Self-Help

• Know. It all starts with understanding your current reality through awareness and accountability.
• Focus. Achieve clarity on your next optimal move by self-support and sidestepping potential obstacles.
• Go. Take immediate action towards embracing this fresh approach to life and leadership.

People have been using tobacco in a variety of forms for centuries. Remarkably, it was originally seen as something that could promote vigor and health. Of course, now we all know that tobacco use causes death and disability in epidemic proportions. If smoking is so bad for us, why in heaven’s name would anyone still smoke?

Quite a bit has changed since tobacco first made the transition to a widely available agricultural product. Unfortunately, the general clinical approach to addressing this problem has failed to keep pace with tobacco technology and its addictive properties. People around the world who have fallen prey to the subtleties of nicotine addiction, or who care for those who have, would benefit from a deeper understanding of the ways in which nicotine can affect the brain’s function and change behaviors over a lifetime. Why People Smoke breaks down the science of tobacco dependence and presents it in a way that is both easily understandable and clinically useful for anyone interested in helping people break free of nicotine’s influence.

Why People Smoke is a first-of-its-kind clinical guide to treating tobacco dependence. The book helps readers make meaningful connections between tobacco’s effects at the cellular level, the predictable behavioral manifestations of the disorder, and the social science and systems requirements required to make a fundamental impact on this disorder. Unlike previous publications like self-help books, step-by-step curricula, or clinical guidelines, Why People Smoke puts practical clinical insights—gained from twenty-five years of practice—into perspective, helping the reader understand how “brain change” translates into “mind change” and the persistent compulsion to smoke . . . despite a person’s desperate desire to stop.

Reading Why People Smoke will change the way you see smoking forever.

Platinum Rules for Enjoying Life is an inspirational and uplifting book that encourages readers to reflect on ways to enhance their enjoyment of life. 

Platinum Rules for Enjoying Life contains easy-to-read advice, common-sense guidance and tips for developing skills and activities that bring more pleasure and fulfillment to each day. It contains 40 concise rules organized in five sections: rules for self-improvement, spending time, enhancing relationships, healthy living and enjoying the seasons.  Everyone who wants to develop inner peace, joy and contentment is encouraged to read this insightful book. Given today’s modern busy lifestyles, it's easy to overlook our own needs and lose ourselves as we devote all of our time and energy to the needs of others.  This little book reminds us all how to stay true to ourselves while living a life of significance on a daily basis.

From an Ivy-League university chaplain comes a profound collection of spiritual reflections designed for people everywhere, including recent college graduates, looking to find their “way” and their “why.”

“Who am I?”, “What is my purpose?”, and “What should I do with my life?” are questions that all of us find ourselves asking at some point or another. In this deeply transformative and lyrical book, Charles "Chaz" Lattimore Howard offers a helpful guide as we venture to answer these questions for ourselves, inviting us to slow down, to actually walk the journey of life, and to allow our path to reveal itself to us. From an enlightening conversation with a Jain college student about the principle of non-violence to a heartwarming episode coaching basketball to an anxious school-aged child, Chaz shares how everyday moments can help you discern your purpose in the universe. Bolstered with poignant anecdotes that follow Chaz’s journey as a priest, professor, student, parent, spouse, social justice advocate, and religious leader, Uncovering Your Path will fill you with renewed vigor, inspire introspection, and encourage you to find your place in God’s world.

“Wounds into Wisdom is for anyone who has suffered trauma, either directly or in a family whose generational trauma is buried. It helps readers uncover suffering and use it to help others―the final stage of healing. We may not be able to control what happens to us, but we can control what happens next.” —Gloria Steinem

• 2020 Nautilus Book Award—GOLD/Psychology
• 2020 Book Award from the Jewish Women’s Caucus of the Association for Women in Psychology
• 2019 Book of the Year Award Finalist in Religion and Self-Help categories

A revelatory, pragmatic, and beautifully rendered companion for the millions suffering from mental health issues

An invaluable resource for anyone struggling with anxiety, fear, or depression, The Art of Calm is a lifesaving and inspiring guidebook that empowers us to break free from the emotional bondage of mental illness. Bursting with deep personal insight and uplifting practical guidance, this remarkable and therapeutic journey begins by charting the author’s own devastating psychological descent—which included panic attacks so severe they landed him in the emergency room. When the medical system proved unable to provide sustained help, however, a floundering Roger Hutchison turned to his faith for guidance. The healing path God led him on was nothing short of miraculous, offering not only authentic spiritual renewal but also a profound sense of belonging in a world where he once only felt like a stranger.

Weaving these personal stories with thoughtful questions, journaling prompts, and a wide range of inspirational practices, Hutchison creates a self-help tapestry of compassion, vulnerability, and action. At the end of each chapter, a colorful variety of reflections and creative exercises—from photography, music, and meditation to cooking, hiking, and art— encourage readers to get up and discover a more centered and peaceful life. The result is an essential tool for finding tranquility in the midst of both inner and outer turmoil.

Embrace your inner child.

Empower your inner parent.

Befriend your inner critic.

Are you ready to heal all parts of yourself?

Meet your inner child – the part of your subconscious still holding the child within – and learn how to honour and heal them. Through quick, constructive exercises, inspirational quotes, journaling activities and reflective practices, this ten-step programme is the perfect tool for embracing your past, accepting your present and improving your future.

Through stories, insights, and step-by-step advice, Easwaran shows us how to calm our minds.

When the mind is unhurried, we are patient, kind, and focused, ready to respond to what really matters amidst the clamor of a busy day. The secret is to train our minds to work steadily and with one-pointed attention, however many tasks confront us.

For over forty years, Easwaran taught meditation and the wisdom of slowing down. As we read, we find ourselves in situations where we may get impatient or upset - standing in line, dealing with difficult colleagues, shopping with children with agendas of their own - but as Easwaran relates each event, we see it from the perspective of an unhurried mind. And we see small ways to change how we respond, opening the door to rich, loving relationships, creative and productive work, and a quiet sense of joy that can permeate our lives.

REVISED AND UPDATED * With a New Chapter on Trauma and Anxiety, a List of Resources, and More * 2023 Nautilus Book Award Winner * As Heard on Glennon Doyle’s We Can Do Hard Things Podcast

The cultural phenomenon that has helped heal millions of readers, this modern classic holds the key to understanding codependency and unlocking its hold on your life.

Melody Beattie’s compassionate and insightful look into codependency—the concept of losing oneself in the name of helping another—has guided millions of readers toward the understanding that they are powerless to change anyone but themselves and that caring for the self is where healing begins.

Is someone else’s problem your problem? If, like so many others, you’ve lost sight of your own life in the drama of tending to a loved one’s self-destructive behavior, you may be codependent—and you may find yourself in this book. With personal reflections, exercises, and instructive stories drawn from Beattie’s own life and the lives of those she’s counseled, Codependent No More helps you break old patterns and maintain healthy boundaries, and offers a clear and achievable path to healing, hope, freedom, and happiness.

This revised edition includes an all-new chapter on trauma and anxiety—subjects Beattie has long felt necessary to address within the context of codependency—making it even more relevant today than it was when it first entered the national conversation over thirty-five years ago.

Ordinary to Extraordinary is a concise guide with seven foundational evergreen principles for newly launched boomerang and early career seekers (and their parents) who intend to transform their ordinary livelihood into extraordinary lifelong success. 

Life can offer crossroads and obstacles that may deter even the most resilient individual from reaching their highest potential. What if there was a set of seven foundational principles that could redirect anyone from any background facing any adversity to overcome these challenges and propel them to lifelong success? 

Ordinary to Extraordinary was designed as a quick read, with simple-to-follow principles for anyone short with time and, “on the go.” Gary D. Josephson MD, MBA offers a concise guide with life remedies that can transform anyone’s ordinary life to one of enjoyment, happiness and sustainable success. The lessons within Ordinary to Extraordinary will inspire readers to embrace a life that’s extraordinary!

The Biggest Little Book About Hope is a skill-based guide for anyone seeking to move from hopelessness into a life of hope. 

Featuring honest depictions of Kathryn Goetzke’s own experiences with hopelessness and suicide, as well as the expertise of hope researchers and the creation of Goetzke’s own hope curriculums, The Biggest Little Book About Hope takes readers on a journey of personal growth and discovery that leads them towards a more hope-filled future.

Kathryn Goetzke shares her personal journey of getting her brand Mood-lites into retail and creating the first cause-marketing campaign for mental health, while also demonstrating what led her out of depression and into true hope. As hopelessness is predictive of self-harm, addiction, weapon-carrying on school property, violence, and suicide, Goetzke makes the case for why it is essential to teach hope to all populations. She also shares the many free resources she has created around hope, including Hopeful Minds and Hopeful Cities, to drive a global movement for hope.

In this Second Edition of The Biggest Little Book About Hope, Kathryn Goetzke continues on her hope journey, her understanding of hope, and how it can be used to improve every area of life. She has further improved upon her hope skills by seeking out newer research findings and applying any changes she’s made in her own growth as she further embraces past struggles. She recently launched Hopeful Mindsets with global experts, working with global experts to teach about how to apply a Hopeful Mindset to all areas of life. 

Banish burnout and reclaim your calm with this innovative 12-week start-anytime journal.

Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands. Burnout has become more than just a buzz word or a symptom of stress. With searches related to burnout rising on average 41% annually since 2017, and 77% of employees saying they’ve experienced burnout, it’s no wonder the World Health Organisation has started to take it more seriously. And that’s before the pandemic and working-from-home burnout became even more prevalent.

