Book picks similar to
The Power of Optimism by Alan Loy McGinnis


self-help
psychology
non-fiction
self-improvement

The Sweet Spot


Christine Carter - 2015
      Not long ago, Christine Carter, a happiness expert at UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center and a speaker, writer, and mother, found herself exasperated by the busyness of modern life: too many conflicting obligations and not enough time, energy, or patience to get everything done. She tried all the standard techniques—prioritizing, multitasking, delegating, even napping—but none really worked. Determined to create a less stressful life for herself—without giving up her hard-won career success or happiness at home—she road-tested every research-based tactic that promised to bring more ease into her life. Drawing on her vast knowledge of the latest research related to happiness, productivity, and elite performance, she followed every strategy that promised to give her more energy—or that could make her more efficient, creative, or intelligent.   Her trials and errors are our reward. In The Sweet Spot, Carter shares the combination of practices that transformed her life from overwhelmed and exhausting to joyful, relaxed, and productive. From instituting daily micro-habits that save time to bigger picture shifts that convert stress into productive and creative energy, The Sweet Spot shows us how to   • say “no” strategically and when to say “yes” with abandon • make decisions about routine things once to free our minds to focus on higher priorities • stop multitasking and gain efficiency • “take recess” in sync with the brain’s need for rest • use technology in ways that bolster, instead of sap, energy • increase your ratio of positive to negative emotions   Complete with practical “easiest thing” tips for instant relief as well as stories from Carter’s own experience of putting The Sweet Spot into action, this timely and inspiring book will inoculate you against “The Overwhelm,” letting you in on the possibilities for joy and freedom that come when you stop trying to do everything right—and start doing the right things.  Advance praise for The Sweet Spot   “Illuminates the simple and sustainable path toward a precious and happy balance.”—Deepak Chopra   “A gift, like a good friend drawing a personal road map out of the crazy busy swirl of our overloaded lives.”—Brigid Schulte, author of Overwhelmed   “This book did something I thought was impossible: It seemed to give me more time.”—Martha Beck, author of Finding Your Way in a Wild New World   “A page-turning thriller full of proven ways to have the life you want.”—Rick Hanson, Ph.D., author of Hardwiring Happiness   “Timely, lively, and vital, The Sweet Spot is an immediately useful must-read.”—Shawn Achor, author of The Happiness Advantage“The Sweet Spot inspired me to make immediate changes that have increased my productivity and lowered my stress.

The Dichotomy of Leadership: Balancing the Challenges of Extreme Ownership to Lead and Win


Jocko Willink - 2018
    With their first book, Extreme Ownership (published in October 2015), Jocko Willink and Leif Babin set a new standard for leadership, challenging readers to become better leaders, better followers, and better people, in both their professional and personal lives. Now, in THE DICHOTOMY OF LEADERSHIP, Jocko and Leif dive even deeper into the unchartered and complex waters of a concept first introduced in Extreme Ownership: finding balance between the opposing forces that pull every leader in different directions. Here, Willink and Babin get granular into the nuances that every successful leader must navigate. Mastering the Dichotomy of Leadership requires understanding when to lead and when to follow; when to aggressively maneuver and when to pause and let things develop; when to detach and let the team run and when to dive into the details and micromanage. In addition, every leader must:· Take Extreme Ownership of everything that impacts their mission, yet utilize Decentralize Command by giving ownership to their team. · Care deeply about their people and their individual success and livelihoods, yet look out for the good of the overall team and above all accomplish the strategic mission. · Exhibit the most important quality in a leader—humility, but also be willing to speak up and push back against questionable decisions that could hurt the team and the mission.With examples from the authors’ combat and training experiences in the SEAL teams, and then a demonstration of how each lesson applies to the business world, Willink and Babin clearly explain THE DICHOTOMY OF LEADERSHIP—skills that are mission-critical for any leader and any team to achieve their ultimate goal: VICTORY.

Insane Energy for Lazy People: A Complete System for Becoming Incredibly Energetic


Andrii Sedniev - 2018
    It is based on 10 years of research and experiments to figure out what can increase the personal energy of an average lazy person several times. Elements of this system are used by the most energetic people in the world including entrepreneurs, athletes and children. You will gain numerous insights and learn energy techniques accompanied by engaging stories, scientific researches and real-life examples. The concepts of the system are aimed at changing your mindset, maximizing your personal energy and increasing the amount of happy moments in your life. Once you become more energetic you may feel like you have a jet engine inside and can accomplish within a day more than an average person can within a week.

Goodbye to Shy: 85 Shybusters That Work!


