Get Out of Your Own Way: A Skeptic's Guide to Growth and Fulfillment


Dave Hollis - 2020
    and husband of #1 New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hollis, refutes the lies people believe but don't talk about, keeping them stuck in a rut, and points the way for readers to finally start living the best versions of their lives.When Rachel Hollis began writing the #1 New York Times bestseller Girl, Wash Your Face, her husband Dave bristled at her transparency about her self-deceptions. Then he had a revelation: women aren't the only ones who believe lies. Both women and men buy into a host of lies that keep them from reaching their potential, often against a backdrop of ingrained ideas about how they should or shouldn't act, how they should or shouldn’t reach for help, or how they show up for life.Dave knows this personally. He believed all the lies, too. He found himself stuck in a rut, unmotivated, unfulfilled, and a version of himself he didn't like, all while being skeptical he could actually do anything about it. Then, he began to wake up. In his new book, he talks honestly about topics people aren't normally honest about--his impulse to solve instead of listen, his struggle to accept help or admit he needs it, even his insecurities about being a parent. Unpacking the untruths he once believed, he reveals how those lies held him back and outlines the tools that helped him change his life. Offering encouragement, challenge, and a hundred moments to laugh at himself, Dave points the way for others to drop bogus ideas and finally start living the best versions of their lives too.

What Drives Winning


Brett Ledbetter - 2015
    This is a book you'll want to reference again and again!

The Greatest Game


Duncan Hamilton - 2010
    Twenty20 and the Indian Premier League, seen as a short cut to riches by both players and administrators, threaten the future of Test cricket; the County Championship, the traditional—but increasingly moribund—nursery for England's Test players, struggles to reinvent itself; technology is eroding the authority of umpires. The age-old weave of the game is being slowly unpicked and rearranged for the modern, global age. 2009 may even be the last summer of cricket as we know it.  Against this backdrop Duncan Hamilton embarks on an elegiac odyssey in which he aims to capture the spirit and atmosphere of English cricket before its character is irrevocably altered. The stopping-points of his journey—and the framework on which he hangs his thoughts and observations—are 14 significant cricket matches played over the course of the 2009 season: from an Ashes Test match to a game of village cricket, from a brash Twenty20 encounter attended by thousands to a sleepy county game watched by five pensioners and a dog. He not only explores such issues as the future of the County Championship and the financial pressures faced by the wider game, but also creates vivid sketches of players, umpires, administrators, and the people who pay (and even suffer) to watch cricket. Combining reportage, anecdote, biography, history and personal recollection, The Greatest Game is an honest and passionate reflection on cricket's past, present, and future. A memorable and acutely observed portrait of one summer of cricket from an award-winning sports writer who has watched—and loved—cricket since he was a boy, it is essential reading for anyone who cares about the English game.

Open Side: The Official Autobiography


Sam Warburton - 2019
    No one put their body on the line quite like Sam Warburton.’ Brian O’Driscoll ‘It was an absolute privilege to play against Sam. An inspiring leader with an equally inspiring story to tell.’ Jonny Wilkinson Sam Warburton OBE was not only a titan of Welsh rugby, but an icon of the game. Having represented his country as a player and team captain at all junior levels, he propelled himself to international attention in 2011 when named as the youngest ever captain of Wales for the Rugby World Cup.Despite his tender age, Sam’s immense displays for club and country were recognised still further in April 2013, when, at just 24, he was named the Lions' captain for the extraordinary 2013 tour to Australia.  Four years later, after a year ‘in the wilderness’, Sam was named Lions’ captain yet again for the historic tour to New Zealand, thereby becoming the first ever Lions Captain never to lose a series in the professional era.Intelligent, calm, thoughtful – in many ways seemingly the exact opposite of the smash and crash of modern rugby – Warburton’s edge never came with his size, but with his depth of thought, his reading of movement, and his understanding that, to be a uniquely successful leader, one needs to set goals that far exceed the ambitions of even the most ferocious of opponents.  In leading other men, and in pitting himself against the world’s best, Warburton was forced repeatedly to push himself to the very edge of his physiological and mental limits, the 21 significant injuries over that period a painful testament to his sacrifice.Open Side is therefore not simply a chronology of events or a celebration of statistics. Written in a compelling but soul searching style, this is an astoundingly personal book exploring the nature of leadership, the value of self-control, the precision of mindset and of course the future of the game.  It is also a deeply personal meditation on the sacrifice of body, the torment of injury and the pain of retirement, a decision Sam was forced to make in July 2018, at just 29 years old. Never before has a rugby autobiography given such intimate access not only to the realities of the dressing room and the heroes and villains of the modern game, but to the unique mindset required to make someone a genuinely great leader of men.

