Last month I was lucky enough to run into Maia Duerr who participated in Wake’s Tech2EmpowerUSA at a workshop I was facilitating on the Happy Healthy Nonprofit. Maia Duerr recently published a book called “Work that Matters: Create a Livelihood that Reflects Your Core Intention.” Given our mutual interests, we had a lot to share about mindfulness and well being.
A writer, consultant, and coach, Maia Duerr draws on her decades of Zen practice and training in anthropology to create powerful tools for integrating mindfulness into the workplace and in the everyday lives of the people she works with. Her book addresses the big barrier to happiness in our personal/professional lives. It is the idea that work is not just about earning money, but it is about finding meaning.
The heart of this book helps you find work that matters (and pays the bills) or what Maia calls “Liberation-Based Livelihood.” The steps and exercises in the book help you look inward, reflect, but also seek out help from others. The advice is based on Maia’s extensive experience as a career coach and mindfulness practice. The book focuses on six principles:
- Become intimate with your core intention
- Value your gifts and time
- Break through inertia and take action
- Make friends with uncertainty
- Think big and make the most of your resources
- Build a circle of allies and ask for help
Maia introduced me to this wonderful collection of reflection processes called “The Tree of Contemplative Practices” which is also in the book. Some of these exercises are intended for you to do alone, but others can be done in groups. In thinking about mindfulness in the workplace, some exercises are very appropriate as part of meetings.
Is your work also your calling or just a job? How do you bring together intention and your professional work?
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