Work is such a crucial part of our life, and yet we often struggle with-and feel overwhelmed by-the numerous challenges it presents us. Whether its job insecurity, making peace with or leaving an unfulfilling job, or dealing with office conflicts, we often experience fear and a sense of groundlessness just at a time when we want to be our most creative and resilient. Drawing on Buddhist philosophy, Michael Carroll, a longtime human-resources executive, meditation teacher, and executive coach, explains how the practice of mindfulness-full awareness of our moment-to-moment experience-can help us become more confident and open to possibility in our work life. He offers a system of potent, inspiring principles that we can use as a practice for helping us work with our insecurities and awakening our natural bravery, resourcefulness, and resilience.
Fearless at Work, Michael Carroll, Shambhala Publications, Paperback, 2012, 272 Pages, $16.95.
Michael Carroll is the founding director of Awake at Work (awakeatwork.net), a consulting group that works with organizations and individuals to help them rediscover balance and well-being while pursuing professional success. For over two decades Carroll worked as a human resources professional, holding executive positions at Shearson Lehman Brothers, Paine Webber, Simon & Schuster, and the Walt Disney Company. He is also a graduate of a Buddhist seminary and an authorized teacher in the lineage of the Tibetan meditation master Chogyam Trungpa. Carroll has taught mindfulness meditation at the New York Open Center, the Omega Institute (assisting Pema Chodron), and the Wharton School of Business. He is a longtime student ofBuddhism, and he is the author of Awake at Work and The Mindful Leader.
| Contents: FEARLESS AT WORK: Timeless Teachings for Awakening Confidence, Resilience, and Creativity in the Face of Life's Demands by Michael Carroll |
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| Introduction: Rediscovering Our Natural Confidences |
1 |
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| PART ONE: The Five Primary Slogans |
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| 1. Face the fierce facts of life |
17 |
| 2. No delight; no courage |
22 |
| 3. Recognize fear |
26 |
| 4. Discover the jewel of fearless abundance |
31 |
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5. Command gracefully
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36 |
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| PART TWO: Exploring the Ironies of Cowardice |
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| 6. Stop the "bubble wrap" |
45 |
| 7. Mind the gap |
49 |
| 8. Break the false promise |
54 |
| 9. Reconnect |
59 |
| 10. Don't count on it |
63 |
| 11. Ask, "Who's kidding whom?" |
67 |
| 12. Let it break |
73 |
| 13. Nothing sticks |
78 |
| 14. Lean in |
83 |
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| PART THREE: Taming the Mind |
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| 15. Keep your feet on the ground |
91 |
| 16. Stabilize attention |
96 |
| 17. Synchronize with the present moment |
100 |
| 18. See clearly |
104 |
| 19. Don't shortchange yourself |
109 |
| 20. Be vividly present |
115 |
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| PART FOUR: Establishing a Fearless Presence |
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| 21. Dare to awaken ziji |
121 |
| 22. Be, see, do |
127 |
| 23. Gently lay down the burden |
134 |
| 24. Where's the edge? |
139 |
| 25. Take a straight dose |
145 |
| 26. Be a spiritual fool |
150 |
| 27. Hold sadness and joy |
154 |
| 28. Be alone |
158 |
| 29. Gather the fearless view |
165 |
| 30. Gently bow |
173 |
| 31. In a word |
180 |
| 32. Join heaven and earth |
186 |
| 33. Be a flagpole |
195 |
| 34. Don't kick the dog |
205 |
| 35. Unseen precise hand |
211 |
| 36. Just slow down |
216 |
| 37. Take the vajra view of aggression |
222 |
| 38. Resonate |
228 |
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| Acknowledgments |
237 |
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APPENDICES
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| A: Cultivating Fearlessness through Shine-Lhagtong Meditation |
239 |
| B: Instructions for Mindfulness-Awareness Meditation |
247 |
| C: How Mindfulness-Awareness Cultivates Social Intelligence |
253 |
| D: Four Fearless Traditions |
263 |
| E: Instructions for Contemplating the Fearless at Work Slogans |
267 |
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| Notes |
273 |
| About the Author |
283 |
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