Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Happier Life

A good and very sincere book written by a very successful businesswoman. The main idea is both highly simple and very old: it's high time to redefine what means to be successful in life or "what is a good life?" Over time "success, money, and power have practically become synonymous in the minds of many" but this idea works – at least appear to work – only in the short term. As A. Huffington (AH) writes "over the long term, money and power by themselves are like two-legged stool – you can balance on them for a while, but eventually you are going to topple over". So, we – people - need to have a third measure of success – she calls it a Third Metric. In her eyes it consists of four constituents: well-being, wisdom, wonder and giving. In fact the book is devoted to a careful discussion around these four notions. All logic of AH is based on two assumptions. "The first is that we all have within us a centered place of wisdom, harmony and strength…The second … is that we're all going to veer away from that place again and again and again".Then in the first chapter she step by step discusses the problems of the present-day society linked closely with well-being:Burnout – as a result of a zeal to overwork that leads to high level of stress and decreases productivity;The link between the health of employees and bottom lines;Overconnectivity of modern life and the state of being drowned in plenty of data;The constant lack of time for all our tasks and our multitasking fever.Her recipes: sleep enough, meditate, do not overwork, turn off your gadgets regularly, use general well-being instead of GDP as an indicator of economic successNext chapter is about wisdom. In fact she is speaking about the same problems as in the previous chapter but at another point of view: "Wisdom is precisely what is missing when – like rats in the famous experiment by B.F. Skinner … -we press the same levers again and again even though there is no longer any real reward". Here AH mentions in passing about the notion of Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom and Big Data. Her recipe: listen to your inner wisdom, break bad habits, change yourself…A chapter named Wonder is about the purpose of life itself – and "that purpose is self-actualization…"; about silence – "ask your soul"; about coincidences which awaken wonder in our lives; about death which is inseparable side of life.At last the chapter Giving is about compassion and altruism: "helping others makes us happier"…"Onward, upward, and inward!" – these are the last words of this book.It's worth noting that the author gives a lot of examples both from scientific studies and from her life and the life of her family as well as from the lives of her close friends. Especially touching – at least for me – were the pieces where AH tells about lessons that she got from her mom and about her mom's death. All mentions on people, events or names are carefully described in Notes. There are Appendices as well where a reader can find references about tools/sites for meditation, relaxing, giving, volunteering, etc.What I don't agree with:The third metric model tacitly equals the human side of human being with money and power. I think that money are necessary only as the means for self-actualization but can't be the purpose of a wisdom man. The more the power may be a purpose only for a very limited number of people. Of course AH is right when she writes that modern society forces us to think that money and power mean success but nevertheless I consider them as lower steps of Maslow hierarchy.And my second doubt is about the assumption "… that we all have within us a centered place of wisdom, harmony and strength". I'm afraid that not all have… and I don't know what is the part of those who have… Of course potentially all people may have… but in reality …

It is as if Arianna Huffington took off her high heels and climbed into my head. For the past week I have devoured her latest book, Thrive. It is not as if she says anything new, but reading her book is like getting a whole year’s supply of self-affirmations in one sitting.In essence, she tells the reader: “You are not crazy to feel overwhelmed. I was too. And I decided to do something about it.”I have long known that Arianna is a great champion of sleep. So am I. I have no problem getting enough rest. But the quality of it has seemed to suffer over the past few years. Life’s challenges have awoken me in the middle of the night and robbed me of dreams. Technology and my ambition to keep up have left me feeling depleted.When it comes to our digital diets, less really is more.Arianna’s premise is we must redefine the meaning of success to include well-being, wisdom, wonder and community. The message of her book can be boiled down to one word — ‘love’. The more I think of it, the more I realize the limits of our minds. We have no love in our minds, only thoughts. When we react from the mind, we are entangled in the web of our own making. In fact, every stressor we feel comes down to one thing — our reaction. Stress comes from a lack of trust that everything is going to be alright.The truth is if we define “alright” to be That Which Is, then yes, everything will be alright. In fact, everything is alright all the time. Everything is indeed in alignment with the Universe. Our trouble begins when we ourselves are not.Love can change that. When we come from our hearts’ center, we are free.Thrive is a smart piece of work that cites Greek and modern-day philosophers alike. She even quotes Carl Honoré, whose thinking about the Slow Movement greatly influenced mine.My favorite part of her book is her discussion about time. She speaks of it in terms of physics. Time, in the physicist’s view, is a landscape in which past, present and future can be seen. Like a mountain and a meadow and a wildflower all converging into one big thing. If that is true, than we needn’t rush. All of time rests on a single canvas.This book insists that we can not only survive, but actually thrive, even in our 24/7 world. As with all things, the quality of our lives is not informed by our bank account of Facebook fans or Twitter followers.The beauty of our existence is informed solely by the depth of our hearts.

