Off Balance on Purpose: Embrace Uncertainty and Create a Life You Love

by Dan Thurmon

Every day, we are inundated with messages about the importance of finding ''balance'' in our lives. How does this make us feel? Overwhelmed, out of touch, and unfulfilled. The problem isn't us--it's the message. Perfect balance is unachievable and, upon closer inspection, undesirable. The perpetual quest for balance ends up limiting growth, progress, and the quality of life. In Off Balance On Purpose , Dan Thurmon frees you from the ''balance'' dilemma and empowers you to adopt a new approach to creating a happy, fulfilling embrace reality, get aligned with your purpose, lean forward, and initiate positive changes. These steps will give you the knowledge, strength, and motivation to With an engaging style and a storyteller's gift, Thurmon combines profound insight, humor, compassion, and practical examples to offer you a realistic path towards a rich and rewarding life. Praise for Off Balance On Purpose :
''Dan Thurmon is a masterful performer and communicator. His book is a classic, providing great advice to help you simultaneously fuel your work life, your family life, and your personal life. Read it now!''
-- Jeffrey Gitomer , New York Times bestselling author of Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude and Little Red Book of Selling ''Dan Thurmon is right on. Any important endeavor will sometimes take you off balance in order to learn or grow. This book shows you how to do that while staying connected to the most important aspects of life.''
-- Chris Widener , New York Times bestselling author of The Angel Inside and The Art of Influence ''Dan offers an extremely refreshing perspective and innovative approach on how to deal with life's many challenges. His inspiring philosophy will help propel many individuals and organizations to new heights!''
-- Dr. John Affleck Graves , executive vice president, University of Notre Dame ''An inspiring and illuminating work. This book delivers clarity about how to integrate pursuits related to work, relationships, health, spiritual growth, and personal interests in new and powerful ways. Dan Thurmon is a master at motivation and education.''
-- Dr. Nido Qubein , president, High Point University, chairman, Great Harvest Bread Co. ''Refreshing, thoughtful, and practical! In the effort to find 'balance' in our lives, we more often find increased stress, guilt, and regret. This book will free you from that burden and provide a more fun, less stressful, and more meaningful path to fulfillment.''
-- Mimi Taylor , vice president and CIO, Baptist Health

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Personal Development

238 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Dan Thurmon is a dynamic keynote speaker, author, and performer. He is president of Motivation Works, Inc. and author of Success in Action. Dan has delivered thousands of presentations worldwide for corporations, associations, and educational institutions. Additionally, Dan has performed on the front lines of Iraq and Afghanistan to bring encouragement and entertainment to US and Allied Armed Forces. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia and a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP). Currently, Thurmon resides with his family in the Atlanta area.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Acronyms. I hate when authors/books fall on acronyms for I feel it’s pandering to the lowest common denominator. I enjoyed the juggling stories and his Middle East trip. But GRIP and OBOP..I’m afraid not.

[Josh Downey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I follow Dan (the author) on various social media platforms and love his ways of thinking about life and want to live a life similar to his in general which is what inspired me to read this book. This was the first book I have finished in years and has opened my eyes to how great books are and how much you can learn from them, I will definitely be reading many more books in the near future. The reason I love this book so much is because of the way he gives advice/guidance, he doesn't tell you what you should and shouldn't do or what is right and wrong, he gives you the tools to make the best decisions in your life, specifically regarding 'the 5 spheres of life' which is a fantastic yet simple concept I now consciously think of daily. The book is extremely relatable and inclusive as almost everything in the book can be applied to any person or situation, this also gives the book a timeless feel. Dan tells insightful and relatable stories through the book and explains what he learnt from these experiences, how he actively grew from them and the vast array of unique and valuable skills he learnt along the way. There are quite a few references to juggling as Dan is an excellent juggler himself, his fun and helpful Tiktok's inspired me to learn to juggle as it was a 'cool' skill I had wanted to learn since a kid, I learnt how to juggle 3 balls on November the 6th 2021 and at the time of writing this (January 14th 2022) can comfortably juggle 4 balls and can do many different variations of 3 whilst most importantly having lots of fun! His philosophy of being 'off balance on purpose' is an incredible concept made even better when you have a basic understanding of juggling. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to make changes and great choices in their life without feeling overwhelmed or pressured, I would also recommend that you follow him on social media, he makes great videos, the content he makes with his daughter , Maggie Thurmon, is my favourite as you can see the closeness of their relationship and how somebody around my age (17) has created a unique life that I admire just as much as Dan's unique life. I have heard he is planning on writing/releasing a new book this year so will definitely read that when it is available. Overall an amazing book that has ignited my hunger for books and one I'm definitely going to revisit multiple times in the future as a trusted guide for when I feel stuck and need pointing in the right direction for anything.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a libra always searching for balance in my life, this book was an eye opener. The author's premise that perpetual quest for balance ends up limiting growth, progress and the quality of life really got me thinking. According to his "diagnosis" then, I would be On Balance, Off Purpose (as opposed to the title's Off Balance On Purpose); diligently working to maintain and protect a false balance while allowing genuine opportunities to go unconsidered.
The chapter "You must let go to get a grip" was especially helpful and real life examples from tightrope walking and juggling allowed a visual thinker like me to grasp that concept concept fully. I also liked his comparison of life to laundry--it's never done, constantly in flow; you can't control the outcome--but you can control the process. The book was full of these rational bits of common sense, but as it progressed, his writing became a bit zealous for me(the author is a motivational speaker by trade and you can tell!) But I fully appreciated his opinion that to engage life more fully, you need to embrace its contradictions.

[Alok · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a fellow juggler, the image of having multiple balls in the air resonates. I have many interests, and I often find myself returning to old interests over the course of time. I haven't been very diligent in choosing my interests, and this book encouraged me to put more work into that aspect. A major theme is to make sure that your interests serve more than one need at a time. For example, hiking with friends is both social and exercise. So... try to satisfy more than one need at a time, but don't try to do everything at once (or in turn, or equally).

[Keviatch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Met this author personally and wrote a note on my purchased book after watching him give us not a talk, but an experience! My favorite inspirational author to date, and have been practicing being off balance on purpose. Yey!