Latest news with #HopeforCynics
CNBC
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNBC
The No. 1 business book to read in June: 'Hope for Cynics' on a surprising mindset shift that can boost your success and income
As Kermit the Frog recently told University of Maryland grads during his much anticipated commencement speech, "Life is not a solo act. It's a big, messy, delightful ensemble piece, especially when you are with your people." After all, "life is better when we leap together." With that excellent advice in mind, CNBC Make It is launching a book club! Because books are better when we digest them together. Every month, we'll choose a book that aims to help aspirational professionals be smarter and more successful with their work, money and lives. We'll plan to discuss it in our private LinkedIn group the last Wednesday of each month. Here are our picks for the summer: Our first book, which we'll discuss on Wednesday, June 25, is "Hope for Cynics" by award-winning Stanford psychology professor Jamil Zaki. It feels like the perfect pick for these complicated times, in which many Americans feel divided and distrustful of institutions — and of each other. The book's central question: Is it foolish to believe that people remain fundamentally decent? No, declares Zaki. In fact, he makes clear, the more optimistic view is borne out by the science — and holding that more optimistic view is actually better for you, too, in the long run. A mindset shift towards "hopeful skepticism" actually aligns with better outcomes, he writes. And that's a way of thinking that "anyone can learn." Zaki got a bachelor's degree in neuroscience at Boston University before going on to study psychology at Columbia University and Harvard. He now runs the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab, where he researches human connection. Many people believe that the more intelligent and successful you are, the more jaded you must be. Zaki admits he's made that mistake too. Diving into the research at his lab, though, he discovered that "cynics end up sicker, sadder, poorer, and more wrong." You might assume a more suspicious attitude towards the world could protect you from various kinds of disappointment and harm. Yet "cynics are more likely to suffer heartbreak — and heart disease," he writes. The impact of that mindset on health, happiness, and longevity can be profound, he finds: "Dozens of studies demonstrate that cynics suffer more depression, drink more heavily, earn less money, and even die younger than non-cynics." By contrast, more hopeful people tend to be both happier and healthier, as well as more financially successful, as "non-cynics earn steadily more money over their careers." In other words, putting in the effort to adjust your mindset can pay real dividends, Zaki argues. So how do you shift your mindset from cynicism to "hopeful skepticism"? That's what we plan to find out by reading and discussing "Hope for Cynics" in June. Request to join the LinkedIn group, and check back on Wednesday, June 25, for our first-ever CNBC Make It Book Club discussion. Any questions for the author? Email them to us at askmakeit@ ,
Forbes
26-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
4 New Books To Boost Your Career In A Competitive Market
4 New Books To Boost Your Career In A Competitive Market The job market is tough for everyone. Layoffs are happening in the public and private sector. The unemployment rate is moving higher even for recent graduates. In a competitive market, the right books can give you inspiration, ideas and information to improve your career prospects. Here are four new nonfiction books to check out: 'Cynicism leaves people in a dark sort of complacency….Skepticism tells us something truer: The future materializes second by second; and we have a hand in shaping it.' – in Hope for Cynics by Jamil Zaki While not a career book specifically, Hope for Cynics is a timely read for today's discouraging job market. The author, Jamil Zaki, is a full professor of psychology at Stanford University and director of the Stanford Social Neuroscience Lab. The book contains the statistics and scientific research one would expect from an academic, but this is not a dry read. Interwoven throughout are anecdotes about Zaki's friendship with a hopeful optimist, which gives the book an accessible, engaging quality. If your career or job search is turning you cynical and bitter, this book makes a strong case for why hope is not just a feel-good choice, but a smart, helpful move. 'Your biggest worry should be you and what you're doing – or not doing.' – in Give To Grow by Mo Bunnell 'It's always your move, and there's always a way to be helpful.' – in Give To Grow by Mo Bunnell 'Disconnect yourself from the outcome and focus on what's in your control.' – in Give To Grow by Mo Bunnell 'Little efforts done consistently are more effective than much larger efforts done inconsistently.' – in Give To Grow by Mo Bunnell 'Top Performers fall in love with their clients' problems, not their own solutions.' – in Give To Grow by Mo Bunnell Mo Bunnell is CEO and Founder of Bunnell Idea Group, a training, coaching and consulting company specializing in business development – yes, sales. Boosting your career in a tough job market is all about sales – you are selling yourself when you go for a promotion, apply for a job, even ask for a networking meeting. Bunnell gives insightful, comprehensive advice on building genuine relationships that lead to sales. (His first book, The Snowball System, is also excellent – see previous Forbes post.) If you're feeling like you're not making progress on your next career move, you will get lots of ideas from Give To Grow on how to be helpful, stay proactive and become the go-to person for your target employers. 'The wealthy are a tribe, and like most tribes, they are very skeptical of outsiders. Not surprisingly, they want very little to do with the masses.' -- in The Affluent Marketing Blueprint by Mark Satterfield Just like a sales book is important even if your career isn't in sales, a good marketing book is critical because your career advancement or job search needs good marketing. Mark Satterfield is a marketing strategist, and while his book focuses on marketing to the wealthy, it's a great proxy for marketing to the hiring managers holding the purse strings to your job offer or next promotion. Satterfield shares tips and techniques for building trust and credibility, two things necessary to boosting your career. If you're stymied on how to get decision-makers to notice you, think like a marketer and follow Satterfield's advice. 'In every organization there are individuals who get pulled into the most exciting strategy initiatives. Everyone seems to want their opinion, and everything they touch seems to turn to gold. Who are these people at your organization? How have they earned so much equity? By studying these 'equity players' you can uncover the elements that drive their success. And by building relationships with them, you may build your own equity.' – in Career Forward by Grace Puma and Christiana Smith Shi Grace Puma is a former COO of PepsiCo, and Christiana Smith Shi is a former President, Consumer-Direct of Nike. This book is full of insightful career tips from executives, not just Puma and Shi, who have reached the highest corporate levels. While the book is subtitled, Strategies from Women Who've Made It, the ideas and recommendations, such as the one above on paying attention to equity players, is useful for all genders, as well as across industries and levels.
