With my father, what you see is what you get. He doesn't pretend to be some kind of guru, and he doesn't believe he did everything right (which he didn't, despite how hard he tried). But he's definitely confident about what he knows, and eloquent in the way he puts it across. I urge you to put his lessons to the test with your kid, and see how far they'll take you both. I think, once you start reading, you're going to find my dad's confidence and enthusiasm contagious. When I look back now, I remember my father was always focused. Always firm. Always loving. Always thinking about the future. It was kind of like he was always searching for the right way, the most successful way to do things. Make no mistake about it, he was always making sure I watched my p's and q's. I mean always: morning, noon, and night. Without that love and discipline, I would never have gotten to where I am today. You certainly would not have ever heard of Raven-Symon?. Raven-Symon?January 2010 While so many talented and ambitious kids have become tabloid fodder, Raven-Symon?, beloved star of That's So Raven, has remained grounded and happy as she's created a massive franchise for Disney, won multiple Kids' Choice Awards, and made history as the first African-American woman with her own sitcom. The difference? Her parents' positive-approach plan--which you can now use with your own children. As her father and manager, Christopher B. Pearman worked tirelessly to nurture Raven's dream, while teaching her to believe in herself and, most importantly, never losing sight of their family's core values. Inside, Pearman breaks down his plan into eight "Dream Catchers"--spiritual and practical principles that filter out negativity, and allow only affirming thoughts into your child's consciousness. Make no mistake: This is not a guide to stage parenting, but a doctrine for raising your kids to reach their full potential in any endeavor, simple or grand. As a parent, you know there's nothing more important than making sure your children become all they want to be. Dream So Big shows how commitment, responsibility, and dedication to your children's innermost wishes can catapult them to great success--and happiness.

A Dream So Big is the story of Steve Peifer, a corporate manager who once oversaw 9,000 computer software consultants, who today helps provide daily lunches for over 20,000 Kenyan school children in thirty-five national public schools, and maintains solar-powered computer labs at twenty rural African schools. Steve and his wife, Nancy, were enjoying a successful management career with one of America’s high tech corporate giants during the dot-com boom of the 1990’s when, in 1997, he and his wife Nancy discovered they were pregnant with their third child. Tragically, doctors said a chromosomal condition left their baby “incompatible with life.” The Peifers only spent 8 days with baby Stephen before he died. Seeking to flee the pain, Steve and Nancy began a pilgrimage that thrust them into a third-world setting where daily life was often defined by tragedy—drought, disease, poverty, hunger, and death. They didn’t arrive in the service of any divine calling, but the truth of their surroundings spoke to their troubled hearts. A short-term, 12-month mission assignment as dorm parents for a Kenyan boarding school turned this ordinary man into the most unlikely internationally recognized hero, and his story will inspire you to pursue similar lives of service.

From the age of nine, Michael dreams of playing basketball for the United States in the Olympics, and with hard work and his mother's encouragement, he realizes his dream. Full color.

Dare to dream. Dare to fly higher. Dare to trust...dare to inspire! Dare to do what hasn't been done. Dare to be second to none! This inspirational picture book encourages children everywhere to dare to dream big, to help others, and speak out for what is right, but also take time for simple joys and to be comfortable in their own skin. Oh the Places You'll Go! for toddlers, Dare to Dream Big is full of messages about empowerment, encouragement, and the joy of daring to be the best person you can be. "A concise and rhythmic provocation to dreaming and daring."—Publishers Weekly

Governments pay her. Criminals fear her. Nobody sees her coming. Vanessa “Michael” Munroe deals in information—expensive information—working for corporations, heads of state, private clients, and anyone else who can pay for her unique brand of expertise. Born to missionary parents in lawless central Africa, Munroe took up with an infamous gunrunner and his mercenary crew when she was just fourteen. As his protégé, she earned the respect of the jungle's most dangerous men, cultivating her own reputation for years until something sent her running. After almost a decade building a new life and lucrative career from her home base in Dallas, she's never looked back. Until now. A Texas oil billionaire has hired her to find his daughter who vanished in Africa four years ago. It’s not her usual line of work, but she can’t resist the challenge. Pulled deep into the mystery of the missing girl, Munroe finds herself back in the lands of her childhood, betrayed, cut off from civilization, and left for dead. If she has any hope of escaping the jungle and the demons that drive her, she must come face-to-face with the past that she’s tried for so long to forget. The first book in the Vanessa Michael Munroe series, gripping, ingenious, and impeccably paced, The Informationist marks the arrival or a thrilling new talent. “Stevens’s blazingly brilliant debut introduces a great new action heroine, Vanessa Michael Munroe, who doesn’t have to kick over a hornet’s nest to get attention, though her feral, take-no-prisoners attitude reflects the fire of Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander….Thriller fans will eagerly await the sequel to this high-octane page-turner.” —Publishers Weekly, starred, boxed review

People fear death. We don't know how to talk about it, especially to children, and we're afraid to bring it up for fear of making people sadder. Yet children, especially, have questions, and this incredibly gentle and surprisingly light story is full of both comfort and vividly imagined "answers." The first one gives the book its title: A boy hears the voice of his sister calling him one day, a sister he's never met because she died before he was born. The sister in the faded photograph on the wall. So that night he asks his mother what death is like and she tells him, "It's like dreaming, only bigger." That's lovely, but he still has questions, which it turns out his sister can answer! On a dreamy, carefree adventure they ride their bikes together, (not always on the ground), visiting places that were special to her when she was alive. And she talks to him in the older sister, teasing, straightforward, loving way that is exactly what he needs. (It turns out that death is not the only thing that can be Bigger Than a Dream.) Much, much more than bibliotherapy, this is a work of art that speaks with honesty and tenderness about one of life's great mysteries.

