Work Development

A seven-day plan to doing less and achieving more. Do you hustle without having much to show for it? Do you feel overwhelmed and unable to find the most effective task to focus on? Do you buy into the myth that you must work harder to be successful?

Join a quest for the Holy Grail within each of us: the optimized brain. In Smarter Tomorrow, Ricker shares the spoils of her decade long adventure. After countless expert interviews, poring through hundreds of research studies from around the world, and testing dozens of tools on herself—including nicotine, video games, meditation, and even a little-known beverage from the Pacific islands—she explains how some experiments failed hilariously, while others transformed her cognition.

Millions of people are afraid of work. The situations they fear may be different: public speaking (e.g., presentations and speeches), meetings, conference calls, new assignments, performance reviews, promotions or praise, client consultations, team projects, and so on. But the feeling is often the same: some combination of obsessive worry, fear of being noticeably nervous, clammy hands, racing thoughts, sweating, blushing, heart palpitations, trouble breathing, and more.

We all know how to nudge our brains to perform better. A strong cup of coffee helps us get through a dull meeting, and a brisk walk helps us think more clearly. But what if some nudges could optimise how we focus, create and process information even more effectively, to take mental performance to new heights?

In our frenzied culture, the possibility of living in balanced rhythms of work and rest often feels elusive. This rings especially true for pastors and leaders who carry the weight of nonstop responsibility. Most know they need rest but might be surprised to find within themselves a deep resistance to letting go and resting in God one day a week, let alone for longer seasons of sabbatical.

Janice Kaplan is back to tackle another big, mysterious influence in all our lives: luck. And this time she's joined on her journey by coauthor Dr. Barnaby Marsh, a renowned academic who guides her exploration. Together they uncover the unexpected, little-understood science behind what we call "luck", proving that many seemingly random events are actually under your - and everyone's - control. They examine the factors that made stars like Harrison Ford and Jonathan Groff so successful, and learn the real secrets that made Kate Spade and Warby Parker into global brands.

Knowing how to transform conflict is critical in both our personal and professional lives. Yet, by and large, we are terrible at it. The reason, says longtime mediator Chad Ford, is fear. When conflict comes, our instincts are to run or fight. To transform conflict, Ford says we need to turn toward the people we are in conflict with, put down our physical and emotional weapons, and really love them with the kind of love that leads us to treat others as fellow human beings, not as objects in our way.

Years of counseling enabled Dr. Henry Cloud to observe people trying to work out the most important issues of life. If we sincerely want to "get life right" and quit repeating the same mistakes, 9 Things You Simply Must Do provides the practical guidance we need to live life to its fullest.

The Work is the story of how one young man traced a path through the world to find his life’s purpose. Wes Moore graduated from a difficult childhood in the Bronx and Baltimore to an adult life that would find him at some of the most critical moments in our recent history: as a combat officer in Afghanistan; a White House fellow in a time of wars abroad and disasters at home; and a Wall Street banker during the financial crisis.

In this amazing work, Westbrook generously shares with us the tools he has used and created over the last 30 years to bring comfort - physical, spiritual, emotional, and intellectual - to the dying, the families of the dying, and their professional and lay caregivers. Using the narrative style of Native Americans, Westbrook role-models his tools through a series of powerful, poignant, and moving stand-alone stories which illustrate precisely how to journey and navigate some of the most difficult end-of-life situations, and to do so with grace, equanimity, and deep partnership.

After speaking out about how weak and insecure men control women in relationships in 2009 on several globally televised shows, Tony Gaskins launched his career as a life coach and relationship counselor. Since then, Gaskins, has become one of America’s foremost experts on love and relationships. Drawing inspiration from the Bible and from his own personal failures and successes, Gaskins offers a framework for how to recognize the right person to settle down with, how to set standards that promote loving relationships, and more.

Francesca Gino has been studying rebels in life and in the workplace for more than 15 years. She has discovered that rebels - those who practice "positive deviance" at work - are harder to manage, but they are good for the bottom line: their passion, drive, curiosity, and creativity raise the entire organization to a new level. And she has found that at home, rebels are more engaged partners, parents, and friends. Packed with strategies for embracing rebellion at work and in life, Rebel Talent encourages all of us to rebel against what’s comfortable, so that we can thrive.

What if I don't want intimacy at all? It is selfish to pursue a relationship if I don't want romance? These questions are not only a source of deep anxiety and frustration for ace and aro people - but limit the heights that ace and aro folks believe they can reach for in their lives. These questions make us believe that we should settle for less, when in fact we all deserve more.

So many women are living overcommitted lives and buckling under the nagging guilt. When they are busy, they feel guilty for not playing with their kids or having a quiet time of prayer and Bible study. When they try to rest, they feel guilty because there's so much left to do. It's an endless cycle of overwork and exhaustion. Yet inside every woman's heart is a longing for true rest. It's there because God designed us that way - but it seems out of reach.

From a novice translator to CEO of the champagne house Veuve Clicquot North America, Mireille Guiliano shares her insights and experiences on how to work well. Whether it's balancing career and personal life, the pros and cons of risk taking, qualities of leadership, mentoring, the undervalued art of communicating, passion, etiquette, or style, Guiliano gives us a refreshing guide filled with advice that every working woman will need in today's economic climate.

Through nine easy-to-follow strategies, Dr. David H. Rosmarin demonstrates how to harness the power of anxiety to learn about ourselves, deepen our relationships with others, and achieve our deepest goals and dreams.

At its root, creativity is the practice of engagement; it's the marriage of feminine and masculine energy. By restoring that creative energy—and thus seeking our dreams—we can realign ourselves with an ancient, limitless presence, and reawaken the wild creative within. In Wild Creative, Tami Lynn Kent shows you how to tap into your creative center and access the natural, sustaining energy that is inherently yours. In doing so, you'll embark on a journey to achieve your dreams and restore your inner creative map.

This book offers practical wisdom on discovering your true purpose, professionally and in life in general, in the form of a business fable by Jon Gordon, the best-selling author of The Energy Bus and Soup. Nobody captures the deeper meaning of business like Jon Gordon, and The Seed is his most searching and significant book yet. Whatever your profession, take this insightful look at the purpose behind work, and plant the seed of inspiration in your life!

From the best-selling author of The Little Book of Stress Relief comes the definitive guide to treating - and eliminating - excessive stress in the workplace. Dr. David Posen, a popular speaker and a leading expert on stress mastery, identifies the three biggest problems that contribute to burnout and low productivity: Volume, Velocity, and Abuse. He shares revealing anecdotes and offers clear descriptions of the biology of stress to illustrate how downsizing, economic uncertainty, and technology have made the workplace more toxic than ever.

Have More Fun is for anyone who has forgotten that fun is an option. In a world where political dramas and cultural uncertainties churn through our news feed every day, Mandy is here to suggest that the answer to many of the most pressing questions is fun.