Born with a severe facial deformity, David's life has been anything but easy. Still, over time, he's learned to accept his gifts as well as his flaws, and to see that, sometimes, they are one and the same. In this compelling book, he shares his hard-earned lessons, providing an irresistible and unforgettable glimpse of his (and everyone's) inner beauty and offering profound encouragement in dealing with whatever life brings.

    . . colorful descriptions make this a fun read." -Los Angeles Times "One of the best sports books of the year." -Booklist Ken Baker wanted nothing more than to play ice hockey with the pros-until a brain tumor cut his dreams short while in college. After surgery and several years of rehab, Baker, who in high school was a top prospect for the U.S. Olympic team, put his successful journalism career on hold to attempt the seemingly impossible: a comeback. He moved away from his family to become the third-string goalie for the Bakersfield Condors, an AA-level minor-league team in the dusty oil town of Bakersfield, California. At the age of thirty-one, Baker became the oldest rookie in all of pro-hockey, facing 100-m.p.h. slap shots and long bus rides, hostile fans and cheap motel rooms, body bruises, and battle-worn teammates. From his visit to an NHL training camp to his first nerve-rattled minutes as a pro, Baker joins the rookies who still dream of making it to the Show, the veterans long past their prime, and the obsessive fans who keep them going. When the season is over, Baker's pro-hockey adventure ends up teaching him nearly everything he will ever need to know about life.

    Patrick McEnroe has been in the world of professional tennis in one way or another for most of his life. As a player, coach, and ESPN commentator, he's seen it all. The significant tennis books of recent years have all been autobiographies--famous players burnishing their image or attempting to set the record straight within carefully controlled memoirs. No one has been willing to do a book that pulls back the curtain and presents an honest, no-holds-barred look into the ultimate gentleman's sport and the larger-than-life personalities that inhabit it. Patrick McEnroe does just that. Curious to know which marquee player threw a tantrum and bailed early on a tournament? Why Roger Federer, presumably the greatest player of all time, has a losing head-to-head record with Rafael Nadal? Why certain tennis prodigies burned out early? The real role of coaches like Nick Bollettieri? Which player is as much of a diva off the court as on? The greatest match ever played? In Hardcourt Confidential, McEnroe uses his twenty-five-plus years in the trenches of the game to tell true tales and wild stories about the players you think you know (from Sampras to Agassi to Roddick to the Williams sisters), how and why the game has changed since he first swung a racket, and what the future holds in store for American tennis. McEnroe takes an unapologetic look at the men, women, and events of the past three decades, right up to the epic Federer vs. Nadal rivalry that dominates the game today. He's got a lot to say and he's not afraid to say it.

     Do you want to see the glamorous side of Italy but think it’s out of your budget? Does preparing for international travel leave you feeling anxious? Do you worry about falling into a tourist trap? Italian travel guide and blogger Corinna Cooke has years of experience creating glamorous private vacations throughout every corner of the country. And now she’s here to share her insider tips so you can make the most of your Italian adventure. Glam Italia! How to Travel Italy is your all-in-one guide for crafting your personalized dream vacation. You’ll create an itinerary that’s custom-fit to your interests: from world-renowned art to mouthwatering cuisine, from breathtaking landscapes to trendsetting fashion. With this guide you’ll learn how to find hidden gems and get insider’s advice for touring Italy’s most famous attractions. Whether you plan to travel in style or on a shoestring budget, you’ll discover hidden gems and little-known advice for touring Italy’s most famous attractions. With Cooke’s hassle-free guide, you’ll finally learn to sit back and savor your authentic Italian experience like a local. In Glam Italia! How To Travel Italy, you'll discover: - Step-by-step methods for planning your entire trip, regardless of time or budget - Lists of the best cuisines, and wines by region to satisfy any appetite - Optimum lengths of time to visit each attraction so you can get the best bang for your buck - Simple tips for booking flights that will save hundreds of dollars from your bottom line - Precautions you can take to stay safe and healthy while traveling and much, much more! Glam Italia! How To Travel Italy is your glamorous go-to travel guide for experiencing this charming Mediterranean destination. If you like practical tips, insider advice from a local expert, and stress-free planning, then you’ll love Corinna Cooke’s handbook for your dream vacation. Buy Glam Italia! How To Travel Italy, and pack your bags for a very fabulous, once-in-a-lifetime adventure!