21 Yaks and a Speedo - How to achieve your own impossible


Lewis Pugh - 2013
    Lewis Pugh knows oceans. He was the first to complete a long distance swim in every ocean of the world, and has pioneered more swims around famous landmarks than any other person in history. He swam across the icy waters of the North Pole to highlight the melting of the Arctic Sea ice, and across a glacial lake on Mount Everest to draw attention to the impact of climate change on the Himalayan glaciers. It was there that he met his first yak. Trekking behind them up the icy slopes, watching them cross skeletal bridges over dizzying ravines, and listening to them breathe outside his tent each night, Lewis got to think about the things he most admires in a yak. And found that those qualities were not unlike the ones that enabled him to meet his own challenges - and achieve things that people believed to be impossible.In 21 Yaks and a Speedo, Lewis shares his ability to dream big dreams, build crack teams, and get the job done. You'll be inspired by his devotion to excellence, his loyalty to his crew, and his belief in never giving up. These are 21 strategies Lewis used to achieve what no one thought was possible. The principles are simple but effective. Stick by them, he says, and you will achieve your own impossible.

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance


Angela Duckworth - 2016
    Rather, other factors can be even more crucial such as identifying our passions and following through on our commitments.Drawing on her own powerful story as the daughter of a scientist who frequently bemoaned her lack of smarts, Duckworth describes her winding path through teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience, which led to the hypothesis that what really drives success is not genius, but a special blend of passion and long-term perseverance. As a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Duckworth created her own character lab and set out to test her theory.Here, she takes readers into the field to visit teachers working in some of the toughest schools, cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. She also mines fascinating insights from history and shows what can be gleaned from modern experiments in peak performance. Finally, she shares what she's learned from interviewing dozens of high achievers; from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to the cartoon editor of The New Yorker to Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll.Winningly personal, insightful, and even life-changing, Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that not talent or luck makes all the difference.

Cracking the Code: The Winning Ryder Cup Strategy: Make It Work for You


Paul Azinger - 2010
    . . a group-dynamic philosophy with lessons for golf and beyond.”With only three wins in twenty-five years for the United States Ryder Cup team, 2008 captain Paul Azinger employed a management style that focused on building strong relationships among the players. The resulting team won with the largest U.S. margin of victory in almost three decades.In Cracking the Code, Azinger and management consultant Ron Braund share the team-building philosophy that helped win the Ryder Cup and can work for you.

Little League Confidential: One Coach's Completely Unauthorized Tale of Survival


William Geist - 1992
    Just when it seems that Little League may be no place for a kid, this all-star line-up of conniving commissioners and mitt-impaired fielders sends the sport off and over the wall.Praise for Little League Confidential"Bill Geist is the funniest writer since Marcel Proust--I mean Mark Twain--no, make that Yogi Berra."--Russell Baker"A lighthearted romp . . . essential reading for seasons to come."--The New York Times Book Review"Very, very, very funny."--Larry King, USA Today

The Go-Getter (a Story That Tells You How to Be One)


Peter B. Kyne - 1920
    He was a war veteran and amputee who will not be refused what he wants. Peck not only fights to find employment but continually proves himself more than competent at the many difficult test that are throw his way in the course of his early days with the Ricks Lumber Company...

Ten Things I Learned from Bill Porter


Shelly Brady - 2002
    Afflicted with cerebral palsy and burdened with continual pain, Porter was determined not to live on government disability and went on to become Watkins’s top-grossing salesman in Portland, the Northwest, and the U.S. This book was written by the woman who worked as Porter’s typist and driver and later became his friend and cospeaker. The “ten things” include Mother Knows Best, Persistence Pays Off, and Know Your Limits but Reach Beyond Them. This is an inspiring story with real-life lessons about tenacity in the face of daunting odds.

Talent is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else


Geoff Colvin - 2008
    Greatness doesn't come from DNA but from practice and perseverance honed over decades. The key is how you practice, how you analyze the results of your progress and learn from your mistakes, that enables you to achieve greatness.Colvin shows that the skills of business: negotiating deals, evaluating financial statements obey the principles that lead to greatness, so that anyone can get better at them with the right kind of effort. Even the hardest decisions and interactions can be systematically improved.This new mind-set, combined with Colvin's practical advice, will change the way you think about your job and career, and will inspire you to achieve more in all you do.

