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In Pursuit of Happiness

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In this popular book, Perry Good explores the four areas of basic love, power, fun, and freedom - that we all have and must meet to lead satisfying lives. She explains that all our actions are directed towards meeting one or more of these needs and shows how to choose the most effective behavior to meet each. The achievement of happiness and personal fulfillment is possible when we maintain a balance.

198 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1987

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About the author

E. Perry Good

11 books1 follower
Perry Good is a popular speaker, trainer, corporate coach, and author. She is known for her interactive, entertaining style and her broad knowledge in the fields of applied psychology and education. She received her Master’s Degree in educational anthropology from New York University, and worked closely for many years with Dr. William Glasser as a senior faculty member of the William Glasser Institute. She is a founding member and a senior faculty member of the International Association for Applied Control Theory (IAACT).

Perry has conducted more than 2,000 seminars, workshops, and keynote speeches in the United States, Canada, Australia, Indonesia, Croatia, Norway, and Slovenia. Her audiences have included school teachers, administrators, counselors, mental health and social services personnel, youth services providers, drug-abuse prevention specialists, relief workers in war-torn countries, and corporate executives and managers.

A native of North Carolina, she has lived in France, San Francisco (where she worked on “Sesame Street”), and New York City. She now lives in Chapel Hill with her husband, who is an artist and publisher. Their daughter, a social worker, also lives in Chapel Hill with her husband. Perry Good is the author of In Pursuit of Happiness,Helping Kids Help Themselves, Overall Direction, It’s Finally OK to Be the Boss, and co-author of A Connected School.

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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Profile Image for Wendy .
10 reviews3 followers
December 19, 2016
Easy read. Lots of pictures and exercises to make you think. Not too complicated, not too profound. But intriguing because sometimes it's the simplest realizations that give you the greatest awakenings.

The exercises within force you to take responsibility for your choices in life -- and to see yourself not as a victim but as the person in the driver's seat. When you let other people's actions control your feelings you give them all the power. This book provides an introductory guide to controlling your own thoughts -- and it feels like the start of a long journey to being a better person overall. My friends who are counselors called it a classic, and now I know why.

I read it as part of a new desire to learn as much as I can about Success Counseling, Reality Therapy, Control Therapy -- all forms of looking at life from the point of view as someone who has a solid self-worth and desire to help others be their best. Discipline doesn't work, guilting doesn't work, monitoring doesn't work -- helping people be their best puts the power in the individual's hands. I think it's well worth the time reading -- if for no other reason than it gives you a great new way of looking at problems without immediately trying to find solutions!
7 reviews1 follower
September 13, 2008
This is a quick read but enjoyable read. It reminds me of the old picture books I read as a kid, with illustrations on every page. While the subject itself can be very complicated, this book is simply written. It is very effective in conveying the authors point without getting the reader mired down in heavy theories or definitions and includes exercises to help the reader get focused. Definitely a book to re-read every few years.
Profile Image for W.S. Klass.
Author 36 books44 followers
November 5, 2017
An every day practice of psychology for anyone, this book was a big part of my life while I was in group homes. I still apply the practices of what I've learned to my life and wish that it was taught to everyone so that the world might stand a chance at having better people living on it again.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews