Books with category đź’Ş Self-development
Displaying books 1-48 of 160 in total

Better

Better is a gutsy, riveting memoir that intimately explores suicide, its legacy in families, and the often cyclical, crooked path of recovery. Arianna Rebolini delves into the profound questions surrounding the choice of death by one's own hands and the struggle to understand the desire to die.

After a decade of therapy and overcoming suicidal depression, Arianna was "better." Her life was seemingly on track with the publication of her first book, a fulfilling job, and the joy of motherhood. Yet, the dark pull of suicide lingered. In a poignant moment, as her young son played, she found herself contemplating the end of her life.

The narrative weaves through Arianna's month-long crisis as a new mother with decades of family history. From her childhood cries for help to the fear of passing the shadow of suicide to her son, Arianna seeks to understand the mechanisms of suicidality. Her journey includes an exploration of the writings of famous individuals who took their own lives, as she searches for insights into the fateful moment of committing to the act of suicide—or the harrowing realization that it cannot be undone.

When her brother faces a similar battle, Arianna confronts the limits of her insights into depression's grip. Better is a harrowing intellectual and emotional odyssey marked by clarity and compassion, a tour through the seductive darkness of death, and a life-affirming testament to the quest for getting better for good.

Mean Boys

2024

by Geoffrey Mak

Mean Boys: A Personal History delves into the complex world of male friendships and rivalries, exploring how they shape our identities and experiences. Geoffrey Mak shares his personal journey, examining the intricate dynamics of competition and camaraderie among men.

Through a series of vivid anecdotes and reflective insights, Mak reveals the often unspoken rules that govern male relationships. He sheds light on the challenges and triumphs that come with navigating these bonds, offering a candid look at the role of masculinity in modern society.

This memoir is not just a tale of personal growth but a broader commentary on the societal expectations placed on men. Mak's narrative is both thought-provoking and relatable, as he invites readers to reconsider what it means to be a 'mean boy' in today's world.

Finding A Likeness: How I Got Somewhat Better At Art

2024

by Nicholson Baker

From the acclaimed and bestselling writer Nicholson Baker, a deeply personal account of his journey learning how to paint for the first time, and a meditation on the power of art in times of crisis.

Nicholson Baker wanted to learn how to paint. In 2019, after years of researching and writing about secret and often horrible government programs for his book Baseless: My Search for Secrets in the Ruins of the Freedom of Information Act, he was wiped out. Having been steeped for so long in the history of war, violence, and conspiracy, the world had lost some of its brightness. Photography had scratched a creative itch for years, but now, Baker was desperate to squeeze more out of what he saw – he wanted to live, slowly, through the snatches of life he was recording in photos. Maybe, he thought, he could learn to paint? The idea consumed him, but he was nagged by an even more debilitating doubt: What if he failed?

Finding a Likeness is Baker's record of the years he worked to improve his artistic skills, beginning with his first, humble attempts to set paintbrush to paper. Driven by a natural curiosity and a strong desire to paint faces, clouds, and landscapes that actually resemble faces, clouds, and landscapes, he attends classes from local artists, watches YouTube tutorials, and seeks out master painters from the past and present in the hopes of uncovering their secrets. In his inimitable voice, Baker recounts the highs and lows of the creative process, reflects on memories of growing up as the son of two painters, and learns what it means to really see.

Filled with Baker's own art, as well as the work of artists from around the world, Finding a Likeness is a tender and deeply felt testimony to taking a step back and going back to basics. Baker improves dramatically in his craft, but as he considers what it means to try, fail, and try again, he discovers far more than what it takes to paint a cloud – rather, he shows us how to bear witness to the world, to the good and the bad, and to do it all justice with paper and ink.

Sociopath: A Memoir

2024

by Patric Gagne

Sociopath: A Memoir is a compelling narrative that delves into the life of an individual grappling with sociopathy. Patric Gagne brings readers into her world, beginning with the realization in her early years that she was different from her peers. Emotions that come naturally to most—fear, guilt, empathy—were foreign to her, leaving her feeling an overwhelming sense of nothingness.

Struggling to conform to societal expectations, Patric resorted to theft, deceit, and occasional violence, all in an attempt to feel something. Her journey took a turn in college when she received confirmation of her long-held suspicion: she was a sociopath. Despite the bleak outlook presented by mental health professionals, who offered no treatment or hope for a 'normal' life, Patric's story takes a hopeful turn when she reconnects with a past love.

This reunion sparks a glimmer of possibility: if she is capable of love, perhaps she isn't the monster society makes sociopaths out to be. With new-found motivation, she sets out on a mission, with the support of her partner and a cast of intriguing characters, to challenge the stigma surrounding her diagnosis and advocate for the millions who, like her, are often misunderstood.

Sociopath: A Memoir is not just a tale of self-discovery and redemption; it's a testament to the power of love and the human spirit's capacity for change. It's a narrative that offers hope and understanding for those who have been labeled as different or difficult, and it encourages a deeper, more empathetic view of mental health.

On Giving Up

2024

by Adam Phillips

A new book from the acclaimed psychoanalytic writer Adam Phillips on giving up to feel more alive. To give up or not to give up? The question can feel inescapable but the answer is never simple. Giving up our supposed vices is one thing; giving up on life itself is quite another. One form of self-sacrifice feels positive, something to admire and aspire to, while the other is profoundly unsettling, if not actively undesirable.

There are always, it turns out, both good and bad sacrifices, but it is not always clear beforehand which is which. We give something up because we believe we can no longer go on as we are. In this sense, giving up is a critical moment—an attempt to make a different future. In On Giving Up, the acclaimed psychoanalyst Adam Phillips illuminates both the gaps and the connections between the many ways of giving up and helps us to address the central question: What must we give up in order to feel more alive?

