Do you enjoy reading books about personal growth/development & world betterment?

This book club gathers a diverse group of people dedicated to personal growth and making the world a better place. It has become a nexus of meaningful connections, both personal & professional, and an incubator of world-bettering ideas.

You are invited to come to the book club once a month, and each meeting is limited to 8 participants. So far there are 25 members who attend the various meetings; most are professionals in their 20's to 40's. Visitors are always welcome as long as they RSVP through the invitation, which you can receive by responding to this Craigslist post.

The book club meets 6:30 - 9pm on a Saturday or Sunday evening--depending on the week, and location is around 9th avenue and Irving street in San Francisco, and if you don't live in the San Francisco Bay Area, feel free to take this idea for your neighborhood!--and let me know you did!  9th and Irving is on the N-Judah MUNI line, very easy to get to. Please read the vision statement below, and email me your response to the questions below to receive an invitation for the next meeting.

Every other month or so, we plan a larger social so that members from the various book clubs can meet each other. 

Book Club for Personal Development + World Betterment

To gain inspiration and knowledge from great books -- and from each other -- on how to create and sustain meaningful and positive changes in our lives, and in our world. The focus is on applying what we learn, rather than just discussing theory.

Origin:

The idea for the club originated from the story of an executive who asked her staff to create a list of 30 - 40 books they think are important. Every month each of the 6 staff reads a different book and reports on it to the others. This way they all learn the essence of 72 new books a year. (from Love is the Killer App, p.86-87)

Plan:

1. At each book club meeting, 2 books (1 on personal development, and 1 on world betterment) are briefly presented by a previously-assigned team of presenters, and the group discusses how to apply that knowledge to our lives and our world.

    

2. The way it works out is that each member only needs to read and present at most 1 book every 8 weeks -- yet if you attend the club once a month you will have the opportunity to learn from at least 24 books each year that relate to personal development and/or a better world.
3. One of the unique aspects of this book club is that each member reads different books (books that speak most to her/him) and present what we read to the group. It keeps the club interesting!

Reiteration of Intention:

The intention of this group is to inspire greater passion, and clarity of direction in our lives, for the purpose of creating a better world.

If interested, please email me with the following:

1. Describe briefly your interest in personal development as well as world betterment--what are some topics, ideas, paths, or practices that interest you? Also, what do you do for a living?
2. If you have a bio or profile online somewhere (either personal or professional) please send the link(s).
3. Can you commit to reading and presenting on 1 book (on personal development and/or world betterment) every 8 weeks?
4. If you'd like, list a couple of books regarding personal development and/or bettering the world that you'd like the group to present & discuss.
5. Note: we are looking for members who care about both "personal development" and "world betterment" topics.

Recent Testimonials:

• "The book club is everything I had hoped for and more: knowledge, intellectual stimulation, community, shared wisdom, and comraderie. Not only is it a place to learn, it's a place to grow. Since leaving graduate school I have missed this kind of environment, and I am grateful to have this space where real discourse is possible."

  ~ Joanie

• "The gathering was a special time for sure. It felt great being there and I really enjoyed the food, the company, and the discussions. George did a wonderful job of making us all feel really comfortable and bringing in a sense of lightness but also refreshing depth to the gathering. I feel grateful that I was able to be a part and am excited to come to future meetings."

  ~ Elinor

• "It is really heartening to see there are other successful professionals who, despite the daily competitive grind, are committed to social change. The people in the group had wonderful ideas and the energy they brought to the meeting renews my faith in the human spirit."

  ~ Hassan

• "The book club exceeded my expectations. The other members were friendly and inviting; George was warm and well prepared and the conversation was interesting and fun. I was interested in all of the books that were brought to the table and I liked the initial questions we used to introduce ourselves. I felt at home right away and I’m really looking forward to attending the next meeting."

  ~Suzie

Some great books we'll cover (feel free to make suggestions):

Personal Development:

• What Color Is Your Parachute 2006: A Practical Manual for Job-hunters And Career-Changers
• Constructive Living (David Reynolds)
• The Art of Speed Reading People (an excellent guide to the Myers-Briggs personality typing system.)
• Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)
• Order from Chaos : A Six-Step Plan for Organizing Yourself, Your Office, and Your Life (Liz Davenport)
• Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui (Karen Kingston)

   

• Everything Happens for a Reason : Finding the True Meaning of the Events in Our Lives (Mira Kirshenbaum)

   

• The Five Love Languages
• How to Be an Adult in Relationships : The Five Keys to Mindful Loving
• Love is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends (by Tim Sanders)
• The Enneagram of Liberation: from Fixation to Freedom (by Eli Jaxon-Bear)
• Blessing in Disguise: Another Side of the Near-Death Experience

World Betterment:

• The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World (John Robbins)
• The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: Revised and Updated : The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It's Too Late (by Thom Hartmann)
• Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble (by Lester Brown)
• The Better World Handbook : From Good Intentions to Everyday Actions (Ellis Jones, et al.)
• Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution (Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, Hunter Lovins)
• What Matters Most: How a Small Group of Pioneers Is Teaching Social Responsibility to Big Business, and Why Big Business Is Listening (Jeffrey Hollender, CEO of Seventh Generation)
• Visionary Business: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Success (Marc Allen)
• The Sustainability Advantage : Seven Business Case Benefits of a Triple Bottom Line (by Bob Willard)
• The Triple Bottom Line: How Today's Best-Run Companies Are Achieving Economic, Social and Environmental Success (Andrew Savitz)
• The Healing Wisdom of Africa

Cheers,

George