Work from the Inside Out: Seven Steps to Loving What You Do

by Nancy O'Hara

Everyone hopes for a rewarding and fulfilling career, but the day-to-day reality can be just the opposite. The routine of our jobs, office politics, and problematic projects can often be the cause of frustration, worry, and disappointment. The quest to find personal satisfaction, much less pride in our work, can be daunting.

It doesn’t have to be that way. According to Nancy O’Hara, we can find meaning in our jobs—but the first thing we have to do is look within ourselves. Grounded in principles of Zen Buddhism and full of real-life stories, Work from the Inside Out presents a simple plan to reclaim your job and your life—and ultimately find the ability to truly love what you do.

Genres: Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published December 11, 2001

About the author

Nancy O’Hara is a meditation teacher, a life coach, and the author of six books on meditation & mindfulness practice + two Zen mystery novels. She lives in the Hudson Valley with her perfectly imperfect husband, a river and mountains outside her windows and wildlife as her neighbors.

Visit Nancy:

On her website: http://nancyohara.com/

On FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/NancyOHaraAuthor

And on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ZenMysteries

Reviews

[Charis Loveland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure what I think of this book. While I like the idea of being content in one's work, I also think it's critical to strive to find a job you're passionate about. This attitude seemed a bit too much of the opinion to resign yourself to an unsatisfying career. That being said, there are some tips to help you make the best of a bad situation while looking for your next role, so I am glad I read it.

[Chiara Cokieng · Rating 1 out of 5]

Premise was good, but dumps a million questions on the reader with no framework. It's not actionable at all. I tried to answer the questions initially, but if I did all of them full time, I still wouldn't finish it in a year.

[James Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book combines Lao-Tzu's Tao philosophy to our work life, providing a poignant reminder to stop toiling in domains we abhor. Life can be fuller and richer when we decide to pursue our heart, allowing our heart to lead us to positions that fulfill us and embody our inner values. I highly recommend this book; it is a page turner that provides suggestions to your internal happiness.

Dr. James Williams
Author of From Thug to Scholar

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are already a student of meditation and zen philosophy, just transfer it to your work, that's what this book promotes. Concepts such as impermanence, ego denial, gratitude, meditation, etc. are extolled for their application to the workplace problems and situations.