Activate Your Goodness: Transforming the World Through Doing Good

by Shari Arison

"Activate Your Goodness" is a practical guide for doing good for yourself and others, offering you inspiration for immediate improvement of your life and the lives of those around you. Author Shari Arison, visionary businesswoman and philanthropist, is candid about her own personal stories and also provides examples from others who have made a difference by thinking, speaking, and doing good. As one of the world's most powerful women and the owner of a business empire that spans the globe, Shari describes her extraordinary experiences and how she has integrated the power of doing good in all aspects of her life and career. The unexpected and delightful insight that emerges from the book proves that when you find a way to do good for others, you also do good for yourself. This is a book to share with your loved ones and those who are partners in your desire to create a better world for future generations. Activate your goodness, and discover ways to make your life joyful beyond measure!

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction

144 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2013

Reviews

[Gina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I picked up this book at the library in an effort to tame my cynical, sarcastic sense of humor just a bit. I will say that I made a valiant effort to take this book seriously, but the further I got into it, the harder that became. This book amounted to little more than self-promotion on the part of the author. She rambles on and on about all of her many corporations and the good deeds she has done through them, including an entire chapter dedicated to promoting Good Deeds Day, a day that she apparently created. I found very little substance to this book that was not common sense. I did not need 140 pages to tell me that doing good things makes you feel good and helps make the world better. I commend Shari Arison for her positive outlook and ambition, but I did not feel I gained anything by reading this book.

[Kathleen · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is not terrible, and it has some nice thoughts about the importance of good deeds. At the same time, it rambles. There's enough material here for a Parade magazine feature story, not a 144-page book.

[Gina Lincicum · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really surprised how much I disliked this book--actually quit it a little more than halfway through. I couldn't connect with the author at all.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Läste ut den ganska snabbt när jag väl satte mig och läste. Boken är skriven av miljardären Shari Arison och hon skriver om hur att göra goda gärningar kan förändra världen och dig själv. Tyckte den var intressant och lättläst. Eftersom det bara var lite mer än 100 sidor gick det ganska snabbt att läsa.
Bra tips samt anledningar till att göra goda gärningar, lite långtråkig på vissa ställen och hon skröt kanske lite mycket ibland. Men i det stora hela en bra bok som alla borde iallafall ta del av.

Shari har grundad Good Deeds Day, en dag om året; detta året 29 mars där det görs tusentals goda gärningar världen runt. Inspirerande och välbehövligt!

I boken skriver Shari först och främst att allt utgår från dig själv, först måste du vara snäll mot dig själv om du vill kunna vara snäll mot andra. Sen gäller det att vara snäll och göra goda gärningar för människor omkring dig. Först då kommer du kunna påverka fler och till slut göra gott mot både samhället och världen. Det finns så otroligt många fördelar med att göra gott.

Boken har verkligen gett mig ett öppnare sinne på ett sätt. Jag kommer absolut försöka göra mer gott, en kram eller ett leende om dagen räcker gott, ibland kanske något mer. Bjuda på fika, ge en komplimang, öppna dörren, plocka upp skräp, hjälpa någon bära något. Eller något större som att bli vegetarian, volontärarbeta, hjälpa till att måla eller bygga något, städa, ta hand om någon som inte mår bra. Det finns massor som kan göras och ofta krävs bara något litet, som ett leende ;) Lärorik bok.

[Harini Pasupuleti · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a really horribly written book. Not sure about goodness but this activated my headache. Rambling nonsense and reiterating same thing over and over is not called writing.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good content, but could have been a paper, not a book.

