Journey from Head to Heart: Living and Working Authentically

Feeling disconnected from yourself is an empty feeling. With This book Nancy provides a guide to help you become more intune with your personal growth. The tools provided throughout the book will enhance your self reliance and teach you to stand on your own two feet! Implementing the easy to use tools into your life will strengthen your inner being and create a sense of happiness within your soul.

Nancy brings together years of experience, knowledge, and wisdom in her new book, "Journey from Head to Heart." Her skills bring the readers to a place of visiting their own authenticity and finding ways for living from the heart center, rather than the logical mind. We often think there is a separation in our lives - the personal life and the working life. Nancy dispels this idea and gives us ways to live both lives from one place - the heart. And, it works, if you work it! I highly recommend this book, and even more so recommend attending Nancy's workshops as a compliment to reading the book.

Getting one's head on straight is something highly underrated in today's society. "Journey from Head to Heart: Living and Working Authentically" is a guide to doing just that - living life while putting one's A-game and heart into it. The goal is to live one's life with personal gravitas and gusto, rather than the half-hearted shambling of someone living as an automaton. Designed to avoid being too touchy-feely (a common pitfall of many self-help guides), "Journey from Head to Heart" is highly recommended for community library collections.

Reviewed by Lisa Heidle for RebeccasReads (1/08) For 30 years, Dr. Nancy Oelklaus has been on a mission to help people improve both their personal lives and careers. In her new book, "Journey from Head to Heart: Living and Working Authentically," Dr. Oelklaus focuses on the importance of moving away from the demands of ego toward a true, more authentic self. What separates this book from the majority of self-help manuals is the author's awareness that many people in today's world neglect to acknowledge the importance of personal faith and spirituality in the growth process, and in turn, are unable to integrate their actions with their beliefs. Dr. Oelklaus believes that by not recognizing experiences from the past and not being accountable for our actions in the present, we are unable to genuinely connect with ourselves and the world around us. "Pride, perfectionism, people-pleasing, rebellion, stubbornness, and all other character defects that hinder potential and possibility," can lead to addictions and keep people from being content. She insists that speaking from the heart creates a "safe space for others to learn and change." The phrase, "What I truly want to say is...," allows people to focus and limit their language in order to effectively communicate not only their words, but their energy. Dr. Oelklaus also impresses upon the reader the importance of surrounding ourselves with positive people as opposed to negative people. She supports the idea through explaining mirror neurons--the brain chemistry that is created when we are in the presence of positive chemical energy as opposed to negative, energy-draining chemicals. Daily maintenance tools that enable the reader to stay on the positive path created are offered throughout "Journey from Head to Heart." Utilizing prayer or meditation, reading inspirational quotes and implementing the process of "Ask, Release and Wait" when asking questions in order to build patience are just a few examples. By utilizing these tools, we are able to recognize the issues that keep us from focusing on important aspects and people in our lives. In Chapter 2 of "Journey from Head to Heart," Dr. Oelklaus writes, "But there comes a time in adulthood when we must align who we truly are with what we do and how we act. When it's time to become authentic--to realize our purpose in life, our heart's desire." Her voice resounds with sincerity, helping the reader know that authenticity is a gift we are all born with and, with a little internal work, can locate again. With a unique perspective on personal development, Oelklaus reminds us that enlightenment is a state of being that places us on the path to self-discovery. People believe that enlightenment is the destination, when in actuality it is only the beginning, the awareness that first we must discover where our soul resides before we can truly become whole.

Reviewed by Vicki Landes for Reader Views (11/07) Do you ever feel like the `real you' isn't the one living your life? That what you do from day to day isn't what feeds your soul or nurtures your heart? Author Nancy Oelklaus says that genuine person and real happiness are inside there somewhere and is determined to bring them out with help from her new book, "Journey from Head to Heart: Living and Working Authentically." Oelklaus' book is a result of her own struggles to find her path and transcend beyond what she'd fallen into in life. Heartfelt and deep, she bares her past demons in her stories of experience and poetry from recovery. Throughout the book, she gently urges her readers to lead a conscious life, with purpose and values that extend to all of our daily circumstances. She uses touching examples from her own turbulent path to illustrate how we can rise above our egos, control our perspectives, live with courage, and see ourselves as what we really are - spirits with limitless potential. "Journey from Head to Heart" is a profound combination of science and religion with facts and feelings. Even as early as the preface, Oelklaus captivates you with her honesty, sincerity, and hope. Her writing style gave the sensation that I was listening to an old friend pour her life's heart out to me. Her energy encourages and motivates to be more than we've become - both as individuals and as a society. "Journey from Head to Heart" is written with the middle-aged person in mind - those that have realized that they are not living with their intended priorities at the center of their existence and are looking for a change. However, young adults looking to start out with an authentic spirit (or change before that critical life precipice appears) would benefit from reading it as well. If you enjoy reading Stephen Covey or Rick Warren, you'll find a friend in Nancy Oelklaus. It takes a delicate voice to put your individual shortcomings and life obstacles in a self-help book without sounding egotistical or as if you are flaunting your personal victories yet Nancy Oelklaus does so gracefully and humbly within the pages of her book. "Journey from Head to Heart" is simply the path we must take between those two points - opening the eyes, raising the voice, swallowing our pride, and releasing the soul.