Ignite: Beat Burnout & Rekindle your Inner Fire

by Swati Chavda, A. David Singh

What is holding you back from becoming your best self? Burned out? Tired? Depleted? Are there days when you wake up feeling empty and exhausted? If so, you are not alone. Burnout is a modern epidemic that kills passion, purpose, and productivity in people from all walks of life. But the good news is that burnout doesn't have to be permanent. You deserve to find your energy and enthusiasm once again-not just survive, but thrive. And that is possible when you ignite your inner fire. Stoking this fire requires finding your balance between 'giving' and 'taking'. This book provides you with tools to find that balance. The authors, both neurosurgeons, approach the subject of burnout from a fresh angle, using the analogy of fire and examples from ancient history. In "IGNITE: Beat Burnout & Rekindle your Inner Fire" you will discover: Is your personality causing your burnout? What is a Fire Triad? And how to use its elements to rekindle your inner fire. What led to burnout in Alexander's army? What did Julius Caesar do to avoid Alexander's mistakes-and how you can too. Read this book if you are experiencing burnout, and want to reclaim the fire you once had. Stop your burnout before your burnout stops you."

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help

104 pages, Paperback

Published March 21, 2016

Reviews

[Winter Sophia Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever, Encouraging & Inspiring! A Beautifully Brilliant Read! I Loved It!

[I.L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beating burnout with a new bent

I have to be an honest broker--I don't normally read self-help books. However, this had such a unique take on explaining the causes, effects and remedies for burnout that it was worth the gamble. The authors use examples of leaders from ancient history, which makes their subject matter fresher than comparable books. I particularly liked the exercises offered at the end of each section--they were both doable and useful. I recommend this book to any and all who need strategies to cope with the hectic modern world just as well as the ancients' navigated theirs.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Framing their work with history, myth, and science, the authors draw on personal and professional experience to explore the phenomenon of burnout.

Professionals in all industries are at risk of burnout in our brave new working environment that lauds the sixty (or more) hour work week and sacrificing family and personal time to the ravenous career beast.

Using the extended metaphor of--what else--fire to illustrate the risks of and means to overcome burnout, Chavda and Singh offer examples from Alexander the Great and Caesar to give readers access to understand their personal experiences.

Practical, but clear and easy-to-implement, exercises follow each chapter.

My only complaint is that the book is a brief one, but that will probably be a selling point to most other, extraordinarily busy, professionals seeking help.

[Lesley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a truly inspiring book. I didn't know I needed the wisdom until I read it! The authors use historical facts and stories to highlight a very important topic in today's society. I can't wait to share it with my friends!

I highly recommend this book to everyone, even if you don't think you need it! It's well written, light hearted, highly motivational, and a quick read.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Ignite while already on the recovery side of burnout, and after reading two other books about burnout. Some of the content felt very similar to the other books, and the earlier parts about what burnout feels like did not resonate with me quite as much as they would have when I was in the depths of the burnout. I did find some useful new perspectives in it, however. For example, they warn against diving too deeply into things when you start recovering, because you can easily end up burning out all over again. Certain things I was already aware of (such as needing space) were reemphasized for me, which was helpful.

The two unique things this book does is use historical (Roman) examples to illustrate what they mean, and to use fire as a model and analogy for how burnout happens and how to recover. The historical examples did not do much for me, but I did appreciate the fire analogy. On the whole it feels like a useful model, although at times the analogy felt a bit stretched.

Ignite is a short book with some useful perspectives and exercises, so it is worth checking out if you are experiencing burnout.

[Robert Bogue]

Imagine, for the moment, that you felt like India was the edge of the world. You had fought your way to what you felt like was the edge of civilization over eight grueling years – only to see more land before you than you could see the end of. Your expectations of going home and seeing your family again are dashed in a moment, and you confront the reality that you don’t know when your quest will end. This is one of the stories from Ignite: Beat Burnout and Rekindle your Inner Fire. It’s the story of Alexander the Great and his devoted army losing their hope and ultimately facing burnout at what was supposed to be the end of the world.

Read more

[Alison Feucherolles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an avid reader of self-help books, but I usually find them patronizing, or too obvious, or too complex. This one is brilliant, short but efficient, obvious when you think about it, but who does? I didn't do the exercises but it helped me understand burn out better, even a non-professional burn out.