Books about Intention

Activate Your Goodness: Transforming the World Through Doing Good - Shari Arison 2013

Amazon Synopsis: 'Activate Your Goodness' is a practical guide for doing good for yourself and others, offering you inspiration for immediate improvement of your life and the lives of those around you. Author Shari Arison, visionary businesswoman and philanthropist, is candid about her own personal stories and also provides examples from others who have made a difference by thinking, speaking, and doing good. As one of the world's most powerful women and the owner of a business empire that spans the globe, Shari describes her extraordinary experiences and how she has integrated the power of doing good in all aspects of her life and career. The unexpected and delightful insight that emerges from the book proves that when you find a way to do good for others, you also do good for yourself. This is a book to share with your loved ones and those who are partners in your desire to create a better world for future generations. Activate your goodness, and discover ways to make your life joyful beyond measure!

Change-Friendly Leadership: How to Transform Good Intentions into Great Performance - Rodger Dean Duncan 2012

Amazon Synopsis: Most attempts to change fall flat.

Around the world, countless change efforts are underway in all kinds of organizations, spearheaded by leaders with good intentions. Despite the good intentions, the majority of these programs will not succeed. Why?

In this radical new book, practitioner Rodger Dean Duncan shows that humanness, approachability, and friendliness are necessary but often overlooked elements of making change successful.

Change cannot be achieved by a press release, slogan, or announcement. Effective organizational change requires the active, mindful participation of the people affected by the change. Leaders must learn how to bring their entire team on board with changes and ensure they are invested in the process as well as in the outcome.

The Friendly Factor is not just a play on words. It's the very foundation for effectively engaging people's heads, hearts, and hopes. The Change-Friendly framework is based on timeless principles that are tried and true in even the toughest situations. Using this framework will enable you to create effective, lasting change in your organization.

 

The Forgetful Gentleman: Thirty Ways to Turn Good Intentions into Action - Nathan Tan 2013

Amazon Synopsis: The modern man has good intentions—all he lacks are the tools to turn them into gentlemanly action. This illustrated reference guide instructs and informs readers on the subtle art of being a contemporary gentleman by incorporating both traditional and modern practices, bringing the classic idea of gentlemanliness forward into the 21st century. As stylish and as dapper as its readers will become, this book offers action-oriented guidance on a range of subjects, including advice on managing social networks, choosing the right suit silhouette, fostering the art of conversation, hosting a successful party, mixing a signature cocktail, working out like a Navy SEAL, developing creativity, and much more. With wit and humor, The Forgetful Gentleman offers the necessary encouragement to help any modern man become the best gentleman he can be.

 

Get What You Want: The Art of Making and Manifesting Your Intentions - Tony Burroughs and Brenda Knight 2012

Amazon Synopsis: Tony Burroughs was a young man living in Hawaii, when an older philosopher sage took him under his wing and became his mentor at an exotic fruit farm on the big island. Over a period of ten years, Tony learned how to farm as well as "The Information," a series of oral lessons, comprising a body of deep teachings about the very meaning of life, the history of mankind, and how to not just exist but to evolve and live a meaningful life filled with love, peace and abundance. A core teaching was in regard to intention-setting and Tony and two friends started a weekly circle to try it out. This first humble circle of three people had dramatic and life-changing effects that have resulted in Tony Burrough's life-long mission to guide others in the art of manifesting the best in themselves, their lives, and for the highest good of all. The tenet of Get What You Want is simple, powerful and profound: "that which you are reaching toward is also reaching out toward you." And, for the first time, Tony has gathered many of the key teachings of "The Information" into one book.

 

Good Intentions Are Not Enough: Transformative Leadership for Communities of Difference - Carolyn M. Shields 2003

Amazon Synopsis: Catch a new vision of leadership that fosters school communities that are socially just and academically excellent with this accessible guide. It combines promising theoretical perspectives with stories about practitioners and schools across the United States, Canada, and in the South Pacific (Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand) to show how, in many varied contexts, leaders are making a difference. Good Intentions Are Not Enough, is designed to raise the awareness of all concerned citizens about how to develop schools with diverse populations. Comprehensive and research-based, this book offers theories and practical ideas helpful to both teachers and administrators.

 

Good Intentions: Nine Hot-Button Issues Viewed Through the Eyes of Faith - Charles M. North and Bob Smietana 2008

Amazon Synopsis: We often struggle to answer the question: What is the right thing to do here?

Good Intentions suggests that it is possible to do good in economic matters if we begin with the right assumptions (and begins to ask the right questions): 

• Is greed ever good?
• How can we give poor kids a million bucks?
• How did Ben and Jerry get so rich?
• Is capitalism ruining the environment?
• Do immigrants take American jobs? 

