… which, says the author encourages: “us to stop hoping for easy lives and instead to focus on finding the inner strength we need to enjoy the difficult lives we all have.” Wise counsel, don’t you think?  If you read nothing else from this book, read the 10 brilliant chapter titles listed below, even without the other 277 pages, the Contents page is very powerful…

The book’s author is my fellow SGI Nichiren Buddhist Alex Lickerman, MD. He is an assistant Vice President at Chicago University with student counselling a major part of his role. ‘The Undefeated Mind’ is a book about resilience and about cultivating joy no matter what is happening in our lives.

The pages are full of heart-warming stories of people transforming their ‘stuff’, a lot of it through powerful coaching dialogues with the author. You don’t need to be a Buddhist to get loads from it, in fact Dr. Lickerman probably only mentions Buddhist principles or quotes once or twice per chapter. Actually I am learning much more about medicine than about Buddhism as I read it.

Here are the 10 Chapter titles that really really made me stop and think:
1. The meaning of Victory
2. Find your Mission
3. Make a Vow
4. Expect Obstacles
5. Stand Alone
6. Accept Pain
7. Let Go 
8. Appreciate the Good
9. Encourage Others
10. Muster your Courage 

The last 9 will stick with me, in the same way that the late great Stephen Covey’s ‘Seven Habits’ often pop to the forefront of my mind. Talking of Covey, I am off to ‘sharpen my saw’ – it has been an awesome but long day…

Wishing you oodles of joy and more,

David   🙂