A Different Truth

Reject the Truths That Are Killing Your Career,
and Learn to Make Choices That Are Better for You

Too often we get so caught up in the narratives that rule our lives that we forget how to live.  We learn rules about life and how to survive when we are very young, and they become so engrained in our psyche that they become “the truth”.  The challenge comes when the truths that worked for us when we were kids are no longer helpful when we are adults.  No longer helpful, and in fact in many cases downright damaging.  “A Different Truth” shines a light on such truths around five main pillars, to help you not only challenge them, but change them and step through to a different life.  

Cut through the stories and learn how to: 

Give yourself permission to take five minutes to breathe

Rewire out of the fears and into the possibilities standing in front of you

Stop trying to fit into a box all the time and find the people who really get you

Step up and take credit once in a while for the awesome job you are doing

Captivate and inspire your audience when you talk about your subject

About Joanna

Joanna is a two-time TEDx speaker who has been a conference speaker for nearly twenty years, speaking on stages all around Europe and in North America. She trained to be a lawyer and then worked as a tax consultant in Big 4 accounting firms in both the UK and Luxembourg for sixteen years. In 2014, after two burnouts in five years, Joanna decided to leave the tax world behind and change her life completely. Today, she’s a public speaking and executive coach for thought leaders, business executives, and entrepreneurs. She wrote “A Different Truth” to start a conversation about choices and help anyone who wants to take back control of their life, by taking back control of their choices.

Praise about A Different Truth

This was the book I needed 10 years ago when I was dying working as a senior attorney for one of the world’s biggest companies. I’m glad I’m reading it now too though as an entrepreneur. Balance is easier said than done and Joanna’s techniques have given me an anchor with which to ground myself through the storms of the entrepreneurial journey. I feel heard and calm and ready to take on the world. I highly, highly recommend A Different Truth.
Kimberley Bell

International Attorney, Chief Legal Officer WorkWise (TM)

What’s so delightful about this book is that you know right away you’re in the hands of a competent critical thinker. No fluff, no crystals, no airy-fairy filler– just warm, witty, down-to-earth companionship for the confusing world of life in the business world. This is for you whether you’re trying to make a leap to the next level in your career or just trying to get through the day, and it’s especially for you if you like a seasoned guide who has been there herself and knows the ropes. This book will give you actual tools you can put to work in your real work. With relatable stories, personal anecdotes, and even footnotes (hurrah for footnotes!!!), Jo’s words are a steady and wry companion that you can trust.
Katherine North

Founder, Declare Dominion

Table of Contents

1.Thrive
You can be the most successful leader, but if you are exhausted and running yourself into the ground, you will be no good to anyone. The problem is that often we believe we have to choose—our careers or our health. It’s time to breathe a little and get back some headspace, and this book will show you how to have both your career and your health.

2.Rewire
Life’s too short for you to stay small. It’s time to step out of your comfort zone and step into your awesomeness. The only problem is, when you dream bigger and step up, those niggling self-doubts and criticisms come thick and fast and tell us we are not good enough. I will share three ways to rewire out of the fear into the possibility and manage your doubts so that they don’t manage you.

3.Community
How many times have you ever felt that you were on your own in this journey through life? There are people around you, but do they really get you? Do they really understand what your life is like? Do they really have any idea? What if that were not the case? 

Oh, to be celebrated for who you are and not merely tolerated for what you do! To be in a community that is there for you on the tough days and cheers you on the good ones, particularly as you start your journey toward dreaming bigger and stepping up. I will give you some exercises to build a community that encourages and empowers its members.

4. Story
If you have reached this far in your leadership journey based on technical genius alone and want to reach the next level, you have to tell your story to people outside your immediate community. But often we are brought up to believe that to do so would be far too aggressive and in your face. Here, I will give you three exercises to help you share your story in the wider marketplace without coming across as boastful or aggressive.

5. Connect
You are passionate about your subject. Hell’s teeth, you wouldn’t be doing what you are doing after all these years if that weren’t the case. But it’s easy to forget that mere mortals don’t always understand what you are talking about, and equally easy to think they never will. I will give you three ways to connect with your audience without losing them in the technical weeds.

Page after page, this book takes you on an emotional and heart-warming discovery journey. A journey that’s made of every-day stories, decisions, thoughts, fights and truths that eventually define who we are as human beings. Joanna guides you smoothly, through exercises and storytelling, towards a place of self-love and hope. This book is like a hand that grabs you when you’re going down, drowning, and brings you back to surface, where you can finally breathe. And importantly, it helps you understand that you’re not alone.
Andreea (Flintoaca) Munteanu

Senior Communications Officer, Payconiq

Too many of us feel stuck in our lives and careers because of the reality of our situations.
We have to put in extra hours, we have to figure it out on our own, we have to wait until we get picked to lead. A Different Truth gently but fiercely shows how to choose a different reality that puts us back in the driver’s seat of our lives and work. If you’re ready to stop having to and ready to start getting to, your first choice is to get this fantastic book.
Charlie Gilkey

Author, Start Finishing and creator of Productive Flourishing

Watch me talk about some of the themes in the book in these two TEDx talks

University of Surrey, UK, March 2019 (in English):

University of Brest, France, December 2018 (in French):

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joanna@joannadenton.com
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