Book picks similar to
How to Be Normal by Phil Christman
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The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics
Bruce Bueno de Mesquita - 2011
They start from a single assertion: Leaders do whatever keeps them in power. They don’t care about the “national interest”—or even their subjects—unless they have to. This clever and accessible book shows that the difference between tyrants and democrats is just a convenient fiction. Governments do not differ in kind but only in the number of essential supporters, or backs that need scratching. The size of this group determines almost everything about politics: what leaders can get away with, and the quality of life or misery under them. The picture the authors paint is not pretty. But it just may be the truth, which is a good starting point for anyone seeking to improve human governance.
Beautiful Failures
Lucy Clark - 2016
Every day of her high school life was a struggle. She woke up in the morning and the thought of going to school was like an enormous mountain to climb. 'Nothing will ever be as easy as your school years,' well-meaning adults told her, but I knew for my daughter, and for many kids who have struggled as square pegs trying to make themselves round, this was dead wrong. When Lucy Clark's daughter graduated from school a 'failure', she started asking questions about the way we measure success. Why is there so much pressure on kids today? Where does it come from? Most importantly, as we seem to be in the grip of an epidemic of anxiety, how can we reduce that pressure? Beautiful Failures explores, through personal experience and journalistic investigation, a broken education system that fails too many kids and puts terrible pressure on all kids, including those who 'succeed'. It challenges accepted wisdoms about schooling, calls on parents to examine their own expectations, and questions the purpose of education, and indeed the purpose of childhood.
Mass Persuasion Method : Activate the 8 Psychological Switches That Make People Open Their Hearts, Minds and Wallets for You (Without Knowing Why They are Doing It)
Bushra Azhar - 2017
To become a persuasion powerhouse, start by imagining the human brain as an electrical circuit with 8 psychological switches that all need to be turned on for an effortless YES. 90% of purchasing decisions in the buyer’s mind are the result of someone sparking that circuit into action. The result? People stop scrolling and start drooling because you have tapped into their deepest, darkest desires. Consumers scramble for their credit cards because you have managed to position your products, your ideas and YOURSELF as irresistible. People take to their social media soapboxes on your behalf, telling the world how much they love you. And the best part about this excuse-disarming, desire-cultivating, wallet-opening thing called persuasion is that you don’t have to be a natural at persuasion, to persuade! Here are the eight persuasion switches in Mass Persuasion Method that once activated turn you into a master persuader: PERSUASION SWITCH #1 THE PRESTIGE SWITCH PERSUASION SWITCH #2 THE BELIEVABILITY SWITCH PERSUASION SWITCH #3 THE PARITY SWITCH PERSUASION SWITCH #4 THE CURIOSITY SWITCH PERSUASION SWITCH #5 THE URGENCY SWITCH PERSUASION SWITCH #6 THE DESIRABILITY SWITCH PERSUASION SWITCH #7 THE EDUTAINMENT SWITCH PERSUASION SWITCH #8 THE RELATABILITY SWITCH This book will not only show you the science and psychology behind each switch but will also give you specific, hands-on tactics that you can use on your websites, your social media & your client communications to to hook, pull, draw, magnetize and altogether mesmerize your customers and potential customers into buying from you, above everyone else in your industry...and not just once, but over and over again.
A Single Revolution: Don't look for a match. Light one.
Shani Silver - 2021
She's an advocate for single women feeling good while single—and there's a difference.A Single Revolution is one book for single women that won't approach you like you're unfinished. It's for those who are exhausted, frustrated, confused, or angry—who want relationships but don't deserve to be miserable in the meantime.A grueling dating grind isn't a prerequisite for partnership. You can be happily single and still meet someone—that's allowed. It's possible to value your single time so much that you refuse to give it up for anything less than the amazing relationships you deserve. It's also possible to stop searching for them so relentlessly that you ignore every other aspect of your valid, beautiful life. This isn't a book about dating. It's a book about living.You can choose how you feel about being single. You can choose to feel wrong, or you can choose to feel free.A Single Revolution isn't about changing yourself—it's about changing your mind.
