Jim Clawson is a Professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden Business School and the author of the classic Level Three Leadership. I’m blessed with the opportunity to co-teach an Executive Development program with Jim at Darden. He is a remarkably gifted and dedicated educator.

In his groundbreaking new book Powered by Feel Jim and his colleague Doug Newburg demonstrate that the highest levels of human performance are driven by emotional congruity. In other words, high performers feel good about what they do. In the old paradigm of work feelings didn’t matter, all that counted was thought and action. But it turns out that feelings drive our behavior and determine our level of performance. Clawson and Newburg describe, how world-class performers, touring musicians, Olympic athletes, heart surgeons, high growth executives, and aircraft carrier landing crews have learned how to manage how they feel in order to improve their performance. And they note that positive feelings are also intrinsically rewarding. You dont have to be a world record holder or a heart surgeon to recognize the importance of feeling good about what you do. This powerful book will help you discover your optimal feeling state.

In Money and the Law of Attraction, Esther and Jerry Hicks offer a very different approach to the subject of feelings and their relationship to success and fulfillment. Although the perspective is quite different – Clawson and Newburg interviewed more than 550 high performers from 5 different disciplines, while the Hicks channel the wisdom of a “Non-Physical consciousness” named Abraham – the conclusions are remarkably similar:

Good feelings are intrinsic to success and fulfillment.

The Hicks present a compelling case for the importance of training yourself to feel good. And they offer excellent practical advice on how to cultivate a feeling state that attracts positive elements into your life. And, you don’t have to believe in the Non-Physical Source to get the full benefit of the wisdom.