Change

Change is an autobiographical novel from Édouard Louis, hailed as one of the most important voices of his generation—about social class, transformation, and the perils of leaving the past behind.

One question took center stage in my life, it focused all of my thoughts and occupied every moment when I was alone with myself: how could I get this revenge, by what means? I tried everything. Édouard Louis longs for a life beyond the poverty, discrimination, and violence in his working-class hometown—so he sets out for school in Amiens, and, later, university in Paris.

He sheds the provincial “Eddy” for an elegant new name, determined to eradicate every aspect of his past. He reads incessantly; he dines with aristocrats; he spends nights with millionaires and drug-dealers alike. Everything he does is motivated by a single obsession: to become someone else.

At once harrowing and profound, Change is not just a personal odyssey, a story of dreams and of “the beautiful violence of being torn away,” but a profound portrait of a society divided by class, power, and inequality.

Splinters: Another Kind Of Love Story

2024

by Leslie Jamison

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Recovering and The Empathy Exams comes the riveting story of rebuilding a life after the end of a marriage—an exploration of motherhood, art, and new love.

Leslie Jamison has become one of our most beloved contemporary voices, a scribe of the real, the true, the complex. She has been compared to Joan Didion and Susan Sontag, acclaimed for her powerful thinking, deep feeling, and electric prose. But while Jamison has never shied away from challenging material—scouring her own psyche and digging into our most unanswerable questions across four books—Splinters enters a new realm.

In her first memoir, Jamison turns her unrivaled powers of perception on some of the most intimate relationships of her life: her consuming love for her young daughter, a ruptured marriage once swollen with hope, and the shaping legacy of her own parents' complicated bond. In examining what it means for a woman to be many things at once—a mother, an artist, a teacher, a lover—Jamison places the magical and the mundane side by side in surprising ways: pumping breastmilk in a shared university office, driving the open highway in the throes of new love, growing a tender second skin of consciousness as she watches her daughter come alive to the world.

The result is a work of nonfiction like no other, an almost impossibly deep reckoning with the muchness of life and art, and a book that grieves the departure of one love even as it celebrates the arrival of another.

How do we move forward into joy when we are haunted by loss? How do we claim hope alongside the harm we've caused? A memoir for which the very term tour de force seems to have been coined, Splinters plumbs these and other pressing questions with writing that is revelatory to the last page. Jamison has delivered a book with the linguistic daring and emotional acuity that made The Empathy Exams and The Recovering instant classics, even as she reaches new depths of understanding, piercing the reader to the core. A master of nonfiction, she evinces once again her ability to "stitch together the intellectual and the emotional with the finesse of a crackerjack surgeon" (NPR).

Supercommunicators

2024

by Charles Duhigg

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Habit, a fascinating exploration of what makes conversations work, and how we can all learn to be Supercommunicators at work and in life.

Come inside a jury room as one juror leads a starkly divided room to consensus. Join a young CIA officer as he recruits a reluctant foreign agent. And sit with an accomplished surgeon as he tries, and fails, to convince yet another cancer patient to opt for the less risky course of treatment. In Supercommunicators, Charles Duhigg blends deep research and his trademark storytelling skills to show how we can all learn to identify and leverage the hidden layers that lurk beneath every conversation.

Communication is a superpower and the best communicators understand that whenever we speak, we're actually participating in one of three conversations: practical (What's this really about?), emotional (How do we feel?), and social (Who are we?). If you don't know what kind of conversation you're having, you're unlikely to connect.

Supercommunicators know the importance of recognizing—and then matching—each kind of conversation, and how to hear the complex emotions, subtle negotiations, and deeply held beliefs that color so much of what we say and how we listen. Our experiences, our values, our emotional lives—and how we see ourselves, and others—shape every discussion, from who will pick up the kids to how we want to be treated at work. In this book, you will learn why some people are able to make themselves heard, and to hear others, so clearly.

With his storytelling that takes us from the writers' room of The Big Bang Theory to the couches of leading marriage counselors, Duhigg shows readers how to recognize these three conversations—and teaches us the tips and skills we need to navigate them more successfully.

In the end, he delivers a simple but powerful lesson: With the right tools, we can connect with anyone.

Get the Picture

2024

by Bianca Bosker

The New York Times bestselling author of Cork Dork, Bianca Bosker takes readers on another fascinating, hilarious, and revelatory journey—this time burrowing deep inside the impassioned, secretive world of art and artists. An award-winning journalist obsessed with obsession, Bosker's existence was upended when she wandered into the art world—and couldn't look away.

Intrigued by artists who hyperventilate around their favorite colors and art fiends who max out credit cards to show hunks of metal they think can change the world, Bosker grew fixated on understanding why art matters and how she—or any of us—could engage with it more deeply.

In Get the Picture, Bosker throws herself into the nerve center of art and the people who live for it: gallerists, collectors, curators, and, of course, artists themselves—the kind who work multiple jobs to afford their studios while scrabbling to get eyes on their art. As she stretches canvases until her fingers blister, talks her way into A-list parties full of billionaire collectors, has her face sat on by a nearly-naked performance artist, and forces herself to stare at a single sculpture for hours on end while working as a museum security guard, she discovers not only the inner workings of the art-canonization machine but also a more expansive way of living.

Probing everything from cave paintings to Instagram, and from the science of sight to the importance of beauty as it examines art's role in our culture, our economy, and our hearts, Get the Picture is a rollicking adventure that will change the way you see forever.

The Woman in Me

2023

by Britney Spears

The Woman in Me is a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope. In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice—her truth—was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others.

The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history. Written with remarkable candor and humor, Spears's groundbreaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love—and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms, at last.

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.