It was these worrying facts and her own experience of burnout that led mental-health advocate Bex Spiller to set up The Anti-Burnout Club, which has grown exponentially since launch in 2021. Bex has witnessed first-hand how burnout isn’t just reserved for high-flying execs at FTSE 100 companies. It’s creeping into our homes, making it impossible for many of us to cope with all of the demandsof modern life.

With this journal, Bex has created a multi-platform solution to a growing problem. Combining people’s love for pen and paper with the rise in online wellness apps and platforms, The Anti-Burnout Journal works for traditionalists and technology lovers alike. This undated journal spans 12 weeks with weekly lessons and challenges to help beat burnout, delivered through the pages of the journal alongside an online dashboard with lifetime access to video lessons in yoga, mindfulness, meditation, nutrition and breathwork, can be watched time and again.

Alongside the lessons are weekly and daily pages that encourage journaling the more traditional way using everything you've learned. This multi-platform approach makes this journal completely unique and ensures that you can use it in a way that suits you, without feeling more stress or overwhelm. This one-of-a-kind journal is the perfect gift to yourself or someone in need of self-care in this stressful world we live in and promises to help you slow down, reflect, find balance and restore a sense of calm.

A tribute to the power of spiritual practice, creative expression, and true self-acceptance

I Opened the Gate Laughing is the story of one woman’s journey to creative freedom through gardening and the teachings of Zen. Born in Japan, Mayumi Oda comes back to the practice of Buddhism at beautiful Green Gulch Farm retreat center in Northern California, where she finds a new tranquility and creative spirit through her pen, her brush, and her trowel to overcome the constraints of a traditional upbringing and the sadness of the end of a marriage. This enchanting book is a meditation on the search for inner peace and reawakening. awash with luscious prints and watercolors, beautifully designed, and filled with vivid stories and verse. I Opened the Gate Laughing is a resource for anyone seeking a slower pace, a sacred space, and a garden path.

Are you ready to confidently communicate in your life? Are you ready to seize every opportunity that comes your way?

Becoming a Master Communicator, by Renée Marino-communication coach, Broadway actress, and star of Clint Eastwood’s Jersey Boys film-is a guide for those looking to have clear and authentic communication with others by using digital technology as a tool—but not the only tool. Smartphones and computers make everyday communication incredibly convenient. However, when used as an individual’s sole source of connection, it can make one forget real human contact and interaction are incredibly vital, thus causing unnecessary misunderstandings. Through personal stories and easily applicable practices, Renée Marino explains how to become a master communicator in personal and professional settings by knowing when to use digital technology and when to put the devices down to have a direct conversation.

Within these pages, you will learn how to:

Everything starts with communication, and when you can communicate confidently and honestly, you become unstoppable. That journey begins here.

Whether you've used an oracle deck before or not, the Sea Soul Journeys Oracle Cards provide mindful daily mantras to boost your mood, providing quiet yet potent signposts and connecting you more deeply to your intuition and to the magic and power of the sea.

Featuring powerful pictures of the sea and split into four themes - Letting Go, Self-Compassion, Moving Forward and Gratitude - each card features a key word along with a meditation mantra, helping you to nurture a regular self-compassion practice.

An interactive guide to our complex and elusive inner selves.

One of the most difficult tasks we face as humans is figuring out who we are. "Describe yourself" can be a surprisingly difficult task. Sometimes, we need prompts and suggestions to engage and energize us.

With unusual, entertaining, and playful exercises, this journal is designed to help us tease out and organize who we are. With beautiful designs by Marcia Mihotich throughout and mini essays on topics like relationships and work, this book shows us how our complicated, beautiful, and sometimes painful experiences all contribute to the richness of who we are.

• UNCONVENTIONAL AND PROVOCATIVE QUESTIONS to prompt honest self-reflection.
• AN INTERACTIVE JOURNAL OF SELF DISCOVERY with space for written answers.
• FULL COLOR ILLUSTRATIONS THROUGHOUT
• A COLLECTION OF MINI ESSAYS on topics like relationships, work, and culture.

Restored by the Storm offers a compelling narrative that delves into the universal struggle of facing life's unexpected challenges. 

Drawing from personal experiences, Restored by the Storm provides a profound exploration of how individuals navigate tumultuous phases in their lives, encompassing both personal and professional realms. It addresses heart-wrenching questions that arise when life takes a sudden, unexpected turn, leaving one to grapple with the reality of a disrupted existence.

This inspiring testament to the human spirit's resilience emphasizes the potential blessings hidden in life's trials. Advocating for a steadfast, positive attitude rooted in faith, it provides hope and guidance to a wide range of audiences, including Christians, those seeking life's purpose, business owners, and individuals facing medical challenges and other seemingly insurmountable situations.

A tale of survival and a beacon of hope, Restored by the Storm shows that control in life is often limited to one's attitude and effort, especially when navigating through turbulent times. It reveals that life's trials and failures are as instructive as its successes, underscoring the importance of learning and growing stronger from these experiences. Highlighting the role of faith in finding strength and restoration, the story encourages embracing a new normal with gratitude and redefining success on one's own terms, fostering optimism for a future aligned with one's life purpose.

Restored by the Storm instills a sense of inspiration essential for anyone seeking to find meaning and strength in the midst of life's storms, assuring them that there is still much to achieve and cherish, even after significant losses.

Alain de Botton's redemptive volume charts a course from collapse to recovery with kindness, compassion and wisdom.

“Alain de Botton, one of our era’s most uncommonly perceptive, lyrical, and lucid existential contemplatives.” — The Marginalian

A Therapeutic Journey is a collection of essays about mental challenge and health. Written with kindness, knowledge and sympathy, it is a practical guide to well-being and a source of consolation and companionship in what might be some of our loneliest, most anguished moments.

Alain de Botton explores how we can cope with a variety of forms of mental pain and illness, from the mild to the severe. It considers how and why we might become ill; how we can explain things to friends, family and colleagues; how we can find our ways towards recovery; and how we can build resilience, so as to live wisely alongside our difficulties.

At heart this is a book about happiness - about regaining the thread of our lives, rediscovering meaning, and finding our way back to connection, warmth and joy.

This book explores ideas around minimalism, simplicity and how to live comfortably with less.

We live in a complicated, frenzied, and noisy world, filled with too much information, too many products, ideas, and opinions. As a result, many of us long for simplicity: a pared down, more peaceful, and less cluttered life. 

This book is a guide to the simpler lives we crave and deserve. In it, we learn about Zen Buddhism, modernist architecture, monasteries, psychoanalysis, and why three good friends and a few treasured belongings are enough. 

Taking a psychological approach, the book also guides us toward inner simplicity. For too long we've been drowning in excess, clutter, and confusion. A Simpler Life helps us tune out the static and focus on what really matters.

• DECLUTTER YOUR LIFE practical ways to get rid of physical and psychological clutter.
• HOW TO BE DIRECT advice on adopting a simpler, more straight-forward mindset.
• THE APPEAL OF MINIMALISM looks at why more of us are drawn to a pared down existence.
• HOW TO SIMPLIFY everything from relationships, social life, lifestyle, and work.

A toolkit of 100 questions to spark exciting and meaningful conversations. 

It isn’t easy to get into a good conversation. Many of our best ones seem to happen by chance. Far from it! A great conversation starts with someone asking a great question. Inside this portable, design-forward box, on beautiful cards, you’ll find 100 of the very best questions around—carefully designed to get a group of people into exceptionally entertaining and meaningful conversations.

A guide for helping us focus on what we need to be fulfilled so that we can direct our energies and thoughts most effectively

Finding a partner.
Paying off the mortgage.
Reconnecting with my parents.
Less screen time.

It can be hard to decide what we really want to achieve in our lives; our ambitions are often scattered, diverse and difficult to pin down. This is a tool for helping us focus on what we need to be fulfilled so that we can direct our energies and thoughts most effectively. It can be hard to decide what we really want to achieve in our lives; our ambitions are often scattered, diverse and difficult to pin down. 

This attractive box contains 160 cards detailing our most common ambitions and longings, along with instructions on how to reflect on our goals, arrange them in a logical order of priorities and, where necessary, weigh up trade-offs. Using the cards will help us to reveal our true goals, even our purpose in life. The cards can be displayed, photographed or kept close to hand as a reminder of the path ahead. 

A simple-seeming but ingenious psychological tool for converting hunches and dreams into a realizable future.

“This book gives good advice—strategies for how to avoid the bad things, do the good things...and hopefully have a few laughs along the way.”

—CRAIG SHIRLEY, presidential historian and New York Times bestselling author

A MAN ISN’T BORN A COWBOY. HE BECOMES ONE. HE MAKES A CHOICE.

When you're running out of sunsets, don't waste the sunrises you have left.

And right now, America as a nation and we as individual citizens are at its own moment of truth. 

Do we cowboy up or do we quit?

There is no escaping this choice or putting it off, no wishing it away. We have procrastinated long enough, and the problems have only gotten worse. It’s not just about addressing a laundry list of those problems and coming up with solutions. If it were that easy, we would have done it long ago.

It is fundamental, foundational.

We keep hoping that the politicians, especially the ones in Washington, will finally fix things.

There are only two things wrong with that. First, they are the ones that created the mess in the first place and, second, they couldn’t fix a flat tire, let alone all the problems they have created.

No, in the end it will have to be the American people who fix what ails America.

We all need to roll up our collective sleeves and clean out all the horse manure and cattle crap that has piled up for decades in this country. From the halls of government to the executive suites at our corporations, the ivy-covered universities, Hollywood studios, and every other place in our culture and society that have been polluted and corrupted. And this cleansing and fixing needs to start at the very beginning in every home in America.