Our actions can produce outcomes that reflect what we value.

 

Good Intentions: The Nine Unconscious Mistakes of Nice People - Duke Robinson 1997

Amazon Synopsis: With the poignant honesty of Robert Fulghum and the good sense of "Dear Abby", this practical guide shows effective ways to avoid being "too" nice and reclaim a satisfying and fulfilling life.

Most people are raised to be "nice". But some just overdo it. They want to be perfect: always helpful, always available, never distinguishing between their own needs and those of others. Inside they're frustrated and unhappy. By analyzing the nine most common pitfalls, "Good Intentions" shows how the afflicted can liberate themselves from this damaging behavior, assert their own needs, and still remain the "good person" they've always wanted to be.

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Inspired by Idealist.org's 600,000-member online community and their ongoing search for work that gives back to the world, this practical reference walks readers through the different ways they can get involved and the range of possibilities for applying one's interests and skills to meet their community's needs.

Idealist.org's staff gives a comprehensive understanding of the issues, options, organizations, and resources so readers can be proactive, whether it?s through one's current job, volunteering, donating, personal spending, board service, starting an organization, or changing careers.

 

Intention - G. E. M. Anscombe 2000

Book Jacket: Intention is one of the masterworks of twentieth-century philosophy in English. First published in 1957, it has acquired the status of a modern philosophical classic. The book attempts to show in detail that the natural and widely accepted picture of what we mean by an intention gives rise to insoluble problems and must be abandoned. This is a welcome reprint of a book that continues to grow in importance.

 

The Intention Economy: When Customers Take Charge - Doc Searls 2012

Amazon Synopsis: Caveat venditor—let the seller beware

While marketers look for more ways to get personal with customers, including new tricks with “big data,” customers are about to get personal in their own ways, with their own tools. Soon consumers will be able to:

• Control the flow and use of personal data
• Build their own loyalty programs
• Dictate their own terms of service
• Tell whole markets what they want, how they want it, where and when they should be able to get it, and how much it should cost

And they will do all of this outside of any one vendor’s silo.

This new landscape we’re entering is what Doc Searls calls The Intention Economy—one in which demand will drive supply far more directly, efficiently, and compellingly than ever before. In this book he describes an economy driven by consumer intent, where vendors must respond to the actual intentions of customers instead of vying for the attention of many.

New customer tools will provide the engine, with VRM (Vendor Relationship Management) providing the consumer counterpart to vendors’ CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems. For example, imagine being able to change your address once for every company you deal with, or combining services from multiple companies in real time, in your own ways—all while keeping an auditable accounting of every one of your interactions in the marketplace. These tantalizing possibilities and many others are introduced in this book.

As customers become more independent and powerful, and the Intention Economy emerges, only vendors and organizations that are ready for the change will survive, and thrive. Where do you stand?

 

The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World - Lynne McTaggart 2008

Amazon Synopsis: The book you hold in your hands is revolutionary, a groundbreaking exploration of the science of intention. Drawing on the findings of leading scientists from around the world, The Intention Experiment demonstrates that thought is a thing that affects other things. It is also the first book to invite you, the reader, to take an active part in its original research.

Using cutting-edge research conducted at Princeton, MIT, Stanford, and many other prestigious universities and laboratories, The Intention Experiment reveals that the universe is connected by a vast quantum energy field. Thought generates its own palpable energy, which you can use to improve your life and, when harnessed together with an interconnected group, to change the world.

In The Intention Experiment, internationally bestselling author Lynne McTaggart takes you on a gripping, mind-blowing journey to the furthest reaches of consciousness. As she narrates the exciting developments in the science of intention, she also profiles the colorful scientists and renowned pioneers who study the effects of focused group intention on scientifically quantifiable targets -- animal, plant, and human.

McTaggart offers a practical program to get in touch with your own thoughts, to increase the activity and strength of your intentions, and to begin achieving real change in your life. You are then invited to participate in an unprecedented experiment: Using The Intention Experiment website to coordinate your involvement and track results, you and other participants around the world will focus your power of intention on specific targets, giving you the opportunity to become a part of scientific history. A new Afterword by the author recounts the successes of the several Intention Experiments so far.

The Intention Experiment forces you to rethink what it is to be human. It proves that we're connected to everyone and everything -- and that discovery demands that we pay better attention to our thoughts, intentions, and actions. Here's how you can.

 

Intention, Plans, and Practical Reason - Michael E. Bratman 1999

Amazon Synopsis: Michael E. Bratman develops a planning theory of intention. Intentions are treated as elements of partial plans of action. These plans play basic roles in practical reasoning, roles that support the organization of our activities over time and socially. Bratman explores the impact of this approach on a wide range of issues, including the relation between intention and intentional action, and the distinction between intended and expected effects of what one intends.

