Mayday!: Asking for Help in Times of Need

by M Nora Klaver

Book Overview

Everyone hates asking for help. We're afraid of seeming weak. We think it's an admission of failure. We simply don't know how. So instead we continue to struggle on alone with both day-to-day burdens... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1576754510
• ISBN13: 9781576754511
• Release Date: July 2007
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Length: 214 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.6" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Simply Amazing - An eye opener!

Like most people - I never thought that asking for help was a big deal - until I read about it in Mayday! I always looked at myself as the "one" who gives help to others & obviously from that I felt I can always figure things out myself! Its amazing how reading mayday totally changed my perspective on this matter - there was a clear paradigm shift - from thinking & believing that "I am it - & I can do it on my own" - to "Opening up to other people - other possibilities - connecting to other human beings and realizing that sometimes reaching out to people in times of need brings in more solutions than I could have ever imagined on my own! But most importantly learning how to ask for help - reading Mayday - makes you humble - grateful - to all the human relationships that we share - to value all the people that come our way & everyone has a special gift to share - everybody loves to contribute and serve in some way! And it just makes the whole ride more easier and fun when we do things together instead of struggling alone! I highly recommend this book to anyone and everyone who has ever had a doubt, a fear or questioned the idea of asking for help! This book will really open you up to many many possibilities!

Important material economically expressed

Picking up M. Nora Klaver's book gave me one of those `ah ha!' moments that I really needed - she addresses the fact that so many of us don't ask for help when we would be far better off if we did. She dares to ask why so many of us behave that way (and I certainly do) and what the ultimate cost of this can be. It's so fundamental it almost takes my breath away that we refuse help so often. Ms. Klaver's book is brief, but in its delightfully lucid organization it contains a wealth of important material, for the failure to ask for help when we need it isn't just a question of every now and then. It's more like an attitude so many of us have that cuts us off from others, reduces our effectiveness, and locks us into a way of feeling undeserving. This can ultimately make us more helpless than we were before. Fortunately this book gives a clear answer to show us how we can break this pattern. The seven steps in the Mayday process are clearly stated and eye-opening, and the way she writes about applying the virtues of compassion, self-compassion, faith, and gratitude made me see how often the fear of seeming to be in someone else's debt can limit a whole lifetime. Whether you're in business (where asking for help can be seen as a lack of ability) or starting a new episode in your life, or facing a domestic problem such as caring for children or elders, Mayday will show you a whole new way of handling things. Reading it is like being shown the correct way to do something after years of doing it badly or not at all - suddenly everything makes more sense, and becomes easy. Allan Hunter Author: "Stories We Need to Know:Reading Your Life Path in Literature" (Findhorn 2008) [...]

Mayday!: Asking for Help

I initially started reading this book thinking there was nothing I could learn about asking for help. Boy was I wrong! I found the information engaging, perceptive and thought provoking. Ms. Klaver writes in a very approachable style, almost as if you are having a conversation with her. And the examples she gives really illustrate her point in a way that everyone can recognize and to which they can relate. I have even purchased this book for family and friends who I know will benefit from her insight. She really made me reassess my attitude and method in asking for help. I would highly recommend this book!

Mayday!: Asking for Help in Times of Need, by M. Nora Klaver

I found Nora Klaver's stories and advice on asking for help so inspiring, I'm getting copies for a couple of friends and family members who would also benefit from her wisdom and guidance. I also find her accompanying workbook a great help in identifying where and how I can open up and connect with others by including them in ways of helping me. Doing this seemed impossible at first, but Ms. Klaver brought out the courage and desire to reach out in asking for and appreciating help, which is making a significant difference for me, and for those I've been asking.

Really insightful executive coach - great review from NY Times

I decided to read this book based on a great review I read in the NY Times and her reputation in Chicago as a top executive coach. The premise of the book is that learning to ask for help is not just good for altruistic reasons; it makes business sense. She has some good examples of how asking for help can work to your advantage in getting ahead at work and getting along with your coworkers. She offers some great tips on how to ask for help too. I know people who have worked with this executive coach and rave about her. After working with her and the techniques she shares in this book, they were promoted very quickly. I'm confident the skills I learned through this book will do the same for me. A+++