I have been a spiritual seeker for many years and from much reading, I not only thrive but have met the most wonderful and talented people in the world. Recently I had the privilege of learning even more from Arianna Huffington's incredible book Thrive, which touched me as no other book I've read. After reading Thrive, I was elated that one of the world's most influential woman, Arianna redefines success, money, and power, all of which she believes are founded on well-being, wisdom, wonder, compassion and giving. They have truly been the key principles and values credited to how I lived successfully for the past 25 years and it was thrilling to see these principles spelled out so wonderfully in Arianna's words. Thrive is without a doubt the richest collection of researched science, wisdom, and compelling life stories that our world needs to see. There is a message for every one of us - whether we're down to our last dollar or counting our millions, or going to the next level of greater achievement. As Arianna shows, we will not thrive unless we use these higher principles and values in our daily lives. Arianna's power of story, and experience - in her words "And time inherently creates a story. Things begin and they end. How they end is the story. Or maybe it's what happens between when they begin and end that's the story." Thrive redefines and teaches us the true meaning of success with another pillar of Giving. 3. "Use a talent or skill you have - cooking, accounting, decorating - to help someone who could benefit from it. It'll jumpstart your transition from a go-getter, to a go-giver, and reconnect you to the natural abundance in your life."I'm already benefiting from Arianna's advice with an extra hour of sleep. It's brought more balance of well-being in my life.Thank you Arianna for sharing your love to the world so that we all can thrive!Catherine NagleAuthor of Imprinted Wisdom

Absolutely loved this book.Ended up getting copies for close friends and associates who are regularly "pushing the needle to the red" as Jon Anderson croons in  It Can Happen .Huffington's own exhaustive collapse set her on a new direction.One of moving from a purely Alpha-driven state, to one where you cycle between driven=>reflection=>rest.Repeat.Few books on entrepreneurial balance do such a good job of escorting us through the process.And she helps us address The Why. That's the big thing.Once we know WHY we do things. Then the HOW becomes much more manageable.Much more meaningful.Don't look to this work as a how-to.For that, might I offer Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz excellent guide in Energy Management (vs Time Management)  The Power of Full Engagement . A brilliant piece on how to apply Huffington's prose in meaningful and manageable ways.I also highly recommend  SleepNutrients Sublingual SleepSpray  as one tool to help address our Type-A personalities. A few sprays under the tongue, and the sheep will all but count themselves. You'll awake far more energized if you get the right kind of sleep, with good Delta and REM cycles performing Memory Consolidation and helping assist the brain in its natural detoxification cycles (there's a great TED talk on sleep as well - search for Jeff Iliff - One More Reason to Get a Good Night's Sleep - really helps explain how the cardiovascular system and the brain sync during sleep to make us healthier).Huffington is clearly a master of her craft. And a passionate evangelist as well.Enjoy the book.More importantly - apply the lessons here.The journey will be much more worthwhile.ANd you'll be well-rested as you cross the finish line (however you define it). It Can HappenThe Power of Full EngagementSleepNutrients Sublingual SleepSpray

This book came recommended by an executive coach that I respect and given that I do a lot of work with women executives, I was curious to learn more about how Arianna, a self-confessed workaholic and now self-made billionaire who started the Huffington Post. She realized that she was burned out as a result of her hitting her head on a desk and passing out, her wake up call led her to start a new movement: the Third Metric - living a life of well-being, wisdom, and wonder.While I wanted to like this book and her, I felt there wasn’t enough vulnerability or humility and too much self-promotion for the Huffington Post. Yet, despite its shortcomings, it has a valuable message from a very successful woman entrepreneur – that it is time to reevaluate the value we place as a society on working 24/7.The book’s two core strengths for me include: her researched-based practical advice (including an impressive appendix too) and her personal stories and experience about her upbringing in Greece and inspirational mother who made up for their meager financial situation and her. The lessons learned from her childhood showed me her essence and reminded me of the importance of those formative years.In addition, her book inspired me to get more sleep as she cited a lot of research on how getting more sleep can immediately improve your health, mind, creativity, productivity, and sense of well-being. As Bill Clinton who was known to get 5 hours of sleep a night, said: “Every important mistake I’ve made in my life, I’ve made in my life, I’ve made because I was too tired.” I am attempting to go to bed 30 minutes earlier and will look into supporting this new movement away from a workaholic society. So, if you are feeling burned out, tired, overwhelmed, or need a mental break, this book might inspire you too!