Table of Contents
Advance Praise for The Triangle of Truth
A paradigm shift that has the power to change everything! The Triangle of Truth is ancient wisdom on a twenty-first-century platform.
Marshall Goldsmith, author of What Got You Here Wont Get You There
Black-and-white thinking creates an unnecessary amount of misery in our lives. But it doesnt have to. The Triangle of Truth reveals how you can rise above false dichotomies to create stronger relationships, families, and careers. In a remarkably quick read, Lisa Earle McLeod shows us how we can avoid the pitfalls that stem from either/or thinking.
Tom Rath, author of How Full Is Your Bucket?
Every CEO in America should read this book! Lisa Earle McLeod unlocks the secret of ending turf wars and creating a culture of accountability, candor, and creativity. Whether you work with one person or thousands, The Triangle of Truth is a must-read for anyone who wants their team to become more successful.
Keith Ferrazzi, author of Whos Got Your Back and Never Eat Alone
The Triangle of Truth is simple, elegant, and instantly effectivelove this approach.
Christiane Northrup, MD, author of Womens Bodies, Womens Wisdom and The Secret Pleasures of Menopause
Most truths about life are simple when you figure them out, and life is often very complicated until you do. In The Triangle of Truth, Lisa Earle McLeod describes and profusely illustrates the futility and destructiveness of either/or thinking and with equally profuse illustrations offers a startlingly simple third optionAnd. Poof!the end of conflict, including war, and the beginning of peace by including the perspective of others. I salute this accessible manual for world peace and recommend it to everyone.
Harville Hendrix, PhD, author of Getting the Love You Want and cocreator of Imago Relationship Therapy
Intellectual heft on inspirational wings.
Michael Alvear, Creative Loafing How smart people can get better at everything.
Lisa Daily, Daytime correspondent and author of How to Date Like a Grown-up
Most of the mischief in our lives and in the world comes from our egregious inability to be both absolutely honest and absolutely respectful with each other at the same time. Lisa McLeod offers powerful, practical, and timely solutions to help us dramatically improve our lives and our organizations by striking at the root of this pernicious problem.
Joseph Grenny, author of Influencer and Crucial Conversations
In this ingeniously written book, Lisa shows us how to forever do away with the false dilemma, the unnecessary use of the word or, and instead find the best alternative. No, not compromise, not forgo your values or desires, but to step it up a notch and create a bigger pie for everyone involved. Be a peace maker; not a peacekeeper. The information in this book has the potential to raise mass consciousness and result in a better, more prosperous, and more peaceful world.
Bob Burg, coauthor of The Go-Giver
Whether youre a man or a woman, read The Triangle of Truth and youll finally understand how to get along with the other side.
Gail Evans, author of Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman
The Triangle of Truth is what comes out of the book oven when an extraordinary word chef like Lisa McLeod blends humor Cosby would envy with wisdom Buddha espoused and then adds a heaping cup of hit-you-where-you-live realism. You may giggle and sniffle but you will never be the same after reading this great book.
Chip R. Bell, author of Take Their Breath Away
I love this book! Lisa gives us a perspective on relationships and communication that can (and will) change peoples lives.
Joe Calloway, business consultant and author of A Class Of One
Whether youre selling a product, yourself, or an idea, The Triangle of Truth helps you get what you want and keep your integrity intact.
Susan Harrow, author of Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul
For You,
Because you are nothing short of magnificent
INTRODUCTION
What Do Mary Kay, Buddha, and Elvis Know That You Dont?
Buddha called it the Middle Path and told the monks it was the key to enlightenment.
Albert Einstein used it to reconcile competing beliefs about science and religion.
Admiral James Stockdale employed it to survive seven and a half years of torture at the Hanoi Hilton.
Mary Kay Ash made it a foundation of her business and created a cosmetics empire.
Barack Obama applied the concept to politics and catapulted into the Oval Office.
Elvis Presley became the King of Rock n Roll when he used it to combine black music with white music and create a sound like nobody had ever heard before.
Its a concept that is both old and new. Its a dramatically different way of thinking that can transform your work, your family, your relationships, your life, and, quite frankly, our planet.
I call it the Triangle of Truth. Its the ability to hold two seemingly conflicting ideas in your mind at the same time, and assimilate them in a way that makes their whole greater than the sum of their parts.
I didnt invent it so much as I stumbled upon it. But its one of those discoveries that once someone points it out for you, you begin to see evidence of it everywhere you turn.
Its both conceptual and practical, and while it draws on the wisdom of the past, it also points us in a new direction for the future.
The Triangle of Truth is how one side can be right, without making the other side wrong.
Its why our forefathers organized a government around the competing concepts of freedom and responsibility.
Its why Eastern and Western medicine are finally assimilating into holistic health.
Its why individuals and organizations that embrace both masculine and feminine energy have a spiritual and economic advantage over those who dont.
And its why people who can see the big picture experience more love, peace, and happiness than those who spend all their energy defending a narrow point of view.
The Triangle of Truth is an elegantly simple model that applies to everything from business and relationships to politics and religion. It elevates your thinking to a higher level.
Heres how it works: No doubt youve heard the expression, there are two sides to every argument. It doesnt matter whether its the abortion debate or an argument over who gets the last piece of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving dinner; there are usually two differing points of view.
Its like a line, with one side on the right and the other on the left. Both parties are convinced their perspective is the only correct one, so they direct most of their energy toward trying to convince that other person to move over to their side of the line, or at the very least trying to convince the rest of the world that theirs is the real truth.
