„Education is the most powerful weapon which can change the world.“
— Nelson Mandela
The book "The Top Five Regrets of the Dying" by author Bronnie Ware (*1967), in its original version 📖: “THE TOP FIVE REGRETS of the DYING, A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing”
references:
Bronie Ware worked in the banking sector for approximately ten years. However, the job did not satisfy her, so she sought another occupation where she could express her creativity. She started writing songs, accompanying herself on the guitar, and performing. Around the same time, she also began serving as a companion to an elderly lady – this experience directed her towards caring for other elderly, sick, and dying individuals. She wrote an article about the experiences accompanying this care in her blog. Its high readership from people all over the world led her to write a book in 2011.
After switching careers from banking to palliative care, Bronnie Ware discovered that almost every person she cared for in the three to twelve weeks before their death regretted at least one of the following five things:
May I have the courage to live truly according to myself, not according to the expectations of others.
May I not work so much.
May I have the courage to express my feelings.
May I maintain relationships with my friends.
May I allow myself to be happier in life.
Isn't it a topic for coaching for clients already? 😃 #projecoach
2. Book: Man's Search for Meaning
The book „A přesto říci životu ano” 📖 in its English version „Man’s Searching for Meaning“, written by Viktor E. Frankl is unique and, I would say, a fundamental work for coaches who want to understand the importance of having meaningful goals, without which it is impossible to survive in truly dire conditions.
Interesting video:
Unfortunately, as a laboratory, it served him several concentration camps where a person reaches rock bottom and asks oneself: What is the meaning of life? In fact, all the prisoners who lost the sense of life gradually died in the camps. However, if you find the meaning of life even in the worst conditions, then you will survive. Even in those horrendous circumstances, those who survived mostly asked themselves: What meaning do I want to give to my life?
He utilized his life experiences in the field of Logotherapy, of which he is the founder (Logos - meaning). While the Czech version of the book includes only a portion of his experiences from concentration camps, the recommended English edition contains additional sections discussing Logotherapy in a nutshell or the Transcript of the 1984 Case of Tragic Optimism.
The book is engaging and draws you into the story; some of the experiences are unbelievable. The section on Logotherapy in a nutshell describes several interesting techniques that can be highly effective in coaching, such as the technique of paradoxical intention, which I would compare to the polarity of experiences technique, and so on.. #projecoach
The book in Czech 🇨🇿:
The book in English, I recommend 🇺🇸🇬🇧:👍
3. Book: Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships
Book: Nonviolent Communication, Marshall B. Rosenberg, Portal, 2016; ISBN: 978-80-262-1079-5 There aren't that many authors who have turned my life upside down, but a few can be found. One of them is Marshall Rosenberg (*October 6, 1934 – †February 7, 2015). When I first read Rosenberg's book years ago, I realized a few things:
Everything I was taught about communication was actually wrong. Various models about the source of communication, interference, reception. Or reactions to adverse events like denial, anger, depression, acceptance, etc. It was all a waste of time.
Rosenberg uses simple and immediately functional solutions that capture the essence of human communication to the last point.
I realized that my vocabulary for expressing feelings was very limited, so I immediately started working on it.
It works great in project teams. I decided to practice it and spread it further (unfortunately, becoming an official NVC trainer takes several years. Fortunately, it is a method that doesn't require any license).
I realized that even if I master the NVC technique, the trick of NVC lies in something completely different. It is necessary to know how to work on oneself (and without meditation and mindfulness, it's not possible 😃). To master NVC, the following is necessary:
You need to realize what you are truly experiencing right now and what you would need to make your life richer and more fulfilling.
You are trying to empathize with others and estimate what they are currently going through and what they would need to make their lives richer and more satisfying.
Coaches are offered countless possibilities for application in all areas of life. I myself have been surprised several times by how effective and fast this method is and how positively clients respond to it. Rosenberg has written a number of books on this topic, and his students continue to develop this method. You can find a lot of information, for example, at:
I would also recommend opting for English versions of books (be careful, you might encounter difficulties when coaching with the language, as you may come across an English word for which you won't find a Czech equivalent. In case you study in the English version, it is necessary to supplement with Czech equivalents) #projecoach
Among other interesting books that build upon NVC and can be connected to coaching, I recommend...:
Nonviolent communication: a language of life / by Marshall B.: ISBN: 1-892005-03-4; I recommend it as a basic introduction to NVC
The Surprising Purpose of Anger, Beyond Anger Management: Finding the Gift / by Marshall B.:ISBN 10: 1-892005-15-8; On several pages, the work with anger is described, including how to identify and pacify it 😃
Nonviolent Communication Companion Workbook: A Practical Guide for Individual, Group, or Classroom Study”; Lucy Leu: ISBN: 978-1-892005-29-8; An excellent book suitable for coaches, with exercises on how to create an NVC group and techniques to practice certain aspects of NVC. For example, expressing appreciation for another person, it includes individual tasks, information about the process, and how to implement it within a group.👍👍👍
A Helping Hand: Meditation with Nonviolent Communication, Liv Larson: ISBN 978-91-8748-910-5; This book describes how to be successful in NVC, not only through meditation techniques. The book is illustrative and includes anchoring and reframing tricks, etc. Highly recommended.👍👍👍
For those who are interested in video recording:
The book is in Czech: