Navigating the complexities of professional services careers is hard and often riddled with frustration and disappointment. No doubt the lucrative compensation is not to be ignored, and of course the distinguished opportunity to serve and lead at the highest ranks of your chosen profession. While the glimpses of what success looks like are all around, it can sometimes feel beyond the realm of imagination for someone to realize such gains for themselves. Many people stumble into successful career outcomes after humble beginnings with little or no plan. Sadly, there are large groups of talented and ambitious people who continue to struggle to align interests to opportunities that will yield their desired outcomes. These people represent a kaleidoscope of backgrounds and experiences for which there are no established criteria. This book captures my journey as an immigrant from Jamaica to the leader I am today, highlighting key principles that helped me endure many challenges and lead a successful business. Based on countless mentoring conversations I’ve had throughout my career, I know my story will resonate with many professionals who had or are having similar experiences. My hope for the reader is to be inspired, encouraged, and most importantly be able to extract tactical actions that can be applied along their journey to help them achieve their desired career aspiration.

A smart and funny book by a prominent Harvard psychologist, which uses groundbreaking research and (often hilarious) anecdotes to show us why we’re so lousy at predicting what will make us happy – and what we can do about it. Most of us spend our lives steering ourselves toward the best of all possible futures, only to find that tomorrow rarely turns out as we had expected. Why? As Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert explains, when people try to imagine what the future will hold, they make some basic and consistent mistakes. Just as memory plays tricks on us when we try to look backward in time, so does imagination play tricks when we try to look forward. Using cutting-edge research, much of it original, Gilbert shakes, cajoles, persuades, tricks and jokes us into accepting the fact that happiness is not really what or where we thought it was. Among the unexpected questions he poses: Why are conjoined twins no less happy than the general population? When you go out to eat, is it better to order your favourite dish every time, or to try something new? If Ingrid Bergman hadn’t gotten on the plane at the end of Casablanca, would she and Bogey have been better off? Smart, witty, accessible and laugh-out-loud funny, Stumbling on Happiness brilliantly describes all that science has to tell us about the uniquely human ability to envision the future, and how likely we are to enjoy it when we get there.

“A thoughtful reconsideration of China’s actual place in the new world order, based on reality rather than fanciful speculation.” —Kirkus Reviews Can anything prevent China surpassing the United States and becoming the world’s top superpower? While predictions that China’s rise to global supremacy is a near-certainty have resulted in this belief becoming almost conventional wisdom, this book boldly counters such widely held assumptions. Investment strategist Timothy Beardson brings to light the daunting array of challenges that today confront China, as well as the inadequacy of the policy responses. Threats to China come on many fronts, Beardson shows, and by their number and sheer weight these problems will thwart any ambition to become the world’s “Number One power.” Drawing on extensive research and experience living and working in Asia over the last 35 years, the author spells out China’s situation: an inexorable demographic future of a shrinking labor force, relentless aging, extreme gender disparity, and even a falling population. Also, the nation faces social instability, a devastated environment, a predominantly low-tech economy with inadequate innovation, the absence of an effective welfare safety net, an ossified governance structure, and radical Islam lurking at the borders. Beardson’s nuanced, firsthand look at China acknowledges its historic achievements while tempering predictions of its imminent hegemony with a no-nonsense dose of reality.

A haunting fable of art, family, and fate from the author of the Outline trilogy. A woman invites a famous artist to use her guesthouse in the remote coastal landscape where she lives with her family. Powerfully drawn to his paintings, she believes his vision might penetrate the mystery at the center of her life. But as a long, dry summer sets in, his provocative presence itself becomes an enigma—and disrupts the calm of her secluded household. Second Place, Rachel Cusk’s electrifying new novel, is a study of female fate and male privilege, the geometries of human relationships, and the moral questions that animate our lives. It reminds us of art’s capacity to uplift—and to destroy.

The best-selling phenomenon from Japan that shows us a minimalist life is a happy life. Fumio Sasaki is not an enlightened minimalism expert or organizing guru like Marie Kondo—he’s just a regular guy who was stressed out and constantly comparing himself to others, until one day he decided to change his life by saying goodbye to everything he didn’t absolutely need. The effects were remarkable: Sasaki gained true freedom, new focus, and a real sense of gratitude for everything around him. In Goodbye, Things Sasaki modestly shares his personal minimalist experience, offering specific tips on the minimizing process and revealing how the new minimalist movement can not only transform your space but truly enrich your life. The benefits of a minimalist life can be realized by anyone, and Sasaki’s humble vision of true happiness will open your eyes to minimalism’s potential.

