CONTENTS Foreword by Senator John McCain Acknowledgements Introduction-From Built to Last to Success Built to Last * The Mandela Effect * Why Peter Drucker believed leadership is a pointless conversation without an understanding of what success means Chapter 1: From Great to Lasting-Redefining Success * 'What high achievers don't tell you about success and survival that you really need to know * How success can betray you * Why celebrity is synonymous with short-term marriages and long-term addictions * The teen detective and the ravishing redhead reporter PART I: MEANING-How SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE STAY SUCCESSFUL Chapter 2: Love it or Lose-Passions and the Quest for Meaning * You're not safe in that safe job * Why it's dangerous not to do what you love * Lovers finish first* Why Warren Buffet thinks the way most folks build their careers is like saving up sex for old age Chapter 3: Portfolio of Passions-It's Not About Balance * There's NOT just one thing to do with your life * Why balance is bullshit * Stealth passions and the power of peripheral thinking * Why Google pays you to play on the job * Transforming lives for 64 cents apiece * The paranoid survive, but the passionate prosper Chapter 4: Why Successful People Stay Successful- Integrity to Meaning * Don't treat passion like a trivial pursuit * Practice integrity to what matters to you * The reinvention of three ex-presidents * What a billionaire Sex Pistols marketer and the celibate Dalai Lama have in common PART II: THOUGHTSTYLES-EXTREME MAKEOVERS START IN YOUR HEAD Chapter 5: The Silent Scream-Why It's So Damn Hard to Do What Matters # When it's not considered a worthy career* The allure of Bright Shiny Objects * The seduction of competence * How we're more obsessed with being loved than being what we love * The tyranny of the OR * If you haven't found your lover yet, keep looking Chapter 6: The Cause Has Charisma-You Don't Have to Be Charismatic to Be Successful * Give me liberty or give me death-how Norma chose between her calling and suicide * Decolonizing your mind * When the cause has charisma, shrinking violets bloom in public * Dr. Doolittle and the silverback gorilla * Whatever you are, be a great one * The world would be a darker place without you * Why self-esteem is highly overrated Chapter 7: The Tripping Point-Always Make New Mistakes * When successful people sound like losers * Positive thinking can hurt you * How to harvest failure * Why Yoda is so misunderstood * When the going gets tough, feelings come last * There is a dark side to every best practice * Persistence can be just another addiction # How innovation is failure sped up Chapter 8: Wounds to Wisdom-Trusting Your Weaknesses and Using Your Core Incompetencies * There is no cure * Don't use a weakness as a reason to distrust yourself * You can't have it all until you use all you have * Finding Contentsxi greatness at the intersection of pain and passion * Don't make the future pay the debts of the past* Beyond blame- creating a future that matters PART III: ACTIONSTYLES-TURNING PASSION INTO ACTION Chapter 9: Earning Your Luck-Preparing for Serendipity by Using Big Hairy Audacious Goals * Why you have to earn your luck * The myth of authenticity * How big, hairy, audacious goals help you prepare for serendipity * Too much presidential information * Bold risks measured in small steps * When bad goals happen to good people * The secret life of goals Chapter 10: Naked Conversations-Harvesting Contention* Why enduringly successful people seek it out * Contention as an employee perk * Turning your next fight into a feast * Making sure the best idea wins * Don't be right-be effective * It's all about shining eyes Chapter 11: Creating Alignment-The Environment Always Wins * Anything worth doing can't be done alone * Recruiting a team to your dream * Relationships built to last * Why you really are only as good as your people # Don't believe in words-believe in behaviors * In search of the miraculous * Understanding incentives really matters * The final secret The Pleasure of Finding Things Out-Research Behind Success Built to Last Endnotes Biographical Index Index