Did you know that the most creative companies have centralized bathrooms? That brainstorming meetings are a terrible idea? That the color blue can help you double your creative output?From the New York Times best-selling author of How We Decide comes a sparkling and revelatory look at the new science of creativity. Shattering the myth of muses, higher powers, even creative “types,” Jonah Lehrer demonstrates that creativity is not a single gift possessed by the lucky few. It’s a variety of distinct thought processes that we can all learn to use more effectively.Lehrer reveals the importance of embracing the rut, thinking like a child, daydreaming productively, and adopting an outsider’s perspective (travel helps). He unveils the optimal mix of old and new partners in any creative collaboration, and explains why criticism is essential to the process. Then he zooms out to show how we can make our neighborhoods more vibrant, our companies more productive, and our schools more effective.You’ll learn about Bob Dylan’s writing habits and the drug addictions of poets. You’ll meet a Manhattan bartender who thinks like a chemist, and an autistic surfer who invented an entirely new surfing move. You’ll see why Elizabethan England experienced a creative explosion, and how Pixar’s office space is designed to spark the next big leap in animation. Collapsing the layers separating the neuron from the finished symphony, Imagine reveals the deep inventiveness of the human mind, and its essential role in our increasingly complex world.  http://www.jonahlehrer.com/ 

In The $100 Startup, Chris Guillebeau shows you how to lead of life of adventure, meaning and purpose – and earn a good living.   Still in his early thirties, Chris is on the verge of completing a tour of every country on earth – he’s already visited more than 175 nations – and yet he’s never held a “real job” or earned a regular paycheck.  Rather, he has a special genius for turning ideas into income, and he uses what he earns both to support his life of adventure and to give back.    There are many others like Chris – those who’ve found ways to opt out of traditional employment and create the time and income to pursue what they find meaningful.  Sometimes, achieving that perfect blend of passion and income doesn’t depend on shelving what you currently do.  You can start small with your venture, committing little time or money, and wait to take the real plunge when you're sure it's successful.   In preparing to write this book, Chris identified 1,500 individuals who have built businesses earning $50,000 or more from a modest investment (in many cases, $100 or less), and from that group he’s chosen to focus on the 50 most intriguing case studies.  In nearly all cases, people with no special skills discovered aspects of their personal passions that could be monetized, and were able to restructure their lives in ways that gave them greater freedom and fulfillment.   Here, finally, distilled into one easy-to-use guide, are the most valuable lessons from those who’ve learned how to turn what they do into a gateway to self-fulfillment.  It’s all about finding the intersection between your “expertise” – even if you don’t consider it such -- and what other people will pay for.  You don’t need an MBA, a business plan or even employees.  All you need is a product or service that springs from what you love to do anyway, people willing to pay, and a way to get paid.   Not content to talk in generalities, Chris tells you exactly how many dollars his group of unexpected entrepreneurs required to get their projects up and running; what these individuals did in the first weeks and months to generate significant cash; some of the key mistakes they made along the way, and the crucial insights that made the business stick.  Among Chris’s key principles: if you’re good at one thing, you’re probably good at something else; never teach a man to fish – sell him the fish instead; and in the battle between planning and action, action wins.   In ancient times, people who were dissatisfied with their lives dreamed of finding magic lamps, buried treasure, or streets paved with gold.  Today, we know that it’s up to us to change our lives.  And the best part is, if we change our own life, we can help others change theirs.  This remarkable book will start you on your way.

At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking, reading to partying; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over brainstorming in teams. Although they are often labeled "quiet," it is to introverts that we owe many of the great contributions to society--from van Gogh’s sunflowers to the invention of the personal computer.Passionately argued, impressively researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet shows how dramatically we undervalue introverts, and how much we lose in doing so. Taking the reader on a journey from Dale Carnegie’s birthplace to Harvard Business School, from a Tony Robbins seminar to an evangelical megachurch, Susan Cain charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal in the twentieth century and explores its far-reaching effects. She talks to Asian-American students who feel alienated from the brash, backslapping atmosphere of American schools. She questions the dominant values of American business culture, where forced collaboration can stand in the way of innovation, and where the leadership potential of introverts is often overlooked. And she draws on cutting-edge research in psychology and neuroscience to reveal the surprising differences between extroverts and introverts.Perhaps most inspiring, she introduces us to successful introverts--from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Finally, she offers invaluable advice on everything from how to better negotiate differences in introvert-extrovert relationships to how to empower an introverted child to when it makes sense to be a "pretend extrovert."This extraordinary book has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how introverts see themselves.

Learn new ways to memorize information using these three easy–to–master and simple-to-use techniques. Mr. Mason discovered these techniques as a way to improve his grades in school, and you too can learn them to enhance your skills. Anyone can master these techniques and shorten their study time.