Like the winter, grief has a season. Life returns with the spring. A young architect at a prestigious Chicago firm, Bethany Quinn has built the life she dreamed of during her teen years in a trailer park. An unexpected interruption from her estranged mother reveals that tragedy has struck in her hometown and a reluctant Bethany is called back to rural Iowa. Determined to pay her respects to her past while avoiding any emotional entanglements, she vows not to stay long. But the unexpected inheritance of five hundred acres of farmland and a startling turn of events in Chicago forces Bethany to come up with a new plan. Handsome farmhand Evan Price has taken care of the Quinn farm for years. When Bethany is left the land, Evan must fight her decisions to realize his dreams. But even as he disagrees with Bethany’s vision, Evan feels drawn to her and the pain she keeps so carefully locked away. For Bethany, making peace with her past and the God of her childhood doesn’t seem like the path to freedom. Is letting go the only way to new life, love and a peace that she’s not even sure exists?

This is an interactive book teaching seven steps to attract anything you want in life; it's time to make your biggest dreams your reality. The simple system will help you be the best you, the happiest you, and just an overall decent and good person. Use this book to attract love, friendship, success, wealth, joy, abundance, health-everything you want from all facets of life. Whether you are at rock bottom and hopeless; feel like you could hit rock bottom; feel stuck in life; living happy but just want more; already successful but want to go to even bigger heights; and any story in between, this book is for you. Over the last seven years, I personally have been following these steps with astounding results which I share in these pages. Now I am paying it forward to help you and others dream big and achieve bigger. This book was written to share my journey from substance-abuse, dead-end relationships, being overweight, living paycheck to paycheck scraping change for lunch and gas before pay day, suffering with severe anxiety, living a stagnant life, and more to TODAY I am... drug-free for over a decade, an owner of a six figure self-made business, married to the love of my life with a baby on the way, fit and healthy, free of anxiety and panic attacks without using medication, living with purpose and so much joy, loving every minute of life no matter what comes my way...and more. Now, I pass these seven steps to YOU. I want to help. I am here to support you. I BELIEVE in YOU. Visit http: //www.achievebigger.com for more information.

When author Lisa Hammond followed her passion, she founded her own company, Femail Creations -- a woman-oriented catalog company that grew into a huge success. Lisa loved shopping, thus the mail-order catalog. Because she's passionate about women making their way in the world, Femail Creations features only items crafted by women artisans. In Dream Big Hammond details how she and her sister entrepreneurs followed their dreams and managed their fears to become happy and successful. Lisa shares the lessons they learned, the mistakes they made, and the fulfillment they attained. Dream Big reflects Lisa's inspirational personality and drive, as well as her belief in the power of women connecting with women -- from the artists whose products appear in Femail Creations to the women who buy those products. Dream Big is a virtual meeting place for women who want to live -- and work -- their dreams. By sharing parts of their stories and tips, the women who've done it lend a hand to those who still dream that "maybe someday..." Readers will find inspiration, as well as hard-nosed advice, about how to pursue their passion -- whether for business, creativity, family, or anything else -- in spite of fear and inevitable missteps. Chapters include: "Permission to Dream," "Facing Fears," "Attempting the Impossible," "Owning Our Power," "Trusting Our Guts," "Persistence is Omnipotent," and "Never Too Late." Dream Big shows women that the first step isn't writing a business plan -- it's listening to yourself and taking your turn; it's managing your life from the heart with a "femail" touch. Hammond, who's known to her thousands of customers, friends, and family as the Barefoot CEO, didn't do things conventionally. That makes for hilarious stories, heart-stopping inspiration, and roll-up-your sleeves tips -- a blueprint in action for their dreams.

DREAM BIG! is a story of change through faith, courage, hope, and an unrelenting determination to push forward and attain your goals. Follow Kathy on her journey through the winds of change as she overcomes years of sexual abuse, violence, and trauma, as she deals with overcoming fear, loneliness, depression, and co-dependence. Kathy's desire for a better life overruled any fear and insecurity she may have had along the way, thus bringing her to the positive place she is today. This book holds a powerful message and if you are ready to make the necessary changes in your life, you too can unleash your highest potential and achieve the success you never thought possible. When you dream...DREAM BIG! KATHY TUCCARO'S story of how dreaming big can change your life now inspires people to make their own changes to get on the path to positivity and success. She is passionate about personal growth and believes that anyone can change their circumstances and overcome their obstacles if they put their mind to it. Kathy focuses on encouraging and inspiring others that change is possible if only they would believe in themselves! She is a woman of great passion, vision and purpose and it this combination that has led her from the Dark Night of Soul into the Light of Success!