I have a passion for helping people realize being better through sharing my thoughts and experiences to guide them on their path. My curiosity of understanding “why people do what they do?” started when I was 13. The search for this questions evolving answer led me on an educational, career, and personal journey that authored a unique perspective to move people forward. Working with people for over 25 years through clinical therapy, personal coaching, and now through my company Rhodes Smith Consulting, I see patterns in the struggle to transform. Books offer me new perspectives or reinforce old ones in expanding my knowledge and helping people master their own intentions. Enjoy!
I wrote
Intention: Building Capabilities to Transform Your Story
One of our greatest abilities is to evolve, which is based on our need for survival. Historical references provide a great measure of this experience for our personal clarity. Written in 1532, Niccolò Machiavelli penned The Prince as a leadership guide for Lorenzo the Magnificent and any new princes and royals. Irrespective of the title, the book's theme is of accepting that one’s aims – such as glory and survival in this case – can justify the use of any means to achieve those ends. When we are transforming our stories, we often focus solely on the outcome irrespective of impact. Though written for 16th-century society, this book provides a perspective to consider when building the foundations of change – in the pursuit of buildings capabilities – based on want, indulgence, and survival.
Here is the world's most famous master plan for seizing and holding power. Astonishing in its candor The Prince even today remains a disturbingly realistic and prophetic work on what it takes to be a prince . . . a king . . . a president. When, in 1512, Machiavelli was removed from his post in his beloved Florence, he resolved to set down a treatise on leadership that was practical, not idealistic. In The Prince he envisioned would be unencumbered by ordinary ethical and moral values; his prince would be man and beast, fox and lion. Today, this small…
When we’re transforming our stories, we’re not only asking ourselves to do something different, but we’re also asking the people, places, and things around us to evolve as well. The Art of Quiet Influencefosters awareness of self by bringing in Western and Eastern philosophical wisdom – from Confucius to Rumi to Buddha to Gandhi – to shed light on influencing best practices. While the title implies an influence of others, it emphasizes knowing yourself through your mind, body, and soul prior to seeking changes for anyone else. The book offers a focused presence where output is more important than outcomes and the use of words outweighs yelling and domination. Such inner peace and calmness allow us to be authentic in our abilities to transform.
Influence is getting things done without coercion. It's strength without force-mindfulness in action. Master influencers walk lightly, talk softly and have no need of a big stick, yet collective success hinges on their words and deeds.
Anyone can be a quiet influencer. Featuring twelve specific practices, twelve typical pitfalls and dozens of powerful stories and examples, The Art of Quiet Influence is a roadmap for the journey. Author Jocelyn Davis weaves together the timeless wisdom of Eastern thinkers-from Confucius to the Buddha, from Rumi to Gandhi-with research and insights from modern-day experts, revealing what's wrong with the Western view of…
Many people from all walks of life, even after many accomplishments and experiences, are often plagued by dissatisfaction, pervasive longing, and deep questioning. These feelings may make them wonder if they are living the life they were meant to lead.
Living on Purpose is the guidebook these people have been…
Do you know what mental stories you bring to the table that influence a situation with others? Are you arguing to win or to collaboratively solve? Connecting: With Self and Others is a textbook that teaches readers about themselves and how to interact with others. The awareness creates the space and tips for readers to take stock in who they are and how to communicate effectively. The narratives of transformation offer opportunities to experience the world in new contexts. This can be a challenge if we are not conscious of who we are and how to best navigate the tug and pull of the environment to keep us where we are. This book helps create awareness in connecting with ourselves and the environment in an authentic way that is critical in transforming.
Life is a series of interpersonal exchanges-connections and disconnections-ranging from painful, distracting, and destructive encounters to joyful, meaningful, intimate and productive experiences. How well you communicate with your friends, partner, family, and people at work, determines in large part how satisfying these relationships are. Connecting will help you become a more alert and effective communicator. It will increase your: Awareness of self, others, and your relationships, Skills for sending and receiving message mroe clearly and accurately. Options for building relationships. Connecting is the result of 20 years of testing and development which began at the Unviersity of Minnesota Family Study…
How well do we know someone? Malcom Gladwell asks readers to explore biases in a way that begins to question the personal interactions we have each day. Using examples based on prejudice, assumption, fear, false trust, and preconceived notion, the book exposes the nature of human connection and an internal battle we face when interacting with or judging others. Our unconscious actions are built from survival instinct and previous experiences that become exposed when we meet someone new or cannot reconcile someone’s actions with whom we thought they were. This inability to understand others impacts how we navigate our lives and decern perceived threats that often result in wrong actions being taken. This book begs us to look deeper into the assumptions we carry within ourselves when Talking to Strangers.
The highly anticipated new book from Malcom Gladwell, host of the chart-topping podcast Revisionist History.
With original archival interviews and musical scoring, this enhanced audiobook edition of Talking to Strangers brings Gladwell's renowned storytelling to life in his unparalleled narrating style.
The routine traffic stop that ends in tragedy. The spy who spends years undetected at the highest levels of the Pentagon. The false conviction of Amanda Knox. Why do we so often get other people wrong? Why is it so hard to detect a lie, read a face or judge a stranger's motives?
Gifts from a Challenging Childhood
by
Jan Bergstrom,
Learn to understand and work with your childhood wounds. Do you feel like old wounds or trauma from your childhood keep showing up today? Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed with what to do about it and where to start? If so, this book will help you travel down a path…
Understanding ourselves starts with understanding our motivations and shifting our thoughts toward internal empowerment. Why We Do What We Do offers an exploration into acting with autonomy and understanding how to manage ourselves consciously. Our internal empowerment is achieved through reframing success where the focus is placed on creating space for outcomes, balancing motivation through experience, and managing the pressures of the external environment. I am a firm believer that you can build a plan, but your path is your path. Allowance for the personal freedom to explore your path given autonomy and competence is core to motivation. This book elicits a perspective toward making changes in a way that’s true to your choices and managing the noise that surrounds you.
What motivates us as students, employees, and individuals?
If you reward your children for doing their homework, they will usually respond by getting it done. But is this the most effective method of motivation? No, says psychologist Edward L. Deci, who challenges traditional thinking and shows that this method actually works against performance. The best way to motivate people-at school, at work, or at home-is to support their sense of autonomy. Explaining the reasons why a task is important and then allowing as much personal freedom as possible in carrying out the task will stimulate interest and commitment, and is…
Have you ever wanted to expand who you are and move past the ‘box’ you’re in, but don’t know how? Intention provides steps to transform personal stories by focusing on your capabilities to move forward. It integrates research, experience, and fictional imagery to illuminate a path for transformation in a digestible way.
Intention contains five parts, each offering questions that elicit inner dialogue for application. On your way to solving a specific concern now, you’ll build capabilities to address any future change.
Intention shows that successful transformations – from leaders influencing teams, losing weight, to just being better – start with you. In the end, you are challenged to use the book as a guide to master your intentions and create new possibilities for your story.