You don’t need a college education or advanced degree to read and understand what I’m about to tell you in the following pages. You don’t even need a high school diploma, for that matter. All you need is common sense, a desire to pick up a manure fork, and—together with your fellow Americans—do what needs doin’ and fix what needs fixin’. 

Common sense is not passed down in the genes from generation to generation. It is taught, passed down from parents to children. Returning America to its former greatness and rediscovering the tried-and-true values that built this country won’t be accomplished by an election. It will only be accomplished by you and me. It is as fundamental as being able to tell the difference between right and wrong … and then acting accordingly. Everything else in a free society branches out from that tap root which is sunk deep into the soul of America. And while the tree of liberty that connects us all isn’t healthy right now and is in danger of dying, it ain’t dead yet.

We, the people can save it if we just get back to basics.

This book is about those basics, told in stories from the old guy at the end of the bar.

Common Sense Cowboy’s 12 Rules for Life

1. The secret to a long life is getting up every day with a purpose. Young or old, working or retired, everyone needs a purpose so find yours.
2. Never betray trust, because trust is like virginity. Once lost, it’s impossible to get back.
3. Everything breaks sooner or later. So, learn how to fix things.
4. The measure of a man is when he does the right thing even when no one is watching. If you do the wrong thing and nobody saw you do it, it is still wrong.
5. Don’t waste time thinking about what might have been. Put the “might have beens” in the same trash can reserved for the “wouldas”, the “shouldas” and the “couldas”. Then get busy with the “doin”.
6. A fancy education might gain you some knowledge, but only hard life experiences will gain you wisdom. A PhD won’t help you fix a flat tire.
7. Be wary of the person who tells you they can get you a burger and fries for nothing. There is no free lunch.
8. Your word is your bond, and your handshake seals the deal. 
9. If you shake hands with a politician, be sure to count your fingers when you let go to make sure you still have all five. (See above)
10. Don’t pray for things. The Almighty is not Amazon or Costco and faith delivers salvation and comfort not packages.
11. There is right and there is wrong. There are no loopholes and the only thing in between are excuses.
12. The Good Lord gave us each a certain number of seconds, minutes, hours and days, but he didn’t give us our expiration date. Use your time wisely and live life to the fullest.

IT’S TIME TO COWBOY UP AND START RIDIN THE FENCES!

Take back your life and learn how to thrive in a world with constant distractions.

In Digital Discipline, Havard Mela reveals the secret to finding balance with digital use in the modern world. Mela combines the knowledge of how we are impacted by technology with applicable steps to finding purpose and cultivating the discipline required to build a life centered around one’s core values.

Digital Discipline is for anyone ready to save time and break online addictions. It covers how to spend time online in a meaningful way without getting lost in distractions.

Those who put Digital Discipline into practice will experience:

• a positive impact on their physical health through increased activity levels
• better mental health through the implementation of mindful techniques
• strengthened relationships with friends and family.
• more time and energy to pursue what matters the most.
• ...And much more.

Digital Discipline will give you the tools and strategies to be more disciplined and less distracted, leading to a happier and more effective life.

Calmness isn’t just a state of mind. It’s an essential life skill that, when practiced, can dramatically improve our everyday lives. This fascinating and pragmatic book argues that we can educate ourselves in the art of keeping calm not through slow breathing or special teas but through thinking. It patiently unpacks the root causes of our collective anxieties and gives us a succession of highly persuasive, beautiful, and sometimes dryly comic arguments with which to defend ourselves against panic and frustration. Part of a new essential paperback series from The School of Life, covering a range of emotional lessons needed in order to lead fulfilled and happy lives.

• THE ESSENTIAL MENTAL TOOLKIT provides readers with the skills needed to face life’s challenges with serenity. 
• EXPLORES THE ROOT CAUSES of our collective cultural anxieties. 
• A REFRESHING APPROACH to the art of finding calm in a chaotic world. 
• CLASSIC BLACK & WHITE IMAGES throughout. 
• PART OF THE NEW PAPERBACK SERIES 'LESSONS FOR LIFE'

Simplify your life.

Manifest your desires.

Live with intention.

Are you ready to live more purposefully?

Live each day with foresight, concentrating on your goals and the tangible steps you can take to reach them. Through quick, constructive exercises, inspirational quotes, journaling activities and reflective practices, this ten-step programme is the perfect guide to living with clarity.

Therapeutic exercises to help couples nurture patience, forgiveness, and humor. 

Love is not just an emotion - it's a skill. And just like any other skill, we need to practice in order to get good at it. 

We often have fairy tale expectations for our romantic relationships, but realistically, after a heady and passion-fueled start, we end up in partnerships that are a confusing tangle of hope, distance, boredom, loyalty, and betrayal. 

Full of accessible and though-provoking exercises, this workbook fosters understanding, patience, forgiveness, humor, and resilience in the face of the many hurdles that invariably arise in a long term relationship. 

Couples are guided to have particular conversations, analyze their feelings, explain parts of themselves to one another, and undertake rituals that clear the air and help recover hope and passion. The goal is always to unblock channels of feeling and improve communication - and to have fun while doing it.

No one can be intuitively good at relationships. We all need to do some homework to become the best partners and couples we can be.

• A GUIDED JOURNAL WITH OVER 60 EXERCISES to encourage couples to share their feelings with each other and open up about their insecurities.
• A THERAPEUTIC WORKBOOK drawing from research from The School of Life’s therapy department.
• INCLUDES INTERACTIVE SPACES to complete the activities and illustrations throughout.
• BEAUTIFULLY PRODUCED hardcover in high end gift format.

Created from scientific research in neuroplasticity and how people build resiliency, this guided journal brings reassurance, comfort, and warmth in times of pain and loss.

Everyone experiences loss in their own way, but that doesn't mean they have to experience it alone. This book is thoughtfully organized into ten sections, each one building on the last to support you as you navigate through a loss in your life, whether it be the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or the loss of financial means, health, or well-being. Created to help one cope with loss, this journal teaches the tools to not only manage pain but also rebuild hope, resiliency, and strength in these difficult times. Along with thought-provoking prompts, there is also plenty of space to record personal thoughts and reflections, and inspirational quotes are sprinkled throughout to guide your journey.

This guided journal is in the Resiliency Guide series, which includes Grow Your Gratitude: A Guided Journal for Creating a Joyful Life, Just Between Us: A Couple's Guided Journal for Building the Life You Want; Family Practices: A Guided Journal of Togetherness and Discovery with Your Loved Ones, Mindful Intentions: A Personal Guided Journal for Coping with Chronic Pain, and My Story: A Kid’s Creative Journal for Expressing Yourself.

20 Menus with 12 questions per menu, across varying themes - to foster friendship and bring meals to life. 

So many of us spend a lot of time getting the food right when we invite others over for a meal, but in the end what makes a really great dinner party is the conversation.

Typically, we stumble on fascinating conversation topics by chance. Shyness can hold us back. Too often, we revert to polite, but not especially inspired, staples or anecdotes. Arranged to accompany each course, these twenty beautifully designed Conversation Menus lead us artfully to some of the most fascinating and revealing conversation topics. They invite us to open up about themes such as love, money, travel ambition, self-knowledge and the meaning of life. They contain questions and invitations to discussion that will raise smiles, build friendships and foster the best kind of intimacy, ensuring that our meals together can be everything we hoped.

Exercises to build better team dynamics 

In order to work well together, people need more than just technical skills; they need to get to know and understand each other. We know this intuitively: it’s why fortunes are spent on team-building exercises. But because expensive off-site work retreats aren’t always possible, The School of Life has designed a game that requires nothing more than a room and a little free time. 

Teamwork contains 100 questions that playfully and sensitively introduce us to our colleagues by setting up the best kinds of conversation about everything from our childhoods to our values. Played as a group, these cards promote conversations that humanize colleagues in each other’s eyes and help to create an atmosphere of forgiving and kind collegiality around the office. A proven, easy way to turn individuals into a team. 

Topics covered include: Flaws, Fears & Regrets, Character Work, Likes & Interests, The Past

Now in paperback—the definitive history of how the"Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous was written, edited, and finally brought to press.

It has been over forty years since Ernie Kurtz wrote Not-God, the last truly professional treatment of the history of Alcoholics Anonymous. While many books dealing with A.A. history have been written since then, Writing the Big Book is the first to bring that same kind of exhaustive research, scholarly discipline, and informed insight to the subject.

Schaberg’s book—telling a detailed story that begins in October of 1937 (when a book was first proposed) and ends in April of 1939 (when Alcoholics Anonymous was published)—is based primarily on the wealth of 1930s documents currently preserved in several A.A. archives. Woven together into an exciting narrative, these real-time documents provide an almost week-by-week account of how the book was slowly put together. It is a story that unfolds with many unexpected turns and more than a few revealing departures from the hallowed stories so widely circulated by A.A. members in the past.

Writing the Big Book presents a robust and vivid picture of how Alcoholics Anonymous operated and grew in its earliest days along with a vast amount of previously unreported details about the cast of colorful characters who made that group so successful. Most surprising is the emergence of Bill Wilson’s right-hand man, Hank Parkhurst, as the unsung hero in this story. Without Hank there would have been no book, but his unfortunate slip back into drinking just months after it was published resulted in him being almost completely written out of the supposedly factual stories told later.

Fast paced, engaging, and contrary, Writing the Big Book will decisively change whatever you think you know about early A.A. history and the ways in which this book—so central to the worldwide growth of this important twentieth century movement of spiritual recovery—actually came into being.

An essential guide to the challenges men face in creating healthy and engaged relationships in all areas of their lives. 

"For every man who has wandered through the entanglements of love, unwilling to ask for directions, and secretly hoping for a guide, Dan Griffin offers a clear and comprehensive road map."—Terrence Real, bestselling author of I Don’t Want to Talk About It: Overcoming the Secret Legacy of Male Depression.

