The Power Of Onlyness: How to Make Your Ideas Mighty Enough to Dent the World

(Hardback)

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The Power of Onlyness shows how to embrace what makes you and your particular passion truly unique, tap into that passion, find and enlist allies, and get real results by guiding and galvanizing a crowd of like-minded peers. It explains how to make the crucial leap from 'me' to 'us,' how to avoid starting a movement where everyone feels good but nothing actually happens, and how to get things done in people-powered collaborations that create lasting change.

Reviews

The Power of Onlyness is a book for our times. . . . we wonder if we, as one person amidst [the] din, can make a difference. We wonder if one step will truly add up, over time, to a thousand or a million steps toward progress. The Power of Onlyness says yes, emphatically, and we couldnt need that kind of encouragement more. . . . Just as Daniel Golemans Emotional Intelligence, or E.Q., eventually became a widely used phrase describing what was previously thought of as a soft personal quality . . . onlyness has the potential to change the way we think about people and the ideas they generate. . . . Merchant is asking us to look less at types of people, as Goleman did, or groups of people, as [Susan] Cain did, and instead appreciate the individual as having a unique perspective that no one else can claim. From that position, your ideas are unique to you . . . . Merchant isnt calling for a cacophony of voices, disparate and competing. Her book is not about individualism as much as it is about community. . . . Merchant forces us to dig deep, into the book and ourselves, and it goes beyond self-knowledge and self-empowerment, obliterating the fear of otherness with an understanding of the onlyness of us all. The Power of Onlyness calls us to identify what is good in ourselves and to connect with what is good in others so that, together, we can indeed dent the world.
Sally Haldorson, 800-CEO-READ (staff pick)

No longer do we need to worry about how our ideas will be judged. By showing us how to mobilize communities around our ideas, Nilofer Merchant shows us why and how we can elevate the power of our ideas to limitless heights unfettered by conformity.
Amy Cuddy, author of Presence

With The Power of Onlyness, Nilofer Merchant passes all three tests of a masterpiece: 1) memorable stories; 2) actionable insights; and 3) urgent relevance to now!
Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence

Merchant discovers her onlyness when she walks out on an arranged marriage. At first, she doesnt know what to call it but a lifetime of encouraging men and women to summon the best of themselves teaches her how to nurture itin herself and others. Now we need her empowering work more than ever. Onlyness doesnt mean you work alone; but you train yourself, sometimes against the odds, to recognize your own value and increase your chance of finding allies!
Sherry Turkle, author of Reclaiming Conversation and Alone Together

With captivating stories and keen insights, Nilofer Merchant urges us to cast aside conformity and embrace our own unique identity and purpose. The Power of Onlyness is a bold, inspiring book that will leave you feeling infused with power and ready to take on the world.
Dan Pink, author of Drive and To Sell is Human

Nilofer Merchants spectacular gift is to make tangible what we already feel to be instinctual: the power of the individual alongside the power of a community in the service of one idea can change the world. But Nilofer also explains what may not feel so instinctual: that all of us have the capacity to create change, no matter our social, racial, gender or economic status. This book is one of the most hopeful pieces of writing Ive read in a long time. Nilofer defines and explains the value of individuality and collaboration in equal measure. Its a true celebration not just of humanity but of all the possibilities we can accomplish together.
Stacy London, style expert, TV personality, and author of The Truth about Style

For any would-be activists who hear the voice: not me or not now, Merchant makes the strong case for yes you and yes nowand even shows you how to jump in.
Van Jones, host of CNNs The Messy Truth,author of Rebuild the Dream and The Green Collar Economy

This is an illuminating book about the context in which great, world-changing ideas emerge and take root, with stories and insights galore.
Eli Pariser, co-founder and co-CEO, Upworthy

The Power of Onlynessis the wake-up call that the world needs so badly right now. It's a reminder that, quite simply, we all matter. That each perspective has inherent value. That each person's unique vantage point is literally a position of power. That each voice matters, and should be used. Be warned: after reading this book, you won't be able to ignore that voice again. You will be compelled to speak up and to use it, in bigger, bolder, louder ways than ever before.
Jessica Jackley, founder of Kiva

An exhortation to raise ones freak flag, dust off that notebook full of plans and dreams, and set up shop. . . . The best of Merchants case studies illustrate the operating principles of cultural difference and the power of persistence in getting things done.
Kirkus Reviews

Merchant encourages her readers to embrace their uniqueness in this self-help guide for would-be innovators. She begins by asserting the importance of identifying ones purpose, or what she calls the dent, and then tells her readers how to find theirs. . . . Next, Merchant encourages her readers to find co-denters, those people who can help you amplify your message. Finally, she urges readers to galvanize others to act . . . Merchant asserts that trust is rewarded . . . and delivers an inspiring message about the power of believing in ones dreams.
Publishers Weekly

Author Bio

Nilofer Merchant is a thought leader in business and entrepreneurship who won the Thinkers 50 Award in 2013, has written two business books on collaborative work, and was named by Fast Company one of the 25 Smartest Women on Twitter. She has been featured on Bloomberg, CNN, Mashable, Forbes.comand inThe Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Vogue, O- The Oprah Magazine, TheNew York Times, Financial Times, Fast Company, Fortune, and Harvard Business Review. Her 2013 TED Talk "Sitting Is the Smoking of Our Generation," is one of the top 10 percent of the most viewed on that platform.