Lifestorming Creating Meaning and Achievement in Your Career and Life

Lifestorming is the indispensably practical handbook for becoming the person you want to be. Redesign your life, friends, behaviors, and beliefs to move closer to your goals every single day, guided by expert insight and deep introspection. Written by a veteran author team behind almost 100 books on human behavior, this guide helps you learn why you do things the way you do them, and how to do them better. The Lifestorming Test allows you to assess your current state in concrete terms, and assess your ability to change and adapt — from there, it's about identifying people, actions, habits, and beliefs that either support your personal and professional growth or hold you back. You'll learn the six building blocks of character, challenge your belief system, develop a leadership mindset, and overcome the fear and guilt of success. You'll map out an action plan, and learn how to continually move forward at work, at home, and in everyday life.

We often don't realize how much of our natural default is established by others. Whose goals are you working toward? Are you measuring your progress with the correct yardstick? This book shows you how to take a step back and compare your life today with the future you want — and build a plan for changing track toward constant evolution and growth.

• Assess your current state and your capacity for change
• Develop the right goals and the right metrics to create the future you want
• Learn how character evolves, and why it's essential to growth
• Change your habits and behaviors to consistently grow and evolve

We all carry around old baggage, obsolete "friendships", and counterproductive beliefs — and every day, they pull us a little further away from what we really want. Lifestorming is your real-world guide to shedding the stagnation, and allowing yourself to grow into the person you want to become.

Alan Weiss is an acclaimed consultant, speaker, and author. His consulting firm, Summit Consulting Group, Inc., has attracted clients that include more than 500 leading organizations. He has published more than 500 articles and 60 books, including the bestselling Million Dollar Consulting.

Marshall Goldsmith is an executive coach and business educator. His mission is to help successful leaders achieve positive, lasting change in behavior; for themselves, their people, and their teams. He is the author or coauthor of Triggers, What Got You Here Won't Get You There, and Mojo, among others.

Introduction ix

Chapter 1 Setting Our Own Aspirations 1

How We Can Become Programmed 1

An Evolutionary Journey 4

Applying the Right Criteria 8

The Impossible Dream 10

Life’s Detours 13

Chapter 2 The Importance of New Friends 17

Why Old Friends and Old Habits Tend to Stick Together 17

Breaking Out of the “Good Enough” Trap 19

The Best Relationships Grow with Us 20

Watertight Doors 22

Letting Go to Reach Out 25

Why We Halt the Journey 28

Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons 32

Chapter 3 Behavioral Metamorphosis 35

Making Deliberate Change 35

Ugly Caterpillars and Uglier Butterflies 40

Metabehavior 43

Aspiration-Appropriate Behavior 48

Chapter 4 Believe It or Not 55

Breaking into the Belief Vault 55

Challenging and Evaluating Your Belief System 60

The Creation of Attitudes for Growth 65

Beliefs Manifest in Behavior 68

Chapter 5 The Importance and Evolution of Character 73

Character’s Composition 73

Character Test 77

Ethical and Moral Behavior 80

A Slow, Steady March 82

The Meaning of Presence 86

Consistency in Turbulent Times 90

Assuming Formal and Informal Leadership 93

Self-Assessment 98

Chapter 6 Critical Abandonment (Knowing When to Hold and When to Fold) 103

The Dynamics of Keeping and of Changing 103

Adjustments and Accommodations 111

GPS and Roadside Assistance 115

Staying the Course 118

Chapter 7 The New You 123

Overcoming Fear 124

Banishing Guilt 128

Ending Shame 131

Maintaining High Self-Worth 133

Gaining and Sustaining Leverage 134

Chapter 8 Sustaining the Journey 141

Growth through Generosity 141

Evolution through Exploration 146

New Dimensions of Relationships 151

Legacy 155

Chapter 9 Self-Mastery: The Lifestorming Field Guide to Your Successful Journey 161

Testing Yourself 163

Index 185

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