Work That Matters: Resource Page

This page is a companion site for my book Work That Matters: Create a Livelihood That Reflects Your Core Intention (2017, Parallax Press). 

I’ll update these resources on a regular basis, and always like to hear about helpful resources that you discover. Contact me at maia [at] maiaduerr [dot] com

You might also enjoy joining this private Facebook group to connect online with me and a community of other readers. I look forward to supporting you to create your own Liberation-Based Livelihood!

 

Chapter 3: Building Blocks of Transformation

Mindfulness Practice:

Suggested readings
Nhat Hanh, Thich. Being Peace. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 2005.

Nhat Hanh, Thich. How to Sit. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 2014.

Nhat Hanh, Thich. How to Walk. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 2015.

Salgado, Brenda (ed.). Real World Mindfulness for Beginners: Navigate Daily Life One Practice at a Time. Berkeley: Sonoma Press, 2016.

Salzberg, Sharon. Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness. Boulder, CO: Shambhala Classics, 2002.

Online program
Waking Up to Your Life with Maia Duerr and Katya Lesher

 

Leveraging Adversity:

Suggested reading
Steindl-Rast, Brother David. A Good Day: A Gift of Gratitude. New York: Sterling Ethos, 2014.

Website
www.gratefulness.org

 

Staying the Course:

Suggested reading
Loehr, Jim, and Schwartz, Tony. The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is The Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal. New York: Free Press, 2003.

 

Chapter 4: Becoming Intimate with Your Core Intention

Suggested reading
Rockwell, Irini. The Five Wisdom Energies: A Buddhist Way of Understanding Personality, Emotions, and Relationships. Boulder, CO: Shambhala, 2002.

Online Assessment Tools

Character Strengths Survey from VIA Institute of Character (free)
This free and simple self-assessment can help you to understand your core characteristics, the positive parts of your personality that impact how you think, feel, and behave. The Character Strengths Survey takes between ten and fifteen minutes to complete. 

Personal Values Assessment from the Barrett Values Centre (free)
This free test takes about five minutes to complete and will give you helpful clues about the values that are most important to you.

Clifton StrengthsFinder from Gallup Strengths Center
This assessment helps you to identify your talents and gives you a way to develop your unique combination of skills, talents, and knowledge. You can choose from the basic version for $15 to discover your top five strengths; the next level is $74 and identifies between six and thirty-four strengths along with more detailed information on how to establish strategies for maximizing your talents.

 

Chapter 5: Value Your Gifts and Time

Suggested readings

Neff, Kristin. Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself. New York: William Morrow Paperbacks, 2015.

Tessler, Bari. The Art of Money: A Life-Changing Guide to Financial Happiness. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 2016.

Ury, William. The Power of a Positive No: Save the Deal, Save the Relationship – And Still Say No. New York: Bantam, 2007.

 

Chapter 6: Break Through Inertia and Take Action

Suggested readings

Dutton, Indigo Ocean. Micro Habits for Major Happiness: Everything You Need to Build True Success, One Easy Step at a Time. El Cerrito, CA: Bodhi Press, 2014.

Kao, George. “Launch it even when you don’t feel ready, because you’ll never feel ‘ready’.” January 20, 2017.

Tool 

The Pomodoro Timer is a time management technique that can help to boost your productivity. The timer gives you a timed 25-minute period of work followed by a 5-minute break. After 4 work intervals, there is a 15-minute break. You can find an online version of the Pomodoro Timer at http://www.marinaratimer.com/ which also includes a custom timer in case you want to adjust the intervals.

 

Chapter 7: Make Friends with Uncertainty

Suggested readings

Fields, Jonathan. Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance. New York: Portfolio, 2012.

Gilbert, Elizabeth. Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear. New York: Riverhead Books, 2016.

Glassman, Bernie. Instructions to the Cook: A Zen Master’s Lessons on Living a Life That Matters. Boulder, CO: Shambhala, 2013.

 

Chapter 8: Think Big and Make the Most of Your Resources

Suggested readings

Eisenstein, Charles. Sacred Economics: Money, Gift, and Society in the Age of Transition. Berkeley, CA: Evolver Editions, 2011.

LaPorte, Danielle. The Desire Map: A Guide to Creating Goals with Soul. Boulder, CO: Sounds True, 2014.

Spangler, David. Everyday Miracles: The Inner Art of Manifestation. New York: Bantam, 1996.

Twist, Lynne. The Soul of Money: Reclaiming the Wealth of Our Inner Resources. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2006.

Additional practice

Creating a Vision Board

 

Chapter 9: Build a Circle of Allies and Ask for Help

Suggested readings

Gilliard, Joyce M. The Little Book About Toxic Friends: How to Recognize a Toxic Relationship. Bloomington, IN: Xlibris, 2016.

Kao, George. “Every single business can have enough clients, if we each became more mindful, active, and caring about creating win-win relationships.” November 16, 2016.

Palmer, Amanda. The Art of Asking: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2015.

Spadaro, Patricia. Honor Yourself: The Inner Art of Giving and Receiving. Bozeman, MT: Three Wings Press, 2009.

