BY: Cheryl Duggan
At the beginning of November, Neil Pasriche (author of The Book of Awesome) gave a keynote speech to the attendees of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness conference in Montreal. It was an updated version of a TED Talk he gave in September 2010 where he outlined three of the four A’s of Awesome. I will begin by briefly explaining the first three A’s, then suggesting a modification to the fourth, and even adding a fifth “A”.
The first “A” is Attitude. We all experience highs and lows throughout our lives. Getting through the depths of life experiences to reach the next peak can be a bit of a chore. A gratitude journal can be a very beneficial tool for maintaining a level of positivity even in the toughest of times.
The second “A” is Awareness. Neil explained this as embracing your inner three year old. For those not willing to regress quite so far meditation can be a very effective tool for reaching a heightened level of awareness.
The third “A” is Authenticity. As Oscar Wilde said “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” This can begin with an exercise as simple as making a list of things that make you happy …
Now the fourth “A” was listed as Air Space. Basically, it is described as making space for awesomeness in your life. May I be so brazen as to suggest that it should be referred to as Architecture. You need to create a foundation, build on the framework, and leave room for extensions as needed. Making time for gratitude journals, meditation, and self knowledge exercises demands a significant structural shift in thinking. Therefore, renaming the fourth “A” Architecture simply makes sense.
Finally, I strongly believe that there should be a fifth “A” added to the Awesome list. That fifth “A” is Altruism. If a person can bring themselves to do something for others without any expectation of anything in return that raises their level of awesomeness to whole new heights.
As someone being marketed with the distinction of being the Happiness Expert I would have expected him to already have included Altruism. Thereby raising his list to the Five “A’s” of Awesome. Having said that, I do look forward to his next book The Happiness Equation: Want Nothing + Do Anything = Have Everything to be released in March of 2016.
