The Works of Anese Cavanaugh
leadership. vitality. alignment. devotion. ease.
Aligned Presence. Intentional Leadership.
Honest Impact.
Driven by curiosity and with a love for the human spirit and what’s possible when we show up as our real and best selves, together. This is where leadership meets poignancy meets delight. Let’s create something meaningful together. On this site, you’ll find some of my old works, current works, and things I’m creating now completely anew…
My “Big” Books: Leadership, Culture, and Becoming
My first big book (this one, Contagious Culture), was published with a top publisher in 2015 (McGraw-Hill) to support leaders and companies in building stronger leadership, teams, and organizational health. This book is no longer in print with McGraw-Hill; however, we do have a few copies left as we determine next steps. I am sending you to my company’s website that houses these books for now. (So now worries, when you click to buy and are sent to our store on ActiveChoices.com.)
Note: I will be publishing an integration guide to support this work in a surprise form in 2026. (Note: If you are a member of my company’s app and membership program, you have access to all sorts of goodies from this book as well as from its sister, Contagious You.)
Thank you so much for your interest in this book! If we get enough interest and feedback, I will do a New Edition.
I published this spoken-word poem and storybook in 2018 through my company. The first version was written in 2004 after working with leaders in organizations who struggled to define what great leadership looked like. Over the years, I’ve evolved this piece to reflect more current times and the needs of the incredible humans, leaders, and companies I’ve been able to work with.
I perform "The Leader You Will Be" live on stages for my keynotes and talks. I’ve written it so that there is something aspirational in it for any audience. While I wrote this many years ago, I continue to learn from it and modify it in live performance based on the needs of the audience. This is one of my favorite things I’ve ever created. This book is available in paperback and in Special Edition hard copies. You can purchase either the paperback ($19.95) or the hardcover ($50.00) at ActiveChoices.com.
After Contagious Culture, I realized there was a very big need to provide my readers with a deeper dive into how they personally showed up and led to create the cultrue and results they said they so badly wanted. I also realized there was a significant opportunity to help leaders protect their energy and space and leadership from negativity and overwhelm, hence Contagious You. This was also originally published by McGraw-Hill (2019) and is no longer in print with them. I have the rights back and am working on something lovely, shooting for the Fall of 2026. In the meantime, there are still copies available if you can find them (we have some too!), and Audible still has the audiobooks. Additionally, if you are a part of my company’s membership program, you have access to all sorts of goodies from this book (and Contagious Culture, too!).
We have a limited number of copies of this original version of the book left. If you would like copies, please order directly from ActiveChoices.com. Thank you!
Some of My Original Works (All Downloadable)
In 2011, I was invited to write a chapter for a new book with other authors (including Jack Canfield, Denis Waitley, Deepak Chopra, and other leaders in the areas of business, leadership, and spirituality). While I did not know them or collaborate directly with them, this was one of the first things I was invited to write for publication, and I was delighted.
My chapter, Leading With Boots On: The Virtuous Cycle of Bootist Leadership, is one of the purest forms of my work. And by pure, I mean, before the IEP Method® was created, before we started doing big organizational and cultural programs, before I started shifting models and frameworks to meet people and companies where they were at, before I scaled up and then scaled back down to the simplest, most aligned forms of the work today, and before I fully trusted myself that this chapter was fit to print and share!
Reading this chapter many years later brings me back to a magical time. These principles are still very much aligned with how I speak today; however, they are the classics of frameworks and my style. It is my heartfelt intent and hope that you will enjoy this chapter and get whatever you want and need from it.
PS. I have extracted my chapter as a PDF for various reasons, which you can download. If you do want a copy of the entire full book with all the author’s chapters, please email me, and we’ll see what we can do!
This Fieldwork Guide is designed to support you in applying the principles from my chapter in Stepping Stones to Success to your life by breaking the core frameworks out for application and integration. I highly recommend you get a journal or notepad to keep your thoughts in one spot as you work through the Guide. As always, my works and guides are meant to be living documents that grow with you and that you can come back to again and again. Enjoy!