Rules for the Unruly: Living an Unconventional Life
Marion Winik - 2001
Winik's amusing tales of outrageous mistakes, haunting uncertainty, and the never-ending struggle to stay true to her heart strike a powerful chord with creative, impassioned, independent-minded free spirits who know they're different -- and want to stay that way. Winik's seven Rules for the Unruly are: THE PATH IS NOT STRAIGHT · MISTAKES NEED NOT BE FATAL PEOPLE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN ACHIEVEMENTS OR POSSESSIONS BE GENTLE WITH YOUR PARENTS · NEVER STOP DOING WHAT YOU CARE ABOUT MOST LEARN TO USE A SEMICOLON · YOU WILL FIND LOVE Rules for the Unruly shows us how taking risks, living creatively, and cherishing our inner weirdness can become the secret of our happiness and success, not our downfall.
Original Wisdom: Stories of an Ancient Way of Knowing
Robert Wolff - 2001
Deep in the mountainous jungle of Malaysia the aboriginal Sng'oi exist on the edge of extinction, though their way of living may ultimately be the kind of existence that will allow us all to survive. The Sng'oi--pre-industrial, pre-agricultural, semi-nomadic--live without cars or cell phones, without clocks or schedules in a lush green place where worry and hurry, competition and suspicion are not known. Yet these indigenous people--as do many other aboriginal groups--possess an acute and uncanny sense of the energies, emotions, and intentions of their place and the living beings who populate it, and trustingly follow this intuition, using it to make decisions about their actions each day. Psychologist Robert Wolff lived with the Sng'oi, learned their language, shared their food, slept in their huts, and came to love and admire these people who respect silence, trust time to reveal and heal, and live entirely in the present with a sense of joy. Even more, he came to recognize the depth of our alienation from these basic qualities of life. Much more than a document of a disappearing people, Original Wisdom: Stories of an Ancient Way of Knowing holds a mirror to our own existence, allowing us to see how far we have wandered from the ways of the intuitive and trusting Sng'oi, and challenges us, in our fragmented world, to rediscover this humanity within ourselves.
Singapore, Incomplete: Reflections on a First World Nation's Arrested Political Development
Cherian George - 2017
Singapore, Incomplete is a collection of personal reflections about the country’s underdeveloped political culture and structure. “Ours is a middle-aged country with a maturing economy—but a political system that treats us like children,” he argues. George calls for more open “rules of engagement” that will protect and celebrate a diversity of ideas and beliefs. He critiques Singapore’s culture of fear, the lack of political transparency, and governmental groupthink. This is his first book for a general audience since Singapore: The Air-Conditioned Nation (2000).
Your Present: A Half-Hour of Peace: A Guided Imagery Meditation for Physical Spiritual Wellness
Susie Mantell - 2000
Loeser MD, American Pain Society“Terrific corporate gift!” —Ann T. Buivid, President, Remington“The Best!” —Canyon Ranch Living Essentials“As Good As It Gets” Issue —Town & Country With a voice described as "liquid,” award-winning stress relief expert Susie Mantell has created a uniquely soothing guided meditation experience. Like an easy chair, Mantell’s exquisite narration carries listeners into soft, effortless relaxation, gently releasing worry, anxiety, depression and pain. An oasis from a busy day, or prelude to deep, restful sleep, this clinically approved mindfulness meditation CD is elegantly packaged; a thoughtful stress relief gift. Soft music enhances the warm meditation narration
This Is Not A Drill: An Extinction Rebellion Handbook
Extinction Rebellion - 2019
Now you can become part of the movement - and together, we can make history.It's time. This is our last chance to do anything about the global climate and ecological emergency. Our last chance to save the world as we know it.Now or never, we need to be radical. We need to rise up. And we need to rebel.Extinction Rebellion is a global activist movement of ordinary people, demanding action from Governments. This is a book of truth and action. It has facts to arm you, stories to empower you, pages to fill in and pages to rip out, alongside instructions on how to rebel - from organising a roadblock to facing arrest.By the time you finish this book you will have become an Extinction Rebellion activist. Act now before it's too late.