    Keep a daily record of life's little blessings with this keepsake gratitude guided journal filled with a year's worth of insightful prompts, inspiring quotes, and ample room for reflecting on all the things that make life great.Fans of Calm the Chaos Journal, The Five Minute Journal: A Happier You in 5 Minutes a Day and Find Calm in The Chaos: A Writing Prompt Journal with Positive Prompts to Calm the Mindwill love this journal.• An inspirational gift for anyone who likes to journal• A thoughtful self growth journal for anyone looking to bring mores perspective and find more happiness in their lives• This hardcover journal is great for all ages and people in every stage of life.

    For over a decade,the authors have studied the world’s successful traders. Based on their learnings, they started practicing it and are now part of the 5%. Trade and Grow Rich teaches not just concepts but also methods with the help of anecdotes. This book has to be read one chapter at a time, rather than just being a one-time read. If you want to enjoy an adventurous journey to become a successful trader, then this is the book you are looking for!

    If you're like most players, you struggle with nearly every aspect of the game: offense, defense, execution and combos, and generally having a game plan that is more complex than just mashing buttons at every opportunity. A Road Map Toward Improvement Street Fighter is a game that requires practice, finesse, and knowledge. Unfortunately, most players don't have any guidance on where to begin when learning the game which leads to lots of frustration and losses. This guide is designed to give you a road map for improving your skills so that when SF5 drops you can hit the ground running!Lots of players are under the misconception that since SF5 is a brand new game, there's no point in playing SF4 and improving. While it is true that there will be lots to learn in SF5 such as new engines and characters, this is not a reason not to improve on your Street Fighter fundamentals in the meantime. The Importance of a Solid Foundation Like anything else worth doing in life, developing a foundation of solid fundamentals is the key to improving. Even though SF5 will have brand new characters and mechanics, the core elements of Street Fighter remain the same throughout the franchise. Execution, footsies and space control, combos, punishing, and resource management are important in all Street Fighter games and this guide will show you how to use SF4 to improve on these aspects of your game. Who is gootecks and why should I bother? I've played Street Fighter competitively since 2003, starting with Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike and continuing with Street Fighter 4. I've traveled to compete in tournaments around the world, including places like Japan, Singapore, Australia, Canada, and Europe.A lot of people may know me as the co-host of Excellent Adventures of gootecks & Mike Ross, or perhaps from my work on Cross Counter TV, the entertainment network for fighting game fans.Recently, I've begun training players just like yourself through Cross Counter Training, where players like EG.Justin Wong, EG.K-Brad, Alex Myers are available for helping players of all skill levels improve. Through working with my students, I've developed what I believe to be an extremely effective method of learning how to play Street Fighter. This method is based on the idea of learning one tiny aspect of the game at a time through the eyes of the poster boy of Street Fighter, Ryu. "But Ryu is boring, gootecks!" I know, I know, you think Ryu is boring and everybody plays him and you want to play a cool, flashy character so you can style on people on stage at Evo someday. Unfortunately, you'll need to learn how to walk before you can run and there is no better investment of time as a new player than to learn Ryu in order to build a strong foundation.Taking this time now to develop your fundamentals will serve you well as you transition to Street Fighter 5. Ryu is definitely different in SF5, but the tools and concepts you'll learn in this guide will give you a leg up on the competition when SF5 drops.

    Both sought to redefine themselves beneath the stars. By the time they made it to the snowy Cascade Range of British Columbia—the trail’s end—Aspen and Justin were in love.Embarking on a new pilgrimage the next summer, they returned to those same mossy mountains where they’d met, and they married. They built a world together, three years of a happy marriage. Until a cold November morning, when, after kissing Aspen goodbye, Justin left to attend the funeral of a close friend.He never came back. As days became weeks, her husband’s inexplicable absence left Aspen unmoored. Shock, grief, fear, and anger battled for control—but nothing prepared her for the disarming truth. A revelation that would lead Aspen to reassess not only her own life but that of the disappeared as well.The result is a brave and inspiring memoir of secrets kept and unearthed, of a vanishing that became a gift: a woman’s empowering reclamation of unmitigated purpose in the surreal wake of mystifying loss.

