The Power Of Appreciation

The author and professional coach teaches readers to find greater happiness through gratitude in this book of personal stories and practical advice. Before he became a successful author and professional coach, Mike Robbins was a professional baseball player. But at twenty-three years old, he suffered an injury that ended his promising career as a pitcher. Instead of quitting, Mike took stock of the good things in his life and began a new path. In Focus on the Good Stuff, Mike offers a step-by-step program with exercises for overcoming negative influence and obstacles, creating a truly grateful approach to life, and establishing an environment that can support success and peace of mind. Filled with passion, authenticity, and humor, this guide will teach you to move beyond the cycle of negativity and discover the happiness you deserve.

Research confirms that when people feel appreciation, good things happen to their minds, heart, and bodies. But appreciation is much more than a feel-good mantra. It is an actual force, an energy that can be harnessed and used to transform our daily life—relationships, work, health and aging, finances, crises, and more. The Power of Appreciation will open your eyes to the fabulous rewards of conscious, proactive appreciation. Based on a five-step approach to developing an appreciative mindset, this handbook for living healthier and happier also includes Tips for overcoming resistance and roadblocks Color graphics illustrating the scientific impact of appreciation on the brain Research supporting the positive effects of appreciation Guidelines for creating your own Appreciation Group

The most powerful word in your leadership vocabulary is . . . THANKS! Building a fully engaged, energized workforce is the key to business success. The Power of Thanks reveals how leading companies like Intuit, JetBlue Airways, IHG, Symantec, ConAgra Foods, and The Hershey Company empower employees through social recognition, in which the practice of mutual appreciation and trust directs and rewards higher performance. Eric Mosley and Derek Irvine, executives at the world-renowned employee recognition firm Globoforce, explain why social recognition is so powerful and how you can apply it in your company. Case by case, they show how a carefully planned and consistently executed Culture of Recognition business strategy inspires: Greater employee engagement and loyalty Stronger, more unified teams and departments A creative, innovative company culture Improved customer satisfaction Increased profitability and organizational health Mosley and Irvine provide practical advice and proven examples for devising a powerful, growth-generating strategy that modernizes employee recognition for today's social, global, multi-generational and 24x7 wired workforce. When employees participate in a culture that makes everyone a stakeholder in the organization's success, positive energy spreads like wildfire, and business results follow. Something so simple and powerful might work like magic, but it's really just common sense. It's smart management. It's long-term thinking. It's The Power of Thanks.

What are you grateful for? That is precisely the question that Hailey Bartholomew asked herself every day for a year. Struggling with depression, she reached out for help and received life-changing advice: Find something every day that you are grateful for. Embracing her assignment, Hailey used her talents as a photographer to put a twist on the exercise, taking pictures of her “gratefuls” and becoming more aware that her depression was lifting in the process. 365 Gratefuls is a collection of photographs recounting Hailey’s transformation from depression to an unhindered appreciation of the world around her, combined with stories and images from many others who have encountered the effects of gratitude. This uplifting book will inspire you to look at the world with new eyes, emphasizing gratitude over anxiety in everyday moments.

In today’s work environment, the lines between our professional and personal lives are blurred more than ever before. Whatever is happening to us outside of our workplace —whether stressful, painful, or joyful —follows us into work as well. We may think we have to keep these realities under wraps and act as if we “have it all together.” But as Mike Robbins explains, we can work better, lead better, and be more engaged and fulfilled if —instead of trying to hide who we are —we show up fully and authentically. Mike, a sought-after motivational speaker and business consultant, has spent more than 15 years researching, writing, and speaking about essential human experiences and high performance in the workplace. His clients have ranged from Google to Citibank, from the U.S. Department of Labor to the San Francisco Giants. From small start-ups in Silicon Valley to family-owned businesses in the Midwest. From what he’s seen and studied over the years, Mike believes that for us to thrive professionally, we must be willing to bring our whole selves to the work that we do. Bringing our whole selves to work means acknowledging that we’re all vulnerable, imperfect human beings doing the best we can. It means having the courage to take risks, speak up, have compassion, ask for help, connect with others in a genuine way, and allow ourselves to be truly seen. In this book, Mike outlines five principles we can use to approach our own work in this spirit of openness and humanity, and to help the people we work with feel safe enough to do the same, so that the teams and organizations we’re a part of can truly succeed. “This book will offer you insights, ideas, and tools to inspire you to bring all of who you are to the work that you do —regardless of where you work, what kind of work you do, and with whom you do it. And, if you’re an owner, leader, or just someone who wants to have influence on those around you —this book will also give you specific techniques for how to build or enhance your team’s culture in such a way that encourages others to bring all of who they are to work.”

One recent December, at age 53, John Kralik found his life at a terrible, frightening low: his small law firm was failing; he was struggling through a painful second divorce; he had grown distant from his two older children and was afraid he might lose contact with his young daughter; he was living in a tiny apartment where he froze in the winter and baked in the summer; he was 40 pounds overweight; his girlfriend had just broken up with him; and overall, his dearest life dreams--including hopes of upholding idealistic legal principles and of becoming a judge--seemed to have slipped beyond his reach. Then, during a desperate walk in the hills on New Year's Day, John was struck by the belief that his life might become at least tolerable if, instead of focusing on what he didn't have, he could find some way to be grateful for what he had. Inspired by a beautiful, simple note his ex-girlfriend had sent to thank him for his Christmas gift, John imagined that he might find a way to feel grateful by writing thank-you notes. To keep himself going, he set himself a goal--come what may--of writing 365 thank-you notes in the coming year. One by one, day after day, he began to handwrite thank yous--for gifts or kindnesses he'd received from loved ones and coworkers, from past business associates and current foes, from college friends and doctors and store clerks and handymen and neighbors, and anyone, really, absolutely anyone, who'd done him a good turn, however large or small. Immediately after he'd sent his very first notes, significant and surprising benefits began to come John's way--from financial gain to true friendship, from weight loss to inner peace. While John wrote his notes, the economy collapsed, the bank across the street from his office failed, but thank-you note by thank-you note, John's whole life turned around. 365 Thank Yous is a rare memoir: its touching, immediately accessible message--and benefits--come to readers from the plainspoken storytelling of an ordinary man. Kralik sets a believable, doable example of how to live a miraculously good life. To read 365 Thank Yous is to be changed.

OVER 600,000 COPIES SOLD! Based on the #1 New York Times bestseller The 5 Love Languages® (over 20 million copies sold) Dramatically improve workplace relationships simply by learning your coworkers’ language of appreciation. This book will give you the tools to create a more positive workplace, increase employee engagement, and reduce staff turnover. How? By teaching you to effectively communicate authentic appreciation and encouragement to employees, co-workers, and leaders. Most relational problems in organizations flow from this question: do people feel appreciated? This book will help you answer “Yes!” A bestseller—having sold over 600,000 copies and translated into 24 languages—this book has proven to be effective and valuable in diverse settings. Its principles about human behavior have helped businesses, non-profits, hospitals, schools, government agencies, and organizations with remote workers. PLUS! Each book contains a free access code for taking the online Motivating By Appreciation (MBA) Inventory (does not apply to purchases of used books). The assessment identifies a person’s preferred languages of appreciation to help you apply the book. When supervisors and colleagues understand their coworkers’ primary and secondary languages, as well as the specific actions they desire, they can effectively communicate authentic appreciation, thus creating healthy work relationships and raising the level of performance across an entire team or organization. **(Please contact [email protected] if you purchased your book new and the access code is denied.) Take your team to the next level by applying The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace.