The Invisible Mentor

Archive for the ‘Professional Development’ Category

10 Books I Have Enjoyed in 2012 – My Book Reviews Included

I’m having better luck this time reading the literary classics, and I’m really enjoying the ones I have read. The funny thing is they are transforming me in a way that I never expected. When I wrote my book Tales of People Who Get It, I indicated that Key to Yourself by Venice Bloodworth, New Psycho-Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz and The Magic of Thinking Big by Dr. David J. Schwartz profoundly impacted me. Five years later, my response would be very different. This shows me that I growing and evolving as a person, and I’m delighted that I’m not standing still.

Magic of Thinking Big Cover (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Recently, I read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott for the very first time, and I felt like I was on an emotional rollercoaster. I related so well to the character Jo March that it was uncanny. And I started to question some of the life choices I have made. A friend suggested that I read Wide Sargasso Sea, which is actually the prequel to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. At the end of the book, my heart was heavy, and I felt this big hole inside of me. I remember thinking, “Such wasted lives.” Because of my response to Wide Sargasso Sea I have included it on my list of 10 books.

While reading Watership Down by Richard Adams, I felt it was a demonstration of true leadership and team building. When we respond that way to books, the authors have done their job. Here are a few of the books I have enjoyed in 2012, some of which have transformed my life.

1. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
2. Watership Down: A Novel, Richard Adams
3. The Scarlet Pimpernel, Baroness Emmuska Orczy (Review)
4. The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas (Review)
5. The Whip, Karen Kondazian (Review)
6. The Railway Children, E. Nesbit (Review)
7. Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach (Review)
8. Pygmalion (Enriched Classics Series), George Bernard Shaw (Review)
9. The War of the Worlds (Dover Thrift Editions), H G Wells (Review)
10. Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys

I have not written the reviews for Little Women, Wide Sargasso Sea, or Watership Down: A Novel as yet. Which books have you read in 2012 that have impacted you?

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Book links are affiliate links.

Mentor yourself today by learning about the five people that you’d most like to meet. What can you learn from them?

One of the questions that I ask in the invisible mentor interview is “If trusted friends could introduce you to five people (living or dead) that you’ve always wanted to meet, who would you choose? And what would you say to them?”

A lot of the times after interviewees have named the five people who they would want to meet, they comment that they wouldn’t ask any questions, instead, they would simply listen. The ability to listen is one of the skills that great leaders possess. Here are 20 people that interviewees have indicated that they’d like to meet. The people listed below attained incredible success, and have made a difference in the world. They are memorable, but what is it about them that pull others to them? What traits do they all have in common?

Cover of Margaret Thatcher

1. Dalai Lama
2. Nelson Mandela
3. Martin Luther King
4. Mahatma Gandhi
5. Mother Teresa
6. Winston Churchill
7. Albert Einstein
8. George Washington Carver
9. Anne Frank
10. Oprah Winfrey
11. Indra Nooyi
12. Stephen Colbert
13. Barack Obama
14. George Clooney
15. Margaret Thatcher
16. Martha Stewart
17. Donald Trump
18. Anthony Robbins
19. Queen Elizabeth I
20. Don Tapscott

Are there five people on this list that you’d like to meet? What would you say to them? If your list is very different, which five people would you choose? Why would you want to meet them? What do you hope to learn from them? Is there another way that you can get what you need? How would you go about it?

These are a lot of questions, but I am trying to get your creative juices flowing. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Book links are affiliate links.

Frederick Salomon Perls (Fritz Perls), his wife Laura, Paul Goodman, and others founded the Gestalt School of Psychotherapy.

Name: Frederick Salomon Perls

Birth Date: July 1893 – March 1970

Job Functions: Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist

Fields: Psychiatry

Known For: Gestalt Therapy

Biography

Born in Berlin in the late nineteenth century into a middle class family, Frederick Salomon Perls was interested in theatre. Affectionately known to friends and colleagues as Fritz, Perls decided to study medicine when he enrolled into college in 1913. The First World War interrupted his study and he enlisted to serve until the war ended in 1918. Perls continued his studies immediately after the war, received his MD in 1921, and decided to focus on psychiatry.

Fritz Perls Русский: Фредерик Перлз עברית: פריץ פרלס (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Perls was a great admirer and follower of Sigmund Freud and his psychoanalytic technique, and was also influenced by Wilhelm Reich’s Orgonomic psychotherapy. However, at the same time, Perls became more intrigued by Gestalt psychology. In the 1920s and 1930s, Perls began to move away from the classic Freudian model to create a more holistic approach to therapy. During that time, Perls had also continued his education in psychotherapy in Berlin, Vienna and Frankfurt, and it was during his time studying in Frankfurt that he met his future wife Laura. The two were married in 1930 and had two children.

In 1933, husband and wife fled Germany during the Nazi regime to the Netherlands and then Johannesburg, South Africa. Over the years, Fritz and Laura Perls developed their ideas which morphed into Gestalt psychotherapy. Gestalt psychotherapy was a combination of the works of Freud and Wilhelm Reich, psychodrama, existentialism and Gestalt psychology. In 1942 while living in South Africa, Perls book Ego, Hunger and Aggression: A Revision of Freud’s Theory and Method was published. The book was not received with critical acclaim, and was republished in England in 1946 and received less interest than what the Perls had expected.

From 1942 to 1946, Fritz Perls served in the South African Army as a psychiatrist, and was ranked as an army captain. In 1946, the Perls’ lived in Canada briefly, and then went to New York City in 1948. They continued their work with Gestalt therapy. Fritz Perls co-authored a book Gestalt Therapy with Raiph Hefferline and Paul Goodman, which was published in 1951. Initially, the book was not taken very seriously, but in the years to come, Gestalt Therapy attracted a larger following.

In 1952, the Perls founded the Gestalt Therapy Institute in New York City, which was run by Laura. “Their novel technique in therapy was to face the patient, in contrast to the typical Freudian technique of sitting behind a reclining person. The face-to-face positioning permitted the therapist to direct the patient’s attention to movements, gestures, and postures so the patient could strive to gain a fuller awareness of his or her immediate behaviors and environment.”

The Perls believed that their techniques allowed patients to gain insights into how their thoughts and behaviours are used to deflect attention from important psychological issues and learn to recognize the presence of issues from the past that affect their current behaviour. Their aim was for the patients to experience feelings, not to gain insights in to the reasons for them as was the case with psychoanalysts. As they involved Gestalt therapy, Laura favoured more direct, physical contact and movement, while Fritz favoured a symbolic rather than a physical contact.

In 1964, Perls became resident psychiatrist at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. At the Esalen Institute, Perls organized and conducted dream workshops, seminars and training courses with Jim Simkin. According to Perls, “the different parts of a dream are fragments of the human personality. To become a unified person without conflicts, one must put the different fragments of the dream together. The Gestalt approach to learning about oneself through dreams lies in a concerted attempt to integrate one’s dreams, rather than seeking to analyze them.”

Fritz Perls worked in California until he moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1969 where he started a training community for Gestalt therapists. In March 1970 after conducting a workshop in Massachusetts, Perls underwent surgery in Chicago when he suffered from heart failure and died at age 76.

Laura Perls survived her husband by 20 years. She was the mainstay of the Gestalt therapy movement and headed Gestalt Therapy Institute in New York City for almost 40 years. Laura Perls died of complications from a thyroid condition in July 1990 in Pforzheim, West Germany. She was an unacknowledged contributor to the early books by her husband that formulated the approach.

Writings by Fritz Perls 

1. Ego, Hunger and Aggression: A Revision of Freud’s Theory and Method, Knox (Durban, South Africa), 1945, revised edition published as Ego, Hunger, and Aggression: The Beginning of Gestalt Theory, Vintage, 1969.
2. (With Ralph F. Hefferline and Paul Goodman) Gestalt Therapy: Excitement and Growth in the Human Personality, Julian Press, 1951, reprinted, Crown, 1977.
3. John O. Stevens, editor, Gestalt Therapy Verbatim, Real People Press, 1969.
4. In and Out the Garbage Pail, Real People Press, 1969.
5. The Gestalt Approach & Eye Witness to Therapy, Science & Behavior Books, 1973.
6. John O. Stevens, editor, Gestalt Is: A Collection of Articles About Gestalt Therapy and Living, Real People Press, 1975.
7. (With Patricia Baumgardner) Gifts From Lake Cowichan [and] Legacy From Fritz (the former by Baumgardner, the latter by Fritz Perls), Science & Behavior Books, 1975.

Recordings include: Gestalt Therapy and How It Works, Big Sur, 1966, and Dream Theory and Demonstration, Big Sur, 1968.

Why Frederick Salomon Perls’ Contribution Matters

Today, Gestalt is recognized as one of several standard approaches to modern therapy.

Gestalt therapy demonstration by Fritz Perls 1/2

Cannot view this video, click here. Uploaded by robag88 on Jun 7, 2011

Gestalt therapy demonstration by Fritz Perls 2/2

Cannot view the video, click here.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Book links are affiliate links.