Articulations

A well-known writer, activist, and disability rights advocate, Henrietta Bollinger's debut essay collection speaks to their experiences as a queer, disabled person, and as a twin. Articulations is a timely, personal, and poignant appraisal of life in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Soundtracked by the Topp Twins, Anika Moa, Woody Guthrie and more, Bollinger's essays take us on a journey from first crushes and first periods to parliamentary reform and Disability Pride. They challenge the norms of our ableist society, asking us to consider better ways of being with each other and ourselves.

Congratulations, The Best Is Over!: Essays

2023

by R. Eric Thomas

The beloved bestselling author of Here for It returns with an all-new collection of heartening, deeply relatable, and laugh-out-loud essays about what happens after happily ever after.

After going viral "reading" the chaotic political news, having one-too-many awkward social encounters, and coming to terms with his intersecting identities, R. Eric Thomas finally knew who he was and where he was going. He was living his best life. But then everything changed.

In this collection of insightful and hilarious essays, Thomas moves back to his perpetually misunderstood hometown of Baltimore (a place he never wanted to return, even to be buried) and behaving completely out of character. They say you can't go home again, but what if you and home have changed beyond recognition?

From attending his twenty-year high school reunion and discovering another person's face on his name badge, to splattering an urgent care room with blood Ă  la The Shining, to being terrorized by a plague of gay frogs who've overtaken his backyard, Thomas provides the nitty, and sometimes the gritty, details of wrestling with the life he thought he'd left behind while trying to establish a new one.

With wit, heart, and hope for the future, Congratulations, The Best Is Over! is the not-so-gentle reminder we all need that even when life doesn't go according to plan, we can still find our way back home.

Leading Through Disruption

2023

by Andrew Liveris

Andrew Liveris offers a masterclass in collaborative, forward-looking leadership in Leading Through Disruption. This work provides a revolutionary leadership paradigm, essential for fostering resilience and agility in today's ever-evolving world.

Readers will learn how to:

  • Create impactful metrics that benefit all societal members.

  • Engage collaboratively with a broad spectrum of stakeholders to develop actionable policies.

  • Harmonize the pursuit of long-term sustainability with immediate profitability.

  • Invest in and advocate for the strengthening of local communities.

  • Select team members who are committed to advancing global betterment.

  • Adapt swiftly and decisively to navigate uncertainties.

With insights drawn from four decades of global leadership across business, government, academia, and civic society, Andrew Liveris' book stands as an invaluable resource for any aspiring leader.

El lado B de las emociones

2023

by Eduardo Calixto

¿Qué nos produce turbación, desprecio o asco? ¿Por qué a veces el llanto nos desborda y nos deja exhaustos? ¿Qué nos lleva a culpar a los demás de lo que no somos capaces de resolver? ¿En qué momento nos convertimos en seres furibundos si perdemos el control?

En este libro sabremos por qué cedemos y en qué circunstancias a los deseos sexuales más intensos; cómo se proyectan en nuestro presente los traumas de la infancia; qué indica reír sin control si pasamos por una tragedia, un dolor físico severo o una gran tristeza; cuáles son las señales de una soledad profunda o un miedo sin límites que pueden derivar en una enfermedad crónica.

El lado B de las emociones es una obra provocadora porque nos confronta con lucidez y contundencia sobre aspectos que tememos, negamos o sencillamente odiamos. Eduardo Calixto llega hasta lo más hondo para hablarnos de nuestro enojo, el resentimiento, la vergüenza, el resultado: un libro con explicaciones impactantes sobre nuestras conductas más siniestras, la verdad sobre los actos perversos y, más que nada, las claves para conocer nuestros abismos, enfrentarlos y llenarlos de luz.

How to Stay Married

How to Stay Married is a shockingly candid, hilarious, voyeuristic, and inspiring account of one man's personal journey through hell and back when his wife's infidelity threatens their marriage. Written by Harrison Scott Key, winner of the 2016 Thurber Prize for American Humor, this memoir dives into the complexities of love and the challenges of maintaining a marriage.

Ultra-Processed People

Ultra-Processed People: Why We Can't Stop Eating Food That Isn't Food is an eye-opening investigation into the science, economics, history, and production of ultra-processed food, also known as UPF. Medical doctor and broadcaster Chris van Tulleken takes us through the hard facts about our food intake and its links to various diseases such as metabolic disease, depression, inflammation, anxiety, and cancer. He also discusses the environmental damage caused by the production, distribution, and disposal of UPF.

Van Tulleken reframes the conversation around healthy eating by providing both shocking and empathetic insights into our eating habits. He delves into the concept of the 'third age of eating' characterized by the abundance of ultra-processed eating options and provides guidance on making informed choices amidst this landscape. This book is not just about diet trends or individual willpower; it's about our right to know what we eat and its effects on our bodies and our environment.

Life in Five Senses

2023

by Gretchen Rubin

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project discovers a surprising path to a life of more energy, creativity, and love: by tuning in to the five senses.

For more than a decade, Gretchen Rubin had been studying happiness and human nature. Then, one day, a visit to her eye doctor made her realize that she'd been overlooking a key element of happiness: her five senses. She'd spent so much time stuck in her head that she'd allowed the vital sensations of life to slip away, unnoticed. This epiphany lifted her from a state of foggy preoccupation into a world rediscovered by seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, and touching.

In this journey of self-experimentation, Rubin explores the mysteries and joys of the five senses as a path to a happier, more mindful life. Drawing on cutting-edge science, philosophy, literature, and her own efforts to practice what she learns, she investigates the profound power of tuning in to the physical world.

Life in Five Senses is an absorbing, layered story of discovery filled with profound insights and practical suggestions about how to heighten our senses and use our powers of perception to live fuller, richer lives—and, ultimately, how to move through the world with more vitality and love.