 

The Invisible Force:  365 Ways to Apply the Power of Intention to Your Life – Dr. Wayne Dyer 2007

Amazon Synopsis: Dr. Wayne W. Dyer has put together this little book in order to convey the fact that intention is a field of energy that flows invisibly beyond the reach of our normal, everyday habitual patterns. It’s a force that we all have within us, and we have the power to draw it into our lives by being the energy we want to attract. 

Use the uplifting material within these pages to bring the power of intention into your life for many years to come, and experience the world in a new and exciting way!  

Leadership Beyond Good Intentions: What It Takes to Really Make a Difference - Geoff Aigner 2012

Amazon Synopsis: An experienced leader and trainer explains how managers and leaders can find compassionate ways of facilitating change in their organizations. Drawing on deep experience of developing leaders from a wide range of public sector, private sector, community, and non-government organizations; as well as on Buddhist principles; Geoff Aigner identifies the inner tensions and work involved in making change. Offering an alternative to typical hardline approaches to leadership, he challenges common assumptions leaders make about themselves and their motivations, and offers strategies to develop fresh, effective, and truly compassionate ways of pursuing change. He explains that for leaders, good intentions are not enough—when despite your best efforts you run into obstacles and resistance, the temptation is to see the challenges as lying outside ourselves, to grasp at a model or a tool, or to find other people slow to get the point. Aigner reveals here that the real challenge we face is often ourselves.

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Live with Intention: Rediscovering What We Deeply Know - Mary Anne Radmacher 2010

Amazon Synopsis: More than two decades ago, noted author, artist and teacher Mary Anne Radmacher, was beginning her chosen path--to live with purpose, to make a difference. She lost a dear friend and she wrote these words, which have appeared wrapped around mugs, on carry bags and journals, day planners, refrigerator magnets, and posters. In her new book she expands these words to invite readers to explore what it might mean to live each day with intention--to figure out what counts for them, what will make their lives richer, allow them to make a difference, and bring verve to each and every day. Radmacher shares the ten qualities she considers essential to intentional living and offers readers exercises, inspirations, and promises to help them find what's important in their lives. 

Made For Goodness: And Why This Makes All the Difference - Desmond Tutu 2011

Amazon Synopsis: Over the years the same questions get asked of Desmond Tutu, the archbishop, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and veteran of the moral movement that ended apartheid in South Africa: "How can you be so hopeful after witnessing so much evil?" "Why are you so sure goodness will triumph in the end?" This book is his answer. Now, more than any other time in history, our world needs this message: that we are made for goodness and it is up to us to live up to our destiny. We recognize Archbishop Tutu from the headlines as an inspirational figure who has witnessed some of the world's most sinister moments and chosen to be an ambassador of reconciliation amid political, diplomatic, and natural disasters. Now, we get a glimpse into his personal spirituality—and a better understanding of the man behind a lifetime of good works. In this intimate and personal sharing of his heart, written with his daughter, Episcopal priest Mpho Tutu, Tutu engages his reader with touching stories from his own life, as well as grisly memories from his work in the darkest corners of the world. There, amid the darkness, he calls us to hope, to joy, and to claim the goodness that we were made for. Tutu invites us to take on the disciplines of goodness, the practices that are key to finding fulfillment, meaning, and happiness for our lives. 

More Than Good Intentions: Improving the Ways the World's Poor Borrow, Save, Farm, Learn, and Stay Healthy - Dean Karlan and Jacob Appel 2012

Amazon Synopsis: A revolutionary approach to poverty that takes human irrationality into account-and unlocks the mystery of making philanthropic spending really work. American individuals and institutions spent billions of dollars to ease global poverty and accomplished almost nothing. At last we have a realistic way forward. Presenting innovative and successful development interventions around the globe, Dean Karlan and Jacob Appel show how empirical analysis coupled with the latest thinking in behavioral economics can make a profound difference. From Kenya, where teenagers reduced their risk of contracting AIDS by having more unprotected sex with partners their own age, to Mexico, where giving kids a one-dollar deworming pill boosted school attendance better than paying their families to send them, More Than Good Intentions reveals how to invest those billions far more effectively and begin transforming the well-being of the world. 

