The Ugly Duckling Goes to Work

Book excerpt: "Foreword by Stephen R. Covey Are outer demands for more success, more money, and more prestige overwhelming your inner longings? Is your work no longer energizing you? For many people in the work world, years of frenetic activity and blind ambition are actually killing them. They are enslaved to the opinions of others...to the financial burden of an extravagant lifestyle...to a crushing fear of failure. The great Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen succinctly illuminated foibles like these in his treasured fairy tales for children and adults. Now, the powerful lessons of these classic folk tales have been ingeniously applied to the complexities of the modern workplace. The Ugly Duckling Goes to Work probes H. C. Andersen's sharp and witty stories for lessons that will inspire you to bring more meaning, more energy, and more joy to your work -- to create a meaningful work life. You'll read about: * The Emperor's New Clothes: This prickly story pokes fun at phoniness and snobbery and shows how fear and ego can drive you to foolishness. You'll learn to reclaim your own agenda by using two terrific fool-detectors: self-awareness and candid conversations. * The Ugly Duckling: This fierce tale of rejection, survival, longing, learning, and growing teaches you that success is not just having a great career, but finding out where you belong and becoming the person you were meant to be. * The Dung Beetle: The dung beetle, a self-absorbed and status-driven creature, provides a cautionary example of the need to get past illusions and face the reality of your strengths and weaknesses in order to succeed. * The Nightingale: This charming story looks at a plain little bird that sings the most enchanting songs, drawing its strength from nature, meaning, and freedom -- in sharp contrast to the gold, titles, and applause that motivate the emperor's court. The tale teaches you to push beyond mere perfunctory performances and reach your full potential. In addition to the concise summaries and probing analyses of H. C. Andersen's tales, The Ugly Duckling Goes to Work includes the author's new translations of the full texts, which restore the humor and rich detail often muted in previous English translations. Simple but never simplistic, these insightful interpretations and translations of some of the most cherished stories ever written will help you look deeply at your life, laugh lightly at your flaws, and make the changes needed to build a more meaningful, joyful work life."