How to Coach Yourself and Others Happiness Is No Accident | Page 37

THE THREE LEVELS OF THINKING
THE POWER OF PURPOSE
http://www.enotalone.com/article/5958.html
by Peter S. Temes, PhD
The Power of Purpose begins with a simple but remarkable statement: "The more you focus on
helping others, the more you will succeed in reaching your own goals." Peter S. Temes builds on
this fundamental insight to share a simple plan for living with the truest and most enduring kind of
happiness.
At the heart of The Power of Purpose are the "three levels of thinking." At the first level, we ask,
Who am I? and What do I want? At the second level, we ask, Who do other people think I am?
How do I look to them? But the real magic happens when we hit the third level, forgetting about
ourselves and asking the questions that lend a powerful sense of purpose to our lives: How do
others look to themselves? How can I help others become the people they want to be?
To help us along the way, Temes, who teaches humanities at Columbia University, draws on the
wisdom of great thinkers including Aristotle, Søren Kierkegaard, and Abraham Lincoln; the life
lessons of great achievers ranging from Mother Teresa to Michael Jordan; and home truths he's
gathered from his parents, his grandparents, and his three children. From all these sources and
from his own life of great personal accomplishment, Temes identifies the essential knowledge that
brings people happiness and success. He cites Aristotle's notion that happiness is not a
psychological state but a moral one, resulting from doing good in the world. Temes also believes
in the pivotal importance of trust and team-building in every area of life, from the family to the
workplace to the street corner.
The Power of Purpose is a map for finding the confidence and power, the opportunities and
occasions, and — most important — the techniques and strategies for centring your relationships
and work on helping others. It is a book with a point of view: the clearest path to your own success
and happiness lies in helping others get to where they want to go.
Make the leap from asking, "who am I, and what do I want?" to asking that most powerful
question of all — "how do others see themselves, and how can I help them feel stronger and more
successful?"
Games are played in all kinds of places — sports stadiums, backyards, offices, classrooms,
kitchens, and dining rooms. But games are won in only one place — in the mind of the winning
player. That's why Michael Jordan was consistently better than the tallest player in the National
Basketball Association every year he played — having better physical tools to work with was not
enough to beat a player like Jordan, thinking at a higher level. That's why some salespeople
consistently sell more — of the same stuff to the same people — than the rest of their colleagues.
That's why David slew Goliath, and that's why your personal path for your success begins right
between your ears.
Here's the fact: how we think is the key to how we live. It's the key to your happiness, the key to
your personal goodness, and the key to your success.

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