"In my experience, the two things humans want most are to find happiness and to find meaning," Izzo writes. In this ready-made spiritual quest, the business consultant and ordained Presbyterian minister interviewed more than 200 people from ages 60 to 106. The answers they received led him and his team to the belief that there are five secrets to happiness. Izzo's interviewees were selected after relatives and friends submitted their names as wise people with something to teach. The list was narrowed from 1,000 names to a diverse group that includes men and women, Muslims and Christians, doctors, barbers, priests, and aboriginal people.
Throughout the book, Izzo presents each lesson with heartfelt responses and anecdotes from these wise elders to illustrate how living each lesson has made them fulfilled and unafraid of death. "Just be yourself" has been the advice of every parent since Polonius. Izzo found that the simple phrase, "be true to yourself," is the first secret. Seventy-two-year-old Elsa told the author, "In order to tell a person the secret to happiness, I would have to sit down with them, look them deeply in the eyes, find out who they are, find out what their dreams are." A college professor discussed with him the difference he sees every day between his students who are following their dreams and those who aren't. Izzo also explains that the word "sin" comes from an ancient Greek word related to archery that literally means "to miss the mark." He believes that to sin, in the original sense of the word, means to "miss the mark of what you intended your life to be." After "leave no regrets," "become love," and "live the moment," the book's final secret is "give more than you take." As George, a seventy-one-year-old physicist, put it, "sooner or later you realize that you are not going to take anything with you but you can leave something behind." Each chapter ends with questions that encourage readers to think about the way they are living their own lives, such as, "Did I make the world a better place this week in some small way?"
In a society where old age is often seen as weakness, The Five Secrets is a refreshing reminder that our elders have much to teach. Izzo writes, "Whenever I am going to take a trip, I choose hotels by using a website that taps into the experiences of hundreds of other travelers ... It occurred to me that one could apply this same method to discovering the secrets to living well and dying happy." How many pitfalls and heartaches could be avoided if we consulted with travelers who have taken the road before?
-- Foreword Magazine, January/February 2008
Verdict: In the burgeoning world of self-help books, Izzo's "five secrets"--"be true to yourself," "leave no regrets," "become love," "live the moment," and "give more than you take"--aren't exactly secrets anymore. But his book takes off on the strength of his methodology of surveying "wide elders." Readers will want to know more about these interviewees and see the accompanying public television series to air widely in the spring of 2008. Highly recommended for all public libraries.
Background: Izzo, CEO of the consulting and training firm that bears his name, and his staff received recommendations from thousands of people regarding who they went to for advice and who they felt had found happiness and purpose in their lives. From the thousands of "wise elders," a diverse group of 235 North American people between the ages of 59 and 105 were selected for in-depth interviews about their lives and feelings. From these stories, Izzo culled the common themes that make up the "secrets" to happiness. In order to incorporate the secrets to happiness, he points out that each of us must discern what really matters to us and incorporate it into our lives; he suggests personal questions to ask ourselves to find our personal path to happiness, as well as weekly and daily reflections.
-- Library Journal, December 4, 2008 From the Publisher
Praise for Five Secrets
"This book is rich with anecdotes and insights that broaden your perspective on life and deepen your commitment to live your very best."
--Brian Tracy, author of Maximum Achievement, Eat That Frog! and Flight Plan
"John Izzo is a masterful storyteller. He educates us by weaving a fascinating mosaic of stories that make his point. Let this book be your mentor!"
--Beverly Kaye, Founder and CEO, Career Systems International and co-author of Love It Don't Leave It: 26 Ways to Get What You Want at Work and Love `Em or Lose `Em: Getting Good People to Stay
"Instead of wishing at the end of life `If I only knew then what I know now' you can know it now! This book has incredible wisdom from people who have real perspective."
--Marshall Goldsmith, author of What Got You Here Won't Get You There
"John has written a book that takes the obvious and turns it into the essence. When you have finished reading The Five Secrets you will find yourself with a new point of view about the rest of your life. And you will love it!
--Joel Barker, futurist
"John Izzo has revealed key fundamental truths from our elders, which he has presented in a way that is absorbing and often moving. This is not just another simple meaning-of-life book; it is a carefully researched and edited exploration of a road map to fulfillment for an era that needs it more than ever. The author infuses personal meaning into each chapter, and we feel as though we are going on a personal journey with him. The journey is joyful, heartfelt, often tearful, moving, but always presented with meaning and purpose."
