HarmonyProduct DescriptionIn Thrive Arianna Huffington makes an impassioned and compelling case for the need to redefine what it means to be successful in today's world.
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Arianna Huffington's personal wake-up call came in the form of a broken cheekbone and a nasty gash over her eye--the result of a fall brought on by exhaustion and lack of sleep. As the cofounder and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group--one of the fastest growing media companies in the world--celebrated as one of the world's most influential women and gracing the covers of magazines she was by any traditional measure extraordinarily successful. Yet as she found herself going from brain MRI to CAT scan to echocardiogram to find out if there was any underlying medical problem beyond exhaustion she wondered is this really what success feels like?
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As more and more people are coming to realize there is far more to living a truly successful life than just earning a bigger salary and capturing a corner office. Our relentless pursuit of the two traditional metrics of success--money and power--has led to an epidemic of burnout and stress-related illnesses?? and an erosion in the quality of our relationships?? family life?? and?? ironically?? our careers. In being connected to the world 24/7?? we're losing our connection to what truly matters. Our current definition of success is?? as Thrive shows?? literally killing us. We need a new way forward.
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In a commencement address Arianna gave at Smith College in the spring of 2013?? she likened our drive for money and power to two legs of a three-legged stool. They may hold us up temporarily?? but sooner or later we're going to topple over. We need a third leg--a third metric for "ccess--to truly thrive. That third metric?? she writes in Thrive?? includes our well-being?? our ability to draw on our intuition and inner wisdom?? our sense of wonder?? and our capacity for compassion and giving. As Arianna points out?? our eulogies celebrate our lives very differently from the way society defines success. They don't commemorate our long hours in the office?? our promotions?? or our sterling PowerPoint presentations as we relentlessly raced to climb up the career ladder. They are not about our resumes--they are about cherished memories?? shared adventures?? small kindnesses and acts of generosity?? lifelong passions?? and the things that made us laugh.
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In this deeply personal book?? Arianna talks candidly about her own challenges with managing time and prioritizing the demands of a career and raising two daughters--of juggling business deadlines and family crises?? a harried dance that led to her collapse and to her "rawing on the latest groundbreaking research and scientific findings in the fields of psychology?? sports?? sleep?? and physiology that show the profound and transformative effects of meditation?? mindfulness?? unplugging?? and giving?? Arianna shows us the way to a revolution in our culture?? our thinking?? our workplace?? and our lives.Amazon.com Review Arianna Huffington and Mark Hyman discuss Arianna's new book Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being Wisdom and Wonder.
Arianna Huffington is the chair president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group a nationally syndicated columnist and author of fourteen books. Mark Hyman MD is a seven-time New York Times bestselling authorIncluding the recently released Blood Sugar Solution 10-Day Detox Dietfounder and medical director of The UltraWellness Center in Lenox Massachusetts and Chairman of The Institute for Functional Medicine.
Mark Hyman: Arianna in Thrive you talk about our need to redefine success beyond money and power to include what success means to us and that to live a truly successful life we need to integrate well-being wisdom wonder and giving into our lives. You open the book describing your collapse in 2007 from exhaustion leading to a broken cheekbone and a round of visits to doctors and hospitals for tests. You were clearly running on empty as I know so many people aretell us about that experience and how it led to your larger wake-up call in terms of health and well-being.
Arianna Huffington: I had my personal wake-up call on April 6 2007 when I found myself on the floor in a pool of blood. I had collapsed from exhaustion breaking my cheekbone and cutting my eye. I was working eighteen-hour days to build The Huffington Post while being a mom to my two teenage daughters. What this wake-up call taught me was that even though I was considered successful by our society's conventional measures of success I was not living a successful life by any sane definition of success. Something had to radically change in my life.
As I've learned firsthand overwork stress and sleep deprivation have profound effects on virtually every part of our lives. Our current model of success is not working for anyone. Its not working for women and really it's not working for men either.
Mark Hyman: All so true. Stress really does impact your physical well-being which is why I loved your discussion of the power of meditation in our lives to relieve stress and bring balance. You make the point that even a brief meditative moment can have a restorative effect. Tell us more about that and your daily practice.
Arianna Huffington: There is more and more scientific evidence about the impact of mindfulness and meditation in our lives. The list of all the conditions that these practices impact for the better?depression?? anxiety?? heart disease?? memory?? aging?? creativity?sounds like a label on snake oil from the 19th century! Except this cure-all is real?? and there are no toxic side effects. Indeed?? 2013 was the year when meditation and mindfulness
