During the closing circle at one of my trainings, a participant named Michael pointedly asked me: “So, when is your book coming out?” Even though I had heard such a question before, this time his message bolted at me as if I was a lightening rod. Yes, it was time to do it.
As the universe has it own plans and agenda, I was soon struck with a second bolt of lightening while I was teaching at Esalen. Right after one of our meditation sessions, I was walking up the hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It was in this moment I was struck with an “Aha!” moment of guidance: “Your book must be from a spiritual perspective.”
I was struck with an “Aha!” moment of guidance: “Your book must be from a spiritual perspective.”
As Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said: “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Unless we acknowledge and embrace this notion, we are not approaching our interactions and negotiations comprehensively. Enlightened Negotiation is a wholistic approach to negotiation that embraces Chardin’s saying.
The problem in the world of negotiation today is that people look at negotiation as at best an act of haggling, and at worst an act of warfare. People use the words “negotiation” and “haggling” interchangeably. There are many self-proclaimed negotiation experts that promote the haggling style instead of the true essence of negotiation. Haggling has its place in low levels of interaction such as dealing with a street peddler or in transacting a purchase in a bazaar (where you can buy and sell anything, I mean ANYTHING). But when it comes to more substantive issues dealing with personal and professional values at high stakes, we can not use the same model; it is not sustainable.
When I was eight years old, I had a dream of starting my own business. Soon after investing my entire savings in my first business venture, I lost every penny that I had. But I learned the first law of negotiation: The Law of Trust. I spent the next fifty years of my life in the worlds of business and academia. I became an award wining business leader, received distinguished academic honors, and learned few more laws of negotiation. However, it was not until I stepped on my spiritual path and spent a long time in Indian ashrams and Zen monasteries that I discovered the rest of the laws. These final laws brought life to the message that I call Enlightened Negotiation: 8 Universal Laws to Connect, Create, and Prosper. Be assured these eight laws have been tested in a lab: my twenty four years of marriage! LOL.
Be assured these eight laws have been tested in a lab: my twenty four years of marriage!
I combined these diverse interests into my book of the same name: Enlightened Negotiation: 8 Universal Laws to Connect, Create, and Prosper. In my book, I delve further into the culture, science, politics, psychology, and history of each universal law for a wholistic understanding of Enlightened Negotiation.
My purpose in life is to teach you to align real-world negotiations with your life force driven needs and spiritual nature so that you don’t have to spend the next fifty in business, academia, and solitude to discover how to become an enlightened negotiator.
So far this year I have been hired by Sony and Brookfield (two Global Fortune 500 companies) to teach their staff this method. Why? Because Enlightened Negotiation is efficient, enhances teamwork, increases productivity, and is sustainable.
Order your copy today on Amazon!