A groundbreaking book about personal growth that presents a uniquely effective set of five tools that bring about dynamic change   The Tools offers a solution to the biggest complaint patients have about therapy: the interminable wait for change to begin. The traditional therapeutic model sets its sights on the past, but Phil Stutz and Barry Michels employ an arsenal of techniques—“the tools”—that allow patients to use their problems as levers that access the power of the unconscious and propel them into action. Suddenly, through this transformative approach, obstacles become opportunities—to find courage, embrace discipline, develop self-expression, deepen creativity.   For years, Stutz and Michels taught these techniques to an exclusive patient base, but with The Tools, their revolutionary, empowering practice becomes available to every reader interested in realizing the full range of their potential. The authors’ goal is nothing less than for your life to become exceptional—exceptional in its resiliency, in its experience of real happiness, and in its understanding of the human spirit.“An ‘open secret’ in Hollywood . . . [Stutz and Michels] have developed a program designed to access the creative power of the unconscious.”—The New Yorker

From the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Millionaire Messenger, an electrifying and inspiring book that provides the keys to motivating yourself to satisfy your highest, most essential creative and intellectual needs.In the hyper-connected, hyper-digitized world in which we are living, the time has come to revise Abraham Maslow’s classic “hierarchy of needs”—a pyramid of human drives that places the basic needs of safety and sustenance at the bottom. Burchard, a world-renowned motivational speaker and bestselling author, makes a compelling case that it’s time for an entirely new approach to understanding what drives human ambition and achievement today; it’s time to change the conversation about what it takes to succeed and feel alive and fulfilled in a stressful, chaotic, distracted world.In The Charge: Activating the 10 Human Drives that Make You Feel Alive, Burchard, using pioneering studies from the fields of positive psychology and neuroscience, as well as great stories from his own experience, identifies the ten simple drives of human emotion and happiness: Control, Competence, Congruence, Caring, Connection, Change, Challenge, Creative expression, Contribution, and Consciousness. The Charge provides the keys to understanding and activating these drives in clear and concrete ways that will inspire and help everyone find the one thing we all are searching for: more life in our lives. 

In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen R. Covey presents a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. With penetrating insights and pointed anecdotes, Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, service, and human dignity--principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates.

***** CAUTION ***** CAUTION ***** CAUTION *****If you are prone to being cranky and moody you'll hate this book! It's hilarious, gut-busting, thought-provoking and just might put you in a good mood...or even worse...a smile on your face. Tread lightly!PRAISE FOR ISH...5 out of 5 stars Exciting, Engaging and Fun Despite the bright pink cover of this amazing book, it's a read for both sexes, enjoyable for ALL ages and a definite book club favorite. What a cool way to spend an evening reading from a true imaginatory. I loved it, loved it, loved it. ---Jacinta5.0 out of 5 stars Funniest Book...EVER!Did I just read what I think I thought I read? YEP! What a sensational, funny, loopy, unique and thoughtful book.  Unexpectedly littered with life lessons! I feel wiser after reading. A ROUND OF APPLAUSE TO THE BRILLIANT AUTHOR!!! ---Spice Girl5 out of 5 stars Tellin the 'Ish Like it is!Not since "The Book of Awesome," have I enjoyed a reading so entertaining, poignant&down right FUNNY! Author Regina Griffin, makes you Laugh Out Loud&reevaluate your actions page after page. You find yourself quoting the quibs as if they are the 'word of the day.' And remember, "Ish #19": 'If your diet soda has zero calories, zero sugar&zero fat, what the hell are you drinking?" ----sdmcxianOVERVIEW OF ISH VOL I...The book of gut-busting phrases that will quickly become your Bible of Funny. "Ish" is a page turning, easy-read that will make you LOL and yell OMG!  It tickles every funny bone in your body, while adding unpredictable pinches of sweetness, sarcasm and wisdom.MORE PRAISE of ISH...5 out of 5 stars Witty&FunnyThis book is funny and witty, I laughed the entire way though it. It makes prefectsense...a must have!!! ---tsmart5 out of 5 stars Awesome!What an insightful, positively delightful book! A must read for men and women of all ages! We could all use a little 'Ish in our lives!  ---Etcetera5 out of 5 stars FUN, FUN, FUNFrom the first 'Ish to the last...you'll love this book. I've read it twice! Really good advice and tips too! ---CajunMoon Don't waste another minute, click the button today to get the book that has everyone laughing, smiling and reveling in life! If you like "Ish - Getting the 'Ish Out in the Open" (VOL I), you'll love "Ishues - A Second Helping of Del'ishcious Ish" (VOL II) by Regina Griffin.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Running With Scissors comes a groundbreaking book that explores how to survive the "un-survivable" and will challenge your notion of self-help books To say that Augusten Burroughs has lived an unusual life is an understatement.  From having no formal education past third grade and being raised by his mother’s psychiatrist in the seventies to enjoying one of the most successful advertising careers of the eighties to experiencing a spectacular downfall and rehab stint in the nineties to having a number one bestselling writing career in the new millennium, Burroughs has faced humiliation, transformation and everything in between.  This Is How is his no-holds-barred book of advice on topics as varied as:·         How to feel like crap·         How to ride an elevator·         How to be thin·         How to be fat·         How to find love·         How to feel sorry for yourself·         How to get the job·         How to end your life·         How to remain unhealed·         How to finish your drink·         How to regret as little as possible·         And much moreTold with Burroughs's unique voice, black humor, and in-your-face advice, This is How is Running With Scissors—with recipes.

Because the average prince is likely to be focused upon his own interests, a prince's private interests are generally in opposition to those of his subjects. Fortunate is the kingdom ruled by a virtuous prince (virtue here defined as being able to pursue his own interests without conflict). In Machiavelli's view, virtue is that which increases power; vice is that which decreases it. Far shorter than most classic works, and more accessible to current readers because of their familiarity with politics, this work yields benefits and insights to all who read, digest, and critically examine the precepts it explains. A must-read classic of world literature. Newly designed and typeset in a modern 6-by-9-inch format by Waking Lion Press.