The Anxious Achiever

The Anxious Achiever is a book with a mission: to normalize anxiety and leadership. As leadership expert and self-proclaimed anxious achiever Morra Aarons-Mele argues, anxiety is built into the very nature of leadership. It can—and should—be harnessed into a force for good. Inspired by the popular podcast of the same name, The Anxious Achiever is filled with personal stories, research-based insights into mental health, and lots of practical advice.

You'll learn how to:

  • Figure out your own anxiety profile so that you can recognize and avoid common thought traps and triggers

  • Confront bad habits and unhealthy coping mechanisms

  • Resist perfectionism, manage social anxiety, and set boundaries to prevent burnout

  • Deal with feedback, criticism, and impostor syndrome

  • Model—and communicate—healthy behavior as a leader

Whether you're experiencing anxiety for the first time or have been battling it for years, The Anxious Achiever will help you turn your stress and worries into a source of strength for yourself, your career, and the people you lead.

Arrangements in Blue

2023

by Amy Key

Arrangements in Blue is a poignant memoir that delves into the life of poet Amy Key, who, in her forties, embarks on an exploration of living without romantic love. With expectations of love shaped by Joni Mitchell's album Blue, Key reflects on a life that has unfolded differently than she imagined.

Key's journey is one of self-discovery, as she builds a home, travels solo, contemplates motherhood, and learns to recognize her personal milestones. She uncovers the often overlooked forms of connection and care, while also confronting the challenging emotions of loneliness, envy, grief, and failure.

This memoir is not just Key's story but an invitation to live and love more honestly, honoring the life one leads completely by oneself. Arrangements in Blue is a testament to the expansive potential of self-friendship and the importance of candidly embracing the full spectrum of human experience.

Outlive

2023

by Peter Attia

In Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, Dr. Peter Attia offers a new perspective on living a better and longer life by challenging conventional medical thinking on aging and chronic disease prevention. Dr. Attia, a visionary physician and longevity expert, provides an operating manual for longevity, drawing on the latest science to introduce innovative nutritional interventions, techniques for optimizing exercise and sleep, and tools for addressing emotional and mental health.

Mainstream medicine, despite its successes, has struggled to combat aging-related diseases like heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and type 2 diabetes, often providing treatment too late. Dr. Attia advocates for a personalized, proactive strategy for longevity, emphasizing the importance of taking action now rather than waiting. This strategic and tactical approach aims to extend lifespan while improving physical, cognitive, and emotional health.

With the right approach, it's possible to outlive our genetic predispositions and enjoy better health with each passing decade.

Saving Time

2023

by Jenny Odell

In her first book, How to Do Nothing, Jenny Odell wrote about the importance of disconnecting from the "attention economy" to spend time in quiet contemplation. But what if you don't have time to spend? In order to answer this seemingly simple question, Odell took a deep dive into the fundamental structure of our society and found that the clock we live by was built for profit, not people. This is why our lives, even in leisure, have come to seem like a series of moments to be bought, sold, and processed ever more efficiently.

Odell shows us how our painful relationship to time is inextricably connected not only to persisting social inequities but to the climate crisis, existential dread, and a lethal fatalism. This dazzling, subversive, and deeply hopeful book offers us different ways to experience time—inspired by pre-industrial cultures, ecological cues, and geological timescales—that can bring within reach a more humane, responsive way of living. As planet-bound animals, we live inside shortening and lengthening days alongside gardens growing, birds migrating, and cliffs eroding; the stretchy quality of waiting and desire; the way the present may suddenly feel marbled with childhood memory; the slow but sure procession of a pregnancy; the time it takes to heal from injuries.

Odell urges us to become stewards of these different rhythms of life in which time is not reducible to standardized units and instead forms the very medium of possibility. Saving Time tugs at the seams of reality as we know it—the way we experience time itself—and rearranges it, imagining a world not centered on work, the office clock, or the profit motive. If we can "save" time by imagining a life, identity, and source of meaning outside these things, time might also save us.

The Creative Act

2023

by Rick Rubin

Many famed music producers are known for a particular sound that has its day and then ages out. Rick Rubin is known for something else: creating a space where artists of all different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer. He has made a practice of helping people transcend their self-imposed expectations in order to reconnect with a state of innocence from which the surprising becomes inevitable.

Over the years, as he has thought deeply about where creativity comes from and where it doesn't, he has learned that being an artist isn't about your specific output; it's about your relationship to the world. Creativity has a place in everyone's life, and everyone can make that place larger. In fact, there are few more important responsibilities.

The Creative Act is a beautiful and generous course of study that illuminates the path of the artist as a road we all can follow. It distils the wisdom gleaned from a lifetime's work into a luminous reading experience that puts the power to create moments - and lifetimes - of exhilaration and transcendence within closer reach for all of us.

Tranquility by Tuesday

2022

by Laura Vanderkam

Tranquility by Tuesday is not just a time management book about "how to do it all." Instead, it's a guide to intentionally living the life that you want and becoming an autonomous steward of life's possibilities. Laura Vanderkam, the bestselling author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, shares nine strategies for reclaiming your hours and building opportunities for joy, nourishment, and fulfillment into your week.

Based on a time diary study of over 150 people, Vanderkam's book provides insights into how real people changed their lives using her nine rules. These strategies include embracing habits like "Three times a week is a habit," seeking out "One big adventure, one little adventure," and prioritizing "Effortful before effortless."

The book is a beacon for anyone who's tired of to-do lists dictating their time and who hopes for a less hectic life. Vanderkam explains that if you want something to happen, you need to design your life to make it so. Life's unpredictable nature, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, means that dull tasks can quickly consume our precious hours. However, with a resilient schedule, and not necessarily a perfect one, it's possible to make time for what truly matters.

