Have you ever thought that there was more to success than money and power? If so, then you should carry on reading this review of Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Happier Life by Arianna Huffington.

Arianna Huffington was the co-founder and Editor in Chief of Huffington Post and is now the founder and CEO of Thrive Global.

Thrive starts with Arianna sharing a story of her waking up in a pool of blood after collapsing during her time building Huffington Post. The fact is whilst on the outside she was viewed as successful she was running herself into the ground. It was at this point she realised that there had to more to success than money and power. In the book, she says

 

“over the long term, money and power by themselves are like a two-legged stool – you can balance on them for a while, but eventually you’re going to topple over”.

 

In order to balance out the stool, Arianna believes that there needs to a Third Metric of success, which is a combination of well-being, wisdom, wonder and giving. Then for the rest of the book

The rest of the book then goes on to talk about these 4 concepts in more detail.

 

WELL BEING

Arianna states that “Our current notion of success, in which we drive ourselves into the ground, if note the grave – in which working to the point of exhaustion and burnout is considered a badge of honour”. 

We all know that purpose who is forever working but prides themselves of it. The thing is that lifestyle is not good for one’s health, which ultimately should be a priority. It is easy to understand why well-being is important for you as an individual, but Arianna argues that it is also good for companies, but “Too many companies don’t yet realize the benefits of focusing on wellness”.

Well-being is a massive topic and in the book, she touches on mindfulness, overconnectivity, email and Sleep. With regards to sleep, she states that “Sleep is the most underrated health habit” and it is no surprise that she then went on to write The Sleep Revolution.

 

WISDOM

In Wisdom, Arianna talks a lot about intuition. She states that “Feeding and nurturing our intuition, and living a life in which we can make use of its wisdom is one key way to thrive, at work and in life.” She encourages everyone to listen to the voice within and not ignore your intuition.

In the Wisdom chapter, Arianna also talks about gratitude. She writes “Gratitude works its magic by serving as an antidote to negative emotions.” By focusing on what you are grateful for you will instantly make yourself happier as you are taking the time to focus on the good in your life rather than the bits that aren’t so great that are too easy to get fixated with.

  

WONDER

As children, we are full of wonder, but as we grow up it is one of the things that leaves people lives. In the WONDER chapter, Arianna talks about coincidences and how they are “Life’s Secret Door to Wonder”. She writes “One pathway to awakening wonder in our lives is the serendipity of coincidence…Coincidences, however prosaic, elicit our curiosity about the nature of the universe and all that we don’t yet know or understand.”

 

GIVING

The final area is GIVING. In GIVING, Arianna talks about how all of us have something to give and that giving is not only great for those who receive but those who give as well.

 

She states

“we all need to find the leader in the mirror, and take the steps headed to make a difference, both in our own communities and at the other end of the world.”

The fact is all of us can lead in some way and make a difference in the world. One of the things I liked about this chapter is it wasn’t just about traditional giving through donations or volunteering. Arianna also mentioned how you can use your skills or talents to help someone and even small gestures of kindness are a simple way to give.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. A quote that has really stuck with me is

 

“We need to give ourselves permission to follow what makes us feel most alive.”

 

When it comes to success many people are chasing an idea of success they created many years ago. For most people, once you start on a path to somewhere you just keep going and you aren’t necessarily living in the moment and really accessing how alive you feel.

This book is about thriving and really living your best life, but as Arianna says “The difference between what such success looks like and what truly makes us thrive isn’t always clear as we’re living our lives.”

Through this book, you are given the opportunity to really think about what success means to you, what price you are willing to pay and how you can add new things into your life in order to THRIVE rather than SURVIVE.

 

Like the sound of Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Happier Life. If so, why not buy a copy for yourself?

This book was read as part of PropelHer’s Book, which is a women-only non-fiction book club. If you are an ambitious women who want to read books to support your personal growth then you can find out more about PropelHer’s Book Club at www.propelher.co.uk.