[Carla Parreira]

O livro é uma obra que se propõe a explorar e incentivar a bondade, tanto em relação a si mesmo quanto ao próximo. Shari cresceu em um ambiente multicultural, tendo pais de origens distintas, o que influenciou sua vida e suas percepções. Ao longo de sua trajetória, ela passou por desafios, incluindo três casamentos e divórcios, além de ter servido no exército e contribuído com diversas organizações sociais. Essas vivências a levaram a perceber que, para realmente incentivar e ajudar os outros, ela precisava primeiramente cultivar a bondade dentro de si mesma. Um dos principais temas do livro é o entendimento de que a bondade deve começar de dentro para fora. A autora defende a ideia de que, muitas vezes, as pessoas se esforçam para serem boas com os outros, mas se esquecem de cuidar de si mesmas. É um chamado à auto-cuidado e à auto-valorização, reforçando a metáfora do oxigênio em um avião: devemos primeiro cuidar de nós mesmos antes de ajudar os outros. Shari também aponta que, apesar da predominância de notícias ruins que muitas vezes nos cercam, existe, na verdade, uma grande quantidade de bondade no mundo. Essa perspectiva pode ser esquecida devido ao foco negativo dos meios de comunicação. Ela menciona um site dedicado a boas notícias, lembrando que é importante alimentar um olhar mais positivo sobre a humanidade. A proposta do livro é não só estimular reflexões sobre a bondade, mas também encorajar cada leitor a se comprometer com sua própria jornada de autodescoberta e compaixão. A leitura se torna um convite para absorver lentamente suas lições, relendo e refletindo sobre cada conceito apresentado. A autora acredita que somente ativando a bondade dentro de nós, podemos realmente contribuir para um mundo melhor, começando pelas pessoas mais próximas e expandindo essa bondade para uma escala maior.

[Christopher Lewis Kozoriz · Rating 3 out of 5]

"For years within my companies and management teams, I'd always hear people say why something couldn't be done. And I'd challenge them to think about it and gain a fresh perspective, and then come back and tell me how it could be achieved. Eventually, the shift happened and very creative solutions and positive ideas starting becoming the norm; and that's when true organizational transformation really took off." (Shari Arison, Activate Your Goodness, Page 91)

Written by female billionaire Shari Arison. The whole book focuses on thinking good, speaking good and doing good, to bring about positive change in the world. The author started a Good Deeds Day where people take one day to do good within their communities. She relates some of the profound stories of some of the good deeds that have been accomplished on this day by others, including her own work.

The book is pretty general. There are no quotes from the Bible or Torah. It has some new age language at times. However, the premise of the book is to inspire others to do good with their lives. To make a positive impact on the world we live in. I personally liked when she encouraged her readers to take responsibility for their lives. She says that there will be peace in the world when we have peace within ourselves. It reminded me of an old hymn that says, "let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me."

I think the author wants this to be her legacy that she leaves behind when she dies; that of inspiring others to do good. We need to be reminded that Christ commanded us to "do good" (See Matthew 5:44). And he didn't just mean that we do good to our family, friends and those who like us, but that we do good to those who hate us. Good conquers hate.

[Suz · Rating 1 out of 5]

I find it hard to give this “book” a positive review. While I applaud its author’s intent, I quickly grew tired of reading it seemed like a paragraph on every other page starting with “I did…. Or Arison Investments did…” she did give specific examples , but to me, this seemed more appropriately should have been simply published as a magazine article or two. It seemed to me to have been written to plug her companies and websites, which I won’t even mention. I should have taken a clue from the fact that she was endorsed on the cover by Bill Clinton, and stopped while I was ahead, lol. I couldn’t even really finish this one.

[Alison · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted this book to be good despite all the bad reviews. It was not worth reading. The author is an amazing woman who had a difficult family dynamic and father founded Carnival Cruise Lines. She is an intelligent business woman with money living in Israel and the foundations she owns and participates in are amazing. This is extremely poorly written and could have been an article on her life and business and charitable involvement. Seriously, cancel your newspaper subscription because bad things happening leave you depressed? Don't waste your time!

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another accidental find while cleaning library shelves. The author has a wonderful attitude about life and genuinely desires for the world to be a better place. My favorite quote: "We're just asking each of them to consider not doing so much writing 'against' things, and consider the power of writing 'for' things that are truly important, understanding that we have the collective power to create what we want to see in the world."

