7 Principles for Finding Meaning in Life & Work NEW EDITION, REVISED AND EXPANDED World-renowned psychiatrist Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning is one of the most important books of modern times. Frankl's extraordinary personal story of finding meaning amid the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps has inspired millions. Frankl vividly showed that you always have the ultimate freedom to choose your attitude-you don't have to be a prisoner of your thoughts. Dr. Alex Pattakos-who was urged by Frankl to write Prisoners of Our Thoughts-and Elaine Dundon, a personal and organizational innovation thought leader, show how Frankl's wisdom can help readers find meaning in every moment of their lives. Drawing on the entire body of Frankl's work, they identify seven "core principles" and demonstrate how they can be applied to everyday life and work. This revised and expanded third edition features new stories, practical exercises, applications, and insights from the authors' new work in MEANINGology®. Three new chapters outline how we all can benefit by putting meaning at the core of our lives, work, and society. And a new chapter on Viktor Frankl's legacy illustrates how his work continues to influence so many around the world.
"In this newly revised edition, Alex Pattakos and Elaine Dundon not only honor the legacy of Viktor Frankl but further it by bringing his work to a new generation of readers in search of a more meaningful life. In very practical ways, they show that when we put meaning at the heart of our lives, we're better able to thrive and reach our full potential." -Arianna Huffington, founder of Huffington Post and founder and CEO, Thrive Global "If you intend to read just one self-help book in your life, pick this one. You won't regret it." -Alexander Batthyány, PhD, Director, Viktor Frankl Institute Vienna "Here is a landmark book that, among other things, underscores how the search for meaning is intimately related to and positively influences health improvement at all levels. Reading Prisoners of Our Thoughts is an insightful prescription for promoting health and wellness!" - Kenneth R. Pelletier, PhD, MD (hc), Clinical Professor of Medicine and Professor of Public Health, University of Arizona and University of California, San Francisco Schools of Medicine "Prisoners of Our Thoughts is an important book about creating a meaningful life- a life that matters and makes a difference. Those of us involved in the individual quest for meaning will find valuable information and inspiration in it. Meaning- choosing it, living it, sustaining it- is a significant personal, as well as societal, issue of the twenty-first century." - Marita J. Wesely, trends expert and Trends Group Manager, Hallmark Cards, Inc. "This book is a gem. It is an iconoclastic book, which is set to become iconic. With it, Alex and Elaine have altered the Logotherapeutic landscape. They bring therapy from the clinic into the corporate world. They show how work can be a source of meaning by applying the revolutionary ideas and insights of our mentor Dr. Viktor Frankl. The authors succeed in demonstrating the link between Logotherapy and labour but more- they do it with bravado and brilliance. I recommend this book with relish." - Stephen J. Costello, PhD, Founder and Director, Viktor Frankl Institute of Ireland "In the permanent white water of our lives everywhere and especially at work, the meaning of what we do and of who we are is continually in danger of negation. The creation of meaning cannot be a once-and-for-all, set-it-and-forget-it affair, but rather needs to become our most basic ongoing achievement. This book is virtually unique in providing us with both a philosophy and a set of methods for keeping the meaning of our lives and our work vibrantly alive, relevant, and nourishing." - Peter B. Vaill, PhD, Professor of Management, Antioch University, and Author of Managing as a Performing Art "Magical. . . . If you read this book patiently and honestly, it may begin to change your attitude and thought process. Deeply and impressively subversive in more ways than one, this book invites us directly in the search for meaning of our work and life." - Ping Fu, Author, Bend, Not Break: A Life in Two Worlds, Founder and Former CEO, Geomagic, Inc. "Not averse to giving 'recipes,' Pattakos makes them transparent and convincing enough, and he amply supports them by personal observations and experiences, by testimonies and quotations, by anecdotes and proven wisdom, adding more than a sprinkle of wit and common sense. And he does it all in an immensely readable style." - Franz J. Vesely, PhD, Viktor Frankl Institute, Vienna, Austria "Logotherapy was tested in Nazi concentration camps, so it speaks uniquely of meaning in extremes of unavoidable suffering. But Frankl also encouraged the discovery of meaning in our everyday workplaces, and Pattakos offers both a why and a how." - Haddon Klingberg Jr., PhD, Author of When Life Calls Out to Us: The Love and Lifework of Viktor and Elly Frankl "If you want to bring life to your personal and/or organizational values read Prisoners of Our Thoughts. It is particularly helpful if you are committed