What Past Participants Say About the Good Life Seminars Program

February 13th, 2009

“I am in my seventh decade, and I am thinking hard about the legacy I want to leave my children, my community and my country. Pursuing the Good Life was a wonderful opportunity for me to engage in conversations with people who are asking the question ‘What ARE the really important things for me to do to really make a difference in the world’”
— Sam Mizrahi
President and CEO, SwissJust America
Buenos Aires, Argentina

“I really appreciated the chance to spend a week with accomplished, thoughtful people, all of whom had rich life experiences, and who were thinking about how best to live their lives going forward. The readings were wonderful and the dialogues were rich—but above all, I enjoyed spending time with the incredible people.”
— Robin Reif
Senior Vice President, Jack Morton Worldwide
New York, NY

“Pursuing the Good Life gave me the opportunity to pause: guided by the wisdom of great thinkers I was able to reflect on my life to date, and think about those things that really matter in the company of a spirited group of like minded people. It was a refreshing time out, and a chance to recalibrate the life decisions I have made.”
— Helmut Meier
Senior Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton
Duesseldorf, Germany

“Pursuing the Good Life provided me with the opportunity to meet with a group of bright, interesting, and thoughtful people. Each of us was trying to find a practical balance in our lives through our discussions of the challenging reading materials and the specially selected movies. The extraordinary participants in our session were accomplished people who were willing to share their feelings and talk about themselves. I left the seminar with new friends and a sense of well being—more comfortable about myself and more confident about what the future will bring.”
— Arthur Greenberg
Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman Machtinger and Kinsella LLP
Los Angeles, California

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Good Life Seminars Moderators: Founders and Faculty

January 30th, 2009

Moderators

Good Life Seminars was founded by Jim O’Toole, Sheila O’Brien, and John O’Neil with the express purpose of bringing the Good Life seminar initially developed for the Aspen Institute in 1997 to a wider audience.

James O’Toole, Mortimer J. Adler Senior Fellow of the Aspen Institute, has moderated over sixty Aspen seminars. Research Professor in the Center for Effective Organizations at the University of Southern California, he is author of fourteen critically acclaimed books on business, leadership, and philosophy, including Vanguard Management, Leading Change, and Leadership A to Z. His current book, Creating the Good Life is the print companion of this seminar. To learn more go to www.jamesotoole.com.

Sheila O’Brien has thirty years experience in the oil, gas and petrochemical sectors in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. She was Senior Vice President of Nova Chemicals with responsibility for Human Resources, Investor Relations, Public Relations and Government Affairs. She has been active in human rights, diversity, education and health issues, serving on over 50 different Boards and commissions in Canada and the U.S. In 1999, she was invested as a member of the Order of Canada, the country’s highest honor.

John O’Neil is President of The Center for Leadership Renewal. After a successful career as an AT&T executive, he has served as vice president of Mills College and president of the California School of Professional Psychology. A consultant and speaker on human development, he is author of the best-selling Paradox of Success (Tarcher, 1993), which deals directly with the subject matter of the Creating the Good Life seminar.

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Pursuing the Good Life Seminar

January 23rd, 2009

“What is the purpose of my life?”
“Am I finding meaning and happiness, or do I
need to make a mid-course correction?”
Offered in partnership with the renowned Aspen Institute, this seminar is designed to help thoughtful people explore the big questions that inevitably arise at mid-life.
Professionals and business people born in the years following World War II are increasingly asking themselves “what’s next?” The PURSUING THE GOOD LIFE seminar draws on the wisdom of the ages to help these practical men and women plan for satisfying, useful, moral, and meaningful “second halves.” The seminar provides a framework for exploring the various ways successful people can divide their time among such activities as work, wealth creation, family and friends, community, leisure, and the creation of a legacy.

Through expertly moderated discussions of relevant classic and contemporary readings, the seminar helps participants address some of the profound questions they struggle with in planning their futures:

• “How do I find meaning and satisfaction?”
• “How much money do I need in order to be happy?”
• “What are my responsibilities to my community?”
• “How can I create conditions conducive to the personal growth and development of others?”
• “What do I need to start doing now to set the stage for living the good life when I retire?”
• “What will my legacy be, and how will I create it?”

The seminar presents an unrivaled opportunity for men and women considering significant life and career transitions to engage with other successful people who are similarly seeking to refresh their priorities and recalibrate their values. The goal of the seminar is to help thoughtful people ask “the right questions” that will allow them to create robust and satisfying life plans.

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