The Power of Intention: 365 Ways to Apply the Power of Intention to Your Life - Dr. Wayne Dyer 2010

Amazon Synopsis: Intention is generally viewed as a pit-bull kind of determination propelling one to succeed at all costs by never giving up on an inner picture. In this view, an attitude that combines hard work with an indefatigable drive toward excellence is the way to succeed. However, intention is viewed very differently in this book. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer has researched intention as a force in the universe that allows the act of creation to take place. This book explores intention—not as something you do—but as an energy you’re a part of. We’re all intended here through the invisible power of intention. This is the first book to look at intention as a field of energy that you can access to begin co-creating your life with the power of intention.

Part I deals with the principles of intention, offering true stories and examples on ways to make the connection. Dr. Dyer identifies the attributes of the all-creating universal mind of intention as creative, kind, loving, beautiful, expanding, endlessly abundant, and receptive, explaining the importance of emulating this source of creativity. In Part II, Dr. Dyer offers an intention guide with specific ways to apply the co-creating principles in daily life. Part III is an exhilarating description of Dr. Dyer’s vision of a world in harmony with the universal mind of intention.

 

The Secrets of Power of Intention CD - Dr. Wayne W. Dyer 2004

Amazon Description: Gain inspirational tips for living life to the fullest by listening to Dr Dyer live as he explores the secrets of the power of intention. Intention, not as something you do, but as an energy you are a part of. Dr. Dyer has researched intention as a force in the universe which allows the act of creation to take place. Every single individual has a connecting link to this field of intention and Dr Dyer believes that by removing any and all resistance we can re-connect to this energy that intended us here and regain the power of our source. This means an absence of all limitation when all of our thoughts are in energetic vibrational harmony with source energy.

 

Starting Today: A Journal of Intention and Change - Chronicle Books 2012

Amazon Synopsis: Writing down daily intentions (such as "focus on the present," or "be a better listener") helps readers work toward becoming the person they want to be, one small step at a time. Filled with a year's worth of insightful prompts and uplifting quotes, this invaluable journal provides space to declare intentions, reflect on progress, and live life a little better—starting today.

 

Teaching with Intention - Debbie Miller 2008

Amazon Synopsis: "I believe in the power of collaborative classroom communities where everyone's ideas are valued and respected. But had you been in my classroom that day, you'd have never known it. You'd have thought I believed that I was the one with all the answers."

Effective, intentional teaching begins with a strong set of beliefs, but even the best teachers -- including Debbie Miller -- struggle to make sure that their classroom practice consistently reflects their core convictions. In Teaching with Intention, Debbie shares her process of defining beliefs, aligning practice, and taking action to ensure that children are the true beneficiaries of her teaching. As Peter Johnston writes, "Through this book we have Debbie's teaching mind on loan. She engages us in the details of a teaching life from inside her mind, showing the thinking behind her teaching and the consequences of her actions."

While Debbie's previous book, Reading with Meaning, chronicled a year in her own classroom, Teaching with Intention brings us into classrooms of teachers and children she has met over the last five years in her work as a literacy consultant. From setting up the classroom environment to the intentional use of language, from comprehension instruction to lesson design, Debbie is explicit about what she does and why. At the same time, she encourages teachers to develop their own belief statements concerning teaching and learning, and includes key questions to guide them in this important process.

In an environment where the handing down of scripted programs and "foolproof" curricula is increasingly the norm, Teaching with Intention offers a compelling reminder that truly transformative teaching is built from the ground up, and is rebuilt every year, by every teacher, in every classroom, with every new group of students.

The Ten Commitments: Translating Good Intentions into Great Choices by David Simon 2006

Amazon Synopsis: In the spirit of both Eastern and Western traditions, Dr. David Simon shows how changing our mindset from commandment to personal commitment can help us make the life transformations we want and need.

We were raised on the Ten Commandments and unfortunately most of us use the philosophy of "thou shalt not" (eat too much, drink too much, work too hard, etc.) to command ourselves to change. Dr. Simon encourages us to embrace the power of commitment to create a life of greater peace, vitality, love and purpose. Through commitment to be authentic, love more openly, embrace abundance and relax, we can translate our desires into actions that bring about transformation and healing.

 

Truth, Beauty, and Goodness Reframed: Educating for the Virtues in the Age of Truthiness and Twitter - Howard Gardner 2012

Amazon Synopsis: From ancient times, philosophers, theologians, and artists have attempted to describe and categorize the defining virtues of civilization. In 'Truth, Beauty, and Goodness Reframed', renowned education authority Howard Gardner explores the meaning of the title's three virtues in an age when vast technological advancement and relativistic attitudes toward human nature have deeply shaken our moral worldview. His incisive examination reveals that although these concepts are changing faster than ever before, they are - and will remain, with our stewardship - cornerstones of our society. Designed to appeal to a wide readership, 'Truth, Beauty, and Goodness Reframed' is an approachable primer on the foundations of ethics in the modern age.

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