Works Cited/Referenced

International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences

Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology

The Gale Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained

The New York Times, July 18, 1990, “Laura Perls, 84, Dies in Germany; Founder of

Gestalt Psychotherapy”

Fritz Perls website http://www.fritzperls.com/biography/

Contemporary Authors Online

Why Peter Pan by JM Barrie Matters Today

Peter Pan and similar stories matter today, more than ever, because we do not take enough time to dream, and step into the world of make believe because we are too busy. Peter Pan allows us to think that we can make the impossible possible. Michael, John and Wendy Darling tried to fly and they kept at it until they became good at it. We can conceive and believe something, but until we take action, nothing will become of our idea. The book also highlights the fundamental differences between adults and children.

Cover via Amazon

The children’s drama Peter Pan by James Matthew Barrie (1860-1937) was first presented on the London stage in 1904, and then in the form of a novel in 1911. Sir James Matthew Barrie got his inspiration to write Peter Pan from five little boys – Nico, Jack, Peter, George, and Michael – of the Llewelyn Davies family. According to the Encyclopedia of World Biography, “Barrie never wanted to face the pain and unhappiness of the adult world. Thus much of his writing is emotionally sentimental as well as thematically autobiographical.” (Vol. 2. 2nd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2004. p21-22).

Peter Pan by Sir James Matthew Barrie is a whimsical, magical story where children can fly, dogs can be nannies, and parents have the ability to scan their children’s mind while they are sleeping to learn what they are up to. “It is the nightly custom of every good mother after her children are asleep to rummage in their minds and put things straight for the next morning, repacking into their proper places the many articles that have wandered during the day. If you could keep awake (but of course you can’t) you would see your own mother doing this, and you would find it very interesting to watch her. It is quite like tidying up drawers.”

Peter Pan is a story of making the impossible possible by believing and taking action. The story of Peter Pan is so ridiculous that you cannot help but enjoy it.

Mrs Darling loves to tell her three children, Wendy, John and Michael bedtime stories before they go to sleep. Without her knowledge, Peter Pan listens to the stories and returns to Neverland where he tells the stories to the lost boys – boys taken away from their parents. One night while Peter Pan is leaving the children’s nursery, Nana, the dog who is the children’s nanny, catches Peter Pan’s shadow in its mouth. Mrs Darling examines the shadow and decides to roll it up and place in a drawer. At nights the children often dream of the magical island, Neverland, so they know about it.

After one incident, Mr Darling banishes Nana to stay outside in the kennel because he wants to let everyone know that he is master of his own home, but that decision comes to haunt him for a while. One night, Peter Pan returns for his shadow while the three children are sleeping in the nursery, and unfortunately Nana is locked outside the home. Peter Pan is with the fairy Tinkerbell. They find Peter’s shadow, but he cannot stick it back on and starts to cry.

The crying awakes Wendy, and of course she wants to know why he is crying. She sews back on Peter’s shadow. There is a lot of exchange going on between Wendy and Peter, and Tinkerbell is quite jealous. Peter uses chicanery to get Wendy to leave with him. Which child wouldn’t want to see mermaids, learn to fly and all the things that fairy tales are made of. Meanwhile Nana is very suspicious and starts to bark. She ultimately breaks free and goes to the house where Mr and Mrs Darling are at a party. They sense danger and go with Nana, but alas they are too late and the kids are gone.

Mr and Mrs Darling are devastated and cannot be consoled. The children are flying to Neverland which is far away. It’s very tiring and they are sleepy, but how can you sleep while flying. When they fall asleep, they start to fall, and Peter often waits until the absolute last moment to save them. To him it’s quite funny to watch. They are hungry and he teaches them to steal food out of the beaks of birds. Quite often it is a futile attempt.

Because of her jealousy, Tinkerbell wants to get rid of Wendy. When the three Darling children arrive at Neverland, Wendy’s role is changed to that of mother. Very soon Michael and John start to forget about their parents, but Wendy constantly reminds them by telling stories and sets examinations papers on it. Wendy is confident that their parents will welcome them back with open arms and she takes comfort in knowing that.

As the story unfolds, we learn about Execution Dock, Captain Henry Hook and his crew. There is a rivalry between Peter Pan and Captain Hook who lost his hand because of Peter Pan. Peter cut off Captain Hook’s right arm and fed it to a crocodile who now thirsts for the villain’s blood. Captain Cook is a bully, and like most bullies, he is a coward.