This book was originally written in 2010 and 2012! It was edited, reviewed, and even endorsed by Jack Canfield. And then I was told to hold it, “Don’t publish this until you’ve built a bigger platform on your bigger more valuable books” was the common feedback and sentiment of mentors, agents, and publishers. A few years after this original advice and strategy, my life changed significantly (I completed my marriage) and the ending needed an epilogue. Welllll… here we are. I’m releasing it now. It is available on PDF for now. And if it feels right, we’ll move it to print. It’s one of my first pieces, written from the heart, and talks about some of my most pure moments of learning how to be a mom, be a CEO, be a wife (and then an ex-wife), and find joy all at the same time. It’s a sweet piece. (Besides, who doesn’t love hugs and cupcakes?)
Survival Guides & Quick Reads
This was the first survival guide written to provide people with quick things they could do to improve their Intentional Energetic Presence®. These little pocketguides are amazing for quick reminders and cues to support your leadership and presence. They make wonderful gift bag gifts to compliment your events and my keynotes. You can purchase these ($12.00 each) with my team at ActiveChoices.com.
When I wrote Contagious You, we were almost 100 pages over contract. There was so much in that book that came out of me that neither myself nor my publisher could decide what to cut. It all felt important. It was. Contagious You became a tome of sorts for leadership and showing up. One of the things that did not quite make it into the book was a series of poems I wrote for each section. The idea being that the reader could put themselves into each frame of the poem and experience their contagiousness, impact, and the possibilities from different angles. We decided to keep these out and to share as it felt right. Years later, as Contagious You is considering what she wants to become next, I find these poems still doing good work. Enjoy!
Many years ago, a few years after completing my own marriage, a colleague reached out to me to ask me when I was going to write the book on how to navigate divorce “gracefully.” She’d witnessed my completion, and while it was not a picnic and I definitely was not always graceful, my ex and I had done a decent job of moving through the process together. She herself was at the beginning of her completion with her spouse, and had several friends who were also in the midst of their own painful process. (As many people say, “divorce is contagious” — though it’s not, standing in our authenticity and power is). I was getting ready to start my next big book and did not have the time to do a big piece, so I told her I’d put some time into it and see what came out. I wrote this book sitting at a friend’s pool watching my kids play. It’s gritty, it’s real, it’s poorly edited, but I’m told it’s helpful. Up until now, it has only been available by secret handshake and referral; however, it feels important to bring it out into the open in case it supports others in their own endings. It is available now in PDF format. If we get enough demand, we’ll take it to print.
Special Note: I was a very different person when I wrote the first edition of this mini-book (2018) and I’ve learned a lot since then, so I’ve done two things to honor that. First, I’ve added an “epilogue” of sorts for what I’ve learned over the last eight years about what happens after completions, and what I wished I would have known so I could have done it better. And two, I’ve realized as re-reading this book, that this actually applies to any kind of “breakup” or “ending” (personal, professional, romantic, friendship, etc.), so I may actually rework this little book, or create a second version, of the IEP Survival Guide for Excellent Endings.
Boutique (Very) Limited Editions
I wrote this book in 2009 with the “7 Tenets of Bootism” and a ton of love, light, and delight poured into it. The back story on this is one that changed the trajectory of my life. The creation of this piece was one of the most special things I’ve ever done with my craft. It was handcrafted, literally tied with twine, covered with intentional letterpress, and on the most beautiful paper. I still love this book. She has evolved over the years, but this is my most classic work. I have three copies remaining. They truly are collector’s pieces, if you like this kind of thing and resonate with the quirky side of my work. If you are interested, reach out. (As of right now, we have 2 copies left!)
I wrote this book in 2009 with the “7 Tenets of Bootism” and a ton of love, light, and delight poured into it. The back story on this is one that changed the trajectory of my life. The creation of this piece was one of the most special things I’ve ever done with my craft. It was handcrafted, literally tied with twine, covered with intentional letterpress, and on the most beautiful paper. I still love this book. She has evolved over the years, but this is my most classic work. I have three hardcopy, handcrafted copies remaining. They truly are collector’s pieces if you like this kind of thing and resonate with the quirky side of my work. If you are interested, reach out (you can purchase on this page as well.)
If you would just like the original E-Book, you can purchase that here too!
Work With Me Privately 1:1
Private Deep Dive Session w/Integration Support:
Leading With Boots On comes from the original works within the Little Book of Bootism that I wrote back in 2009. LWBO means living your most honest and authentic life, no matter how scary it may feel. I believe it is the pathway to our most joyful expression and to being of greater service in this world.
