and leaders is evident in everything she does, including her latest book, The Tao of Influence, where she provides much needed direction and support in this time of global change.”
—Charmaine Hammond, MA, CSP, professional speaker and bestselling author
“With traditional systems and structures crumbling all around us, now more than ever we need Karen McGregor’s inspired brand of ancient and cutting-edge wisdom that gives thought leaders the tools to promote the principles of living in alignment with our most authentic selves for a more compassionate and sustainable planet. The Tao of Influence provides a ‘heart map’ of sorts: a masterful blend of the personal and the universal that Radiance readers and beyond will benefit from for lifetimes to come.”
—Scott Ware, president of Radiance Multidimensional Media & Magazine
“When you mix ‘Tao—A Way’ with ‘Influence—Your Way,’ you’re bound to experience a natural pathway to live your extraordinary life. From Karen’s lived experience she offers four pillars to navigate your journey and its associated destinations. Practical, down to earth, and in plain language, The Tao of Influence is worth the read. More so, it’s worth your time and effort to use this book as a map to make it happen for you and those you love!”
—Dr. Stephen Hobbs, cofounder of the International Mentoring Community
The Tao of
Influence
Ancient Wisdom for Modern Leaders
and Entrepreneurs
Karen McGregor
Mango Publishing
Coral Gables
Copyright © 2020 by Karen McGregor.
Published by Mango Publishing Group, a division of Mango Media Inc.
Cover Design: Roberto Núñez
Cover illustration: Oleg_Yakovlev/Shutterstock.com
Layout & Design: Roberto Núñez
Mango is an active supporter of authors’ rights to free speech and artistic expression in their books. The purpose of copyright is to encourage authors to produce exceptional works that enrich our culture and our open society.
Uploading or distributing photos, scans or any content from this book without prior permission is theft of the author’s intellectual property. Please honor the author’s work as you would your own. Thank you in advance for respecting our author’s rights.
For permission requests, please contact the publisher at:
Mango Publishing Group
2850 S Douglas Road, 2nd Floor
Coral Gables, FL 33134 USA
For special orders, quantity sales, course adoptions and corporate sales, please email the publisher at [email protected]. For trade and wholesale sales, please contact Ingram Publisher Services at [email protected] or +1.800.509.4887.
The Tao of Influence: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Leaders and Entrepreneurs
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication number: 2020933896
ISBN: (print) 978-1-64250-275-6, (ebook) 978-1-64250-276-3
BISAC category code BUS071000, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Leadership
Printed in the United States of America
For my mother, my first teacher of love.
Table of Contents
Identifying Your Power Patterns
Three
Releasing the Ten Ego Needs
Four
Seven Ways to Illuminate Your Power
Pillar II
Presence
Five
Awakening Presence
Six
Sacred Stillness
Seven
Stillness Strategies
Pillar III
Purpose
Eight
Understanding Purpose
Nine
Leading with Purpose
Ten
Embracing Divine Purpose
Pillar IV
Potential
Eleven
The Holy Flow
Twelve
Mastery in Form
Thirteen
From Mysticism to Activism
Final Thoughts
P.S.
Acknowledgments
About the Author
The first time I read Lao Tzu’s masterpiece, the Tao Te Ching, I had recently finished my studies at a respectable Jesuit university in Chicago. Within weeks of graduation, I’d met the woman I would one day marry, and she exposed me to mystical traditions of other religions and philosophies, including the fresh and exciting world of New Age spirituality, which was just beginning to emerge. One of the first things that drew me to Linda was her spiritual curiosity; it was something I could relate to, but only through the perspective of my Catholic upbringing.
Within days of meeting her, I devoured my first non-Catholic spiritual book—Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi—and my world was forever changed. I began to haunt the shelves of the tiny New Age bookshop around the corner from my apartment. It was filled with crystals, channeled books and tapes, and a wide assortment of other out-of-the-box material that made my mind spin. Everything