Second to Home


Ryne Sandberg - 1991
    Photos.

The Smart Take from the Strong: The Basketball Philosophy of Pete Carril


Pete Carril - 1997
    His son stood only five-foot-six but nonetheless became an All-State basketball player in high school, a Little All-American in college, and a highly successful coach. After twenty-nine years as Princeton University’s basketball coach, he became an assistant coach with the NBA’s Sacramento Kings. In 1997 he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Coach Carril inspired his teams with his own strength of character and drive to win, and he demonstrated time and again how a smart and dedicated team could compete successfully against bigger programs and faster, stronger, more athletic players. His teams won thirteen conference championships, made eleven NCAA Tournament appearances, and led the nation in defense fourteen times. Throughout his reflections on a lifetime spent on the basketball court and the bench, Carril demonstrates deep respect for the contest, his empathy and engagement with the players, humility with his own achievements, a pragmatic vision of discipline and fundamentals, and an enduring joy in the game. This is an inspiring and wonderful book, even for those who never made a basket.

Silence Breaks


Ashlee Birk - 2014
    I am a victim of murder. Through a series of events and by two shots of a gun, I was made a widow at the age of 28, with my youngest child just six weeks old. I am a victim of infidelity. I have felt unlovable. I have felt rejected. I have had days in my life when I wasn’t sure if I would ever take a breath again, let alone be able to raise my five children by myself. I have lived in fear. I have felt much heartache. I have felt truly broken to my core. I have carried some heavy burdens...not only of my own, but burdens put upon my shoulders by the death of my husband. I have felt alone. I have felt humiliated. I have been humbled to my knees. I have searched my soul to find my worth in this world, and in the life that was left for me. My world has been totally shattered. I have faced realities I never knew were possible, and found strength within myself to keep up the fight and live every day as if it was on purpose. I have been carried by Angels...both earthly beings and those unseen. I have found that being a “victim” doesn’t mean we have an excuse to stop living. Being a victim means finding a reason for seeking a higher road. I have picked up the pieces left and carried on. I am a mother. We are survivors. In one way or another, we are all victims. There are times in our lives when we are forced to question who we are at our core. When we are presented with a path...we can go this way or we can choose that way. For some, this moment comes when the one person whom we love the most decides we are not enough. This person leave us—at a most vulnerable moment—alone to search within ourselves for who we really are. We are left trying to find who it is that was left behind. Sometimes the person we love dies. Sometimes it is merely an internal battle we are facing...all alone inside our minds. Whatever the situation and wherever you have been...you have been hurt. You have felt alone. You have been abandoned, either by your parents, your lover, your friends, complete strangers, or even yourself. We have all been at that crossroad where all we have left is ourselves. Sometimes these moments of lows have brought you to your knees and caused you to reflect and ponder your relationship with God...and other times they have made you question if He is even there, or if He knows you are alone. Whatever that moment has been for you, it is personal and real. It has defined and refined who you are, who you think you were, and who you want to become. This is my story...the defining moments that have truly brought me to my knees, the times when I’ve questioned to my core my very existence, and the experiences I’ve had that have shown me who I really am and who my Heavenly Father still needs me to become. The night of my husband’s death was my darkest hour, but also the very moment when I saw firsthand that my Heavenly Father sent Angels on errands for me. He carried me. It was the hour when all my fears and all the pain of this world collided together and He was there...putting back together all the pieces, one step at a time.

Faith Is Not a Feeling: Choosing to Take God at His Word


Ney Bailey - 2002
    Deeply grieved by the loss, survivor Ney Bailey embraced a journey of faith that led her to a life-changing truth: No matter how things look and no matter how we feel, God is in control.In Faith is Not a Feeling, Ney reveals how life’s tragedies and challenges lead each of us to an important decision about how we will relate to God. Building on a foundation of experiences all believers can relate to, this well-loved speaker and teacher shows how you can take advantage of the endless opportunities life provided to deepen your trust in the Lord. Faith is Not a Feeling has taught hundreds of thousands of people how to choose to believe God’s promises over their own personal feelings. Now you, too, can discover the secrets that will allow you to face painful experiences with a measure of objectivity, use your feelings to take you to God, and experience true peace in the midst of failure and trials. Best of all, you will learn how to obediently and confidently take God at His word as you never have before.