This unique private 90-minute session is devoted to creating space for you to tell the truth, dig into what matters, uncover where you may be out of alignment, and create a plan to support you in leading with your own boots on. Your session includes light pre-work, a collector’s edition of the original Little Book of Bootism, and an integration plan which includes updated reflections and directions from the original edition. After the 90-minute session, we will have one 30-minute Integration call (within 2 weeks) and will receive 90 days of access to my training platform, which houses over 70 tools, labs, and modules to support your integration. The investment for this program is $4,444.44.
*Note: Private Sessions and Immersions can be used to work on whatever you need support with — business, leadership, strategy, health, relationships, etc. No matter the area of focus, we will have alignment, presence, and vitality as core anchors to ensure optimal and sustainable results.
Upgrade to the 90-Day Immersion/Hiking Retreat Option:
If you would like a more holistic container and ongoing support, we will upgrade you to a 90-day Program, which may include in-person work, an integration retreat with hiking, and more — all by design to fit your needs. (Note: You can start with the program above and build on it, or you can go directly into the Immersion if you and I decide it’s a good fit.)
This unique offering is for the person who wants to dig in deep with me, get these principles and your truths into your body, enjoy some beauty and fun, and really do the work. We start with light pre-work to prepare you, then we meet in a beautiful location (generally in CA or Utah) for two days of eating well, hiking, thinking, and having honest talk. Afterwards, you will have access to me for 90 days for integration support, which will include a blend of integration sessions and virtual check-ins (we’ll co-design the exact cadence during our time together on the mountain). My intention is to create space for you to tell the truth, dig into what matters, uncover where you may be out of alignment, and create a plan to support you in leading with your own boots on.
Your Program includes light pre-work, a collector’s edition of the original Little Book of Bootism, two days with me on a mountain, an integration plan that includes updated reflections and directions from the original edition, and 90 days of integration support (with integration sessions and platform access) to ensure you stay to your word, continue to reveal new awareness, truths, and desires, and lock it all in. The investment in this 90-Day Program is $33,333.33, with the first $3,333.33 from your Private Session being applied to the balance (if booked within 2 weeks of the Private Session). If this option is a fit, we will discuss, and you will be invoiced accordingly.
A new program created by me, for me and now for you… Coming soon. When you “purchase” you will receive a quick preview as well as be put on our notifications list for when this product is ready for you.
Leading With Boots On comes from the original works within the Little Book of Bootism that I wrote back in 2009. LWBO means living your most honest and authentic life, no matter how scary or bold or impossible it may feel. I believe it is the pathway to our most joyful expression and to being of greater service in this world. I also believe one year of this kind of focus and intention can change your life, the way you lead, your relationships, how you show up, and your ability to create exactly what you want.
This is a one-year engagement with me that includes a blend of private retreats and quarterly meetings in multiple locations, focusing on your life, leadership, business, relationships, health, and whatever we co-design that is most in service of you living your most authentic life and leading as powerfully as possible. In addition to getting together in person up to four times a year, we will also meet regularly virtually to ensure integration and support. This engagement essentially creates the container for you to up-level your life, leadership, and relationships in all areas, and to have me on your “team” and “personal advisory board” to support you across my areas of expertise (business, culture, leadership, vitality, etc.).
This is an immersive experience that requires commitment, collaboration, and a considerable investment. Note: The investment provided on this service is a deposit towards our work together. Private programs are bespoke and very intentionally designed; the total investment will be determined once we have met and co-designed something that will knock your socks off. For more information and to explore if you are a good candidate for this program, please contact me. I work with up to three people a year in this way.
Rideout Press:
Anese Cavanaugh
Welcome to my corner of the literary world where stories come alive, learning gets put into print, the intangible becomes tangible, books are (re!)published, and content gets out quickly. My journey has been real, my life has informed all content, and I’m ever so grateful. A lover of the human Spirit, delightful surprises, and the grace and grit that get us through and help us love and lead others better, I can’t wait to share more…
Contact Me
Interested in working together, having me speak, publishing my work, or getting some books? I love that. Please fill out some info (on your right), and we will be in touch shortly.
If you are looking to purchase books, you can access downloadable books and resources on this site. For tangible books, programs, and memberships that support the books and my body of work, you’ll be directed to ActiveChoices.com where you can purchase everything directly.
To explore one of the unique engagements with me, please fill out the form on this page with some information about you, and we’ll get back to you asap.
