| Introduction | |
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| About the book | |
In The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die, Dr. John Izzo, presents valuable advice that was gleaned from over 200 interviews with people over the age of sixty (up to 106 years of age). Using a powerful narrative voice, Izzo helps us to understand the common themes from the lives of those interviewed, the commonality of what really matters in their lives, and especially how to put this wisdom into practice.Imagine for a moment that you are about to take a foreign vacation to an exotic destination. You have saved your entire life to travel there. It is a destination with almost unlimited choices of how to spend your time and you know you will not have enough time to explore every opportunity. You are fairly certain that you will never get to take a second trip to this destination; this will be your one opportunity. Now imagine that someone informs you that there are several people in your neighbourhood who have been to that country, explored every corner. Some of them enjoyed the journey and have few regrets, but others wish they could take the trip again knowing what they know now. Would you not invite them over for dinner, ask them to bring their photographs, listen to their stories, and hear their advice? This is precisely the journey explored in this book. Dr. John Izzo and his colleagues interviewed over 200 people over the age of sixty who were identified by others as having lived happy lives and as having found purpose and contentment. The interviewees ranged from aboriginal elders to town barbers, from Hollocaust survivors to former CEO?s. In these interviews, each person was asked to reflect back on his or her life to identify the sources of happiness and meaning as well as lessons learned, regrets, major crossroads, and what did not contribute to meaning in their lives. Based on these interviews, and Dr. Izzo?s twenty years experience helping people find more spirit and purpose, the book explores the secrets to finding contentment, happiness, and purpose. Using a powerful narrative voice, Dr. Izzo helps the reader understand the common themes from the lives of those interviewed, the commonality of what really matters in their lives, and especially how to put this wisdom into practice. | |
| About the author | |
Dr. John Izzo is the author of four books and a sought after advisor on soul in work and life. His best selling book Awakening Corporate Soul (now in its fifteenth printing) has sold over 250,000 copies. Each year he speaks at over 65 corporate and association events to over 50,000 attendees. He has just completed a five hour TV series for the Biography Channel in Canada based on these wise elder interviews and the show will premiere in April, 2007 with the same title as this book. It will air hundreds of times across Canada over the next two years and there will an ad for the book and DVD series in each show. Dr. Izzo?s work has been featured by the likes of Fast Company, CNN, INC magazine, ABC World News, the Wall Street Journal, Nurse Week, the LA Times, CBC, and numerous print and electronic outlets worldwide. He is a regular monthly contributor to the Globe and Mail?s Career section (the Globe and Mail is Canada?s largest national newspaper). | |
| Table of contents | |
Acknowledgements Prologue Chapter 1: Why Do Some People Find Meaning & Die Happy? Chapter 2: Why I talked to the town barber (and 200 other people over sixty) about life Chapter 3: The First Secret...Be True to Yourself Chapter 4: The Second Secret...Leave No Regrets Chapter 5: The Third Secret...Become Love Chapter 6: The Fourth Secret...Live the Moment Chapter 7: The Fifth Secret...Give More Than You Take Chapter 8: When You Know You Have to Go (Putting the Secrets into Practice) Chapter 9: Preparing to die well: How people are not afraid to die Chapter 10: A Final Lesson: It's Never Too Late to Live the Secrets epilogue the secret to life in one sentence or less interviewing your own wise elders list of interviewees index about the author | |
