Now You're Thinking!: Change Your Thinking... Transform Your Life (Paperback)

Henry Ford was right: “Whether you think that you can, or that you can’t, you are usually right.”

“Your mind is your most powerful tool. This book can help you chart a course for sharpening your critical thinking skills so you can make better decisions in all areas of life.”

--Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New Mind

“While writing The Speed of Trust it became clear to us that people would not trust others to lead them if they did not trust their thinking. If you read and apply the principles in this book, people will come to see you as a leader.”

--Stephen M. R. Covey, author of The New York Times and # 1 Wall Street Journal bestseller, The Speed of Trust

“A big part of being a leader is making decisions--but how often do we stop and think about our own decision-making processes?... The authors illustrate a five-step model we can all use to more effectively process our own thoughts toward successful decisions.”

--Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager and Full Steam Ahead!

“If you are striving to be better, faster, and different in life, to have more fulfillment and success, you need this book. A great primer to increase and enhance your thinking skills and processes.”

--Harry Paul, coauthor of FISH! A Proven Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results

Living the good life and want to make it great? Desperate to give your career an “extreme makeover”? Either way, the changes you want start inside your own head, with the way you think.

This book is the blueprint you need to build greater success by teaching you breakthrough techniques for thinking far more effectively. That’s the secret of making better decisions: whether you’re working toward a promotion or considering refinancing your house. Some thinking processes simply work better than others, and this book teaches you the ones that are proven to work best.

The authors start with the extraordinary true story of Amenah, just two years old, dying in an Iraqi village and in desperate need of complicated open-heart surgery unavailable in her own country. The authors reveal the extraordinary thinking and courage that saved her life and show how you can use the same approaches to transform every aspect of yours.

If you can change the way you think, you can change the world.  That’s the theme of Now You’re Thinking! as it tells the story of how a 2-year old Iraqi girl’s life was saved through determination, courage, and critical thinking.  The book begins with the heroic story of how a Marine battalion beat the odds to save this little girl, and ends with a model of critical thinking that will help you STOP and THINK to recognize your emotions, evaluate arguments, and draw conclusions to make better life decisions.  This book also provides the opportunity for you to take the My Thinking Styles assessment for free to learn your natural thinking preferences, strengths, and biases. This short read will give you a real-life example of great thinking plus tons of resources to guide your further interest in effective thinking.

Judy Chartrand is a recognized thought leader in the areas of critical thinking and career development. Chartrand works as a consulting Chief Scientist with Pearson. As a psychologist, Chartrand has helped hundreds of clients increase their personal and career satisfaction. She frequently speaks at national and international conferences and has published more than 50 articles and books. Chartrand lives in Minnesota with her husband and has two grown children.

Stewart Emery is coauthor of the international bestsellers Success Built to Last and Do You Matter?: How Great Design Will Make People Love Your Company. He has a lifetime of experience as an entrepreneur, creative director, corporate culture consultant, and executive coach. He has led workshops and seminars and delivered keynotes all over the world.

Russ Hall is author of fourteen books and coauthor of numerous other books. He has also had short stories, essays, and articles published in a wide array of media and has received several awards.

Heather Ishikawa is the National Sales Director for Pearson TalentLens. Ishikawa has extensive experience in architecting corporatewide, assessment-based leadership development initiatives. Ishikawa has delivered workshops to hundreds of leaders on the topics of critical thinking, leadership, teambuilding, communication, and change management. She lives in California with her husband and two children.

John Maketa is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for Pearson TalentLens. Maketa is a dynamic leader in enterprise growth, developing bold and creative strategic alliances that catapult global performance and profit. Maketa is known throughout the learning and development industry as a major connector who is able to strategically align initiatives for parties on both sides of the table with unparalleled financial and professional success. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and son.

Introduction     1

Amenah’s Story     5

Chapter 1: How Your Mind Works--Some Assembly Required     45

Chapter 2: A New Way of Thinking     59

Chapter 3: Take Stock of Your Style     79

Chapter 4: Change Your Thinking...Revolutionize Your Career...Transform Your Life     95

Appendix A: Characters     113

Appendix B: Cognitive Biases: Common Mental Mind Traps     125

Appendix C: Resources     131

Index     147