Do It Anyway: Finding Personal Meaning and Deep Happiness by Living the Paradoxical Commandments

By Kent M. Keith

Book Overview

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered: Love them anyway. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives: Do good anyway. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies: Succeed anyway.... -- from the Paradoxical Commandments Dr. Kent Keith published the Paradoxical Commandments as part of a book he wrote for student leaders in the 1960s when he was an undergraduate at Harvard. These maxims for finding meaning in the face of adversity took on a life of their own, making their way into countless speeches, advice columns, books, institutions, and homes around the world. They were even found on the wall of Mother Teresa's children's home in Calcutta. They became the basis of Keith's bestselling book Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments. Do It Anyway expands on the vision behind the Paradoxical Commandments. It includes forty stories of people who live the commandments each day and gives you the examples, tools, and encouragement to find personal meaning and deep happiness, no matter who you are or what your circumstances, even when times are tough.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1577316282
• ISBN13: 9781577316282
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: New World Library
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.4" x 7.3"

Customer Reviews

Excellent

This book is excellemt. It motivated me to "Do it anyway" I read it within a week and really enjoyed it. This is the 2nd book that I have read by Keith and I plan on reading more.

A Guide Book for Meaningful Living

People are illogical, unreasonable and self-centered. Love them anyway. From the book (the first paradoxical commandment). Sometimes it seems like there is just so much wrong in the world that nothing we can do will make a difference. In Kent M. Keith's book "Do It Anyway" he shows us that one small person can make a difference; one small person can be the change through living the paradoxical commandments. Mr. Keith wrote the paradoxical commandments back in the 1960's while attending college. Over the years they gained world-wide popularity; they have circulated over the internet, and you've probably been the receiver of them many times. "Give the world your best and you'll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world your best anyway." From the book (the tenth paradoxical commandment). This is a sweet little book, and can easily be read in a day or two. I really enjoyed Mr. Keith's writing style, which was very inspirational. The book is also filled with touching personal stories and questions that help the reader to think about how living the paradoxical commandments can bring more meaning and happiness into their lives and the world around them. Sometimes we forget to give our best. It happens to all of us. But when we get to the point where we are taking the easy way out rather than doing what's right, we are off our path, and most likely just getting by rather than living a life filled with meaning. By following the paradoxical commandments, we gain a sense of personal self-worth, and find our lives filled with meaning and happiness.

Remarkable and motivating

Do It Anyway is an easy book to read. Living its tenets is more difficult. By use of thoughtful questions along with stories from real people, the author suggests ways we can incorporate the Paradoxical Commandments into our lives. By the time you've finished reading, you realize not only your ability to do good, but the strengthened desire to get out there and do it! This book is a quick read that packs a gentle wallop. Read it anyway.

let's all do the right thing anyway

our crazy world needs more books like this. to read about these people from every walk of life and how they manage to "do it anyway" gives hope. if every reader is encouraged to only one act of "paradoxical" behaviour,to do good anyway,to love anyway,we would have a saner world. kent keith writes in a heartfelt,no-nonsense way which should appeal to a wide range of readers.

From the author of "Do It Anyway"

As I have traveled and talked with people about the Paradoxical Commandments, I have been struck by the fact that almost everyone agrees that they should live "the paradoxical life." The question is: How do you do it? This book is my answer. I wrote it to give people the examples, the tools, and the encouragement to live the paradoxical life and find personal meaning and deep happiness, no matter who they are, and no matter what their past or present conditions may be. The book includes 40 stories from people I know personally who live the Paradoxical Commandments each day. They include a school teacher, a housing developer, a retired Navy captain, a college president, a YMCA leader, a jeweler, an occupational therapist, the CEO of a non-profit organization, a businessman, a college professor, a pineapple plantation worker, an Army sergeant, a pastor, a nurse, and a financial adviser. By quietly living the Paradoxical Commandments, they find personal meaning and deep happiness, even when times are tough. I hope that after reading their stories, you will decide that you, too, can DO IT ANYWAY!