I’m one woman who did everything well. I stayed out of trouble in school, married right guy and joined a great company when it started taking women seriously. I’ve made sound business decisions along way and shall surely become a V P before I’m forty. I live in a home my parents think a mansion and have two beautiful children. I do a job thousands envy. Obviously, I have everything. Right? Wrong! Much of my life feels incomplete and caught up in trivia. My kids are rebelling with sex and drugs and I’m almost certain my husband is having an affair with a little twerp. I feel deeply dissatisfied at most inopportune times, as if nothing counts except for my sixty hour work weeks and paying for house and Mercedes. There must be more to life than this but when my therapist asks what‘s missing, I can’t even tell her. I worry that I’m going mad to feel this way despite my accomplishments in company and my prestige in my community. What do I do when I’ve won everything I’ve ever wanted and it isn’t enough to keep me happy?

What, indeed -- and what of many persons who fall short of her achievements, who fear life is passing them by, who feel stuck in their careers or frustrated in their relationships? They are not mentally ill but virtually always spiritually maladjusted through secular values, negative attitudes, low expectations, immature beliefs and often irresponsible choices. They are left wondering how they can find consistent satisfaction. Our work answers Catherine’s troubling question along with a great many more. Our emphasis is on joyful living through spiritual values (or ethical virtues), positive attitudes, high expectations, mature beliefs and responsible choices. We have learned as Viktor Frankl, Karen Horney, Karl Jung and many others taught, that unfortunate souls who are suffering from neurotic ailments and existential alienation, are those persons who have failed to find a consistent sense of meaning that assures their satisfaction through life’s several stages. We have also learned that few persons are going to simply get lucky and have fulfillment handed to them on a solver platter. Life is filled with many quid-pro-quos in which we must do our part wisely and well to have life become consistently satisfying as a by-product of our responsible choices.

Obviously this means that those persons doing best they can -- while still feeling stuck in their careers, dissatisfied with their love relationships and anxious that life is passing them by, must learn better ways of managing their existence. Of course, that is what this book is all about!

This approach was first conceived when Jard was psychology professor and convocations chairman at Olivet College. He had Viktor Frankl flown from Vienna to campus to lecture and counsel about his approach to psychospiritual healing. Viktor had written several outstanding books, including MAN‘S SEARCH FOR MEANING, PSYCHOTHERAPY AND EXISTENTIALISM and THE DOCTOR AND THE SOUL. The Viennese psychiatrist and psychologist called his approach Logotherapy -- which means spirit healing -- for existentially frustrated or spiritually bankrupt souls. Viktor, who spent more than three years in Nazi Germany’s brutal death camps, was spiritually transformed by his covenant relationship with God despite suffering and fear surrounding him, into a virtual saint. Even in that anteroom of hell, with God’s help, he found meaning by helping others survive. In our distinctive religious approach to Logotherapy, you shall study crucial presentations and use revealing reality checks, self-focus exercises and powerful projects to consider serving society well, worshipping devoutly, relating warmly, persevering bravely, learning wisely and playing enthusiastically. New insights can lead to spiritual values, positive attitudes, high expectations, mature beliefs and responsible choices that enhance life for persons who apply them wisely.

This approach when piloted some hundred times in business organizations, churches, professional associations and universities, often received a standing ovation from many participants. The authors won a 3.68 evaluation with it on a one to four scale for years. We have learned, in our presentations that range from hour long church forum lectures, to business seminars, to three day summer college classes, that participants are indeed fascinated with our materials. And while we are not entirely unbiased, we feel this interest is result of our addressing vital human needs that are seldom considered in commercial seminars or even religious classes -- despite their importance to each human soul. We are dealing in applied Logotherapy -- healing of human spirit through a covenant relationship with God Cosmic Creator.

If you or a loved one faces career, relationship, emotional or spiritual challenges that leave you dissatisfied and feeling stuck in life, worried that life itself is passing you by, that your life is bereft of meaning, this can be most valuable single experience of your life. It can and will assist anyone seeking consistent fulfillment in many special ways -- that is, helping reader find satisfying sources of lasting meaning in those places of heart where he or she belongs.

Think how often you see a friend or an acquaintance that you may not have seen for a few weeks or months and question comes up: "How's work going?"

What's a typical response for you? "Fine." "O.k." "Oh, I'm hanging in there" "It's all right." Or maybe even: "Horrible" "I'm going absolutely nutty!" or "Why'd you have to bring it up!"

When you ask question, or when question is asked of you, how come typical response isn't: "Fantastic!" "Wonderful!" or "Couldn't be better!"?

Think about how much of your life you spend working. We'll say average person works 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, for 45 years… That's 90,000 hours, which is 3,750 days which works out to just about 10.25 solid years! If average person lives to be 75, then we are spending roughly 1/7th of our life at work punching old time clock!

If you are going to spend 1/7th of your life doing anything… shouldn't you be doing something that gives you a sense of worth and satisfaction if not absolute elation?

Granted, many people truly love their work. They can't wait to get up in morning to get to office, or to get on road, or to start a new project. But I would argue this isn't case with most people.

So how do we enjoy same passion and love for what we do that some select others enjoy?

Why not start by copying attributes that these individuals have? I recognize many things that we may be able to copy, but three stand out more than others. People who truly enjoy their work: 1.Chose a line of work that they love and that excites them, 2.Have specific goals and accomplishments that they would like to attain and, 3.Have a positive self-image and enjoy higher levels of self-confidence than most.

First, chose a line of work that you love and that excites you. The old adage holds true, "Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life."

So often we are torn between choosing a career that we love, and choosing career that will bring us big paycheck! Is that big paycheck ultimately worth your sanity and your happiness?

My experience is that it isn't. At best, paycheck becomes an outlet for you to try and enjoy yourself outside of work. This causes other problems like inordinate amounts of debt, materialism, and other worries.

Why not choose a career that you truly love, regardless of paycheck attached to it, and then figure out how to make money at it?

For example, forget about paycheck and become a public school teacher like you've always wanted to. Then develop a new teaching method or product that you can market and sell to public.