Praise for
PRISONERS OF OUR THOUGHTS
In this newly revised edition, Alex Pattakos and Elaine Dundon not only honor the legacy of Viktor Frankl, but they also further it by bringing his work to a new generation of readers in search of a more meaningful life. In very practical ways, they show that when we put meaning at the heart of our lives, were better able to thrive and reach our full potential.
Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post and founder and CEO of Thrive Global
If you intend to read just one self-help book in your life, pick this one. You wont regret it.
Alexander Batthyany, PhD, Director, Viktor Frankl Institute, Vienna, Austria
Here is a landmark book that, among other things, underscores how the search for meaning is intimately related to and positively influences health improvement at all levels. Reading Prisoners of Our Thoughts is an insightful prescription for promoting health and wellness!
Kenneth R. Pelletier, PhD, MD (hc), Clinical Professor of Medicine and Professor of Public Health, University of Arizona and University of California, San Francisco Schools of Medicine
Prisoners of Our Thoughts is an important book about creating a meaningful lifea life that matters and makes a difference. Those of us involved in the individual quest for meaning will find valuable information and inspiration in it. Meaningchoosing it, living it, sustaining itis a significant personal, as well as societal, issue of the twenty-first century.
Marita J. Wesely, Trends Expert and Trends Group Manager, Hallmark Cards, Inc.
This book is a gem. It is an iconoclastic book, which is set to become iconic. With it, Alex and Elaine have altered the Logotherapeutic landscape. They bring therapy from the clinic into the corporate world. They show how work can be a source of meaning by applying the revolutionary ideas and insights of our mentor Dr. Viktor Frankl. The authors succeed in demonstrating the link between Logotherapy and labor but morethey do it with bravado and brilliance. I recommend this book with relish.
Stephen J. Costello, PhD, Founder and Director, Viktor Frankl Institute of Ireland
In the permanent white water of our lives everywhere and especially at work, the meaning of what we do and of who we are is continually in danger of negation. The creation of meaning cannot be a once-and-for-all, set-it-and-forget-it affair, but rather needs to become our most basic ongoing achievement. This book is virtually unique in providing us with both a philosophy and a set of methods for keeping the meaning of our lives and our work vibrantly alive, relevant, and nourishing.
Peter B. Vaill, PhD, Professor of Management, Antioch University, and Author of Managing as a Performing Art
Magical.... If you read this book patiently and honestly, it may begin to change your attitude and thought process. Deeply and impressively subversive in more ways than one, this book invites us directly in the search for meaning of our work and life.
Ping Fu, Author of Bend, Not Break: A Life in Two Worlds, Founder and Former CEO, Geomagic, Inc.
Not averse to giving recipes, Pattakos makes them transparent and convincing enough, and he amply supports them by personal observations and experiences, by testimonies and quotations, by anecdotes and proven wisdom, adding more than a sprinkle of wit and common sense. And he does it all in an immensely readable style.
Franz J. Vesely, PhD, Viktor Frankl Institute, Vienna, Austria
Logotherapy was tested in Nazi concentration camps, so it speaks uniquely of meaning in extremes of unavoidable suffering. But Frankl also encouraged the discovery of meaning in our everyday workplaces, and Pattakos offers both a why and a how.
Haddon Klingberg Jr., PhD, Author of When Life Calls Out to Us: The Love and Lifework of Viktor and Elly Frankl
If you want to bring life to your personal and/or organizational valuesread Prisoners of Our Thoughts. It is particularly helpful if you are committed to living an authentic (values-driven) life. This is a book you will want all your associates and family members to read again and again.
Ann Rhoades, President, People Ink, and Former Executive Vice President, People, JetBlue Airways
The transcendent spirit of Viktor Frankl vindicated human resilience. Alex Pattakos nimbly brings essential new life to that spirit. Reading this book is a choicea choice to add deeper meaning to your life.
Jeffrey K. Zeig, PhD, Founder and Director, The Milton H. Erickson Foundation
Living and working in such changing times takes courage. This book helps us connect with ourselves and meaning in order to be happier, develop resilience in life and work, and co-create a better future. In a time when there is so much unpredictability, Prisoners of Our Thoughts is a must-read to serve as a prescription for personal and business leadership.
Lisa Schilling, RN, MPH, Vice President, Healthcare Performance Improvement, Kaiser Permanente
It is very rare to encounter a book that is simultaneously profound and approachable, one that addresses the essential crux of the human dilemma in a manner that is inviting and even heartfelt. Prisoners of Our Thoughts is just such a book. I highly recommend it.
Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, Dean of Transformational Psychology, University of Philosophical Research, and Author of The Roots of Consciousness
A must-read for all those who want to lead successful lives.... The book has universal appeal and would help people working in any part of the world, and at any type of job. Dr. Pattakoss concepts resonate well with mea Sikh by religion. I believe that world peace would be greatly helped by having more and more people happy with their lives, as Prisoners of Our Thoughts could help them be.
Karuna Singh, Program Manager, Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Consulate General, Kolkata, India
Prisoners of Our Thoughts is an enormously inspiring eye and heart opener, enlarging the scope of our life and work in a wonderful way. Its a book full of wisdom, a road sign to the meaning and riches of life.
Dr. Heinrich Anker, Cofounder, Management Centre Zug (Switzerland), and President, Swiss Society of Logotherapy and Existential Analysis
CEOs, as well as the average worker, can be both informed and inspired by Pattakoss book.
Paul T. P. Wong, PhD, President, International Network on Personal Meaning, and Coeditor of The Human Quest for Meaning: A Handbook of Psychological Research and Clinical Applications
It has been a long waita very long wait! But Frankls principles and methods have at last been set free to be used and enjoyed and practiced in the work situation.
Dr. Patti Havenga Coetzer, Founder, Viktor Frankl Foundation of South Africa
Masterpiece. Challenging. Insightful. Motivational. Inspirational. Magnificent. Prisoners of Our Thoughts branches all of these into one central theme: staying true to you, the real you. This book is a must-read for all educators, parents, and students. It provides such a clear view of the importance of character and how love ties it all together. A must-read.
Dr. Mark Isley, Principal, Shelby County Alternative School, Alabama
Those who seek meaning in their work and life will find much of value in this practical application of the wisdom of Dr. Frankl, so deeply experienced and artfully presented.
Dee Hock, Founder and CEO Emeritus, VISA
Dont let life just happen to you! Let Dr. Pattakos show you how to apply Viktor Frankls core principles to make your workand lifemore meaningful. Anyone from mail deliverer to CEO can embark on a path of self-discovery that will lead to better results and relationships with others.