--Janet E. Lapp, PhD, psychologist, author, and host of the CBS series Keep Well
"Have you ever wanted to sit down with someone who is really wise and ask him or her some fundamental questions about life? How about sitting down with more than 200 wise people? That's what John Izzo did and he offers truths here that you can't afford to ignore. Prepare to be surprised, provoked, encouraged--and changed forever. You will want to keep this book as a constant companion. It is a gentle reminder that it is never too late to live the truths that lead to wisdom, grace, and deep happiness."
--Dr. Kent M. Keith, CEO, The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, and author of Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments
"The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die is a magically engaging book: lyrical, poetic, and perceptive. Through deeply moving stories from wise elders, John Izzo masterfully unravels the mystery of what it means to live a full and meaningful life. This book is a joy to read, and it will be an even greater joy to live the profound yet simple lessons revealed in this remarkable book."
--Jim Kouzes, coauthor of The Leadership Challenge and A Leader's Legacy
"I was deeply moved as I savored the wisdom found in The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die. This book brings to light much of the lost wisdom of our elders, providing practical ways to live with greater meaning and focus. John Izzo, who courageously puts the word `die' in the title, offers us profound and simple wisdom for living, for getting to the heart of what it means to be more fully human."
--David Irvine, author of Becoming Real: Journey to Authenticity and The Authentic Leader
"The things we think we know are usually the things we most need to be helped to remember. This book prompts us to refocus on the principles on which we build the well-lived life."
--Max Wyman, author of The Defiant Imagination
"If you read only one book this year, please make it The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die. Dr. Izzo has done a monumental service for all of us in synthesizing fundamental keys to living a happy and meaningful life. This is extraordinary wisdom literature."
--Larry C. Spears, President Emeritus and Senior Fellow, The Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership
About the Author
John Izzo, PhD, is the bestselling author of Second Innocence and host of the public television series The Five Things You Must Discover before You Die. Holding advanced degrees in religion and psychology, Izzo has spoken to over one million people on four continents about living more purposeful lives.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
why do some people find meaning image die happy?
Nine-tenths of wisdom is being wise in time.
—Theodore Roosevelt
Wisdom outweighs any wealth. —Sophocles
Why do some people find meaning and die happy? What are the secrets to finding happiness and living wisely? What really matters if we want to live a worthy human life? These are the questions this book seeks to answer.
To live wisely, we must recognize that there are two fundamental truths of a human life. The first is that we have a limited and undefined amount of time—it may be 100 years, it may be 30. The second is that in that limited and undefined amount of time we have an almost unlimited number of choices of how to use our time—the things we choose to focus on and put our energy into—and these choices will ultimately define our lives. When we are born there is no owner’s manual provided, and the clock begins ticking the moment we arrive.
We do not like the words “die” and “death.” Many human activities are designed to shield us from the truth about life; that it is limited, that at least here in this place, we do not have forever. Some of you may have hesitated to pick up a book with the word “die” in the title, fearing somehow that something bad might happen to you for even recognizing the reality of your own mortality. You may even find yourself a bit uncomfortable as you read these words, wishing I might move on quickly to another topic.
Still, it is the fact that we die and that our time is limited that makes discovering the secrets to life important. If we lived forever, there would be little urgency to discover the true paths to happiness and purpose since given the luxury of eternity we would surely stumble on them sooner or later. This is a luxury we do not have. At whatever age we find ourselves, death sits nearby. When we are young, we may feel that death is a distant and far-off reality, but having conducted memorial services for people of all ages, including a recent friend who died at 33 while traveling in Kenya, I suggest that death is always close at hand, reminding us to get on with life. Derek Walcott, the Nobel-Prize-winning poet from St. Lucia, called time the “evil beloved.” On the one hand, we know that time appears evil because it will take from us all that matters to us, at least in this life; on the other hand, time is also “beloved” because it is our very mortality that gives life a sense of urgency and purpose. Our time is limited and must be used wisely.
knowledge versus wisdom
Knowing how to use this one life to its fullest requires wisdom more than knowledge. Wisdom is different and fundamentally more important than knowledge. We live in a time when knowledge (the number of facts) doubles every six months, but wisdom is in short supply. Knowledge is the accumulation of facts, whereas wisdom is the ability to discern what matters and what does not matter. Unless we can discover what really matters, we cannot find true meaning in life.
