Richard Brodie - Getting Past OK

Also by Richard Brodie

VIRUS OF THE MIND: The New Science of the Meme

Hay House Titles of Related Interest

YOU CAN HEAL YOUR LIFE, the movie, starring Louise L. Hay & Friends
(available as a 1-DVD program and an expanded 2-DVD set)
Watch the trailer at: www.LouiseHayMovie.com

THE SHIFT, the movie, starring Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
(available as a 1-DVD program and an expanded 2-DVD set)
Watch the trailer at: www.DyerMovie.com

EXCUSES BEGONE!: How to Change Lifelong, Self-Defeating
Thinking Habits, by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

HAPPINESS NOW!: Timeless Wisdom for Feeling Good FAST,
by Robert Holden

THE KEYS: Open the Door to True Empowerment and Infinite Possibilities,
by Denise Marek and Sharon Quirt

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR SMART PEOPLE: The Conscious
Pursuit of Personal Growth, by Steve Pavlina

SPONTANEOUS EVOLUTION: Our Positive Future (and a Way to Get There
from Here), by Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D., and Steve Bhaerman

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?: Exploring Mind, Meaning, and Mysteries,
by Eldon Taylor

THE WON THING: The One Secret to a Totally Fulfilling Life,
by Peggy McColl

All of the above are available at your local bookstore,
or may be ordered by visiting: Hay House USA: www.hayhouse.com;
Hay House Australia: www.hayhouse.com.au; Hay House UK:
www.hayhouse.co.uk; Hay House South Africa: www.hayhouse.co.za;
Hay House India: www.hayhouse.co.in

RICHARD BRODIE

HAY HOUSE, INC.
Carlsbad, California New York City
London Sydney Johannesburg
Vancouver Hong Kong New Delhi

Copyright 1993 by Richard Brodie
Revised copyright 2010

Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.za Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast: www.raincoast.com Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Editorial supervision: Jill Kramer Design: Jen Kennedy
Indexer: Richard Comfort: http://comfortindexing.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Previously published by Integral Press (ISBN: 0-9636001-0-9)

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Brodie, Richard.

Getting past OK: the self-help book for people who dont need help / Richard Brodie. -- 1st ed.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-4019-2697-7 (tradepaper: alk. paper) 1. Happiness.
2. Self-realization. 3. Satisfaction. I. Title.

BF575.H27B756 2010

158--dc22

2009018912

ISBN: 978-1-4019-2697-7

13 12 11 10 4 3 2 1
1st Hay House edition, February 2010

Printed in the United States of America

For Dana,
who upon opening
a fortune cookie that predicted
The current year will bring you much happiness
replied, I wish theyd be
more specific.

Contents

Introduction
Whats in It for You?

People get seriously interested in improving the quality of their lives in two situations: in the Pits, when things are so bad that they couldnt possibly get any worse; and just on the other side of the Top of the World, when everything they thought would make them happy has happened, and theyre not. If youre not in either of these situationsif things are more or less OK in your life right nowit may take a little prodding to motivate yourself to change; after all, things are, well OK. Reading this book can help you discover that a life of enormous delight, passion, and satisfaction is waiting on the other side of OK, and can help you do what it takes to get there.

If you are in one of those two situations, youre already quite motivated to start making some changes, so I wont waste space trying to persuade you. I know. Not so long ago, I was in both situations simultaneously.

As one of Microsofts early employees, I had struck it rich with stock options. I was the primary author of one of the worlds best-selling computer programs and was in charge of a secret new program with the potential to be even bigger. I had the money, the respect, even a bit of famea seven-second appearance on the Today show yet inexplicably I felt worse than I ever had in my life. The stress got greater and greater, with no end in sight; finally, I felt I couldnt take any more. Seeing no other choice, I decided to end it all: I quit Microsoft.

I spent the next three years relaxing. It was a great luxury to have that option, and it did indeed remove most of the stress from my life, but it wasnt all that exciting either. I dabbled in various pursuits, met friends for lunch, and watched a lot of TV. Things didnt vary much from that routine until one day, comfortable but bored, I took the recommendation of a friend and went to a personal-growth seminar and I only did it because he swore it would be fun and a good way to meet women!

At the seminarwhich was fun, by the way, and a good way to meet womenI got a glimmer of something I had never consciously addressed before: the idea that there was something I could do to make my life more enjoyable and meaningful. At the time, this was just an intellectual idea; I didnt know what it would mean or feel like to have more fulfillment in my life. All I knew was that in the past, there had been times when I felt life was great, delightful, meaningful, worthwhileand then, somehow, those times dissolved into the more usual texture of my life: coasting along, focusing on various problems or goals with a little boredom, a little anxiety, a little confusion, a little or a lot of stress. When I tried to get the good times back by attempting to repeat past experiences, it seldom worked, and when it did, the good times that resulted still filled only a short part of a long day.