Leil Lowndes - 2006
    Here are 85 proven techniques to help you conquer your shyness and change your life for good. No psychobabble. No nonsense. These tested ShyBusters prepare you for that upcoming party, work function, interview, date, and the rest of your life.As someone who overcame debilitating shyness herself, professional speaker Leil Lowndes used this method to become a confident woman who has been interviewed on hundreds of TV and radio shows and has spoken to crowds of 10,000. You'll soon be making fearless conversation with people who used to intimidate you. You'll learn how to win the love you deserve and ask for whatever you want. You will overcome embarrassing stammering, sweating, clamming up, and wishing you were invisible.Good-Bye to Shy will show you how to:Make a stronger impression at work, at parties, in any situationFeel more relaxed around people, make eye contact, and spark conversationsBoost your career, jump-start your social life, and open your heart to new possibilitiesSay Good-Bye to Shy--and hello to the happy, loving, confident person who's been hiding inside you.

Relentless: 12 Rounds to Success


Eddie Hearn - 2020
    In his remarkable career, Hearn has worked alongside some of the biggest names in sports entertainment and has seen first-hand the grit and relentless determination that it takes to succeed. Structured around the key skills that Eddie Hearn values the most, this book looks at his business, life, and the drive to succeed. Covering subjects such as discipline, passion, preparation, motivation and failure, this book shows you what it takes to get the most in your life and career. In this insightful and revealing book, Eddie talks about the highs and lows of his career - from negotiating a billion dollar boxing deal to selling out Wembley for the Joshua Klitschko fight - and draws the valuable lessons that we can learn from boxing's toughest performers.

Rebound Rules: The Art of Success 2.0


Rick Pitino - 2008
    Recalling the tragedies that shaped his life and career—his unsuccessful tenure as Celtics coach,  the devastating loss on 9/11 of his best friend and his brother-in-law and the deep depression that followed—Coach Pitino shares his Rebound Rules, demonstrating how he emerged wiser and rose to new heights with a richer perspective on life and work…and how you can, too.

Brag!: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn without Blowing It


Peggy Klaus - 2003
    The renowned communication expert's subtle but effective plan for selling your best asset - yourself - without turning off those you're trying to impress.

Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results


Stephen Guise - 2013
    When I accidentally started my first mini habit—and the changes I made were actually lasting—I realized the prior strategies I relied on were complete failures. When something works, that which doesn't work is exposed. The science in Mini Habits exposes the predictably inconsistent results of most popular personal growth strategies, and reveals why mini habits are consistent. A mini habit is a very small positive behavior that you force yourself to do every day; a mini habit's "too small to fail" nature makes it weightless, deceptively powerful, and a superior habit-building strategy. Mini Habits will better equip you to change your life than 99% of the people you see walking around on this globe. People so often think that they are the reason they can't achieve lasting change; but the problem isn't with them—it's with their strategy. You can achieve great things without the guilt, intimidation, and repeated failure associated with such strategies such as "getting motivated," resolutions, or even "just doing it.” To make changes last, you need to stop fighting against your brain. When you start playing by your brain's rules—as mini habits show you how to do—lasting change isn't so hard.

Success Is for You: Using Heart-Centered Power Principles for Lasting Abundance and Fulfillment


David R. Hawkins - 2016
    Hawkins will recognize and applies them to the world of business and the psychology of success. Expanding upon the illuminating discussion of the attractor patterns of success from Power vs. Force, this remarkable never-before-published book pulls back the curtain on the inner workings of the successful mind. Success, according to Dr. Hawkins, is an attitude we inhabit, rather than a goal we strive for.      New readers will find this to be a perfect introduction to an incredible teacher and foremost expert on mental processes, providing profound insights and real-world examples to help anyone focus on—and consequently achieve—what they desire. This fascinating book reveals:   ·         The causality formula for success (and deconstruction of so-called failure) ·         How goodwill can actually turn to profit ·         Nine acid-test steps to determine our mode of being ·         How to “get to the top” (and why the destination is really our starting point)           Yet its scope ranges far beyond a mere how-to manual. As Dr. Hawkins says, “Having facts and know-how . . . does not guarantee success. There are other factors involved. It is these other secret factors that we are going to explore.” The secret factors—the energetic power principles underlying success—are decoded here . . . delivering an eternal message of possibility for us all.