In my first profession, it was as a minister in the Presbyterian Church. When I was in my twenties I had the privilege of spending a good deal of time with people who were dying. Through those experiences I discovered that individual human beings die very differently. Some people die having lived a life of deep purpose with few regrets. These people come to the end of their lives with a deep sense of having lived a full human life. Others die looking back with bitterness at having missed what really mattered. Even as a young man I realized that some people found the secrets to life and some did not.
Death has never been an abstract concept to me. My father died when he was only 36 years old. He stood up one day at a picnic and that was it. His life had been far from perfect, and now it was over. There would be no do-over. By the time I was 28 years old I had conducted dozens of funeral services and sat with many people in the final days of life. I consider this intimacy with mortality to be a great gift. Maybe because of these experiences, I have always searched for the “secrets” to living a purposeful and fulfilling life. I vowed as a very young person that when my time came, I would not look back in regret for the life I might have lived.
My wife is a nurse by training, and from a young age she too was witness to the reality of our mortality. She worked in the operating room, in a pediatric cancer ward, and in the emergency room. We talk about death regularly. We try to live aware of its presence.
Leslie, my wife, almost died a few times in her life. She was born with a deformed heart and had several major operations beginning when she was a few days old, but three years ago we had an experience that reminded us anew of the fragility of our lives.
She was going into the hospital for a routine and non–life-threatening surgical procedure. To this day I can remember our daughter Sydney, then ten years old, saying: “Mommy, you don’t really need to have that surgery, do you?” Leslie reassured her and the next morning was admitted for surgery.
What happened in the next 72 hours is still a blur to me. The surgery went well, she was groggy and then uncomfortable. The kids and I stayed with her at the hospital into that evening. The next day she felt a little better, and I left her room early in the evening so she could rest, telling her that I was going to get some things done at the office and that I’d come visit the next day about noon. We anticipated she would be home within a day.
The next morning I called the hospital around 11 a.m., and my wife was saying things that made no sense, talking to me in sentences that were unintelligible. Rushing to the hospital I soon discovered that in the middle of the night she had experienced a stroke at the age of 37. She was seeing triple and was being transferred to the neuro–intensive-care unit. Later that day, the neurologist asked me to make the hardest decision of my life thus far. “Your wife has had a stroke and we don’t know why. We have to make a choice now as to whether to put her on blood-thinning medication. It could save her life, or it could lead to more bleeding, depending on what caused the stroke. The decision is yours.” With the information available to me, I decided to authorize the use of the medication. The next several days were tense and frightening.
When something like this happens, we each have our own story. I cannot speak for my wife’s experience but the next few months set off a whirlwind of emotions for me. My life was busy and crowded with meetings and tasks. Even while Leslie was recovering at home, I continued to busy myself with these many tasks, and in retrospect I realize that I was not there for her in the way I would like to have been. I kept asking myself: Is this really the right way to live my life? What really matters?
A friend of mine, Jim Kouzes, told me that “adversity introduces us to ourselves,” and I was not sure I liked the person I was meeting. While she slowly recovered and I sadly watched her daily struggle to regain the ability to do simple tasks once taken for granted, I struggled to think about the rest of my life. The stroke reminded both of us that life was fragile, but it also served as a wake-up call.
By the time the year was finished, Leslie was mostly back to normal, and I was very thankful. I felt we had been granted a reprieve. But we had been paid a visit. Our belief in the certainty of health and life was shattered by this experience. Life was short. And I began to ask myself: Have I really discovered what matters? If my time came now, could I say I had discovered the secrets to life? Approaching 50, and with my wife recovered from that stroke, I embarked on the journey that I share in this book, a journey to discover “the secrets.”
This book emerged from my desire to be clear on what matters, the secrets to a happy, purposeful life. As I have aged, I have found myself asking with a greater sense of urgency the questions that have been there all my life: What matters? What will I be thinking at the end of life? Since I have only so much time remaining, what is the wise use of that time? What are the secrets of happiness and purpose?
the two things we want most
It seems to me that there are two things we want most as human beings. Freud theorized that the primary human drives were to seek pleasure and to avoid pain. As the result of spending my lifetime not with psychiatric patients but meeting thousands of people across many continents and listening to their stories (first as a minister and later leading personal-growth sessions), I believe Freud was wrong, very wrong.