    But sometimes the best way to move forward is to look back. Philip Barlag shows us that Julius Caesar is one of the most compelling leaders of the past to study—a man whose approach was surprisingly modern and extraordinarily effective. History is littered with leaders hopelessly out of touch with their people and ruthlessly pursuing their own ambitions or hedonistic whims. But Caesar, who rose from impoverished beginnings, proved by his words and deeds that he never saw himself as being above the average Roman citizen. And he had an amazing ability to generate loyalty, to turn enemies into allies and allies into devoted followers. Barlag uses dramatic and colorful incidents from Caesar's career—being held hostage by pirates, charging headlong alone into enemy lines, pardoning people he knew wanted him dead—to illustrate what Caesar can teach leaders today. Central to Barlag's argument is the distinction between force and power. Caesar avoided using brute force on his followers, understanding that fear never generates genuine loyalty. He exercised a power deeply rooted in his demonstrated personal integrity and his intuitive understanding of people's deepest needs and motivations. His supporters followed him because they wanted to, not because they were compelled to. Over 2,000 years after Caesar's death, this is still the kind of loyalty every leader wants to inspire. Barlag shows how anyone can learn to lead like Caesar.

    

    Inside you'll find checklists, worksheets, insider advice, and in-depth sections on:How to personalize your weddingUpdated wedding etiquetteCreating a realistic budgetSneaky cost-cutting tipsDress shopping adviceTips for working with florists, caterers, officiants, and othersInvitation wordingVows and ceremony detailsUnique Wedding customsALL NEW SECTIONS ON: Planning Online and Destination Weddings, and a color-coded section with over 100 vibrant photographs

    It is the quality of these, whatever the size of the organisation, which make the difference between organisations which thrive, and those which stagnate.This is not to argue for soft, easy and comfortable options. Instead it considers how top leaders manage to walk the line between the impossible and the possible, between the undoable and the doable, and to create conditions for productive work which transcend the difficulties which come towards us every day. Instead of dodging them, they embrace them. And by navigating high challenge, low threat, they show how others how to do the same.

    

    Sin comes a new voice, Samantha King’s raw, relatable poetry both celebrates love and mourns the human “curse to feel.” Her verse transports readers to the most private reaches of love and longing. Born to Love, Cursed to Feel is about love—the good, the bad, and the confusing. It touches on morals and how when emotions are involved it’s not as black and white. The poetry is frequently written in a narrative manner that evocatively pulls you in and makes you feel. This book is about falling in love, bad decisions, and ultimately growth. The essence of it all is to show that no matter how far one falls all the mistakes don’t have to be what defines them.

    The author writes in a conversational, humorous manner as he offers his own anecdotes and reflections to help readers uncover their professional impact and foster productive, heart-centered classrooms and schools.Part 1 addresses Happiness having passion, purpose, and a positive impact in education. In part 2, Engagements, readers explore the engagement teachers must have in their work to put forth the needed energy and effort. Part 3, Alliances, asks readers to be open to forming alliances with their fellow educators so they can collaborate effectively. Next, part 4, Risk Taking, demonstrates for readers why teachers should engage in vision-focused risk taking to create sustainable change in their schools. Finally, part 5, Thought, focuses on the knowledge capacity educators should have to fulfill the heart of the teaching profession.BenefitsExamine five unique HEART aspects of your professional life: Happiness, Engagement, Alliances, Risk, and Thought. Examine your distinctive heartprint as an educator and the magnified impact your professional life has on students and colleagues.Gain wisdom and inspirational insights for your work life from Dr. Kanold as well as dozens of thought leaders and researchers inside and outside of the educational profession. Take advantage of the opportunity to connect your professional life to each chapter and embed your personal and professional story into the book. Use the book as part of a professional group book study with your colleagues and friends at your school.Connect and reconnect to the emotion, passion, energy, growth, and collaborative intimacy expected when you choose to become part of the education profession. ContentsPart 1: Developing HEART H Is for HappinessPart 2: Developing HEART E Is for EngagementPart 3: Developing HEART A Is for AlliancesPart 4: Developing HEART R Is for RiskPart 5: Developing HEART T Is for ThoughtClean CSS files are essential for an optimized website. Free online tool by HTML Cleaner."