Empowering Students and Connecting Worlds

Author:  Michael Gelb

Paperback:  336 pages

Publisher:  Random House Publishing Group (February 2000)

Language:  English

ISBN-13:  9780440508274

ISBN:  0440508274

Available:  Barnes & Noble

Founder and president of the High Performance Learning Center, Gelb, in seminars and workshops and now in this book, offers "the Seven Da Vincian Principles" for learning how to approach life like a genius. He uses Leonardo's native Italian language to label these principles: curiosita (curiosity and continuous learning) dimostrazione (learning from experience), sensazione (sensory awareness), sfumato (accepting and embracing uncertainty), arte/scienza (balancing art and science, or "whole-brain" thinking), corporalita (physical fitness and ambidexterity) and connessione (seeing the interconnectedness of everything). Gelb provides discussion of each principle in relation to Leonardo's work, questions for reader "self-assessment," exercises and even notes for parents to apply the principles to child-rearing and teaching. His view reflects the current trend in working with "multiple intelligences" and creativity, and is similar to the approach outlined in Todd Siler's Think Like a Genius (1997). The Renaissance mood Gelb successfully invokes, however, adds a unique richness to this deeper, more expansive work. This is the self-help book Leonard da Vinci never wrote! An innovative and illustrated guide to unlocking and inspiring the genius within all of us, this new book teaches readers how to maximize their intellectual and creative potential using the principles of da Vincian thought.  How to Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci is both a tribute to his great achievements and a call to carry on his legacy in our everyday lives by utilizing our potential to the best of our ability.

Malcolm Gladwell poses a very provocative question in Outliers: why do some people succeed, living remarkably productive and impactful lives, while so many more never reach their potential? Challenging our cherished belief of the "self-made man," he makes the democratic assertion that superstars don't arise out of nowhere, propelled by genius and talent: "they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot." Examining the lives of outliers from Mozart to Bill Gates, he builds a convincing case for how successful people rise on a tide of advantages, "some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky."

In this stunning new book, Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"-the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different? His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band.

Outliers can be enjoyed for its bits of trivia, like why most pro hockey players were born in January, how many hours of practice it takes to master a skill, why the descendents of Jewish immigrant garment workers became the most powerful lawyers in New York, how a pilots' culture impacts their crash record, how a centuries-old culture of rice farming helps Asian kids master math. But there's more to it than that. Throughout all of these examples--and in more that delve into the social benefits of lighter skin color, and the reasons for school achievement gaps--Gladwell invites conversations about the complex ways privilege manifests in our culture. He leaves us pondering the gifts of our own history, and how the world could benefit if more of our kids were granted the opportunities to fulfill their remarkable potential.

Brilliant and entertaining, OUTLIERS is a landmark work that will simultaneously delight and illuminate.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of students in the U.S. enter college totally clueless as to their choice of a major, and even less sure about what they will do with the rest of their lives.  But for a growing number of students, the financial pressures of college are far more taxing than the academic rigors of campus life.  As a result, many students rely heavily on financial aid, loans, part-time jobs, strict budgets, and whatever money their parents can afford to send them.  Many students take dead-end jobs with no relevance to their college programs, while others even work on a full-time basis-sacrificing grades for dollars-and unwittingly setting themselves up to become college drop-outs.
 
However, students don't have to suffer through a penniless college existence, nor must they wait until after graduation to find a career and make money.  Instead, they can generate income by launching their own businesses while on campus, taking advantage of the period in their lives during which any number of once-in-a-lifetime perks and resources are readily available to them.  The Campus CEO walks any would-be entrepreneur through all the necessary steps to launching a profitable, campus-based business, while simultaneously achieving academic success.  Regardless of major, background, or area of interest, readers of The Campus CEO will learn how to turn their academic and professional dreams into reality.

Publication Date: June 2010

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Format: Hardcover , 357 pages

ISBN-10:  9780061718250

ISBN-13:  978-0061718250

Available:  Amazon.com

With Come to Win, Venus Williams, the multiple Grand Slam tennis champion and entrepreneur, along with an esteemed group of business leaders, politicians, and acclaimed artists, serves up a book of wisdom that shows how to turn a competitive spirit and athletic background into success off the playing field.

Combining talent, drive, and hard work, Venus Williams has mastered the game of tennis. How will that drive serve her off the court in her post-tennis career? For inspiration, Venus turned to nearly fifty business leaders, politicians, doctors, and artists, all of whom previously played competitive sports and who are now at the top of their professions, and asked them the essential questions: What principles that inspired you toward success as an athlete are helpful in life? In business?

Here an A-list group of visionaries, including eBay's former CEO Meg Whitman, Nike's co-founder Philip Knight, stateswoman Condoleezza Rice, entrepreneur and former NBA player Earvin "Magic" Johnson, and designer Vera Wang, respond with a useful array of tips woven through anecdotes from their athletic past that have been instrumental in their post-sports life success. Whether it's visualizing a course of action before it happens, turning losses into learning tools, figuring out who best plays what position in a team environment, or remembering that there is no substitute for preparation, the advice in Come to Win is knowledge every manager and aspiring professional will want to read. It's also an indispensable tool for parents and coaches looking to build confidence and discipline in their children.

Venus also reflects on what she has learned from her own coaches, including her father and mother, and how their wisdom contributes to her own remarkable achievements, from her history-making tennis career to the launch of her own businesses-V-Starr Interiors, an interior design firm, and EleVen, an athletic clothing line.