Every idea is presented through the lens of the "Man Rules"—the often unconscious ideas men carry with them into every relationship they have—that affect their ability to find true connection. A Man's Way through Relationships offers practical advice and inspiration for men to define, with their partners, their own sense of masculinity, and thus heighten their potential to love and be loved.

Dan Griffin excerpts interviews with men who share their innermost lives and experiences with relationships. He draws from his own life with over two decades of recovery and ten years of marriage. Readers will learn to recognize how their ideas about masculinity have shaped who they are and how they approach there relationships. 

Wondering why the more you work, the further you fall behind?

Break free from this cycle with Winning the Week – the ultimate guide to reclaiming control of your time and skyrocketing productivity.

Demir and Carey Bentley are a productivity power couple who have shown over 50,000 busy people how to take charge of the chaos with a groundbreaking methodology for becoming radically productive.

In Winning the Week, they unveil the core of their method in a five-step process that fundamentally reimagines how people can plan and execute their week. With unexpected insights and unconventional strategies, the Bentleys show the way to escape burnout and soar to the highest levels of productivity.

Discover the art of constructing a winning plan that yields exponential results. Crush resistance and take action with ease. Generate powerful leverage by choosing the right priority. Triage tasks ruthlessly. And most importantly, stay committed to the plan even in the face of adversity.

Whether you’re a business owner, executive, or busy working parent, this indispensable method guarantees victory on your own terms. Say goodbye to falling behind and embrace the path to triumph with Winning the Week.

Time management is a worn-out cliché that needs to be replaced. 

People manage their time, but they continue to manage it poorly. Life is populated with a series of reactive responses to personal priorities and professional needs. Individuals do not control their calendar; the calendar controls them. Until there is a clear understanding that true productivity begins when the narrative is switched to a proactive mindset, 82% will continue to wallow in time managed obscurity. 

The Time Optimized Life reframes the reactive nature of time management and replaces it with a proactive method of time optimization. Drawing from exclusive data captured by a tool called the Time Management Analysis (TMA), the book walks the reader through a comprehensive system that is easily adaptable to a particular personality or experience level. 

Using it as a complete time overhaul, The Time Optimized Life allows the reader the flexibility to create a time optimization plan that meets their essential needs. Operating with tools readily available to them today, the book will change perceptions of the individual and their approach to the use of their time, without having to invest in new gadgets or software.

Time is a commodity and resource that does not stop. It can’t be reversed, and you can’t go back and get more. Investing time reading and applying the content in The Time Optimized Life will help the reader make the future feel more infinite. 

The Habit Tracker with a Badass Edge!

“…was looking for a guide that not only kicks my butt into gear but also keeps me motivated to keep going and this one definitely did the trick! Highly recommended if you want to feel like a badass while striving to achieve your goals!” – Edelweiss book review

From the creator of the bestselling book Badass Affirmations, Becca Anderson created this habit tracker journal with the inspiration of Stephen Covey, whom she worked with to create a line of Franklin Planners for women. Having learned from the best, Becca wants you to take your habit tracking and time management skills to the next level!

Wake up with this habit tracker! Inside this habit tracker, you’ll find morning mantras to center your mind before you head out to conquer the day. This inspirational book for women has writing prompts to get you emotionally present to conquer the to-do list that you might’ve been avoiding up until now.

Achieve life balance all in one space. Different from an average productivity book, this habit tracker journal is the perfect space to fill out your daily goals, create your habits lists, and check off your to-do lists. Stay aligned in all aspects of your creative and work life with the Badass Affirmations Tracker. 

Inside, you’ll find:

• A habit tracker journal to achieve your daily goals, healthy habits and weekly to-do’s
• Morning mantras and journaling prompts to get you ready to conquer your day
• A book for creatives, entrepreneurs, and moms everywhere

If you're looking for books for young women in their 20's or if you liked Badass Affirmations, 90 Day Cycle to New Habits Journal, or 3 Minute Positivity Journal, you’ll love the Badass Habit Tracker.

The School of Life’s approach to calm - in a pocket format.

In the third of a series of pocket books, The School of Life has distilled its most essential ideas on serenity in order to produce a bitesize manual that is both useful and entertaining. 

Knowing how to fight off anxiety and remain calm belong to the greatest skills we can ever aspire to. Only with a serene state of mind are we in any position to enjoy all the other good things in life: friendship, love, family or work. Here is selection of The School of Life’s finest essays on the art of serenity. They teach us how to achieve the correct perspective on our problems, how to understand the worst of our fears and how to surround ourselves with the sort of people who can help us in our quest for a less anxious existence. 

We have – most of us – already spent far too long on needless worry; here at last is a crucial guide to the less turbulent future we deserve.

It’s About Time is an invitation to reflect, find purpose, and create a meaningful life.

People can gain joy and satisfaction from building healthy relationships, serving others, and living intentionally in congruence with their values and purpose. However, too many people are caught up in busy schedules and the frantic pace of their lives to consider whether they are headed in the right direction. Before they can use their time to create a meaningful life, they must first determine their most important purpose and priorities. 

It’s About Time provides a framework for reflecting, thinking about life purpose, and finding real meaning. In this useful resource, motivation and guidance are provided to help individuals practice positive thinking, avoid and eliminate distractions, harness the power of habits and self-discipline, and maximize productivity and effectiveness. The value of time is discussed in depth, including its relationship to work, money, relationships, personal growth, and the peace and joy that people all over the world are trying to find.

• A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AT WORK
• EXPLORES TWENTY KEY SKILLS: such as giving feedback, responding to criticism, and communicating effectively.
• INFORMATIVE FOR INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES ALIKE
• INFORMED BY RESEARCH FROM THE SCHOOL OF LIFE BUSINESS: who deliver in-house training for clients including: Facebook, The Financial Times, Google, Havas Media, Nike, and Sony Music.

Negotiation skills are a woman’s secret weapon. 

Art of Feminine Negotiation debunks myths and multi-generational gender conditioning that have stopped women from fully stepping into their power. Uncover the unconscious biases that have limited women from becoming the biggest and best versions of themself. Learn the key skillsets that mark superior negotiators, explore how women already possess these skills in spades, and master how to start invoking these essential skills with intention in everyday life. Whether looking to negotiate a better relationship with an intimate partner or children, or negotiate the position, money, and respect deserved, Art of Feminine Negotiation will elevate one’s persuasive powers and influence, both personally and professionally. The book addresses both theory and practice and while packed with valuable research and information, it’s written in a personal conversational tone that makes it accessible and enticing. With hands-on, practical advice about tactics, strategies, and tools to up anyone’s negotiation game, as well as tips on where and when to apply them, readers will come away ready to get what they want and deserve from the boardroom to the bedroom.  

A “choose your own adventure” for personal growth! 

When most men are asked about their lives—peeling back the layers of church, sports, work, and hobbies to what matters to their core—they’ll likely admit that something’s missing. 

Sam Feeney reached a “good enough” level of living, with a great family, nice house, and good job, only to find that he was seeking something more. He shares his journey to find personal satisfaction and growth within Why Aren’t You Thriving?

Sam Feeney has identified 7 Core Areas where men have the opportunity to live more fully: Faith, Identity, Mission, Career, Health, Relationships, and Finances. His podcast, Made to Thrive, interviews men who are excelling in at least one of those areas, asking them 5 Big Questions: 

• Why aren’t more men thriving? What’s holding them back? 
• When weren’t you thriving? What changed? What keeps you thriving? 
• What does it look like to thrive? 
• What tools, resources, strategies do you recommend? 
• What encouragement do you have for men who want to thrive?

These interviews helped Sam realize the three main reasons men are not only dissatisfied with life, but missing out on the influence they could be having on the world around them. He invites men to join him in discovering how to thrive in all 7 Core Areas, by identifying which are holding them back, why, and how they can begin a virtuous cycle of improvement and impact.

“At a time when being pro-guy is pretty uncommon or even unpopular, this book not only assumes that men should be thriving as God created, but gives us a roadmap to do just that. I challenge you to ask yourself this tough question and use the tools in this book to build the exciting life God destined you to live!”-David Benham, best-selling author and nationally-acclaimed entrepreneur

“As an elite men's coach, I help Christian husbands, dads & business owners ‘blow up rocks’ in their heads, targeting the lies and false beliefs that are holding them back from really living. The Why Aren't You Thriving? assessment is a great first step to identifying the rocks that are keeping you from thriving in your life. If you want to thrive, read Sam's book now.”-Joseph Warren, Elite Men's Coach at BlowUpRocks.com and host of #1 podcast Broken Catholic

In Authentic Self Rebirth, Polish Peter guides people through a powerful, step-by-step process to transform fear, self-doubt, and confusion into peace, purpose, and confidence. 

Through personal stories and transformative breakthroughs, people will learn how to release limiting beliefs and rebuild their lives on a foundation of authenticity. Authentic Self Rebirth uncovers the 7 Human Drives that influence every decision people make, helping them understand themselves and those around them. It shows people how to rewrite the story they have been telling themselves, and introduces the Rebirth Visualization, a guided practice to uncovering clarity and inner peace.

With hands-on exercises at the end of each chapter, Authentic Self Rebirth ensures people don’t just read about transformation—they live it. Whether they’re people pleasers trapped in emotional cycles or someone looking to make fearless decisions, this inspirational guidebook offers the tools to create lasting, meaningful change.

Ready to turn fear into freedom? Authentic Self Rebirth is not just another self-help book—it’s a practical guide to embracing uncertainty and moving forward with a growth mindset.