One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way


Robert Maurer - 2004
    Rooted in the two thousand-year-old wisdom of the Tao Te Ching--"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"--Kaizen is the art of making great and lasting change through small, steady increments. Kaizen is the tortoise versus the hare. Kaizen is the eleven Fortune 500 companies that significantly outperformed the market through moderate, step-by-step actions. Kaizen is losing weight not by a crash diet (which more often than not crashes) but by eating one bite less at each meal--then, a month later, eating two bites less. Kaizen is starting a life-changing exercise program by standing--just standing--on a treadmill for one minute a day. Written by an expert on Kaizen--Dr. Robert Maurer, a psychologist on the staff at the UCLA medical school who speaks and consults nationally--"One Small Step" is the gentle but potent way to effect change. Beginning by outlining the all-important role that fear plays in all types of change--and Kaizen's ability to circumvent it--Dr. Maurer then explains the 7 Small Steps: how to Think Small Thoughts, Take Small Actions, Solve Small Problems, and more. He shows how to perform mind sculpture--visualizing virtual change so that real change comes more naturally. Why small rewards motivate better than big rewards. How great discoveries are made by paying attention to the little details most of us overlook. Hundreds of examples of Kaizen at work grace the book, as well as quotes from W. Edwards Deming (who brought Kaizen to Japanese industry), Peter Drucker, coach John Wooden, and others.

Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success


Steve Harvey - 2014
    It was a sacrifice he was willing to make to give it his best shot at becoming a comedian. After several months of this lifestyle-washing in public bathrooms, eating fast food-he had considered giving up. Before calling his mother to ask if he could stay with her, he checked his voicemail. The Apollo Theatre wanted him to perform! Great opportunity, but Steve did not have enough money for gas to get from Tennessee to New York. He prayed about it, as he was too proud to ask for money. The following day he had a message from a club in Florida. The audience loved him so much they asked Steve back for a second night. The gig provided him enough money to fly to New York. Although he had no place to stay, walking around all night with a bag that held everything that he owned, it did not get him down. In his new book, Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success, Steve explains this as a “Pushback, Pushforward” moment. He believes we all have these kinds of situations in life when we have to make a conscious decision to move forward with our dream or walk away. He also believes that anyone aspiring for a better life should be prepared for accidents. This means that one should constantly work on developing their gift, the gift that God has given each of us, so that when opportunities arise we will be ready. Steve addresses discipline-sleeping a maximum of five hours a night. Anyone who sleeps more is not serious about getting the rewards life has to offer. He also discusses concepts of work versus effort and rich versus success. He focuses on taking the lid off the jar. In other words, remove messages from yourself and others that will limit dreams.Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success is a book about success that is rich with anecdotes from Steve’s life—from sleeping in his car to becoming the $40 million dollar man! This invaluable guide is written for everyone, whether you are just beginning your career or are well situated in the c-suite.

Simple Thinking: How to remove complexity from life and work


Richard Gerver - 2016
    You'll learn how to expand your mind and understand your true potential through the power of thinking simply, while stripping back the jargon and digging to the core of any obstacle in your way. Let's be honest, life is full of unnecessary complexity and it's left most of us confused, angry and disenfranchised. This book will help you to remove the baggage, cut through the clutter and begin your smooth path to success. Learn how to: Live and act with resiliency, authenticity and passion Learn to trust your instincts again and see the world through new eyes Recalibrate your thoughts, behaviours and actions Declutter your mind, streamline your day and be successful at life Simple wisdom, simply shared, is personal development unplugged – and when you begin peeling back the layers to expose the heart of the problem, you become well-equipped to devise a simpler, yet more effective solution. Simple Thinking will help you in achieving this state of clarity and confidence.

The Science of Success: How to Attract Prosperity and Create Life Balance Through Proven Principles


James Arthur Ray - 1999
    With penetrating insights and straightforward concepts, James gives you the tools necessary to tap into your own spiritual power center. A simple book that is by no means simplistic, combining fun stories and powerful anecdotes, The Science of Success gives you the power and the wisdom to create the life of your dreams.

The Power of Meeting New People: Start Conversations, Keep Them Going, Build Rapport, Develop Friendships, and Expand Business


Debra Fine - 2005
    Fantastic Book!

I'm Not for Everyone. Neither Are You.


David Leddick - 2014
    I've already ordered ten copies." -- SETH GODIN, bestselling author of THE ICARUS DECEPTION --"Fun and insightful lessons from a man who's lived life on his terms." -- KAMAL RAVIKANT, bestselling author of LOVE YOURSELF LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT HAVE YOU EVER: --Wished you were someone else? --Struggled to fit in with the crowd at school, at work, at the local American Legion Post? --Said something hurtful to your beloved for no apparent reason? --Regretted the choices you've made to stay safe and secure? I'M NOT FOR EVERYONE. NEITHER ARE YOU. Is a highly concentrated, straight-to-the-bloodstream three part collection of axioms designed to help you to discover your singular inner style and to best express it in all of your personal and professional relationships. Without apology. Written down as "notes to myself" over the course of eight decades plus as a dancer/advertising superstar/performer/playwright/author, David Leddick teaches us that how you see yourself is how others see you So find your own style and express it as freely as you would a work of art.