About this product: "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." --Randy Pausch
A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them. And while they speak, audiences can't help but mull the same question: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy?
When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave--"Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams"--wasn't about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because "time is all you have...and you may find one day that you have less than you think"). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living.
In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humor, inspiration and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.
About this product: Artemis's mother has contracted a deadly disease--and the only cure lies in the brain fluid of African lemurs. Unfortunately, Artemis himself was responsible for making the lemurs extinct five years ago. Now he must enlist the aid of his fairy friends to travel back in time and save them. Not only that, but he must face his deadliest foe yet...his younger self.
About this product: Percy Jackson isn’t expecting freshman orientation to be any fun. But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears on campus, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to worse. In this latest installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos’s army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop the invasion, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth–a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn. Full of humor and heart-pounding action, this latest audiobook promises to be their most thrilling adventure yet.
About this product: America's most sought-after executive coach shows how to climb the last few rungs of the ladderThe corporate world is filled with executives, men and women who have worked hard for years to reach the upper levels of management. They're intelligent, skilled, and even charismatic. But only a handful of them will ever reach the pinnacle -- and as executive coach Marshall Goldsmith shows in this book, subtle nuances make all the difference. These are small "transactional flaws" performed by one person against another (as simple as not saying thank you enough), which lead to negative perceptions that can hold any executive back. Using Goldsmith's straightforward, jargonfree advice, it's amazingly easy behavior to change.Executives who hire Goldsmith for one-on-one coaching pay $250,000 for the privilege. With this book, his help is available for 1/10,000th of the price.
About this product: "Maria Shriver is wise, funny and caring--and it all comes through in her winning guide to life, JUST WHO WILL YOU BE? We're lucky to have her show us the way." -- Tom Brokaw
"Maria teaches all of us in the graduate program of life to seek meaning through the joy of following your heart. Just the kind of advice a heart surgeon cherishes." --Mehmet Oz, M.D.
"Everything Maria Shriver does is a testament to how deeply she respects and cares about people; all people, all over the world. She really does. She is as charming and funny as she is brilliant and profoundly humane." --Anne Lamott
"Maria Shriver is real, vulnerable, humble, honest (just like her book) and not afraid to say so. A lovely book by a lovely person." --Danielle Steel
"This honest, straight-talking, profound little book is worth a lifetime of reflection. It calls readers of all ages to think again-and differently-about who they've been in the past and who they want to be now. This book is a life-stopper, a truly universal piece. It's a must for everyone-of any age." --Sister Joan Chittister
"Every graduate (of anything) ought to be given a copy of this book along with their diploma. There's wisdom, compassion and truth between these covers. For anyone -- at any age." --Linda Ellerbee, Executive Producer, "Nick News"
"I've learned that asking ourselves not just what we want to be, but who we want to be is important at every stage of our lives, not just when we're starting out in the world. That's because in a way, we're starting out fresh in the world every single day."
Just Who Will You Be? is a candid, heartfelt, and inspirational book for seekers of all ages. Inspired by a speech she gave, Maria Shriver's message is that what you do in your life isn't what matters. It's who you are. It's an important lesson that will appeal to anyone of any age looking for a life of meaning.
In her own life, Shriver always walked straight down her own distinctive path, achieving her childhood goal of becoming "award-winning network newswoman Maria Shriver". But when her husband was elected California's Governor and she suddenly had to leave her job at NBC News, Maria was thrown for a loop. Right about then, her nephew asked her to speak at his high school graduation. She resisted, wondering how she could possibly give advice to kids, when she was feeling so lost herself. But in the end she relented and decided to dig down and dig deep, and the result is this little jewel.
Just Who Will You Be? reminds us that the answer to many of life's question lie within -- and that we're all works in progress. That means it's never too late to become the person you want to be.
Now the question for you is this: Just who will you be?
About this product: In this engrossing parable, a fictional manager is charged with the responsibility of turning a chronically unenthusiastic and unhelpful department into an effective team.
About this product: This book is masterful in its exploration of the use of language in American life, especially in business and politics. It was written by Dr. Frank Luntz, who calls himself a "linguistic geek." It's ideal for anyone, like me, who loves words and reading.
The subhead to the book is "It's not what you say, it's what people hear." The trick is to speak in a way to make people hear what you want them to hear. To be persuasive. As Luntz writes, "It's not enough to be correct or reasonable or even brilliant." People must first listen, and then understand.