SOLO

2022

by Jenny Tough

Jenny Tough is an endurance athlete renowned for her feats in running and cycling through some of the world's most demanding events. In SOLO, she shares a narrative that is as much about personal growth as it is about physical endurance.

Her journey begins with a quest to confront the feelings and emotions that were limiting her. Running, a therapeutic and empowering practice for Jenny, becomes the foundation for an extraordinary goal: to traverse mountain ranges on six continents, alone and unaided, starting in the isolated terrains of Kyrgystan.

This book is a vivid account of her expeditions across the Tien Shan (Asia), the High Atlas (Africa), the Cordillera Oriental (South America), the Southern Alps (Oceania), the Canadian Rockies (North America), and the Transylvanian Alps (Europe). Along the way, Jenny discovers invaluable lessons in self-esteem, resilience, and courage.

The essence of SOLO is the affirmation that embarking on solo endeavors, whether grand or modest, can be exhilarating and uplifting. Jenny's call to action, urging us to find inner strength, confidence, and self-belief, serves as a powerful source of motivation for readers seeking to overcome their own barriers.

Building a Second Brain

2022

by Tiago Forte

For the first time in history, we have instantaneous access to the world's knowledge. There has never been a better time to learn, to contribute, and to improve ourselves. Yet, rather than feeling empowered, we are often left feeling overwhelmed by this constant influx of information. The very knowledge that was supposed to set us free has instead led to the paralyzing stress of believing we'll never know or remember enough.

Now, this eye-opening and accessible guide shows how you can easily create your own personal system for knowledge management, otherwise known as a Second Brain. As a trusted and organized digital repository of your most valued ideas, notes, and creative work synced across all your devices and platforms, a Second Brain gives you the confidence to tackle your most important projects and ambitious goals. Discover the full potential of your ideas and translate what you know into more powerful, more meaningful improvements in your work and life by Building a Second Brain.

Team Emotional Intelligence 2.0

As organizations shift to depend more on team-based structures, the pressure to develop high-performing teams is more critical than ever. In the modern work environment, teams are expected to embrace change, navigate complexity, and collaborate well under pressure—all while delivering exceptional results and forming productive relationships.

While it is crucial to have talented, bright people within a team, there is a dynamic that is even more essential to overall team effectiveness. This dynamic is Team Emotional Intelligence (Team EQ). Insights from the latest research on team emotional intelligence, combined with TalentSmartEQ's research trends from working with over 200 teams (with 2000+ team members), bring EQ know-how to the team level.

Team Emotional Intelligence 2.0 delivers practical strategies and showcases how an emotionally intelligent team is far more than the sum of its parts. This book focuses on the four key skill areas of Team EQ: Team Emotion Awareness, Team Emotion Management, Internal Team Relationships, and External Team Relationships. It delivers 53 strategies and a step-by-step process for increasing team EQ skills so team leaders and anyone who's a member of a team can achieve peak performance and reach their goals.

The authors begin with a life and death story of team failure that illustrates how emotions can drive team decisions and lead to disaster. They share a proven approach to helping teams understand Team EQ skills, build these skills into strengths, and use them to sustain positive momentum and achieve peak performance. Strategies for remote and hybrid teams working virtually offer targeted approaches to bonding, communicating, tough conversations, and decision making as modern workplaces transform.

With the increasing reliance on teams in organizations, the understanding and development of team EQ skills is more relevant and impactful than ever.

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.

Build

2022

by Tony Fadell

Tony Fadell, the leader of the teams that created the iPod, iPhone, and Nest Learning Thermostat, shares over 30 years of Silicon Valley experience in this unorthodox guide to making things worth making. Build is a mentor in a box, offering personal stories, practical advice, and insights into some of the most impactful products and people of the 20th century.

With quick entries that build on each other, Tony charts his journey from product designer to leader, startup founder, executive, and mentor. He uses captivating examples, such as the process of building the very first iPod and iPhone, to help readers tackle problems they're currently facing, from securing startup funding to managing workplace challenges.

Through his experiences with mentors like Steve Jobs and Bill Campbell, Tony advocates for old-school, unorthodox advice. He emphasizes that while human nature doesn't change, what we create can. His guidance focuses on leading and managing effectively, not reinventing the wheel, to make things worth making.

The Next Age of Uncertainty

2022

by Stephen Poloz

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - From the former Governor of the Bank of Canada, Stephen Poloz presents a far-seeing guide to the powerful economic forces that will shape the decades ahead. The economic ground is shifting, with increased volatility and widespread concern about financial futures. In this urgent and accessible guide, Poloz examines the crises and opportunities that lie ahead.

He identifies tectonic forces such as an aging workforce, mounting debt, rising income inequality, and technological advances that are disrupting employment, alongside climate change driving a transition to a lower-carbon economy. These forces have profound implications across various aspects of life, including work, housing, investment, government and central bank policy, and corporate roles in society. The pandemic has intensified many of these issues.

Poloz draws parallels with past economic crises, from the Victorian Depression to the 2008 downturn, to forecast the potential challenges and opportunities in the future. He suggests that the upcoming upheaval, unlike natural disasters, could provide chances for renewal and growth. This book is filled with insights for employers, investors, policymakers, and families, making it an essential resource for navigating the uncertain times ahead.

The Power of Regret

2022

by Daniel H. Pink

The Power of Regret by Daniel H. Pink explores the transformative power of our most misunderstood yet potentially most valuable emotion: regret. Daniel H. Pink explains that everybody has regrets, which are a universal and healthy part of being human. Understanding how regret works can help us make smarter decisions, perform better at work and school, and bring greater meaning to our lives.

