communities, their customers. I’m not talking about the official corporate values on the plaque in the lobby (e.g., teamwork, honesty, integrity). I wrote recently about why those values fail to stick.

I’m talking about the unstated values. What is important to your organization? Materialism? Relationships? Personal fulfillment? Winning at all costs? Shareholders over employees? Customers above all else?

If you don’t pay attention, your organization’s values will become your own without you even noticing. So sit up straight. Listen carefully. Services are in session

With appreciation to Noah for this contribution to a lifetime conversation, Andrea
Andrea T. Goeglein, PhD
Dr. Success
866 975 3777
DrSuccess@ServingSuccess.com

Why Books Matter

I do not mean to beat a dead horse...yet twice in as many weeks I had the opportunity to participate in activities involving a book and how it contributed to bottom line of a non-profit benefiting children. Last week it was Be The Hero, by Noah Blumenthal, which I will update you on at the end of my post today. This week it was Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.

I had the privilege of witnessing a great act of philanthropy supported by the message in the book, Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell. When attempting to explain why she had funded the complete renovation and “greening” of a 40 plus year old Boys and Girls Club in the economically deprived North Las Vegas, NV area, the donor quoted the book Outliers and its author, Malcolm Gladwell. Using the examples of Bill Gates, The Beatles, and underutilized genius, Christopher Langan, cited in the book, the donor drew the parallel to helping children through the Boys and Girls Club by giving them opportunities to practice skills in a safe environment that they otherwise might not have the chance to experience. Many books are a great read. How many books have inspired the funding of a multimillion dollar project that will help children for decades to come? To continue the process of paying it forward, the donor also purchased 100 copies of the book and gave a copy to everyone in attendance. Well written book, well researched, and inspiring others to greatness. I would suggest author Malcolm Gladwell not blink, because he has already created a tipping point.

Now an update on the donation to the Miami Children's Hospital from sales of Be The Hero. In author Noah's own words:

"As we stated from the beginning, since we made the Amazon bestseller lists we will be donating 50% of our royalties from last week to the Miami Children's Hospital, but there is more to tell. This week was such a wonderful launch for the book, and the Miami Children's Hospital is such an amazing institution, we are going to continue our relationship with them. We have now made an arrangement to donate 10% of the royalties for Be The Hero for the life of the book!! So know that your efforts in recent weeks made a big difference to the hospital. And whatever ripple effect these efforts have will continue to benefit the hospital for years to come."

Dr. Success Challenge: The challenge this week is to ponder the question: What could I create in the field, profession or business that I love that could generate lasting income for a children's non-profit?

While you are pondering this question, why not make a donation to your local Boys and Girls Club?

With much appreciation for all the good that books have done, Andrea