The Art of Happiness at Work

I misread the title - so to be clear, this is a book about being content literally, at your workplace. Therefore, I was a bit disappointed in the narrow focus of the book. Also, the author provides way too much of a context for each piece of wisdom uttered by the Dali Lama, and hindering the ultimate message.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

Very helpful for the working American. Some of our problems are still too complex for anyone to solve or ameliorate. This book helped me pause and look at the bigger picture of where I was headed and where I actually wanted to end up. I felt like this was a more applicable version to city life than "The Art of Happiness".

1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

My main issue with this book was the narration. Dr. Cutler does not have the ability to read this book and keep it interesting. I kept thinking about how bad he was, rather than actually listening to the points. And the guy who does the Dalai Lama...bad. His mouth was so full of spit, it was gross.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

i guess this was ok. As other readers have pointed out, not sure how a guy with "no profession" can give practical advice to those of us in a dog eat dog world, but it was humours and interesting at points. But the narration, and for my money BOTH GUYS, stinks on ice! I couldn't handle them, and stopped solely for that reason.

I really enjoyed this thought-provoking book. The reader who "played" the Dalai Lama was amazing, and really captured his essence. While it may seem that the Dalai Lama would be out of touch with a working western society being a Buddhist monk, Howard Cutler is able to align the thoughts and beliefs of the Dalai Lama with the difficulties experienced by working people to bring relief and understanding to whatever situations may arise. It would be even better to have an unabridged version, but I would listen to it again.

The points made by the Dalai Lama in this book (first half, anyway) were interesting, and maybe useful, but could have been summed up in less than half the time I spent on the first half of this book. I could have done without the additional, clarifying comments by Cutler after the Dalai Lama made a good point - that just annoyed me. What annoyed me most was the reading of Dr. Cutler. He should have chosen someone else to narrate - someone with more tone and inflection. His reading left me feeling like someone was reading from a text, instead of carrying on a conversation, talking with someone. That left me feeling bored, and I found myself tuning him out, which made finishing this book pointless, if I wasn't going to actually listen to it. I finished the first half, but opted to not even try the second.

I tired really hard to make it through this book, but it was so incredibly boring. I did give it 2 stars becuase in between the boredom I did gain a small ounce of insight. The narrator who is also the co-author has an extremely boring voice.

Who doesn't want to drive around with the Dalai Lama all day long? This was a great book for people who aren't very familiar with the Lama's work. He's inspirational, insightful and entertaining.

I wasn't expecting too much, but I really enjoyed this book. I thought having two different readers made it easier to listen to.

I wish I could edit it down to 10 minutes of the most salient points and listen to it on my way to work each day so I could start it off on a better foot.

Maybe I am unfair to the Dalai Lama, because I did not pick up this book with the mindset that I needed assistance to find happiness at work. Many Americans, of course, do, and I am left wordering whether this book contains sufficiently specific advice to really assist them. Having said that, the book remains a well organized dialog, in the tradition of Plato, on Buddist philosophy. B.D. Wong is convincing and entertaining in his role as the voice of the Dalai Lama. Unfortunately, Howard Cutler does a far less convincing role playing himself, unless he really does converse exclusively in a monotone, reheased voice. I enjoyed this book, however, and recommend it to anyone with an interest in spirituality or self improvement. It made me seek out additional titles on the same topic, which I suppose serves as strong of an endorsement as anything I can write here.

I really enjoyed this selection! The Dalai Lama's insights to the world of work and acheiving personal happiness were delightful (as in full of delight) and very grounded. The discussion of work as a calling was enlightening. I listened to this several times before returning it.

Very insightful, good information on dealing with emotions, and self worth in repetative jobs. Ideal for call centers etc.

Never take career advice from a guy who describes his job as "I do nothing." The Dalai Lama's comments were interesting and at times humorous, but not very applicable to most working class stiffs in modern American. The Dalai Lama, at times, seems to contradict himself. I think his philosophies probably work great for people who do nothing, but unfortunately I have to work for a living.

I've not read "The Art of Happiness". However, it doesn't seem necessary to have done so as this title stood very well on its own. Though I've not looked at the print copy, I think this might actually be better as an audio book. It is read/performed as a conversation between the author and the Dalai Lama. The take-away message is "your focus determines your reality"

Inspiring, insightful, and an overall pleasurable listen. This book is a must read/listen for anyone who works!

This book made me think about my priorities, my goals, and my dreams. None of your problems will be solved after listening to The Art of Happiness at Work but you may look at your world through different eyes. The other author, Howard, C. Cutler (played by himself) is a little annoying at times. The Dalai Lama is played by an Asian person with an accent that you could imagine coming from the Dalai Lama (I have never heard him speak). I recommend this.