How do you create your own definition of success—and reach your unique potential?Building a fulfilling life and career can be a daunting challenge. It takes courage and hard work. Too often, we charge down a path leading to “success” as defined by those around us—and ultimately, are left feeling dissatisfied.Each of us is unique and brings distinctive skills and qualities to any situation. So why is it that most of us fail to spend sufficient time learning to understand our...

“Much of what we experience in life results from a combination of skill and luck.” — From the IntroductionThe trick, of course, is figuring out just how many of our successes (and failures) can be attributed to each—and how we can learn to tell the difference ahead of time.In most domains of life, skill and luck seem hopelessly entangled. Different levels of skill and varying degrees of good and bad luck are the realities that shape our lives—yet few of us are adept at accu...

After losing his beloved wife, a king, who was also a wizard, sets off on a voyage to foreign lands, as he can't stand to be reminded of his lost wife. Using his wizardry, he sets his sights on a princess who he locks up in a tower, hoping she will one day give in and marry him. He then finds out that the princess may have set her sights on his own son and sends his son away. His son travels to the kingdom that the captured princess had come from and, consulting his mother's fairy godmothe...

“Who Else Wants To Write a Book This Weekend?”It’s easier than you think!Best-selling author Vic Johnson actually wrote this book in a weekend to prove how easy it is. And he gives you step-by-step detail of everything he did, including the resources he uses to turn out content-rich books in no time at all.How To Write a Book This Weekend is a perfect strategy for first-time book writers who have been discouraged by the thought of pounding out words for months at a ...

America’s unique prosperity is based on its creation of a middle class. In the twentieth century, that middle class provided the workforce, the educated skills, and the demand that gave life to the world’s greatest consumer economy. It was innovative and dynamic; it eclipsed old imperial systems and colonial archetypes. It gave rise to a dream: that if you worked hard and followed the rules you would prosper in America, and your children would enjoy a better life than yours.The Ame...

There once was a young shepherd who one day discovers a wounded giant. Although at first frightened, he decides to care for the giant who shows his gratitude by giving the young boy a belt of invisibility and taking him underground to a giant's wedding celebration. The boy sneaks a loaf of bread away with him while he is leaving so that he might have something to eat the next day but much to his chagrin, he is unable to tear the bread when he tries. He then tries biting it and is shocked w...

A collection of four traditional Persian tales - The Cat and the Mouse, The Son of the Soap Seller, The King's Treasure, and The King and the Fisherman. The stories embrace such topics as power struggles, the reward for kindness and loyalty, and the importance of religious piety and sacrifice.

The first general-interest biography of the legendary editor of The Jewish Daily Forward, the iconic Yiddish-language newspaper of the laboring masses that inspired, educated, and entertained millions of readers, helped redefine journalism during its golden age, and transformed American culture.Abraham Cahan took the helm of a failing Yiddish Socialist daily in New York City in 1902 and over the next fifty years turned it into a national newspaper that changed American politics and...

When he undertakes the daunting task of saving his father’s ailing fruit trees, the young Prince Iwanich becomes enamored by a dream lady, Militza, who he cannot speak of, for he is bound to secrecy. Praised as a hero for saving his father’s trees, the prince flees in search of the woman and her palace. They become betrothed, but one day, Militza is called away on duty, and leaves the prince with one request: there is one room in the house forbidden to him. But burning with curiosity, the ...

The twenty-first century has seen a rise in the global middle class that brings an unprecedented convergence of interests and perceptions, cultures and values. Kishore Mahbubani is optimistic. We are creating a new global civilization. Eighty-eight percent of the world's population outside the West is rising to Western living standards, and sharing Western aspirations. Yet Mahbubani, one of the most perceptive global commentators, also warns that a new global order needs new policies and a...

Birth, death, and conflict—three things you truly can’t avoid. Whether it’s big or small, conflict eats into productivity and makes people feel stuck. Yet solutions exist for even the toughest situations with the most intractable people. The answerlies in better communication—not just using different words, but rather learning to think differently.I Hear You supplies proven techniques for stepping outside one’s point of view and seeing things from other perspectives. Sample...

How to Stop Yourself Before You Make Another Costly DecisionNo one intentionally makes bad decisions. Yet we make them all the time. In fact, some of the worst disasters in recent history—the collapse of major investment banks, the global financial meltdown—were the result of seemingly reasonable decisions made by a lot of smart people. How does this happen?Michael J. Mauboussin argues that the correct process for deciding well—especially when the stakes are high—conflicts ...