The Power of Your Past: The Art of Recalling, Recasting, and Reclaiming

233 Pages·2011·3.201 MB·English

by  John P Schuster

More Praise for The Power of Your Past
“John Schuster’s latest book evokes in each of us our own compli-
cated and colorful pasts and offers them to us as rich assets to be
reveled in, appreciated, and learned from. What a gift, in an age of
focusing on the future or living solely for the now, to access our pasts
as a rich lode of insight and guidance! Schuster is a master coach
and master storyteller; this book should be read by everyone con-
cerned with human change.”
—Doug Silsbee, author of Presence-Based Coaching
“A great new way of thinking that will enable our leaders to use their
past creatively in order to better live their present and robustly lean
into their future.”
—Carmen M. Allison, Head of Executive Development, Gap Inc.
“Schuster doesn’t stop with observations about how our pasts can be
effective tools for creating our desired future. He gives us practical
steps to reveal the watershed events of our pasts and then gain new
insights into who we are, who and what we can be, and how we can
chart our own paths forward.”
—Doug Robinette, CEO, Integros Coaching and Consulting, and former
President, Nationwide Insurance Operations
“John helps us to refl ect on how we are stuck in the present, focusing
on a ruthless and unpredictable future, neglecting our history and
our past. It’s amazing how he touches us with the most intriguing
question of our lives: Where did I come from, who I am, and where
do I go?”
—José Augusto Figueiredo, COO, DBM Latin America, and President,
International Coach Federation Brazil
“This book helps look at the sources of the power and imagination
that all true leaders possess. Leaders need to know the beginning
of their journey to leadership if they hope to help others on theirs.”
—Earl Walker, former Dean, School of Business Administration, The
Citadel
“John Schuster brings to light a valuable, introspective insight that will
cause you to breathe more deeply and act with greater confi dence
and clarity. John’s message around acknowledging and embracing
the value of our past is powerful.”
—Dave Goebel, CEO, Mr. Goodcents; Merryck Mentor; and former CEO,
Applebee’s
http://avaxhome.ws/blogs/ChrisRedfield
“Schuster’s book brilliantly emphasizes the power of coming home to
our own very personal history and harvesting what’s essential while
recasting the adversities. He challenges the ‘be here now’ mentality
and provides a clear road map for adjusting the course and using our
history to strengthen life in the present!”
—Pamela McLean, PhD, CEO, The Hudson Institute of Santa Barbara
“A clear and precise guide for working with clients to unearth the
things that matter from their history, both the gifts needing to be
recalled (performance-enhancing thinking and resources) and les-
sons from negative experiences recast to enable forward movement
(performance-interfering thinking), yet Schuster makes clear these
methods are not a replacement for therapy.”
—Terrence E. Maltbia, EdD, Senior Lecturer, Teachers College,
Columbia University, and Faculty Director, The Columbia Coaching
Certifi cation Program
“John has enabled many leaders to achieve beyond their expectations.
This book will lead them to go beyond themselves again. I so recom-
mend this book for all those who want to align themselves with their
best contributions and work, including the meaning of their fi nancial
success.”
—Bob Rogers, former Chairman and CEO, Ewing Marion Kauffman
Foundation
“Without proper refl ection we are prone to repeat mistakes and unable
to reach our full potential. In this book, John Schuster gives read-
ers the means to tap into their past and create their future, thereby
increasing their odds of success. Spend the time to understand the
power of your past—you will be richer for it.”
—Stan Sword, Vice President of Total Rewards, Sprint Nextel
Corporation
“In a work of uncommon grace and insight, Schuster reminds us of our
personal and collective tendencies toward misunderstanding, misin-
terpreting, and misremembering. He explains what it is that takes
place, why this matters, and how we can make use of this knowledge
in order to grow as successful human beings.”
—Larry C. Spears, President, The Spears Center for Servant-Leadership
“A skillful interweaving of depth psychology, leadership development,
and care for the soul.”
—Scott Harrison, Director of Developer and Software Partner Programs,
Intel Corporation, and executive coach
The Power of Your Past
Other books by John P. Schuster
Answering Your Call: A Guide to Living Your
Deepest Purpose
The Power of Open-Book Management
The Open-Book Management Field Book
From Hum-Drum to Hot-Diggity on Leadership
The Power of Your Past
The Art of Recalling, Reclaiming,
and Recasting
John P. Schuster
The Power of Your Past
Copyright © 2011 by John P. Schuster
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First Edition
Paperback print edition ISBN 978-1-60509-826-5
PDF e-book ISBN 978-1-60509-863-0
IDPF e-book ISBN 978-1-60509-864-7
2011-1
Interior design & illustration: Gopa&Ted2 Design
Copyeditor: Elissa Rabellino
Indexer: Mary Heinrich
Cover design: pemastudio
Proofreader: Henrietta Bensussen
Book producer: Linda Jupiter Productions
To Rita Schuster and Audrey Kane,
moms with memories of gold and silver,
and to aunt Dorothy Cunningham,
keeper of the treasure of laughs.
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Contents
Preface ix
Introduction: Your Past Can Work for You 3
Part I: Discovering the Power of Your Past 15
Chapter 1: The Underused Past:
The Price of Forgotten Yesterdays 19
Chapter 2: Good and Bad News:
Evoked and Compressed 45
Part II: Tapping the Power of Your Past 69
Chapter 3: Recall 73
Chapter 4: Reclaim 101
Chapter 5: Recast 127
Part III: Channeling the Power of Your Past 151
Chapter 6: Answering the Big Question:
When to Say Yes and No 155
Chapter 7: Using Suffering to Grow 175
Notes 191
Acknowledgments 195
Index 197
About the Author 205