[Efwa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the book in Swedish, "Gör goda gärningar".
Bra tankar i boken men alltför mycket handlade om hennes företag.

[l · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not that intriguing & kind of repetitive but had a good message behind it

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess her dad helped start Carnival Cruise lines...she did good with this tho

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It inspired me to, well, activate my goodness, and I one hundred percent plan on attempting this incredible feat in the near future. Shari Arison's pure and innovative beliefs based greatly on her own experiences were real eye openers. The overall sunny and spiritual theme of the book made it a pleasure to read, and, even for its lacking in writing style, I'm glad I picked it up. Definitely a good idea for someone who is looking for some positively charged energy and self improvement!

[Sheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow - I happened upon this book and read it in just a few hours. Really great quotes throughout that are worthy of deeper reflection. Shari does spend a bit of time talking about her own businesses throughout the book, which could turn some off, but overall the power in many of her simple thoughts made me feature her quotes with my Facebook and Twitter followers over the course of a few days. Very much enjoyed and could see where this could have been a much larger book, so I appreciated her keeping it short and sweet. It's a Good Read! @BionicSocialite

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I admire the author and all she has done, the book in and of itself was unneccesary. Watch Shalom Sesame's episodes and songs about Tikkun Olam (meaning "repair the world" in Hebrew) and you will get the entire book's message. To be fair, since I read the book with a Jewish background, the material was surprisingly elementary; however, I can see how others could benefit from reading the book.

[Dennis Raffaelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author makes some good points: Think good. Speak good. Do good.

There is another book along these lines. "Due Unto Others. How Good Can Change Your Life" by Abraham J. Twerski. It is a very good book that describes how drug addicts lives were changed by doing good.

The book could have been condensed some, but the points are valid.

I borrowed this as an ebook from the library through Overdrive. It was not available for Kindle, but I was able to read with my browser.

[Marie Corbitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book. It made me feel great! It helped me see that the most important thing is to be kind to yourself. Only then can you start to focus on being kind to others. And when we are all kind to everyone, the world will be a better place :)

[AJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read. Short and pretty simple. Definitely not life changing but it did serve for a slight amount of ambient inspiration in my day. Wouldn't recommend it specifically, but I wouldn't deter someone from reading it either. Overall my reaction to this book is highly ambivalent.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the perspective of someone from a different faith (Jewish) writing this from a different country (Israel). But no matter who we are we can make a difference in our own small part of the world.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful concept, very honorable message. I have to admit, though, it is poorly written. Lots of repetition, random scattered thoughts, and not enough stories and examples of actual good deed stories.

[Amani Siam · Rating 4 out of 5]

"لا أنوي تبسيط الأمور ولا أدّعي بأنه يتوجب علينا النظر الى الحروب نظرة ايجابية. فنحن حميعا نعلم أن هذا غير عمليّ، لكني أقترح أن ننظر الى أحداث القتال، نرى كيف تؤثر سلبا على الدولة والناس، ونستعمل هذه المعرفة لحضّ كلّ منّا على أن يفكر ويسال نفسه بصدق: هل نريد أن نرى كلهذا الدّمار والعنف في عالمنا؟."

[Joshua Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a simple, yet accurate, philosophy of doing good, which would be great for someone just starting to think about these ideas. It's great to see someone in a position of power like that taking such a values-based approach!

[Annemarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not finished, but this book is completely fantastic!! I recommend it to everyone. Great for parents whom want to teach there kiddies how to treat others, in my opinion.

[Addie LeMaster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easy read. I loved the ideas behind it and I plan to use quite a few of them in my daily life.

[Intisar Borqan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought I would gain more by reading this book.. But it is all about one idea could be said in a sentence or two ..

[Elías · Rating 2 out of 5]

it's more commercial advertisement of her companies, but still have some good things

[Jessica Ivette · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had its good read, but it didn't keep me engaged.