Peter Pan is childlike and wants to remain that way forever – he doesn’t ever want to grow up. Peter is also a “show-off” who makes the children and the lost boys dependent of him. It’s quite funny when they have pretend meals. They are hungry, however at meal times, they do not always have actual food, so they pretend that they are eating a meal.

Captain hook captures everyone except Peter Pan and intends to kill them. You see team work in action when they help Peter to finally vanquish his archenemy Captain Hook. The Darling children say they want to go home, and the lost boys return with them. Peter Pan doesn’t want to live with the Darlings or any other family because that means that he has to grow up, which he doesn’t want to do.

Back home, Mr and Mrs Darling are saddened by the disappearance of their children. Mr Darling pays penance by living in Nana’s kennel because he didn’t listen to the dog’s pleas. When the children return, the parents make room for the extra boys because they are so glad to see their children. The following year Peter Pan returns and wants to take Wendy once again, but Mrs Darling is having none of it. They come to an agreement that for one week each spring, Wendy can return to Neverland and do some spring cleaning for Peter.

Time is very different for Peter and he returns infrequently, until he shows up when Wendy is grown and married. By that time Peter Pan is no longer important to her. Wendy tells the Neverland story to her daughter Jane. One spring when Peter Pan returns, because his concept of time is so different, he doesn’t realize that Wendy is a grown woman and he asks for Michael and John. Wendy tells Peter Pan that the child sleeping is a new one and she tells him that she is a grown woman. Peter Pan is distraught because he didn’t want Wendy to grow up.

Peter Pan teaches Jane to fly, and the same deal is made that each spring, Jane will go to Neverland for a week to spring clean. This was the first time I read Peter Pan and what I liked most about the story is the magic of believing that you can do the impossible. Peter Pan convinced Michael, John and Wendy that they could fly. They believed they could fly and tried to fly until they mastered it. A big part was taking action. I recommend Peter Pan by J M Barrie because every now and again we need to step into the land of make believe.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Book links are affiliate links.

Reading broadly introduces diversity into your life.

Have you ever read an intriguing article and wondered how the writer came up with the idea? Have you ever read a book that connects two very different subject matters in a unique way? Have you ever transported one idea from one industry to another to resolve a pesky challenge? Have you ever read something that was so incredulous or even whimsical that it gave you the courage to try to do something that once seemed impossible?

Reading broadly introduces diverse types of information into your life. It helps you to become bolder in your work and life.

A few months ago, I read the article, Cosmetics: High-tech Meets Emotion, and although it makes perfect sense that technology would play a role today in making cosmetics, it’s not something that I had ever given much thought to. The article is insightful and made me immediately think about making it a habit to read a variety of book genres. It reminded me to read articles on subjects that I usually do not pay attention to.

When I learned about Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Representative Men: Seven Lectures, I immediately thought that Emerson must have read broadly to be able to choose six men who he thought were great – he gave two lectures on Plato. His representative men include Plato, Swedenborg, Montaigne, Shakespeare, Napoleon and Goethe. Why did Emerson choose those six men? What was it about the six men that left such an impression on him that he considered them to be great? The six men were very different, how did Emerson first learn about them?

Several months later, I came across Superwomen by Albert Payson Terhune, which includes short profiles of 12 women:  Lola Montez, Ninon De L’Enclos, Peg Woffington, Helen of Troy, Madame Jumel, Adrienne Lecouvreur, Cleopatra, George Sand (Amandine Lucile Aurore Dupin Dudevant), Madame du Barry, Lady Blessington, Madame Recamier, and Lady Hamilton. Why these 12 women? Once again, like Emerson, Terhune must have read broadly to be able to choose these 12 women.

Author Albert Payson Tehune (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

And the people that Emerson and Terhune chose are very different, which suggests diversity in what they read. I plan to read both Representative Men: Seven Lectures and Superwomen. I also plan to continue to expand my reading menu, with the hope that some day, I too will be able to create a body of work that is diverse and innovative, which is a symbol of the depth and breadth of the books and materials that I read.

How about you? Are you willing to expand the type of books and materials you read? If you are in business, what would happen if each week you read a science article from Magatopia.com or Magportal.com?

Do you agree or disagree that reading introduces more diversity into your life? Why? Why not? Please let me know your thoughts in the comments section below. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the right hand side) by email or RSS Feed.

Book links are affiliate links.

Related articles

• Why You Must Read Broadly – Tip 2(theinvisiblementor.com)

  ---

• Why You Must Read Broadly – Tip 3(theinvisiblementor.com)

  ---

• Why You Must Read Broadly – Tip 1 (theinvisiblementor.com)