Books with category Life's Purpose
Displaying 6 books

Be Useful

Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life, by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is an inspirational guide that outlines the seven key rules for discovering and realizing one's true purpose in life. Schwarzenegger shares the tools he developed on his journey to becoming the world's greatest bodybuilder, highest-paid movie star, and a prominent political leader.

Arnold's father instilled in him the profound lesson to always be useful, a principle that Arnold has carried throughout his varied and successful career. In this book, Schwarzenegger speaks with a voice that is both earnest and powerful as he recounts personal stories of success and failure, some of which are being shared for the first time.

This book is not just about Arnold's achievements, but also about the mental tools he created to escape the confines of his rural Austrian upbringing. He emphasizes the importance of self-reliance and shares his wisdom, encouraging readers to apply these tools in pursuit of their own dreams and purposes. Arnold's message is clear: nobody will come to your rescue, but the good news is that you have all you need within yourself.

Translation State

2023

by Ann Leckie

Translation State is a powerful new novel by one of the masters of modern science fiction, Ann Leckie. It's a sweeping space adventure and a brilliant exploration of belonging and identity.

When Enae's grandmaman passes away, Enae inherits an unexpected diplomatic assignment to track down a fugitive missing for over 200 years. Although it seems to be an empty assignment meant to keep his occupied, Enae, who has never had a true purpose, is determined to succeed.

Reet, an adopted mechanic with a secret yearning to understand his identity, is approached by a political group claiming he has ties to a genetically mysterious, long-deceased family. Eager for answers, Reet is drawn into a deeper mystery.

Qven, a Presgr translator, has always known their path—learn human ways and serve as an intermediary between the dangerous alien Presgr and the human worlds. However, when Qven desires something different, a rebellion against their predetermined life begins.

As a Conclave of various species approaches and with a critical treaty at stake, the paths of Enae, Reet, and Qven collide, triggering a chain of events with far-reaching consequences across galaxies.

Generation Dread

2022

by Britt Wray

Generation Dread offers an impassioned perspective on maintaining mental well-being amid the growing concerns of climate change. Climate and environment-related fears, often leading to eco-anxiety, are becoming more prevalent globally. Britt Wray combines scientific understanding with emotional insight to demonstrate that such intense emotions are a natural reaction to the world's current state.

Connecting with our climate emotions is essential for becoming an active steward of the planet, Wray argues. Recognizing and valuing eco-anxiety is the first step to overcoming the widespread denial that has contributed to the current ecological crisis. With the climate situation deteriorating, the need for compassion and care is becoming more critical than ever.

Wray's book intertwines perspectives from climate-aware therapists, discussions on race and privilege, innovative ideas for mental health, and creative coping mechanisms. Generation Dread highlights the importance of learning from the past, our emotions, and one another to not only survive but thrive in our ever-changing environment.

Four Thousand Weeks

2021

by Oliver Burkeman

The average human lifespan is absurdly, insultingly brief. Assuming you live to be eighty, you have just over four thousand weeks. Nobody needs telling there isn't enough time. We're obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists, our overfilled inboxes, work-life balance, and the ceaseless battle against distraction; and we're deluged with advice on becoming more productive and efficient, and "life hacks" to optimize our days. But such techniques often end up making things worse. The sense of anxious hurry grows more intense, and still the most meaningful parts of life seem to lie just beyond the horizon.

Still, we rarely make the connection between our daily struggles with time and the ultimate time management problem: the challenge of how best to use our four thousand weeks. Drawing on the insights of both ancient and contemporary philosophers, psychologists, and spiritual teachers, Oliver Burkeman delivers an entertaining, humorous, practical, and ultimately profound guide to time and time management. Rejecting the futile modern fixation on "getting everything done," Four Thousand Weeks introduces readers to tools for constructing a meaningful life by embracing finitude, showing how many of the unhelpful ways we've come to think about time aren't inescapable, unchanging truths, but choices we've made as individuals and as a society--and that we could do things differently.

Why Fish Don't Exist

2020

by Lulu Miller

Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life is a dark and astonishing tale of love, chaos, scientific obsession, and—possibly—even murder, woven together in a wondrous debut by NPR reporter Lulu Miller.

David Starr Jordan, a taxonomist driven to bring order to the natural world, was on the verge of discovering nearly a fifth of the fish known to humans in his day. However, the universe seemed determined to challenge him, as his specimen collections were destroyed by a series of calamities, culminating in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. His life's work in ruins, Jordan stood amidst the wreckage and, spotting the first fish he recognized, began the arduous task of rebuilding his collection. This time, he introduced an innovation to protect his work from chaos.

Lulu Miller's encounter with Jordan's story led her to question her own understanding of history, morality, and the world beneath her feet. Why Fish Don't Exist is not only a biography and a memoir but also a scientific adventure that reads like a fable, offering an inspiring reflection on how to persevere in a world where chaos always seems to prevail.

Witch Hat Atelier, Vol. 1

In a world where everyone takes wonders like magic spells and dragons for granted, Coco is a girl with a simple dream: She wants to be a witch. But everybody knows magicians are born, not made, and Coco was not born with a gift for magic. Resigned to her un-magical life, Coco is about to give up on her dream to become a witch…until the day she meets Qifrey, a mysterious, traveling magician.

After secretly seeing Qifrey perform magic in a way she’s never seen before, Coco soon learns what everybody “knows” might not be the truth, and discovers that her magical dream may not be as far away as it may seem…

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