War is a Racket
Smedley D. Butler - 1935
Butler was a military hero of the first rank, the winner of two Medals of Honour, a true 'fighting marine' whose courage and patriotism could not be doubted. Yet he came to believe that the wars in which he and his men had fought and bled and died were all pre-planned conflicts, designed not so much to defend America as to bloat the balance sheets of US banks and corporations.War Is a Racket is the title of two works, a speech and a booklet, by retired United States Marine Corps Major General and two time Medal of Honor recipient Smedley D. Butler. In them, Butler frankly discusses from his experience as a career military officer how business interests commercially benefit from warfare.After his retirement from the Marine Corps, Gen. Butler made a nationwide tour in the early 1930s giving his speech "War is a Racket". The speech was so well received that he wrote a longer version as a small book with the same title that was published in 1935 by Round Table Press, Inc., of New York. The booklet was also condensed in Reader's Digest as a book supplement which helped popularize his message. In an introduction to the Reader's Digest version, Lowell Thomas, the "as told to" author of Butler's oral autobiographical adventures, praised Butler's "moral as well as physical courage".
Dear White People
Justin Simien - 2014
The film, Dear White People, garnered a Sundance Award for Breakthrough Talent and has been hailed by critics everywhere. Channeling the sensibility of the film into this book, Simien will keep you laughing with his humorous observations, even if you haven't seen the satiric film.News Flash: the minimum number of black friends needed to not seem racist has just been raised to two. Rather than panic, readers are advised to purchase a copy of Dear White People. Whether you are a white person wondering why your black office mate is avoiding eye contact with you after you ran your fingers through her hair or you're a black nerd who has to break it to your white friends that you've never seen The Wire, this myth-busting, stereotype-diffusing guide to a post-Obama world has something for you!With decision-making trees to help you decide when it's the right time to wear Blackface (hint: probably never) and quizzes to determine whether you've become the Token Black Friend, Dear White People is the ultimate silly-yet-authoritative handbook to help the curious and confused navigate racial microaggressions in their daily lives. Based on the eponymous award-winning film, which has been lauded as a smart, hilarious satire, this tongue-in-cheek guide is a must-have that anybody who is in semi-regular contact with black people can't afford to miss!
F*ck That Cape: The Grown Woman's Unapologetic Guide to Putting Herself First
Jennifer Arnise - 2018
You’ll never read another self-help book ever again. The narrative around being strong has been a crown of thorns for African American women since shewe were brought to this country as slaves. Being smart and clever and efficient was a matter of life and death. Now in present time, being a smart, educated and successful African American woman doesn't determine if we live or die but it often creates an isolating and lonely world because more times than not she is we are hustling to prove herour worth to everyone. You’ve been accommodating all your life. You’ve been willing to set aside your own interests, needs and desires “for the greater good.” You’ve been playing the sacrificial lamb on the altar selflessness for far too long. It’s time to stop trying to be everyone’s hero, putting the needs of others above your own. It is making you miserable and you know it. Deep within you, you know your Superwoman complex leaves a bad taste in your mouth more often than not, leaving you feeling exhausted, unfulfilled, alone and angry at the world… and at the people you love. All your life you’ve been told to be a tough, strong, self-reliant, inscrutable Black woman without a chink in her armor, without an ounce of weakness, so you plod on, isolated and lonely because you’re not being true to yourself. You’re suffering, and whether you’re complaining or not. It’s time to stop. With soul-baring stories and anecdotes from her own life, Jennifer gives a detailed account of her journey to healing and shows you how stop “Caping” and begin to have a more compassionate view of yourself and begin making yourself the number one priority in your life and trust your own instincts and abilities without having to compromise to please anyone else. F*ck That Cape is a book that will show you how to trust your inner voice and intuition, a natural talent that we’ve crushed underneath the weight of societal expectations. Here’s what you’re going to learn in this no-fluff, definitive guide to self-care: • How to go from meeting everyone else's needs to getting your own needs met first • Figuring out what you really want, firmly asking for it and getting it without being an asshole • How to build an awesome support system of people that encourage you and boost your confidence • How to give yourself permission to relentlessly pursue your dreams and live the life you've always wanted • Why you should stop trying to please and make everyone happy and practical steps to go about it • …and much more! Deeply insightful, intuitive and even life changing, F*ck that Cape is the ultimate blueprint to crafting your life the way you want it. On your own terms.
