TED Talks: The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking


Chris J. Anderson - 2016
      Since taking over TED in the early 2000s, Chris Anderson has shown how carefully crafted short talks can be the key to unlocking empathy, stirring excitement, spreading knowledge, and promoting a shared dream. Done right, a talk can electrify a room and transform an audience’s worldview. Done right, a talk is more powerful than anything in written form.         This book explains how the miracle of powerful public speaking is achieved, and equips you to give it your best shot. There is no set formula; no two talks should be the same. The goal is for you to give the talk that only you can give. But don’t be intimidated. You may find it more natural than you think.         Chris Anderson has worked behind the scenes with all the TED speakers who have inspired us the most, and here he shares insights from such favorites as Sir Ken Robinson, Amy Cuddy, Bill Gates, Elizabeth Gilbert, Salman Khan, Dan Gilbert, Mary Roach, Matt Ridley, and dozens more — everything from how to craft your talk’s content to how you can be most effective on stage. This is the 21st-century’s new manual for truly effective communication and it is a must-read for anyone who is ready to create impact with their ideas.

The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers


John Gardner - 1984
      John Gardner was almost as famous as a teacher of creative writing as he was for his own works. In this practical, instructive handbook, based on the courses and seminars that he gave, he explains, simply and cogently, the principles and techniques of good writing. Gardner’s lessons, exemplified with detailed excerpts from classic works of literature, sweep across a complete range of topics—from the nature of aesthetics to the shape of a refined sentence. Written with passion, precision, and a deep respect for the art of writing, Gardner’s book serves by turns as a critic, mentor, and friend. Anyone who has ever thought of taking the step from reader to writer should begin here.

Gorilla Mindset: How to Control Your Thoughts and Emotions to Live Life on Your Terms


Mike Cernovich - 2015
     Applying Gorilla Mindset to your life (make no mistake, this is a book you must apply) will improve your health and fitness, lead to more money and career advancement, and help you have deeper, more meaningful relationships (or more casual ones; it’s your choice). Your thinking will become clear. You will have more focus. You will know exactly what steps to take to change your life. More importantly, you will be able to troubleshoot your own life – what psychologists call auto-regulate – when something goes wrong. For the first time ever, there is a complete system for you to live by, and more importantly, to improve and adapt to your needs. Some chapters will revolutionize how you live your life where as others might not apply to you at all. Gorilla Mindset is not a book of theory. These are all practical steps – mindset shifts you take or habits you form. There are chapters on routine, self-talk, frame, focus, state/mood, mindfulness, and body language. Each chapter contains techniques, mindset shifts, and habits that can be applied to your life. Yet each chapter forms part of an entire system to apply to your life. The chapters all feed off of and add to one another. For example, improving your self-talk will improve your state or mood. How you frame challenges in your life is also a matter of the language – or self-talk – you use. Getting in the moment improves your self-talk just as your self-talk helps you get into the moment. At the end of Gorilla Mindset you'll tie every concept together to live a life others don't even dare dream of.

Attack Your Day!: Before It Attacks You


Mark Woods - 2011
    Now, it's your turn! Attack Your Day's five crucial "activity management" skills and 101 productivity strategies can help you achieve unprecedented levels of effectiveness, as you move relentlessly towards achieving your most important goals in life. You'll learn how to dramatically improve the way you choose and prioritize your activities… organize your day so it's inherently more productive… make sure the most important tasks get done… overcome procrastination once and for all… know how and when to "turn on a dime" in response to events, without sacrificing focus or efficiency… learn how and when to say NO to interruptions. You're always doing "something": make sure you're doing the right things at the right times the right way, and you can transform your life!

Everything I Know


Paul Jarvis - 2013
    It's a swift kick in the creative ass without fairies, unicorns or new-age cliches. Paul Jarvis is the strategic and design talent behind some of the world's most successful entrepreneurs and online businesses - including Danielle LaPorte, Marie Forleo, Yahoo, The High Line and Mercedes-Benz - and he's learned a thing or two about forging your own path in life and work. Instead of offering one-size-fits-all advice, Paul provides an infinitely flexible template for adventure. There is a better, more satisfying path out there, if you're willing to take risks and explore new territory. This book provides practical ideas and questions to help you conquer fear, overcome inertia, embrace vulnerability, validate your plans and launch even the most outlandish projects on a basement budget. How and where you go next is entirely up to you. "Paul Jarvis is a lively, talented & incredibly insightful writer." -Maccabee Montandon, Fast Company "Paul Jarvis is the friend that every creative needs: friendly, whip-smart, & willing to give you a kick in the ass every now & then." -Sean Blanda, Adobe/99u

Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly


Gail Carson Levine - 2006
    She shows how you, too, can get terrific ideas for stories, invent great beginnings and endings, write sparkling dialogue, develop memorable characters—and much, much more. She advises you about what to do when you feel stuck—and how to use helpful criticism. Best of all, she offers writing exercises that will set your imagination on fire.With humor, honesty, and wisdom, Gail Carson Levine shows you that you, too, can make magic with your writing.

The Hero With a Thousand Faces


Joseph Campbell - 1949
    Examining heroic myths in the light of modern psychology, it considers not only the patterns and stages of mythology but also its relevance to our lives today--and to the life of any person seeking a fully realized existence.Myth, according to Campbell, is the projection of a culture's dreams onto a large screen; Campbell's book, like Star Wars, the film it helped inspire, is an exploration of the big-picture moments from the stage that is our world. It is a must-have resource for both experienced students of mythology and the explorer just beginning to approach myth as a source of knowledge.

Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Productive & Creative Self


Manoush Zomorodi - 2017
    Bored and Brilliant builds on that experiment to show us how to rethink our gadget use to live better and smarter in this new digital ecosystem. Manoush explains the connection between boredom and original thinking, exploring how we can harness boredom’s hidden benefits to become our most productive and creative selves without totally abandoning our gadgets in the process.Grounding the book in the neuroscience and cognitive psychology of “mind wandering”—what our brains do when we’re doing nothing at all—Manoush includes practical steps you can take to ease the nonstop busyness and enhance your ability to dream, wonder, and gain clarity in your work and life. The outcome is mind-blowing. Unplug and read on.

The Science of Storytelling


Will Storr - 2019
    They drive us to act out our dreams and ambitions, and shape our politics and beliefs. We use them to construct our relationships, to keep order in our law courts, to interpret events in our newspapers and social media. Storytelling is an essential part of what makes us human.There have been many attempts to understand what makes a good story – from Joseph Campbell’s well-worn theories about myth and archetype to recent attempts to crack the ‘Bestseller Code’. But few have used a scientific approach. This is curious, for if we are to truly understand storytelling in its grandest sense, we must first come to understand the ultimate storyteller – the human brain.In this scalpel-sharp, thought-provoking book, Will Storr demonstrates how master storytellers manipulate and compel us, leading us on a journey from the Hebrew scriptures to Mr Men, from Booker Prize-winning literature to box set TV. Applying dazzling psychological research and cutting-edge neuroscience to the foundations of our myths and archetypes, he shows how we can use these tools to tell better stories – and make sense of our chaotic modern world.

Queen of Penny Pinching: Living a Royal, Spiritual and Joyful LIfe on Pennies


Kate Singh - 2016
    Learn all this and more in this fabulous little book packed with advice and tips to run your home, create household budgets, cut cost, reduce the grocery bill and keep those organics, garden in small spaces, and much, much more. This is a great book for everyone on a tight budget, in debt, one income families, or those of you living on fixed incomes.

How to Fail: Everything I’ve Ever Learned From Things Going Wrong


Elizabeth Day - 2019
    This is a book for anyone who has ever failed. Which means it’s a book for everyone. If I have learned one thing from this shockingly beautiful venture called life, it is this: failure has taught me lessons I would never otherwise have understood. I have evolved more as a result of things going wrong than when everything seemed to be going right. Out of crisis has come clarity, and sometimes even catharsis.Part memoir, part manifesto, and including chapters on dating, work, sport, babies, families, anger and friendship, it is based on the simple premise that understanding why we fail ultimately makes us stronger. It's a book about learning from our mistakes and about not being afraid. Uplifting, inspiring and rich in stories from Elizabeth’s own life, How to Fail reveals that failure is not what defines us; rather it is how we respond to it that shapes us as individuals. Because learning how to fail is actually learning how to succeed better. And everyone needs a bit of that.

The Nifty 15: Write Your Book in Just 15 Minutes a Day! (The Prosperous Writer 2)


Honoree Corder - 2016
     You know it’s been rattling around in your head since you were young. You want to write a book because the call of the muse has been getting stronger. And, perhaps you have heard You Must Write a Book. The two keys to success for aspiring authors is consistency and a little bit of time. Honorée Corder and Brian D. Meeks are full-time authors who have written over three dozen books combined, both fiction and non-fiction. Honorée is an expert in non-fiction and Brian has penned tomes across five fiction genres. They’ve combined their knowledge to lay out the best practices and answer the most common questions they hear from new authors. The Nifty Fifteen will take you from the blank page to finished book by wiping away the fear that is born of not knowing where to begin. In addition, you’ll be given access to Brian’s Beautiful Gears, which is a session by session look at how he wrote his 13th novel in just fifteen minutes per day. You’ll see the unedited work with all of its errors to show how a full-time author is worried about one thing…get the first rough draft out. The edited version, all polished up and without the daily comments, will also be made available upon its release. Lastly you’ll be given exercises that will make the process easy to undertake. Everyone has a story to tell. It just takes a little time each day, so why not give The Nifty Fifteen a read.

Sit. Stay. Heal.: How Meditation Changed My Mind, Grew My Heart, and Saved My Ass


Spike Gillespie - 2015
    It traces my journey from a brutal Depression in 2012 to some amazing healing over the course of 2013 through a dedicated daily meditation practice. It also includes Twelve Lessons for those of you who wish to get a meditation practice started without tracking down a guru, without converting to a particular religion, and without investing in $500 yoga pants. All you need is your ass, your lungs, and a desire to try.

Life's Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Practice


Christina Baldwin - 1990
    In Life’s Companion, acclaimed author Christina Baldwin offers readers guidance and inspiration to this powerful way of expanding our inner horizons and opening our minds and spirits to a deeper relationship with the world and the people around us.Complete with enlightening quotations, exercises, sample journal entries, and techniques to nurture and encourage the writer and seeker within you, Life’s Companion will help you transform journaling into a powerful tool for self-growth, heightened awareness, and personal fulfillment.

Unfuck Your Brain: Using Science to Get Over Anxiety, Depression, Anger, Freak-Outs, and Triggers


Faith G. Harper - 2017
    Your brain knows it's not good to do these things, but it can't help it sometimes--especially if it's obsessing about trauma it can't overcome. That's where this life-changing book comes in. With humor, patience, science, and lots of good-ole swearing, Dr. Faith explains what's going on in your skull, and talks you through the process of retraining your brain to respond appropriately to the non-emergencies of everyday life, and to deal effectively with old, or newly acquired, traumas (particularly post-traumatic stress disorder).