Drawing on research in social psychology, neuroscience, and biology, Pink debunks the myth of the "no regrets" philosophy of life. Using the largest sampling of American attitudes about regret ever conducted and his own World Regret Survey—which has collected regrets from more than 15,000 people in 105 countries—he lays out the four core regrets that each of us has. These deep regrets offer compelling insights into how we live and how we can find a better path forward.

Pink lays out a dynamic new way of thinking about regret and frames his ideas in ways that are clear, accessible, and pragmatic. Packed with true stories of people's regrets as well as practical takeaways for reimagining regret as a positive force, The Power of Regret shows how we can live richer, more engaged lives.

How to Be Perfect

2022

by Michael Schur

From the creator of The Good Place and the cocreator of Parks and Recreation, a hilarious, thought-provoking guide to living an ethical life, drawing on 2,400 years of deep thinking from around the world.

Most people think of themselves as “good,” but it’s not always easy to determine what’s “good” or “bad”—especially in a world filled with complicated choices and pitfalls and booby traps and bad advice. Fortunately, many smart philosophers have been pondering this conundrum for millennia and they have guidance for us. With bright wit and deep insight, How to Be Perfect explains concepts like deontology, utilitarianism, existentialism, ubuntu, and more so we can sound cool at parties and become better people. 

Schur starts off with easy ethical questions like “Should I punch my friend in the face for no reason?” (No.) and works his way up to the most complex moral issues we all face. Such as: Can I still enjoy great art if it was created by terrible people? How much money should I give to charity? Why bother being good at all when there are no consequences for being bad? And much more. By the time the book is done, we’ll know exactly how to act in every conceivable situation, so as to produce a verifiably maximal amount of moral good. We will be perfect, and all our friends will be jealous. OK, not quite. Instead, we’ll gain fresh, funny, inspiring wisdom on the toughest issues we face every day.

Toxic Positivity

2022

by Whitney Goodman

A powerful guide to owning our emotions—even the difficult ones—in order to show up authentically in the world, from the popular therapist behind the Instagram account @sitwithwhit.

Every day, we’re bombarded with pressure to be positive. From “good vibes only” and “life is good” memes, to endless advice, to “look on the bright side,” we’re constantly told that the key to happiness is silencing negativity wherever it crops up, in ourselves and in others. Even when faced with illness, loss, breakups, and other challenges, there’s little space for talking about our real feelings—and processing them so that we can feel better and move forward.

But if all this positivity is the answer, why are so many of us anxious, depressed, and burned out? In this refreshingly honest guide, sought-after therapist Whitney Goodman shares the latest research along with everyday examples and client stories that reveal how damaging toxic positivity is to ourselves and our relationships, and presents simple ways to experience and work through difficult emotions. The result is more authenticity, connection, and growth—and ultimately, a path to showing up as you truly are.

Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?

2022

by Julie Smith

Drawing on years of experience as a clinical psychologist, online sensation Dr Julie Smith provides the skills you need to navigate common life challenges and take charge of your emotional and mental health in her debut book. Filled with secrets from a therapist's toolkit, Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? teaches you how to fortify and maintain your mental health, even in the most trying of times.

Dr Julie Smith's expert advice and powerful coping techniques will help you stay resilient, whether you want to manage anxiety, deal with criticism, cope with depression, build self-confidence, find motivation, or learn to forgive yourself. The book tackles everyday issues and offers practical solutions in bite-sized, easy-to-digest entries which make it easy to quickly find specific information and guidance.

Your mental well-being is just as important as your physical well-being. Packed with proven strategies, Dr Smith's empathetic guide offers a deeper understanding of how your mind works and gives you the insights and help you need to nurture your mental health every day. Wise and practical, Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? might just change your life.

The Power of Fun

2021

by Catherine Price

If you're not having fun, you're not fully living. Catherine Price, the author of How to Break Up with Your Phone, makes the case that fun is critical to our well-being and shows us how to have more of it.

Journalist and screen/life balance expert Catherine Price argues that our always-on, tech-addicted lifestyles have made us obsess over intangible concepts such as happiness, while obscuring the fact that real happiness lies in the everyday experience of fun. True Fun—which Price defines as the magical confluence of playfulness, connection, and flow—will give us the fulfillment we so desperately seek.

Using True Fun as your compass, you will be happier and healthier, more productive, less resentful, and less stressed. You'll have more energy, find community, and a sense of purpose.

Weaving together scientific research with personal experience, Price reveals the surprising mental, physical, and cognitive benefits of fun, and offers a practical, personalized plan for achieving better screen/life balance and attracting more True Fun into our daily lives—without feeling overwhelmed.

The Power of Fun is groundbreaking, eye-opening, and packed with useful advice. It won't just change the way you think about fun; it will bring you back to life.

Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook

The Harvard Business Review Project Management Handbook is the essential primer needed to launch, lead, and sponsor successful projects in today's project economy. With project management skills becoming increasingly vital for every leader and manager, this comprehensive guide by expert Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez presents a new and simple framework designed to significantly increase any project's chances of success.

The handbook is packed with case studies from a wide range of industries around the globe. It aims to teach readers how to effectively manage their organization's projects, strategic programs, and agile initiatives, ensuring that the best ones are pushed ahead to completion. This timeless yet forward-looking resource will equip professionals to thrive in a project-driven world.

Featuring a universal project framework known as the Project Canvas, the book breaks down projects into essential building blocks that are easily understood by all stakeholders. Readers will learn a common language for project managers and executives to run successful projects across their organizations, the twelve principles of successful projects, and techniques for managing a strategic and balanced project portfolio.

Addressing global trends such as automation, sustainability, diversity, and crisis management, The HBR Project Management Handbook is a must-read for ambitious professionals seeking to excel in their careers through step-by-step guidance, time-honed best practices, and real-life stories.