The secret behind The Secret delivers a completely revised guidebook to success.

Before Rhonda Byrnes delivered the blockbuster bestseller The Secret, Dr. Robert Anthony was delivering the principles of The Ultimate Secrets of Total Self-Confidence. Here Dr. Anthony, bestselling author of Think Big, reveals the secrets he has taught in seminars and workshops that have changed thousands of lives. Executives, star athletes, and celebrities know how total self-confidence can make one soar, and anyone can learn how to achieve it in their daily lives. The Ultimate Secrets of Total Self-Confidence features advice on:

• Tapping into creative imagination
• Clearing the mind of fear, worry, and guilt
• The best ways to communicate, and the art of small talk
• The simplest ways to get a perspective and set goals
• The joys and benefits of being different

Now revised by the author, this is the book for advancement in career, family, love life, finances, and mental and physical health.

In creating one of the first and most successful examples of the inspirational self-help book, James Allen was motivated by his own hard experience to show how our mental attitude has profound control over our lives and how we experience the world. More than that, he shows how, in mastering how we think, we can master our place in the world.

As a Man Thinketh first appeared in 1903 and draws its title from the Bible (Prov. 23: 7) “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Written to be accessible to all, the author persuasively describes how readers need to take responsibility for their thoughts as well as their actions, and that how a person thinks literally shapes their life path. In improving our thoughts, we can improve our lives.

With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of As a Man Thinketh is both modern and readable.

Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

Positive Affirmations and Motivational Quotes for a Badass

“No matter how you use it, there can be benefits for you and your daily life.”—Nerdy Girl Express

#1 Best Seller in Popular Culture, Quotations, Women’s Studies, Love & Marriage Humor, Self-Esteem, LGBT, Trivia, and Psychology Humor

Badass Affirmations is full of positive affirmations, profiles of powerful real-life heroines, and inspirational quotes for women. Packed with just the right amount of sass, this book is the perfect women empowerment gift for you and all your fabulous BFFs.

Even a badass needs positive affirmations. No one leaps out of bed knowing they’re amazing and about to have an incredible day. We find ourselves rushing around, working hard to please others—and often we find ourselves making everyone happy but our own damn selves. Badass Affirmations is here to stop the negativity with positive quotes and affirmations from powerful women.

Discover strong women quotes and encouraging self-affirmations. In Badass Affirmations, positive living and affirmation queen Becca Anderson reminds you that you are pretty darn great. Inside this motivational quotes and affirmations book, you’ll be fired up by inspirational quotes for women, by women. Alongside these women empowerment quotes, you’ll gain new knowledge of the badass ladies who have left their mark on the world with a mix of short bios and longer profiles. And when you’re done learning from other fierce females, you can work on affirming yourself with uplifting journal prompts.

Read Badass Affirmations and:

• Learn the habit of affirming yourself daily
• Empower yourself and strengthen your self-esteem
• Be encouraged by words of wit and wisdom

Readers of affirmations books and positive quote books for women like Let That Sh*t Go, A Year of Positive Thinking, or Beautifully Said will love the inspirational quotes for women in Badass Affirmations.

An exploration of the many reasons to remain hopeful in the face of life's disappointments and challenges.

In a world that isn’t short of darkness, there could be few more urgent priorities than to spend time rehearsing for ourselves why life – despite all its challenges – still has so much to offer us; why there are still so many reasons to be hopeful.

Here is a collection of some of the most persuasive arguments for staying on the side of optimism, creativity, kindness, calm and hope. Across a series of essays, we learn why we still have the right to feel purposeful and buoyant despite everything that is challenging: because there is still so much more to discover, because love can triumph sometimes, because we can delight in summer days and the light of dawn, because we are not alone in our suffering, because we are never far from the option of a slice of cake or a bath, because we are very small things in a mighty and beautiful universe and because we don’t require perfection for things to feel good enough.

In a tone that avoids the pitfalls of sentimentality and cynicism, the book urges us to reconnect with our more resilient selves, bidding us to recover faith in what is still possible. At points funny and always encouraging and kind, here is an ideal friend to guide us back to courage and delight.

• A TOOL TO ASSIST US IN OUR SEARCH FOR A REASON TO BE: the book is an eclectic collection of short essays on wide-ranging subjects, from an extraordinary encounter between Mick Jagger and an unfamiliar Jesuit priest to the escapism found in Iranian cinema.
• HOPEFULNESS FOR PESSIMISTS: an honest and accessible guide to navigate us through the darkness to light.
• ILLUSTRATED THROUGHOUT: with a vibrant mix of artworks, photography and illustration.
• A HIGHLY RELATABLE BOOK: that offers comfort and support in our darker moments, while guiding us towards an optimistic future.

"The School of Life: On Self-Hatred may be the most essential of The School of Life’s essential philosophy handbooks: it reminds us, yet again, that we are not alone, that much more connects us than divides us and that self-acceptance is one of the most important keys to peace of mind." - Emma Thompson, DBE British actress and screenwriter

A guide to emotional healing and living a more self-accepting life.

Behind many of our problems lies an often ignored factor: we don’t like ourselves very much. We are sufferers of self-hatred. We tell ourselves the meanest things. It’s because of self-hatred that we tend to neglect our potential at work and get entangled in unfulfilling relationships, that we lack confidence in our social lives and suffer from anxiety, despair and imposter syndrome.

This is a book that, with immense compassion and fellow feeling, investigates the phenomenon of self-hatred while giving pragmatic advice on how to overcome it. It asks where the feeling comes from, what it makes us do and how we might become kinder and more compassionate towards ourselves.

We have probably spent far too much of our lives disliking ourselves and attacking everything we say, do or feel, while not even realizing what we’re up to. It’s time to overcome our masochism and move towards a more self-forgiving and accepting stance. The School of Life: On Self Hatred is a guide to the more compassionate and gentle relationship we should have had with ourselves from the start, and can all achieve now.

• IDENTIFIES THE ORIGINS AND CONSEQUENCES OF SELF-HATRED: and provides advice for living a more self-accepting life.
• ENCOURAGES US TO DEVELOP ASSERTIVENESS AGAINST SELF-LOATHING: and gives us the tools to challenge our inner critic and deal with imposter syndrome.
• ACCESSIBLE AND PRAGMATIC: with a compassionate and realistic tone, outlining the importance of self-care.
• PART OF THE SCHOOL OF LIFE'S SERIES OF GIFTABLE ESSAYS: other titles include: Why You Will Marry the Wrong Person, On Confidence, How to Find Love and Self-Knowledge.

A hopeful guide to living well in the 21st century.

The modern world has brought us a range of extraordinary benefits and joys, including technology, medicine, and transportation. But with these advances, it seems, we've also seen an increase in greed, despair, and agitation. 

How to Survive the Modern World is the ultimate guide to navigating our unusual times. The book tackles our relationship to the news, our identities, our careers, our relationship to the natural world, our admiration for science and technology, our belief in individualism and secularism - and our suspicion of quiet and solitude. 

This book helps us form a calmer, more authentic, more resilient, and more light-hearted relationship to the complexities of our age. If modern times can feel like a disease, this book is both the diagnosis and the soothing, hope-filled cure.

• IDENTIFIES THE SOURCE OF SHARED ANXIETY helps us identify the sources of our sorrows in the modern world.
• PRACTICAL ADVICE on dealing with the challenges presented by capitalism, advertising and the media.
• CHAPTERS INCLUDE Media, Materialism, Family, Love, Work, Sex, Science & Religion, Democracy and Nature.
• BEAUTIFULLY PRODUCED premium gift format.

The Art of Positive Thinking All Year Round

“Simple Pleasures has become my go-to book for remembering to slow down and enjoy the little things in life.”—Becca Anderson, bestselling author of Badass Affirmations and The Book of Awesome Women

#1 New Release in Soups & Stews, Container Gardening, and Flowers

An abundant sourcebook of ideas, encouraging quotes, recipes, and activities, Simple Pleasures shows you how to appreciate the simple things that make up your daily life.

Learn new secrets to happiness. Rediscover the pleasures our grandparents knew when life was quieter and slower. A time when pleasures were made, not bought, and enjoyed all the more because of it. Organized seasonally and full of touching stories, practical tips, and dozens of satisfying crafts, Simple Pleasures is both a guide to and a celebration of the art of living well.

Make your self-care easy. Sometimes positive thinking can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be. From the recipe for a homemade herbal bath to quick and easy recommendations for an instant room makeover, the suggestions collected in this book offer a new appreciation for the everyday activities that nurture and comfort you. 

Inside Simple Pleasures, find motivational tips and learn how to:

• Make your own perfume and body lotion
• Create old fashioned sachets
• Bake the world’s best cookies

If you enjoyed other books in the Simple Pleasures series by Susannah Seton such as Simple Pleasures of the Home or Simple Pleasures for the Holidays—or books like A Year Of Positive Thinking, Declutter Your Mind, or 365 Days of Positive Affirmations—you’ll love Simple Pleasures.

When Socrates was asked to define our highest purpose as humans, he said, “To know ourselves.”  This advice holds true. Without self-knowledge, all other efforts are in vain. 

The second title in the '40 Images' series, Self-Knowledge in 40 Images takes us on a tour of certain key ideas that we need to befriend our deeper selves, accompanied by the work of photographers and artists such as David Hockney, Cy Twombly, Edgar Degas, Isabella La Rocca González and Elise Corten. Featuring culturally and historically diverse artwork alongside a series of elegant essays inviting contemplation, this book helps us to understand how our childhoods have shaped us, what difficulties we characteristically experience in relationships and what our purpose should be. 