This book gives many comparisons of word choices, and explains why one choice is the most effective. For example, instead of saying "comprehensive," say "easy to understand." "Pre-owned vehicle" sounds much better than "used car." "Housewives" have turned into "stay-at-home moms."
I'm reminded of another book I recently reviewed, Eat This Not That! which shows photos of foods to eat on the left, and comparable foods to avoid on the right. Words That Work could have been called Say This Not That!
Luntz gives a list of ten rules of successful communication that anyone can use:
1. Simplicity: Use Small Words
2. Brevity: Use Short Sentences
3. Credibility is As Important As Philosophy
4. Consistency Matters
5. Novelty: Offer Something New
6. Sound and Texture Matter
7. Speak Aspirationally
8. Visualize
9. Ask a Question
10. Provide Context and Explain Relevance
Words have such power. They force you to organize your thoughts if you want to connect with other people. When my daughter was in preschool, she was told to "use your words" when she and another child had an angry, emotional disagreement. This strategy worked. It works for grownups, too.
Fortunately, you don't have to share Luntz's politics to benefit from his book. I had to overlook his glee when describing the successful Contract with America in 1994, or how changing "drilling for oil" to the gentler phrase "energy exploration" frustrated "the entire environmental community." He describes Barack Obama's speeches as looking like they were "designed by Benetton." Learning how a wordsmith like Luntz helped usher in policies I disagree with is instructive and valuable.
Here's the chapter list:
1. The Ten Rules of Effective Language
2. Preventing Message Mistakes
3. Old Words, New Meaning
4. How "Words That Work" Are Created
5. Be the Message
6. Words We Remember
7. Corporate Cast Studies
8. Political Case Studies
9. Myths and Realities About Language and People
10. What We REALLY Care About
11. Personal Language for Personal Scenarios
12. Twenty-one Words and Phrases for the Twenty-First Century
13. Conclusion
The Memos
Appendices:
The 2003 California Gubernatorial Recall
The 21 Political Words and Phrases You Should Never Say Again... Plus a Few More
The Clinton Impeachment Language
Damn It Feels Good To Be A Banker is a Wall Street epic, a war cry for the masses of young professionals behind desks at Investment Banks, Hedge Funds, and Private Equity shops around the world. With chapters like "No. We do not have any `hot stock tips' for you," "Mergers are a girl's best friend," and "Georgetown? I wouldn't let my maids' kids go there," the book captures the true essence of being in high finance.
DIFGTBAB thematically walks through Wall Street culture, pointing out its intricacies: the bushleagueness of a Men's Warehouse suit or squared-toe shoes, the power of 80s pop, and the importance of Microsoft Excel shortcut keys as related to ever being able to have any significant global impact.
The book features various, vivid illustrations of Bankers in their natural state (ballin'), and, in true Book 2.0 fashion, numerous, insightful comments from actual readers of the widely popular website LeveragedSellOut.com.
Thorough and well-executed, it's lens into the heart of an often misunderstood, unfairly stereotyped subset of our society. The view--breathtaking.
Reader Responses
"After reading this clueless propaganda, I strongly believe that you are a racist, misogynist jerk. FYI, Size 6 is not fat." --Banker Chick
"Strong to very strong." --John Carney, Editor-In-Chief, Dealbreaker.com
"I used to feel pretty good about making $200K/year." --Poor person
About this product: Mark Frost leaves you breathless as he paints an unmatched literary canvas with words--you can hear it, see it, smell it, feel the tension. Throughout he intersperses snippets and bios of the players so you can't wait to get back to the action. Each time I put it down I looked forward to picking it up and reading it again. I have read also The Greatest Game Ever Played and The Grand Slam. Both excellent, but "The Match" to me was one of the richest literary creations on golf I have ever read.
About this product: Mindfulness opens us up to the possibility of being fully human as we are, and of expressing the humane in our way of being. Mindlessness de facto closes us up and denies us the fullness of our being alive. This book may on the surface appear to be merely another offering in the genre of daily readings. But deep within these 108 selections lie messages of profound wisdom in a contemporary and practical form that can lead to both healing and transformation. We so urgently need to rotate in consciousness in order to safeguard what precious sanity is available to us on this planet. How we carry ourselves will determine the direction the world takes because, in a very real way, we are the world we inhabit. Our world is continuously being shaped by our participation in everything around us and within us through mindfulness. This is the great work of awareness. Welcome to the threshold #133; to the fullness of arriving at your own door!
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