What does it feel like to try and create something new? How is it possible to find a space for the demands of writing a novel in a world of instant communication? Working on My Novel is about the act of creation and the gap between the different ways we express ourselves today. Exploring the extremes of making art, from satisfaction and even euphoria to those days or nights when nothing will come, it's the story of what it means to be a creative person, and why we keep on trying.

Stumbling Naked in the Dark: Overcoming Mistakes Men Make With Women is the revolutionary new book on male-female relationships by author Bradley Fenton. The author asserts that a majority of men repeatedly make common mistakes while interacting with women and thus unknowingly come off as unattractive. Fenton identifies these mistakes and suggests some rather unorthodox ways to overcome them. With integrity, maturity and humor, Stumbling Naked in the Dark explains once and for all why some men just don't get "it" and offers a new mindset for leading relationships in the right direction. While most dating and relationship books have focused on understanding the differences between men and women, Stumbling Naked in the Dark focuses on the similarities between the sexes by exploring universal laws of human behavior. Relationship problems are due to the pressure created by the "aggressively flawed" role that people, and primarily men, learn to play in our culture. This leads to men exerting negative pressure and control that causes women to subconsciously withdraw and find men unattractive. Stumbling Naked in the Dark teaches men how to alleviate the stress and pressure associated with dating so they become more relaxed and attractive to women and explores how men can focus on what makes women feel understood and comfortable, leading to their decisions of intimacy and commitment. For example, Fenton offers insights on how: -Interactions with women in today's social settings are burdened with pressure and distrust, leading to failure that creates a vicious cycle of anxiety and hopelessness. -Most men unknowingly approach relationships as a game and feel the pressure of losing if they don't get what they want. -Men mistakenly believe they have done something wrong if a woman chooses not to go out with them, creating an adversarial situation destined to fail. -Success with women is not an innate skill that only a few men possess. All men can have a relationship - it's a matter of breaking down mental blocks to attain it. -Women frequently make decisions about men based on their own anxieties and insecurities. In many cases, their availability to date has nothing to do with a specific man at all. -Letting go of a woman's decision-making - and being healthfully indifferent to the outcome of an interaction while still genuinely caring for her well-being - is the key to attracting women. -Making "No" an okay answer from women lessens pressure, adds more fun and actually leads to more "Yes" answers. Fenton also discusses how to break through four common obstacles males encounter on the road to relationship success: Personal Warning Beliefs, Identity, Need for Approval and Tactile Needs and Energy. By teaching men how to become more comfortable with themselves and erase preconceived notions about women, Stumbling Naked in the Dark offers a powerful framework for men who want to disengage from the typical "dating game" and be more confident, fair and intuitive in their relationships with women.

Stumbling on Open Ground is a story of private trial and faith like those found in the books of Esther and Job. Punctuated with stories from Mansfield's years in the music business---working with George Harrison and Waylon Jennings, among others.

It begins with an unwanted goodbye. Life is never straight forward for Tim and Dana. Stumbling through life in two different countries, by the incalculable odds they meet while running into each other at the movie theater they both work for. As quickly as they are connected, their lives are torn apart. What brought them together has also taken them away- a simple phone call. Desperate to get back to the love of his life and the family he has created, nothing will stop him. With a job loss and no money in the bank, he takes a risk to see his newborn daughter for the first time. He walks the lonely road to find it's not so lonely. Come explore the depths of what it takes to be a family of immigrants and the depth of love it takes to unite. This memoir is touched with journal entries of this man's great journey. How far would you go for your family?

Shining a light on mania, depression and everything in between, this no-nonsense guide to life with bipolar disorder gives advice on how to manage the condition and work towards stability. Drawing on his own experiences, Kai Conibear discusses the realities of life with bipolar and shares practical tips and advice. He explains different symptoms, including mania, hypomania, psychosis and depression, and gives advice on managing relationships, facing stigma and discrimination and learning to be comfortable with stability. The book also contains a chapter on how friends, family and caregivers can support someone with bipolar practically. Whether you suspect you have bipolar disorder, have been recently diagnosed or have been living with the condition for many years, this honest but hopeful guide is a must read.