Modern society gives us no shortage of ambitions. We will have landed on the one that can finally brings us peace and freedom when we are ready – with the help of this book – to begin the inward journey: self knowledge.

Pair with the Know Yourself Prompt Cards, designed to help lead you through the important task of knowing yourself a little better in life.

«Tu montaña es el obstáculo entre tú y la vida que
quieres vivir. Enfrentarlo también es el único camino hacia tu libertad y conversión […] Tal vez sabes qué es tu montaña. Quizás es la adicción, el peso, las relaciones, los trabajos, la motivación o el dinero. Quizá no lo sabes. A lo mejor es una vaga sensación de ansiedad, baja autoestima, miedo o un descontento general que parece impregnar todo lo demás».
Brianna Wiest

Las montañas simbolizan los grandes desafíos que enfrentamos, en especial aquellos que parecen imposibles de superar. Para conquistar la cumbre es necesario aprender a identificar y cambiar las conductas que nos llevan al autosabotaje.

Por medio del conocimiento y la aceptación de nuestros hábitos más dañinos, el desarrollo de inteligencia emocional, la liberación de experiencias pasadas a nivel celular y el aprendizaje de actuar como nuestro yo del futuro podemos abrir nuestro propio camino hacia cualquier cima. Al final, la montaña no se moverá, seremos nosotros quienes lograremos conquistarla.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

This is a book about self-sabotage. Why we do it, when we do it, and how to stop doing it—for good. Coexisting but conflicting needs create self-sabotaging behaviors. This is why we resist efforts to change, often until they feel completely futile. But by extracting crucial insight from our most damaging habits, building emotional intelligence by better understanding our brains and bodies, releasing past experiences at a cellular level, and learning to act as our highest potential future selves, we can step out of our own way and into our potential. For centuries, the mountain has been used as a metaphor for the big challenges we face, especially ones that seem impossible to overcome. To scale our mountains, we actually have to do the deep internal work of excavating trauma, building resilience, and adjusting how we show up for the climb. In the end, it is not the mountain we master, but ourselves.

Legacy was written to simplify the process and accelerate people’s pursuit of a purposeful life filled with the satisfaction and impact their hearts are longing for.

Legacy makers aren’t born. They’re made.

It has been taught that legacies were meant for the rich, famous, world leaders, and innovators. However, after observing a relatively unknown man build a legacy that rivaled many of the most notable people in history, Marcum Davis came to understand that legacies are not reserved for the elite. In fact, they are attainable for people from all walks of life.

But how does one build a legacy? How can a “regular” person lead an impactful life of purpose and fulfillment worth remembering?

After years of study and practice, Marcum discovered a fundamental five-part formula that anyone can apply to their daily lives, known as the P.E.A.C.E. Legacy Formula, which he shares in the pages of Legacy.

Following the P.E.A.C.E. Legacy Formula will begin to improve one’s quality of life from the start, as they begin to feel their excitement and energy rise up and touch everything they do.

Legacy was written for anyone who wants to make the most of each day and live a more meaningful life. It serves as a guide and support system in the creation of a life and legacy that impacts not only the individual, but their loved ones, and the world around them.

A collection of simple - and surprisingly relevant - tools from great thinkers throughout history. 

Focusing on important ideas from Western and Eastern philosophy, sociology, psychotherapy, art, architecture, and literature, this collection of wisdom and insight includes everyone from well know thinkers like Sigmund Freud and Lao Tzu to more unexpected names like Coco Chanel and St Benedict. 

With original color illustrations for each featured thinker, this book presents a fascinating gallery of individuals from across the millennia who have shaped the intellectual project of The School of Life.

• A REFERENCE BOOK OF 60 GREAT THINKERS: and their most useful ideas.
• THE SCHOOL OF LIFE CANON: a gallery of individuals from across the millennia who have shaped the intellectual project of The School of Life.
• ORIGINAL COLOR ILLUSTRATIONS BY STUART PATIENCE
• THE ULTIMATE RESOURCE: for those seeking both answers and inspiration.
• PREMIUM GIFT FORMAT: shrink-wrapped with ribbon marker and belly band.

Easy to use in a variety of ways, Healing Words is complementary medicine for the mind, body, and spirit that has a history of proven efficacy for people of all faiths on their journeys to healing and wholeness.

Every two-page spread is a chapter headlined by one of 101 words that relate to healing the mind, body, and spirit as a process or event. The word is followed by a definition, a personal reflection or a story that relates to the healing power of the word, quotes, and an affirmation for the reader to use on his or her healing journey. The quotes include contemporary excerpts as well as words from the sages, plus proverbs, psalms, and more.

Limitless You helps those seeking to live fully become more self-aware of their emotions and thoughts, by identifying the tricks and traps of the mind and creating the life they deserve to live. 

Every person is born with a beautiful purpose for their lives; yet past experiences, societal expectations, and accumulated trauma leave many feeling unworthy and fearful of pursuing their passions. The tricks and traps of the brain can convince anyone to move through life with their heads down, eyes glazed, but according to Holly Wynn, human beings aren’t meant to go through the motions!

Too many interpret their inner voice saying, “I can’t live like this anymore,” as instruction to remove themselves from this life altogether, rather than an invitation to take steps toward meaningful changes to make life better. In the aftermath of COVID-19’s “new normal,” personal loss and tragedy are far too common, leaving individuals feeling trapped. In Limitless You, Holly Wynn encourages readers to take action, unlocking the door to their heart and embracing the purpose they were meant for.  

Learn to overcome trauma, adversity, and struggle by unleashing the science of hope in your daily life with this inspiring and informative guide.

Hope is much more than wishful thinking. Science tells us that it is the most predictive indicator of well-being in a person’s life. Hope is measurable. It is malleable. And it changes lives. In Hope Rising, Casey Gwinn and Chan Hellman reveal the latest science of hope using nearly 2,000 published studies, including their own research. Based on their findings, they make an impassioned call for hope to be the focus not only of our personal lives, but of public policy for education, business, social services, and every part of society.

Hope Rising provides a roadmap to measure hope in your life. It teaches you to assess what may have robbed you of hope, and then provides strategies to let your hope flourish once again. The authors challenge every reader to be honest about their own struggles and end the cycle of shame and blame related to trauma, illness, and abuse. These are important first steps toward increasing your Hope score—and thriving because of it.

A journal to help us process our lives—from The School of Life’s line of beautiful, elegant journals

The Self-Reflection Journal is the first in a new range of guided journals from The School of Life, that uses a series of repeated questions to help us think about what we really want, what we are actually feeling and what might be holding us back from our goals. Each question has been careful chosen for its psychological insight and draws from the teachings of The School of Life, to guide us on a journey of self-discovery. 

The questions, such as 'What is still lovely?' direct our minds to areas that we tend to neglect. With 150 pages of questions, we can revisit these thoughts regularly and digest the concerns, emotions, and events that repeatedly trouble us. With time, we can lessen our anxieties, and begin to reach the calm, contended lives we deserve.

With its high quality cloth-bound cover, ribbon bookmark, and inspiring quotes from The School of Life throughout, this is a beautiful and thoughtful addition to any bookshelf.

The difference between a successful and a disappointing life often comes down to a critical ingredient that we overlook at our peril: confidence. 

This is a book with a practical purpose: to take us through exercises that help us rediscover the confidence we all already have inside us—the confidence that we have neglected out of habit, fear or meekness. It’s a faculty we are all endowed with and confidence can flourish with the right kind of practice and encouragement. 

This workbook contains over fifty exercises that flex our confident faculties and guide us to greater effectiveness in our relationships, in our working lives and in our approach to ourselves. This includes a Self-Esteem Audit to identify what we might have gone through in our early lives, asking  questions such as: Do you think you are essentially a good person? Were your parents essentially supportive or not? Do you hate or like being you? There are sections focusing on confidence in relationships, friendships, and at work.

This is a tool to unlock our latent powers – and help us become who we long, and deserve, to be. 

Pair with the Confidence Prompt Cards, designed to help you find confidence and battle against timidity.

A linen-bound notebook designed to accommodate ideas, aspirations and worries in the therapeutic activity of writing down your thoughts

It’s too un-comfortable and especially difficult because we are so often busy and frazzled, hyper-connected yet a bit lonely. To really understand what we feel and think, we must turn away from distractions, common sense, and other people’s opinions. We need to develop intimacy with ourselves. Writing is ultimately the task of discovering and developing what we think. There could hardly be a more important personal goal.

A therapeutic and consoling workbook with exercises to soothe anxiety and create a state of calm.

Most of us long to be a little calmer: too many of our days are lost to agitation and worry, stress and discord. Yet we know that we are at our best when we can manage not to panic and take challenges in our stride.

Fortunately, a calm state of mind is not a divine gift. Even those of us starting from a more agitated position can systematically understand and lay claim to it. Too many books on this subject simply explain what it would be like to be calm. This is a workbook that takes us through the practical steps required to actually become calm. It is filled with exercises and prompts that deliver the self-understanding and self-compassion on which true serenity depends. Furthermore, the book invites us to build calming routines into our daily lives so that what we learn can stick with us and change us for the long term.

Based on years of The School of Life’s work in the area of anxiety and calm, this is a landmark workbook guaranteed to bring about the calmer state of mind we long for and deserve.

• EASY-TO-FOLLOW JOURNALING PROMPTS to explore our inner landscape and cultivate calm.
• DRAWING EXERCISES for everyone, no artistic ability required.
• A THERAPEUTIC WORKBOOK with plenty of space to track moods, set goals, and reflect.
• SOOTHING packaging and simple layout - a journal to keep close at hand.
• A TIMELY TOOLKIT to achieve calm in a frenzied, chaotic world.