Rationality

2021

by Steven Pinker

Can reading a book make you more rational? Can it help us understand why there is so much irrationality in the world? Steven Pinker, author of Enlightenment Now, answers these questions in Rationality. In the 21st century, humanity is reaching new heights of scientific understanding--and at the same time appears to be losing its mind. How can a species that developed vaccines for Covid-19 in less than a year produce so much fake news, medical quackery, and conspiracy theorizing?

Pinker rejects the cynical cliché that humans are simply irrational--cavemen out of time saddled with biases, fallacies, and illusions. Instead, he explains that we think in ways that are sensible in the low-tech contexts in which we spend most of our lives, but fail to take advantage of the powerful tools of reasoning our best thinkers have discovered over the millennia: logic, critical thinking, probability, correlation and causation, and optimal ways to update beliefs and commit to choices individually and with others.

These tools are not a standard part of our educational curricula and have never been presented clearly and entertainingly in a single book--until now. Rationality also explores its opposite: how the rational pursuit of self-interest, sectarian solidarity, and uplifting mythology by individuals can add up to crippling irrationality in a society. Collective rationality depends on norms that are explicitly designed to promote objectivity and truth.

Rationality matters. It leads to better choices in our lives and in the public sphere, and is the ultimate driver of social justice and moral progress. Brimming with insight and humor, Rationality will enlighten, inspire, and empower.

The Burnout Epidemic

2021

by Jennifer Moss

In this important and timely book, workplace well-being expert Jennifer Moss helps leaders and individuals prevent burnout and create healthier, happier, and more productive workplaces.

We tend to think of burnout as a problem we can solve with self-care: more yoga, better breathing techniques, and more resilience. But evidence is mounting that applying personal, Band-Aid solutions to an epic and rapidly evolving workplace phenomenon isn't enough—in fact, it's not even close. If we're going to solve this problem, organizations must take the lead in developing an antiburnout strategy that moves beyond apps, wellness programs, and perks.

In this eye-opening, paradigm-shifting, and practical guide, Jennifer Moss lays bare the real causes of burnout and how organizations can stop the chronic stress cycle that an alarming number of workers suffer through. The Burnout Epidemic explains:

  • What causes burnout—and what organizations can do to prevent it
  • Why traditional wellness initiatives fall short
  • How companies can build an antiburnout strategy based on prevention, not perks
  • How leaders can measure burnout in their own organizations
  • What leaders can do to develop a healthier culture that prioritizes resilience and curiosity

As the pandemic has shown, self-care is important, but it's not a cure-all for burnout. Employers need to do more. With fascinating research, new findings from the pandemic, and interviews with business leaders around the globe, The Burnout Epidemic offers readers insightful and actionable advice that will empower them to help themselves—and their employees—feel healthier and happier at work.

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.

You're Not Listening

2021

by Kate Murphy

On social media, we shape our personal narratives. At parties, we talk over one another. So do our politicians. We're not listening. And no one is listening to us. Despite living in a world where technology allows constant digital communication and opportunities to connect, it seems no one is really listening or even knows how. And it's making us lonelier, more isolated, and less tolerant than ever before.

A listener by trade, New York Times contributor Kate Murphy wanted to know how we got here. In this always illuminating and often humorous deep dive, Murphy explains why we're not listening, what it's doing to us, and how we can reverse the trend. She makes accessible the psychology, neuroscience, and sociology of listening while also introducing us to some of the best listeners out there (including a CIA agent, focus group moderator, bartender, radio producer, and top furniture salesman).

Equal parts cultural observation, scientific exploration, and rousing call to action that's full of practical advice, You're Not Listening is to listening what Susan Cain's Quiet was to introversion. It's time to stop talking and start listening.

Noise

From the Nobel Prize-winning author of Thinking, Fast and Slow and the coauthor of Nudge, Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgment is a revolutionary exploration of why people make bad judgments and how to make better ones. Imagine that two doctors in the same city give different diagnoses to identical patients, or that two judges in the same courthouse give markedly different sentences to people who have committed the same crime. Suppose that different interviewers at the same firm make different decisions about indistinguishable job applicants, or that when a company is handling customer complaints, the resolution depends on who happens to answer the phone. Now imagine that the same doctor, the same judge, the same interviewer, or the same customer service agent makes different decisions depending on whether it is morning or afternoon, or Monday rather than Wednesday. These are examples of noise: variability in judgments that should be identical.

In Noise, Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony, and Cass R. Sunstein show the detrimental effects of noise in many fields, including medicine, law, economic forecasting, forensic science, bail, child protection, strategy, performance reviews, and personnel selection. Wherever there is judgment, there is noise. Yet, most of the time, individuals and organizations alike are unaware of it. They neglect noise. With a few simple remedies, people can reduce both noise and bias, and so make far better decisions.

Packed with original ideas, and offering the same kinds of research-based insights that made Thinking, Fast and Slow and Nudge groundbreaking New York Times bestsellers, Noise explains how and why humans are so susceptible to noise in judgment—and what we can do about it.

Remote Work Revolution

2021

by Tsedal Neeley

Remote Work Revolution: Succeeding from Anywhere offers a blueprint for thriving in remote and hybrid organizations. Harvard Business School professor and virtual work expert Tsedal Neeley provides insights into the unique challenges that come with managing and working in a digital environment.

As the world rapidly transitions to remote work due to unprecedented events such as Covid-19, companies and employees alike are adapting to a new way of working. This book tackles the challenges of virtual work, such as feelings of isolation, maintaining productivity, and fostering trust without in-person interactions. It also addresses the benefits, including reduced commute times, lower operational costs, and access to a global talent pool.

Neeley's book is filled with evidence-based answers to the most pressing questions about remote work, actionable steps, and interactive tools designed to help leaders and team members create effective strategies for remote collaboration. By following Neeley’s advice, readers will learn how to break through routine norms and use remote work to their advantage.

Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First.

2021

by Laura Tremaine

In a world where social media often masks authentic connection, Laura Tremaine's Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First. is a beacon for those seeking genuine relationships. This book isn't just a memoir; it's an invitation to engage in the lost art of personal storytelling.

With 10 thought-provoking questions, Tremaine leads the charge in sharing her own stories first—stories of failure, childhood, and relationships. These questions are more than mere icebreakers; they're a roadmap to deeper friendship and understanding.

As each chapter unfolds, readers are encouraged to ponder their own answers to these questions and to share them with friends. The magic of Share Your Stuff. I'll Go First. lies in its ability to foster connection, empathy, and openness. Reading this book feels like sitting down with a good friend over coffee, sharing laughs, tears, and those personal anecdotes that forge unbreakable bonds.

Think Again

2021

by Adam M. Grant

Think Again by Adam Grant is a compelling exploration into the power of rethinking our beliefs and embracing the unknown.

Through a blend of research and storytelling, Grant illustrates how we can develop the intellectual and emotional muscle needed to stay curious enough to effect change in the world. He delves into the art of rethinking: learning to question our opinions and open other people's minds. This, he posits, can position us for excellence at work and wisdom in life.

The book showcases how an international debate champion wins arguments and a Black musician persuades white supremacists to abandon hate. It offers insights on how a vaccine whisperer convinces concerned parents to immunize their children, and even how Yankees fans might be coaxed to root for the Red Sox. Grant reveals that we don't have to believe everything we think or internalize everything we feel. Think Again is an invitation to let go of outdated views and value mental flexibility over foolish consistency.

With bold ideas backed by rigorous evidence, Think Again not only teaches us the importance of rethinking but also provides practical guidance on how to cultivate this critical skill.

Chatter

2021

by Ethan Kross

Chatter by acclaimed psychologist Ethan Kross explores the powerful and often underappreciated inner voice in our heads. Kross interweaves groundbreaking behavioral and brain research from his own lab with compelling real-world case studies to explain how our self-talk shapes our lives, work, and relationships.

While we often aim to engage our inner coach to boost our confidence, we sometimes end up with a debilitating inner critic instead. This disorienting self-talk, or 'chatter,' can negatively impact our health, mood, social connections, and performance under pressure.

However, Kross reveals that we possess the necessary tools to turn our inner voice into a positive force. These tools are embedded in everyday practices: the language we use, the technologies we utilize, the personal diaries we maintain, the dialogues with those close to us, and the cultures we cultivate in educational and professional settings.

With an expert blend of research and stories, Chatter provides insightful guidance on how to harness the inner voice to lead a more productive and fulfilling life.

The Art of Impossible

2021

by Steven Kotler

Bestselling author, peak performance expert and Executive Director of the Flow Research Collective, Steven Kotler decodes the secrets of those elite performers—athletes, artists, scientists, CEOs and more—who have changed our definition of the possible, teaching us how we too can stretch far beyond our capabilities, making impossible dreams much more attainable for all of us.

What does it take to accomplish the impossible? What does it take to shatter our limitations, exceed our expectations, and turn our biggest dreams into our most recent achievements? We are capable of so much more than we know—that’s the message at the core of The Art of Impossible. Building upon cutting-edge neuroscience and over twenty years of research, author Steven Kotler lays out a blueprint for extreme performance improvement and offers a playbook to make it happen.

ADHD & Us

2020

by Anita Robertson

Navigating adult ADHD in your relationship—simple, effective strategies to strengthen your commitment. Communicating and thriving in a neurodiverse relationship is possible. ADHD & Us gives couples the tools and strategies they need to connect as well as overcome the unique challenges they face on the road to long-term happiness and satisfaction.

Drawing from Anita Robertson's years of practice counseling couples with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), this honest and straightforward guide helps couples better understand adult ADHD and how it affects relationships, while also providing the tools necessary for both partners to feel understood and respected. Learn how to avoid common conflicts, appreciate your differences, and meet each partner's needs. Together, you can make it happen.

This relationship guide for people with adult ADHD includes:

  • Five pillars of success—Learn about the five relationship pillars—praise, acknowledgement, games, growth mindset, and positive acceptance—and how they are essential in a successful relationship.

  • A practical approach to adult ADHD—Build communication skills and deepen your connection using engaging exercises that allow both partners to share in safe and constructive ways.

  • Modern and inclusive guidance—With expert advice based on the most-up-to-date understandings of adult ADHD, this book is designed for use in all kinds of relationships.

Overcome the challenges of dealing with adult ADHD and thrive together with this simple, actionable guide.

Uncharted

From former CEO and popular TED speaker Margaret Heffernan comes a timely and enlightening book that equips you with the tools you need to face the future with confidence and courage.

How can we think about the future? What do we need to do—and who do we need to be? In her bold and invigorating new book, distinguished businesswoman and author Margaret Heffernan explores the people and organizations who aren't daunted by uncertainty. We are addicted to prediction, desperate for certainty about the future. But the complexity of modern life won't provide that; experts in forecasting are reluctant to look more than 400 days out. History doesn't repeat itself and even genetics won't tell you everything you want to know. Tomorrow remains uncharted territory, but Heffernan demonstrates how we can forge ahead with agility.

Drawing on a wide array of people and places, Uncharted traces long-term projects that shrewdly evolved over generations to meet the unpredictable challenges of every new age. Heffernan also looks at radical exercises and experiments that redefined standard practices by embracing different perspectives and testing fresh approaches. Preparing to confront a variable future provides the antidote to passivity and prediction. Ranging freely through history and from business to science, government to friendships, this refreshing book challenges us to mine our own creativity and humanity for the capacity to create the futures we want and can believe in.

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