Bullshit Jobs: A Theory
David Graeber - 2018
After a million online views in seventeen different languages, people all over the world are still debating the answer.There are millions of people—HR consultants, communication coordinators, telemarketing researchers, corporate lawyers—whose jobs are useless, and, tragically, they know it. These people are caught in bullshit jobs.Graeber explores one of society’s most vexing and deeply felt concerns, indicting among other villains a particular strain of finance capitalism that betrays ideals shared by thinkers ranging from Keynes to Lincoln. Bullshit Jobs gives individuals, corporations, and societies permission to undergo a shift in values, placing creative and caring work at the center of our culture. This book is for everyone who wants to turn their vocation back into an avocation.
Notes on a Nervous Planet
Matt Haig - 2018
When Matt Haig developed panic disorder, anxiety, and depression as an adult, it took him a long time to work out the ways the external world could impact his mental health in both positive and negative ways. Notes on a Nervous Planet collects his observations, taking a look at how the various social, commercial and technological "advancements" that have created the world we now live in can actually hinder our happiness. Haig examines everything from broader phenomena like inequality, social media, and the news; to things closer to our daily lives, like how we sleep, how we exercise, and even the distinction we draw between our minds and our bodies.
Bulletproof Confidence: The Art of Not Caring What People Think and Living Fearlessly
Patrick King - 2017
Break out of your shell and live boldly. All the goals you have, all the people you are jealous of, and the life you want to live are unlocked by one simple key:
Bulletproof Confidence
. Everybody wants it, but how do you get it? Not just “fake it ‘til you make it” or “just smile more.”
Bulletproof Confidence
is filled with real, actionable advice for your life TODAY. It’s not generic, borderline useless advice you can read in any blog post online. This book will take you on a deep dive into the depth of confidence, self-perception, and the psychology of confidence – understand yourself so you can break through your mental barriers. Everything from psychology, biology, and even cognitive behavioral therapy is referenced in giving you the tools to feel more invincible on a daily basis. Finally feel comfortable in your own skin. Patrick King is an internationally bestselling author and sought-after social skills coach and trainer. He was also one of the plumpest children you’ve ever seen, and understands the pains and processes of confidence like few others. This book was written by someone who knows exactly what you’re facing and how you’re hurting. In addition, a companion workbook is here for your disposal: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1974210154 Quiet the voice in your head and live how you want to. - Learn the subconscious triggers that make you fearful and what to do about them. - Smash imposter syndrome, analysis paralysis, and perfectionism. - The life-changing magic of taking action. - How to change your self-perception and feedback loops. Become bolder, more fearless, and good enough. - How to prepare yourself for any obstacle. - Mindsets for success and mindsets to avoid. - How cognitive behavioral therapy can help you. - Why to embrace the zone of “mere discomfort.” Stop thinking about the “what ifs” in your life. Because confidence will turn them all into inevitabilities. Your goals, your social circle, your relationships, your career, and your life – confidence is the key. Confidence creates the life you want and lets you smash through goals, while making sure you never feel invisible, waste your potential, or feel paralyzed from anxiety. Say goodbye to fear and anxiety TODAY by scrolling up and clicking the BUY NOW button! Don't forget the Workbook as well: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1974210154