• EXPLORES THE LIFE-CHANGING POWER OF UNDERSTANDING OURSELVES
• A PRACTICAL TOOLKIT for self-discovery.
• INCLUDES THOUGHT-PROVOKING EXERCISES for self-analysis.
• THE SCHOOL OF LIFE'S MOST POPULAR SUBJECT the associated YouTube video "Who Am I?" has 1.5 million views.

Do you sometimes feel like you’re just going through the motions in life? Do you often act like you’re fine when you secretly feel lonely and disconnected? Perhaps you have a good life and yet somehow it’s not enough to make you happy. Or perhaps you drink too much, eat too much, or risk too much in an attempt to feel something good. If so, you are not alone—and you may be suffering from emotional neglect.

A practicing psychologist for more than twenty years, Jonice Webb has successfully treated numerous patients who come to her believing that something is missing inside them. While many self-help books deal with what happened to you as a child, in Running on Empty, Webb addresses the things that may not have happened for you. What goes unsaid—or what cannot be remembered—can have profound consequences that may be affecting you to this day.

Running on Empty will help you understand your experiences and give you clear strategies for healing. It also includes a special chapter for mental health professionals.

Networking.

For many people, the word conjures up images of stuffy events—shaking hands, making small talk, and exchanging business cards. To them, “networking” feels forced, awkward, even disingenuous.

It doesn’t have to be this way.
True networking is more than attending events and trading favors. Whether one is an employee or an entrepreneur, a student or an executive, good relationships form the foundation of success.

The Five Elements of Professional Networking will teach people how to

• Develop the social skills to achieve career breakthroughs
  
• Gain confidence and appear more likable and trustworthy
  
• Navigate conferences and networking events like a pro
  
• Stay top of mind for career and business opportunities
  
• Become a better, more engaging conversationalist
  
• Establish credibility and influence in their industry
  
• Discover a style of networking that feels natural to them
   

60 prompt cards with ideas and questions designed to help you find confidence 

We often assume that we must accept the levels of confidence we currently possess. But confidence is not a given: it is a quality we can learn about and develop in ourselves. 

These Confidence Prompt Cards keep a variety of consoling and invigorating arguments at the front of our minds, ready for the greater and smaller challenges of our lives. They remind us, for the sake of confidence, to speak to ourselves in a kind way, and to remember that the greatest thing we should fear isn't messing up, but not trying it out in the first place.

A Living Eulogy. A portrait of your ideal evening. A prompt to breathe—40 activities to help us get in touch with our inner playful and introspective selves

We are used to thinking of good conversation as the glue that holds friendships together, but we shouldn’t forget the immense value of playing games, with some of the same spirit of fun and adventure that we once deployed when we were children. Here is a pack of forty activities to draw us away from static conversation. Among other things, we will build a fort together, dance in surprising ways, deliver funeral orations, practice our acting skills, and play some entertaining (but kindly) pranks. The games are an invitation to cast aside reserve and get in touch with neglected imaginative aspects of ourselves. They are a reminder that friendship doesn’t only require talking; it thrives just as much on the light-hearted but significant business of playing together.

We’re surrounded by books telling us how to be rich, or thin. This book is different from other self-help books—because it teaches us to be nicer. Niceness might not have the immediate allure of money or fame, but who among us wouldn’t like to be more patient, less irritable, or better listeners? 

 With a gently philosophical tone, this book gives us practical advice on how to forgive, how to reassure, and how to be generous. Being nice isn’t at all the same as being weak, or naive. In fact, niceness is one of the highest planes of human achievement—a super power, and a strength. Niceness deserves to be rediscovered and cultivated, and this book shows you how. Part of a new essential paperback series from The School of Life, covering a range of emotional lessons needed in order to lead fulfilled and happy lives.

• BEING NICER CAN BENEFIT OUR LIVES, often in unexpected ways.
• IN A TIME OF GLOBAL TURMOIL, this book encourages a focus on human kindness and empathy.
• CLASSIC BLACK & WHITE IMAGES throughout.
• PART OF THE NEW PAPERBACK SERIES 'LESSONS FOR LIFE'
• PRACTICAL AND ACCESSIBLE TIPS makes this an easy book to use in everyday life.

• Define your values as they change over time
• Find out how "giving back" leads to a positive mindset
• Reignite a desire to learn
• Retrain your mind to think more autonomously

• Reset and regenerate
• Deepen your thinking and experiences
• Take back control of your time
• Reconnect with other people – and yourself

• Change your perspective and revamp your mindset
• Develop creative side projects
• Stay optimistic and resilient
• Discover skills and passions you never knew you had!

Why do some conversations flow, while others are stilted and awkward? Can we make difficult conversations easier?

Conversation is about more than communication. It’s how we connect with each other and make sense of the world – it’s an essential part of being human. And something we're naturally very good at.

Robert Poynton explores and celebrates this "everyday miracle hiding in plain sight". By drawing on many rich and diverse conversations, he offers simple ways to hone our natural skills to overcome anxiety, converse more skillfully and have more meaningful exchanges. In Do Conversation, you will:

• Discover it's not about being clever, witty, or winning arguments
• Learn to listen and hold space
• Create the conditions for more fruitful conversations
• Understand how a bit of simple structure can help

• Reduce stress and increase productivity
• Improve focus and work flow
• Cultivate good habits (and drop the bad)
• Build courage and resilience

• Find your voice and the confidence to share it
• Learn how to tell stories, not just share data
• Stand and move around the stage comfortably
• Leave the audience informed, entertained, and uplifted

• Meet the Three Musketeers: resilience, perseverance and self-worth
• Develop tools to feel reinvigorated and realigned
• Discover what really makes you happy
• Appreciate how helping others can lift you too

• Notice more – practise paying attention and everything gets more interesting
• Collect more – gather together what you’ve noticed, new ideas pop out 
• Share more – get good at sharing it all and more magic arrives.

Better thinking makes you a better person. And few things extend your mind as quickly and powerfully as the humble note. Notes let you fulfill commitments, manage complicated projects, and make your ideas real. Digital notes take you even further. By using the right tools and a bit of discipline, you can cultivate a “personal knowledge garden" where your thinking will blossom.

Who Should Read This Book?

Takeaways

• Learn best-practice note-taking principles so you can take more concise notes.
• Connect your notes to one another to create a personal network of ideas (your own personal “knowledge garden”).
• Capture ideas before you lose them.
• Organize your notes so that you can find and make sense of them later.
• Learn how connected notes can spark insight and lead to new ideas and learning.
• Explore how notes can help you collaborate with other minds, including artificial ones
• Learn how to use Obsidian, a powerful digital note-taking tool.
• Follow the how-to exercises to lead you through the note-taking maze.

Better thinking makes you a better person. And few things extend your mind as quickly and powerfully as the humble note. Notes let you fulfill commitments, manage complicated projects, and make your ideas real. Digital notes take you even further. By using the right tools and a bit of discipline, you can cultivate a “personal knowledge garden" where your thinking will blossom.

Who Should Read This Book?

Takeaways

• Learn best-practice note-taking principles so you can take more concise notes.
• Connect your notes to one another to create a personal network of ideas (your own personal “knowledge garden”).
• Capture ideas before you lose them.
• Organize your notes so that you can find and make sense of them later.
• Learn how connected notes can spark insight and lead to new ideas and learning.
• Explore how notes can help you collaborate with other minds, including artificial ones
• Learn how to use Obsidian, a powerful digital note-taking tool.
• Follow the how-to exercises to lead you through the note-taking maze.

Descubre el cambio de mentalidad que te ayudará, desde un enfoque realista, a vivir con plenitud y alegría en un mundo imperfecto y turbulento.

¿Cómo logran algunas personas salir adelante a pesar de enfrentarse a grandes desafíos vitales? ¿Cómo podemos optimizar los aspectos de nuestra vida sobre los que tenemos control y, al mismo tiempo, protegernos del estrés? La Dra. Sue Varma, que trabajó directamente con supervivientes de los atentados del 11S en Nueva York al inicio de su carrera como psiquiatra, descubrió que la respuesta a estas preguntas es cultivar una mentalidad optimista, pero en contacto con el mundo real: el «optimismo práctico». Los optimistas prácticos se centran en aquello que pueden controlar y emplean estrategias clave de afrontamiento que les permiten no solo resistir mejor el estrés, sino también volver a ese estado de ánimo más elevado tras una adversidad, persistir ante el fracaso y, sobre todo, ver las cosas desde un punto de vista más abierto y flexible que favorece su salud y su longevidad.

En este libro, la Dra. Varma nos enseña los ocho pilares del optimismo práctico y nos ofrece un plan apoyado en evidencia científica para cultivar esta mentalidad y guiarnos hacia una vida llena de alegría y propósito. Porque las cosas no siempre serán perfectas, pero sí pueden ser mejores.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

Discover the mindset shift that will help you, through a realistic approach, live with joy and fulfillment in an imperfect and turbulent world.

How do some people manage to thrive despite facing major life challenges? How can we optimize the parts of our lives we can control while also protecting ourselves from stress? Dr. Sue Varma, who worked directly with survivors of the 9/11 attacks in New York early in her career as a psychiatrist, found that the answer lies in cultivating an optimistic mindset grounded in reality—what she calls “practical optimism.” Practical optimists focus on what they can control and use key coping strategies that not only help them manage stress more effectively, but also allow them to bounce back after adversity, persist through failure, and—most importantly—see life through a more open and flexible lens that supports their health and longevity.

In this book, Dr. Varma introduces the eight pillars of practical optimism and offers a science-backed plan to help readers cultivate this mindset and move toward a life filled with joy and purpose. Because things won’t always be perfect—but they can absolutely get better.