Additional practice

Kaye, Les. Oryoki Manual. Mountain View, CA: Kannon Do Zen Center, 1975. Free download available here: http://kannondo.org/getting-started/oryoki-manual/

 

Chapter 10: Crafting Your Personal Mission Statement

Tool

Franklin Covey Mission Statement Builder

 

Chapter 11: Navigating the Three Pathways

Pathway 1: Plan your exit strategy

Suggested readings

Pathway 2: Love the job you’ve got

Suggested readings 

Covey, Stephen. The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2013

Gelles, David. Mindful Work: How Meditation Is Changing Business from the Inside Out. Boston, MA: Eamon Dolan/Mariner Books, 2016.

Richmond, Lewis. Work as a Spiritual Practice: A Practical Buddhist Approach to Inner Growth and Satisfaction on the Job. New York: Harmony: 2000.

Salzberg, Sharon. Real Happiness at Work: Meditations for Accomplishment, Achievement, and Peace. New York: Workman Publishing Company, 2013.

How to make a case for telecommuting

Nevogt, Dave. “Are remote workers more productive? We’ve checked all the research so you don’t have to” July 25, 2016.

How to make the case for a salary increase

Babcock, Linda. Ask For It: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want. New York: Bantam, 2009.

Pathway 3: Create work that you love

Expanding Your Sense of Possibilities / The Annotated List

1) International and domestic service opportunities, like the Peace Corps and Americorps Check out this list: http://www.backdoorjobs.com/meaningfulwork.html

2) Become a resident at an ashram or other spiritual center. Here are just a few examples of spiritual centers with robust residential programs:

To search for retreat centers in your area, visit http://www.findthedivine.com/retreats-online/listing-category/retreat-centers/  (Keep in mind that not all retreat centers have residential programs.)

3) Become an intern to learn a specific skill (at any age!).

Kelly, Maura. “The 50-Year-Old Intern: Boomers Go Back to the Bottom.” The Fiscal Times, March 29, 2012:

A comprehensive directory of internship sites is available online here: http://www.internships.com/

4) Become a consultant—offer your expertise to companies or organizations.

The Instant Consultant by Chris Guillebeau

5) Coach a group of people in a subject that you know well and that they would like to learn.

Frankovelgia, Candice. “The Key to Effective Coaching.” Forbes, April 28, 2010.

“Effective Adult Learning: A Toolkit for Teaching Adults” (developed by the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice)

6) Create a ‘side hustle’ – a small version of your business that you can do on the side, at the same time that you hold your current job.

Side Hustle School with Chris Guillebeau — An inspiring podcast collection of stories about people who have successfully created their own “side hustles,” and Chris also offers in-person workshops at cities around the U.S.

99 Side Hustle Business Ideas You Can Start Today

7) Start your own business or nonprofit organization (note that there are hundreds of sub-categories under this!).

Guillebeau, Chris. The $100 Start-Up: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living. New York: Crown Business, 2012.

How to Start a Nonprofit from the National Council of Nonprofits

8) Imagine your dream project (e.g. writing a book, collecting oral histories in your neighborhood, making a film, opening a show of your art at a local gallery). Then invite support from your friends or use an online crowdfunding platform like Indiegogo or Patreon to make it happen.

Barnett, Chance. “7 Crowdfunding Tips Proven to Raise Funding.” Forbes, July 3, 2014.

9) Apply for a fellowship to be supported to do what you love. A few possibilities:

Ashoka Fellowship program (social entrepreneurs): www.ashoka.org/engage/recommend/fellow

Echoing Green Fellowship program (social entrepreneurs who are “innovators, instigators, pioneers, and rebels”): www.echoinggreen.org/fellowship/apply

Hemera Foundation’s Tending Space Fellowships for artists: http://hemera.org/for-artists/

Hemera Foundation’s Contemplative Fellowships for health care professionals: http://hemera.org/cfhp/

10) If you’re an artist, begin selling your work on a site like Etsy. Or — set up your own online store through Shopify and keep more of the profits.

11) If you’re a writer, self-publish your own book and sell it.

Friedman, Jane. “Start Here: How to Self-Publish Your Book.” February 16, 2015 — An excellent overview of the process.

12) If you’re a photographer, sell your photos to a site like Fotolia. Other resources:

www.500px.com   A photo community for discovering, sharing, buying and selling inspiring photography

www.everythingmicrostock.com helps photographers and artists start earning passive income. Use it to sell your photos, videos, animations, illustrations, music, sound effects, or other digital media online.

13) If you’re a musician, head to your local town center and become a street performer.

Kettle, David. “Rules for Successful Buskers.” The Strad, April 17, 2014.

14) Join a Time Bank in your hometown, or organize one if it doesn’t exist. Exchange your time and talents with others in your community, and help create a gift economy.

15) If you love to travel and have dreamed about living abroad: get trained to teach English to students in another country. And no, you don’t necessarily need to know the language of the country to which you’re moving.

Frequently Asked Questions about Teaching English Abroad from TEFLOnline.com

16) If you love to travel and love being in nature: become a campground host for a season or longer. These are mostly volunteer jobs, but sometimes there is a stipend.

Camphost.org provides information about how to become a camphost and directory of open positions

17) Become a housesitter as a way to travel the world for very little money, or simply live within your own community on a tight budget… so you can free up more of your time to do what you love.

Nomador.com is a community-based platform that connects homeowners and housesitters