Paulette's Bookshelf

just wisdom

2/18/2025

When I picked up Putting People First by Jon Gregg and his amazing dad, Raymond Gregg, I couldn’t put it down. I’ve known Jon for years—we worked together conducting trainings—and I remember how he always spoke with such admiration for his father. Now I know why.

just include

11/21/2023

Reading Minette Norman's book, Boldly Inclusive Leader, is like having a dialogue with the author. I readily absorbed both the inspiring and cringe-worthy accounts of what happened in her life. I answered the questions she posed out loud, causing my husband to run into the room and ask who I was talking to!

JUST OUTLIVE

8/8/2023

Outlive, The Science and Art of Longevity by Dr. Peter Attia, is a mind-opening read. Don’t be put off that it’s as thick as a textbook and sometimes reads like one!

I recommend reading it like you were taking a health class with a pencil and paper to take notes. It’s that kind of book.

just perfect

7/10/2023

When I read the book The Gifts of Imperfection by Brené Brown, I resonated deeply with the author's insight about "the warm wash of inadequacy" that vulnerability brings. For me, vulnerability feels like weakness and giving up control. My preference at the first moment of vulnerability is to figure out a plan and

Just Pause

4/5/2023

I'm reading 'Along the Path of Enlightenment,' a little book of 365 daily reflections by Dr. David R. Hawkins. You might know this author from his bestseller "Power vs. Force," a personal development guide to inner awareness.

Along the Path of Enlightenment gives me a daily dose of inspiration. It's like taking

Just Think

1/17/2023

The book American Prometheus is a story about Robert Oppenheimer, carefully researched by authors Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. This book surprised me by how much I didn’t know about the history of WW II, the development of the bomb, and the cold war. It read like a docudrama with compelling characters

JUST KNOWING

11/17/2022

I love it when fictional characters speak ‘wisdom’ that grabs me from the trance of reading, and I start reflecting. A recent reading of The Cloisters by Katy Hays did just that.

In the middle of this who-done-it, the author questions if the romanticization of

JUST CONNECT

10/13/2022

It's easier said than done to practice non-defensiveness and connect with others who think differently from me, so I read "How to Connect" by Thich Nhat Hanh to give me methods for connecting when I don't FEEL like connecting!

Recently, I've been keeping my hands up

Just Imagine

9/7/2022

One of the longest and most controversial books I've read this year is SAPIENS by Yuval Noah Harari. It was 485 pages (small print) and 10 hours of my life, but so worth it!

The author had me ponder my beliefs as an imagined order instead of "truth."

JUST GIVE

7/12/2022

The Most Good You Can Do by Peter Singer was given to me by a friend who had the book recommended to him by a mutual friend. So, I read the book with interest since these folks are not an easy audience!

I barely made it through the first few

Just Make an Effort!

6/21/2022

It might surprise you to know that Showtime by Pat Riley is a book that I reach for again and again. It's full of my scribbles on yellow post-it notes sticking out of the pages, crumpled from being crowded with other books on my shelf. It was way back in '89 when I first read this book, and

JUST SEE

5/5/2022

I've spent a lifetime understanding how thoughts shape words and actions.

HOW TO SEE by Thich Nhat Hanh guided me to take a deeper look into the foundations my thoughts rest on, including my automatic reactions to what's happening in life and

JUST BREATH

4/7/2022

The book Deep Fitness by Philip Shepherd and Andrei Yakovenko aroused my curiosity! I was surprised to learn an eye-opening insight from these authors on how different willpower is from practicing presence as a critical component of achieving and maintaining fitness. Reading this book, I admitted that

just own it

3/3/2022

I love the book Extreme Ownership, How U.S. Navy Seals Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin because it leaves no room for wiggling out of 100% accountability, a practice I hold near and dear as the way to solve problems and achieve goals. All the chapters share a principle and the application to business.

just look

2/15/2022

Wow. I just read The Maid by Nita Prose. It's so much more than a compelling psychological tale. Or, as a NY Times reviewer called it, "a rip-roaring mystery." I was blown away at the end of the book. Yes, it will surprise you. But the ending is not the only surprise. I read over and over statements about the truth in the final

JUST NEGOTIATE

1/13/2022

Here's a book I reach for again and again: Getting to Yes, Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton. I learned from these authors to attack the problem instead of attacking each other. This practice was handy in a recent negotiation when I noticed my stomach

"JUST CHOOSE"

12/7/2021

I love to read both fiction and non-fiction. One recent fiction book, The Midnight Librarian by Matt Haig, struck me boldly as a wisdom practice. The practice is to use the power of your mind to imagine your future self if you’d only made the choices you thought were better than the ones you made.

"JUST SIT THERE"

11/4/2021

One of my all-time favorite books authored by Thich Nhat Hanh, How to Relax, describes a practice that made me laugh out loud and ponder my perceptions simultaneously. The practice is to replace the statement, “Don’t just sit there, do something!” with “Don’t just do something, sit there!”

"Just Like Me"

10/8/2021

Comments

One of my favorite books this year was authored by Pema Chodron called Welcoming the Unwelcome. She describes a practice that made me laugh and ponder my perceptions simultaneously. She calls it the "just like me" approach. Whenever I harshly judge someone, I add the phrase "just like me"

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