In my experience, the two things humans want most are to find happiness and to find meaning. “Happiness” is often thought of as a frivolous word, as in “don’t worry, be happy” (meaning blissfully unaware). We may think of happiness as a temporary state of feeling good brought on by pleasures such as good food and sex.
By “finding happiness” I mean that every human being wants to experience joy and a deep sense of contentment. We want to know that we have lived fully and experienced what it means to be a human being. Joseph Campbell put it this way: “I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive.”*
This does not mean a permanent state of bliss but a day-to-day contentment and joy that create the experience we call happiness. At the end of each day, and at the end of our lives, we want what my grandfather called a “good tired.”
But happiness is not enough for us as human beings. I believe we also want to find meaning. If happiness is about the dayto-day experience of contentment and joy, meaning is about the sense that one’s life has purpose. Victor Frankl, a student of Freud and a survivor of the Nazi death camps, suggested that the search for meaning is the ultimate human drive. We want, most of all, to know that it mattered we were here, to find a reason for being alive. Some call this a sense of purpose; others might say it is about leaving a legacy or finding a calling. To me, “meaning” is about connection to something outside ourselves. Meaning is about not being alone, because if my life has meaning, it is connected to something and someone beyond the self.
Happiness is about the moments of our lives; meaning is about our sense of connection. Perhaps if we were not mortal, happiness would be enough, but our mortality causes us to want to be connected, to know that it matters that we were here.
But how do we discover the secrets of happiness and meaning? How do we find the secrets of living well and dying happy?
Many of us stumble through the journey of living, learning as we go, eventually discovering what matters. Often we discover wisdom when we are old, when most of our life is behind us, when it is too late to act on what we have learned. What if we could discover the secrets of a happy and meaningful life before we are old?
I do not believe we have to wait until we are old to become wise. It seems to me that the secrets to life are all around us, witnessed in the lives of others, those who have found what we seek.
In this book are five secrets we must discover about life before we die. These secrets are the foundation of a fulfilling and purposeful life. They are a gift from those who have lived wisely to those of us who are still climbing the mountain.
are these really secrets?
Why do I call these discoveries “secrets”? Normally we think of secrets as something that few people know, and yet it is quite possible that as you read about the five secrets you may feel as though you were already aware of them. They will certainly not come as a stunning surprise. The dictionary defines a secret as “a formula or plan known only to the initiated or the few.” Although you may have heard these things before, what makes these five things secrets is that only a few people seem to live their lives as if they were true. The secret is not that these things are new but rather that they are so universally common among the diverse group of people who others said had found happiness and purpose.
In Anna Karenina, Tolstoy writes that “happy families are all alike; but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” What I discovered in the interviews is that the happy people had the five secrets in common in terms of how they lived their lives. More importantly, I discovered that these people not only knew these secrets but had put them into practice in their lives.
Knowing the secrets is not sufficient. We all know things that we don’t put into practice: exercise is good for us, eating a balanced diet can lead to good health, smoking is bad for our health, relationships matter more than things, and so forth. Yet, many of us live life in daily opposition to the “wisdom” we already have. In this book I seek to answer two questions: What matters—what are the secrets of a fulfilling and purposeful life? How do we put these secrets into practice in our lives and keep ourselves on track? I think of these as knowing and going. Knowing is necessary, but it is not enough.
Before I share the five secrets and the practices to integrate them into our lives, let us examine the method by which I discovered the secrets.
Along with the author's own back story of hard-won wisdom, his conversational reading style and generous tone make this audio an unforgettable listening and growing experience. Hearing Izzo talk about the five secrets shared by 235 older people identified as having happiness and purpose, listeners will be moved by his gift for teaching from the heart. The richness of these vignettes, from his own life and the people interviewed, makes the production both precious and powerful. The five secrets are to be true to yourself, leave no regrets, become love, live the moment, and give more than you take. A sobering reminder that we are only here for a little while and that there is much to be learned from the elders of the world. T.W. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine
