{"product_id":"book-ee4d","title":"The Shibumi Strategy","description":" One of the questions always posed to Matthew May is: How do I  apply the principles of elegance and elegant solutions to my life  in order to create meaningful change?   The Shibumi Strategy is one of the best ways to answer  that question. Shibumi is a Japanese word that describes the height  of personal excellence, elegant performance, and effortless  effectiveness. It is without definition.  Appropos of the current economic environment, The Shibumi  Strategy is a personal leadership fable that tells the story of  Andy Harmon, a hardworking family man living an idyllic surburban  life in fictional Twin Falls, who suddenly finds himself facing a  crisis when troubled times force his company to close. With few  options and many limitations, Andy must do something to avoid  uprooting his family. Through his struggle, and with repeated  guidance from both his sons Aikido teacher Kumi, who  delivers subtle lessons in the form of personal zen  principles, and his wife Lizzy, a volunteer librarian who regails  him with minifables, insights from her yoga classes, and keeps him  current in the science of the mind, Andy comes to understand that  it is often the involuntary challenge, the setbacks, that harbor  the power to transform. Approached as an opportunity  no  easy task when simple survival is the first order of business   these unforeseen trials can sometimes result in an  altogether new and more elegant lease on life.  Andy experiences just such a transformation, gaining the insight  that not only does a breakthrough require a difficult barrier to  break through, but that a breakthrough moment often comes after a  protracted struggle with a problem, followed by a break from it. In  other words, break is a big part of  breakthrough.  Part One, a business parable, offers a pathway for leading  oneself to a personal breakthrough that follows the basic structure  of the story chapters-commitment, preparation, struggle,  breakthrough, transformation-embedding key lessons in the  form of zen aesthetic principles applied to life and work.  \"   Part Two, the Practicum, expands on the five-phase  breakthrough cycle, and offers short insights, practical takeaways,  exercises and tools for the reader to pencil through.  ","brand":"Ascent Audio","offers":[{"title":"Audiobook","offer_id":49428283490608,"sku":"BDee4d","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audio CD","offer_id":49428283523376,"sku":"ZEee4d","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Audio MP3-CD","offer_id":49428283556144,"sku":"ZMee4d","price":45.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0879\/2784\/9264\/files\/ee4d-Square-cover.jpg?v=1778670822","url":"https:\/\/downpour.com\/products\/book-ee4d","provider":"Downpour","version":"1.0","type":"link"}