Search Inside Yourself

The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace)

By: Chade-Meng Tan

Narrated by: Nick Sullivan

Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Early Google engineer and personal-growth pioneer Chade-Meng Tan first designed Search Inside Yourself as a popular course at Google, intended to transform the work and lives of the best and brightest behind one of the most innovative, successful, and profitable businesses in the world... and now it can do the same for you. Meng has distilled emotional intelligence into a set of practical and proven tools and skills that anyone can learn and develop.

Created in collaboration with a Zen master, a CEO, a Stanford University scientist, and Daniel Goleman (the guy who literally wrote the book on emotional intelligence), this program is grounded in science and expressed in a way that even a skeptical, compulsively pragmatic, engineering-oriented brain like Meng's can process. Whether your intention is to reduce stress and increase well-being, heighten focus and creativity, become more optimistic and resilient, build fulfilling relationships, or just be successful, the skills provided by Search Inside Yourself will prove invaluable for you. This is your guide to enhancing productivity and creativity, finding meaning and fulfillment in your work and life, and experiencing profound peace, compassion, and happiness while doing so.

Search Inside Yourself reveals how to calm your mind on demand and return it to a natural state of happiness; deepen self-awareness in a way that fosters self-confidence; harness empathy and compassion into outstanding leadership; and build highly productive collaborations based on trust and transparent communication.

In other words, Search Inside Yourself shows you how to grow inner joy while succeeding at your work. Meng writes: "Some people buy books that teach them to be liked; others buy books that teach them to be successful. This book teaches you both. You are so lucky."

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2012 Chade-Meng Tang (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

Increase Your Happiness

Typical of a Google engineer, the author Chade-Meng Tan breaks down happiness into its essential parts to create the "Search Inside Yourself" course at Google. As a benefit of working at Google, Meng was able to connect with notable people in developing the material for the course, including a Zen master, a scientist, and Daniel Goleman (author of "Emotional Intelligence"). So obviously the book is based on science and yet it is written in a light entertaining way. It is aimed at ordinary people who want to increase their happiness. The book provides simple, small steps to achieve that.

Great book, Narator sucks!

Narrator totally sucks! Sounds too Robotic!
Book is amazing! Great insight and depth for changing one's life!

Excellent book.

Terrific insights into a number of very useful beliefs & practices. The narrator was quite good as well.

great exercises for mindfulness and a better life

A must read book for anyone that wants to live a better life through mindfulness meditation even in a busy world / schedule

Great book - Obnoxious narration

Would you listen to Search Inside Yourself again? Why?

No, but I'd read it again. The narration was extremely annoying.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Nick Sullivan?

The author! Or a comedian.

Any additional comments?

This was a great book, but instead of making me feel more compassionate, the narration was so annoying that it made me angry. I ended up just reading the kindle version. Chade-meng Tan himself is a really good presenter if you listen to him in talks.

Aside from the narration, the book describes some simple ways you can make your life better while applying to people who don't necessarily want to attach spiritual meaning to their emotional intelligence exercises.

Good start point, average for those who meditate

This book was strongly recommended to me by a peer who didn't meditate at all and started doing so after reading this book. In my case however this was different as I already meditated and read Daniel Goleman. Anyway it was worth the time and reinforced the benefits of meditation

Enjoyable & Insightful

Would you consider the audio edition of Search Inside Yourself to be better than the print version?

Not necessarily. I have not read the print version, but I intend to purchase it too. I'd like to review the exercises more carefully.

What other book might you compare Search Inside Yourself to and why?

I suppose one could compare it to "Wherever You Go, There You Are" by Jon Kabat-Zinn, because they are both basic guides to mindfulness mediation. They have very different perspectives and the writing is quite different.

What three words best describe Nick Sullivan’s voice?

enthusiastic, clear, happy

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

NA

Any additional comments?

The title didn't grab my attention, so I was a little hesitant to purchase it with my precious credits. I worried it would be a superficial treatment of mindfulness meditation, but I am happy to say my first impressions were wrong. At first I was skeptical about how much insight a Google engineer could convey in a book about mediation. As it turns out, the engineer had many insights and a great sense of humor. I am preparing to teach a basic mindfulness class in the fall, and I found this book very useful in terms of it examples, clarity and suggested exercises. I especially liked the how the author compared mindfulness, emotional intelligence and self-awareness. These comparisons make the topic of meditation more mainstream and accessible.

Fantastic book

Loved the humor, relevance, deep insight, and relatable voice. This book found me right when I needed it.

Everyone must read this

If you want to know how to achieve world peace read this book. (No exaggeration)

Game changer book

I tried to practice meditation a lot of times without a significant or noticeable impact on myself until I listened to this book I felt it for the first time.