| Be good. Do good. Look good. Be successful. With such an ambitious to-do list, it’s smart to have a few mentors around. If not in person, then in an “active” pile of books worth losing some sleep over. |
Be Good
Start Where You Are, by Pema Chodron. She’s an American Buddhist Monk who writes with humor and insight on cultivating a life of fearlessness and compassion, a very important foundation for a life well-lived. Essentially, you get back what you put out into the universe. Her teaching is framed on 59 traditional Tibetan Buddhist maxims – “Don’t seek others pain as the source of your own happiness” & “Always meditate on whatever creates resentment.” |
Do Good
Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America, by Douglas Brinkley, for those averse to shrill-sounding tree-huggers telling us how to run our cars on cooking grease. Our 26th president was a naturalist, explorer, and eco-cowboy almost a century before Al Gore, urban sprawl, and global warming. Roosevelt made conservation a universal endeavor by preserving millions of acres of American wilderness. His early influences included John James Audubon, and Charles Darwin. The book begs the question, “What can we do to make a difference and how can we support today’s environmental leaders?” |
Look Good
How Not to Look Old, by Charla Krupp. This is a serious self-help manual. The advice ranges from very simple to slightly surgical. Krupp offers hundreds of ways to make the most of what you’ve got. Little things can make a huge difference, like a believable hair color and an updated cut. Krupp’s take on eyebrows–they don’t get the credit they deserve for their ability to transform your face. They can either disappear or grow to look like shrubbery. A professional brow shaping is inexpensive, non-surgical, and provides instant gratification. |
Be Successful
Think & Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill. This self-help classic was originally published in 1937. Hill had a long association with a number of very successful individuals. At the urging of one of them, Andrew Carnegie, Hill studied the characteristics of achievers and developed 13 principles of success into a philosophy for personal achievement. Think and Grow Rich is updated regularly and is as contemporary as Facebook. Many motivational books came after Hill’s, but his is “The Big Daddy” of them all. The newest edition is set up like a workbook and has ample space for your own ambitious notations. Be good. Do good. Look good. Be successful. |