Como sueño y casi como obligación, la idea de la felicidad nos confronta más que nunca en los tiempos que corren. “¿Cómo ser felices?”, esa sentencia que nos sobrevuela como mandato del mundo moderno se impuso para encandilarnos y hacernos perder de vista aquella que debería ser la pregunta nodal: “¿Qué es la felicidad?”

En su nuevo libro, Gabriel Rolón nos propone desandar el camino. Desarticular lugares comunes y preconceptos para poner en evidencia qué se esconde más allá de esa ilusión que se vende como panacea y no es más que una trampa. Entre el Psicoanálisis y el arte, entre la filosofía y la literatura, despliega entonces su hoja de ruta, un mapa de lecturas que van de la mitología clásica a Byung-Chul Han, pasando por Freud, Lacan, Borges, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Einstein, Alejandro Dolina, Ana Frank, Bertrand Russell y Comte-Sponville, entre muchas otras.

Una vez más, como en sus trabajos anteriores y fiel a ese estilo que lo llevó a ser uno de los autores más leídos de las últimas décadas, Rolón nos invita a pensar a contrapelo de las modas ligeras. Y es ahí, en esa zona incómoda y a la vez anhelante de vida, donde La felicidad se vuelve un ensayo indispensable, lúcido, humano.

As both dream and near obligation, the idea of happiness confronts us more than ever in today’s world. “How can we be happy?”—that question hovers over us like a modern mandate, dazzling us and distracting us from what should be the central inquiry: “What is happiness?”

In his new book, Gabriel Rolón invites us to retrace the path. He dismantles clichés and assumptions to reveal what lies beyond the illusion sold as a panacea, which is nothing more than a trap. Between psychoanalysis and art, philosophy and literature, he unfolds a reading map that spans from classical mythology to Byung-Chul Han, including Freud, Lacan, Borges, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Einstein, Alejandro Dolina, Ana Frank, Bertrand Russell, and Comte-Sponville, among many others.

Once again, as in his previous works and true to the style that made him one of the most widely read authors of recent decades, Rolón invites us to think against the grain of fleeting trends. And it is there, in that uncomfortable yet life-affirming space, where La felicidad (Happiness: Beyond Hope) becomes an essential, lucid, and deeply human essay.

This isn’t your grandpa’s retirement—and you don’t have to settle for the rocking chair.

Today’s retirees are healthier, more engaged and more active than ever before, and can look forward to longer lives. Those who have done a good job planning for this financially will have many new choices to consider. How will they spend their time? Where will they live? What new interests, skills, or hobbies will they choose to pursue? How will they finance their retirement dreams of travel and leisure?

And what about the emotional challenges retirement can bring? How do we cope with the loss of our old schedules, our work relationships, and a lot more face time with our significant others? How can we rekindle old friendships and cultivate new ones? How can we cope with the challenges presented by aging, death of friends or partners, and hang onto our optimism and engagement with life? And what kind of legacy will we leave when we go?

Wealth Management specialist Crystal Garrett has helped hundreds prepare for and enjoy their retirement, and in The Next Chapter she shares what she’s learned in the process; not only the financial side of keeping your nest egg intact but the social and emotional sides of the equation. Her objective is helping the reader to fully embrace and enjoy this exciting and sometimes daunting new chapter in life and learn how to win at retirement.

“This book gives good advice—strategies for how to avoid the bad things, do the good things...and hopefully have a few laughs along the way.”

—CRAIG SHIRLEY, presidential historian and New York Times bestselling author

A MAN ISN’T BORN A COWBOY. HE BECOMES ONE. HE MAKES A CHOICE.

When you're running out of sunsets, don't waste the sunrises you have left.

And right now, America as a nation and we as individual citizens are at its own moment of truth. 

Do we cowboy up or do we quit?

There is no escaping this choice or putting it off, no wishing it away. We have procrastinated long enough, and the problems have only gotten worse. It’s not just about addressing a laundry list of those problems and coming up with solutions. If it were that easy, we would have done it long ago.

It is fundamental, foundational.

We keep hoping that the politicians, especially the ones in Washington, will finally fix things.

There are only two things wrong with that. First, they are the ones that created the mess in the first place and, second, they couldn’t fix a flat tire, let alone all the problems they have created.

No, in the end it will have to be the American people who fix what ails America.

We all need to roll up our collective sleeves and clean out all the horse manure and cattle crap that has piled up for decades in this country. From the halls of government to the executive suites at our corporations, the ivy-covered universities, Hollywood studios, and every other place in our culture and society that have been polluted and corrupted. And this cleansing and fixing needs to start at the very beginning in every home in America.

You don’t need a college education or advanced degree to read and understand what I’m about to tell you in the following pages. You don’t even need a high school diploma, for that matter. All you need is common sense, a desire to pick up a manure fork, and—together with your fellow Americans—do what needs doin’ and fix what needs fixin’. 

Common sense is not passed down in the genes from generation to generation. It is taught, passed down from parents to children. Returning America to its former greatness and rediscovering the tried-and-true values that built this country won’t be accomplished by an election. It will only be accomplished by you and me. It is as fundamental as being able to tell the difference between right and wrong … and then acting accordingly. Everything else in a free society branches out from that tap root which is sunk deep into the soul of America. And while the tree of liberty that connects us all isn’t healthy right now and is in danger of dying, it ain’t dead yet.

We, the people can save it if we just get back to basics.

This book is about those basics, told in stories from the old guy at the end of the bar.

Common Sense Cowboy’s 12 Rules for Life

1. The secret to a long life is getting up every day with a purpose. Young or old, working or retired, everyone needs a purpose so find yours.
2. Never betray trust, because trust is like virginity. Once lost, it’s impossible to get back.
3. Everything breaks sooner or later. So, learn how to fix things.
4. The measure of a man is when he does the right thing even when no one is watching. If you do the wrong thing and nobody saw you do it, it is still wrong.
5. Don’t waste time thinking about what might have been. Put the “might have beens” in the same trash can reserved for the “wouldas”, the “shouldas” and the “couldas”. Then get busy with the “doin”.
6. A fancy education might gain you some knowledge, but only hard life experiences will gain you wisdom. A PhD won’t help you fix a flat tire.
7. Be wary of the person who tells you they can get you a burger and fries for nothing. There is no free lunch.
8. Your word is your bond, and your handshake seals the deal. 
9. If you shake hands with a politician, be sure to count your fingers when you let go to make sure you still have all five. (See above)
10. Don’t pray for things. The Almighty is not Amazon or Costco and faith delivers salvation and comfort not packages.
11. There is right and there is wrong. There are no loopholes and the only thing in between are excuses.
12. The Good Lord gave us each a certain number of seconds, minutes, hours and days, but he didn’t give us our expiration date. Use your time wisely and live life to the fullest.

IT’S TIME TO COWBOY UP AND START RIDIN THE FENCES!

Huge social changes occurring in real time are leading us to rethink traditional roles in our homes, workplaces and in society. So why do women who outearn their male partners still tend to do more housework and childcare? Why are unemployed men generally happier if their female partners are also unemployed? Why is unpaid labour still seen as a less important contribution than paid work within family units?

In Breadwinners, award-winning science journalist Melissa Hogenboom interviews dozens of female breadwinners, stay-at-home dads and same-sex couples, comparing their stories to the latest research to demonstrate the consequences of changing dynamics. She reveals how pursuing and maintaining power is a key part of every human interaction, affecting every area of our lives. Breadwinners shows how, the closer we look, the easier it is to see the influence of power structures all around us. Ultimately, it gives readers the tools to address imbalances and improve our relationships at home and at work.

If we can share power more equally, we can improve not only our own wellbeing but also recognise how to dismantle social structures that are seemingly set in stone.

In The Creative Spark, a collection of interviews prefaced by brief biographies, these luminaries join dozens of other voices to create a symphony of inspiration. Lucinda Williams talks about honesty and making every word count; Jane Goodall cites the value of persistence and believing in yourself; and Smokey Robinson heralds the timeless power of love songs.

For more than a decade, award-winning author Michael Shapiro (A Sense of Place) has interviewed many of our brightest creators. In The Creative Spark, musicians, authors, explorers, and chefs speak about what drives them, what helps them see the world in fresh ways, and what inspires them to turn their visions into art.

Shapiro’s work as a music journalist has led to interviews with legends including Graham Nash, Lyle Lovett, Melissa Etheridge, Jake Shimabukuro, Merle Haggard, and Jethro Tull bandleader Ian Anderson. And he’s spoken with creative masters in other fields, such as comedian Joan Rivers and author Frances Mayes.

Yet it’s not simply that Shapiro has had access to so many supremely talented people—it’s that he gets them to go deep. Moments into his penetrating conversation with Lucinda (her fans call her by her first name), she tells Shapiro about how decisions made about her mother’s funeral led to fissures in her family. From this achingly personal conversation, readers can glean fresh insights into why Lucinda has such a devoted following and why her songs open listeners’ hearts.

Unexpected revelations pop up in every chapter of The Creative Spark. Iowa folksinger Greg Brown isn’t a household name, but his fellow musicians revere his poetic compositions. Then there’s San Francisco Giants announcer Mike Krukow, who turns every broadcast into a work of art. Chefs, including SingleThread’s Kyle Connaughton, discuss how they’re transforming the way we approach fine dining and why social responsibility is essential.

Each chapter starts with a short biography of the creative person being profiled, then segues into Q+A. This collection brings together some of the best-known artists of our time with others who may not be as famed but who have valuable insights about living an artful life. The Creative Spark stands as a testament to human achievement, showing how creativity illuminates our world. And how it resides in each and every one of us, just waiting to break out.