Creative Development

This thoroughly revised and updated edition of the best-selling book The Ask is filled with suggestions, guidelines, and down-to-earth advice that will give you the confidence to ask anyone for any size gift, for any purpose. Written in winning language, filled with sample dialogues, and offering a wealth of tips and tools, this book addresses common mistakes made when asking and shows how to correct each mistake, providing guidance and direction on how to make a great ask.

There's a mantra real writers know but wannabe writers don’t. And the secret phrase is this: "Nobody wants to read your shit." Recognizing this painful truth is the first step in the writer's transformation from amateur to professional.

Overwork is the new normal. Rest is something to do when the important things are done - but they are never done. Looking at different forms of rest, from sleep to vacation, Silicon Valley futurist and business consultant Alex Soojung-Kim Pang dispels the myth that the harder we work the better the outcome. He combines rigorous scientific research with a rich array of examples of writers, painters, and thinkers - from Darwin to Stephen King - to challenge our tendency to see work and relaxation as antithetical.

What do you do when you feel like you’ve won the game of life? Share the secrets you’ve learned so everyone else can win too! At least, that’s what we decided to do. After all, we didn’t set out to win anything when we each took a chance on ourselves and followed our hearts. We both just knew there had to be something more than the unfulfilling lives we were living. We each took a step, and the universe rose up to meet us - taking us on a wild adventure up the mountain of success, health, fitness, happiness, love, fulfillment, and inner peace.

Since birth, you were spoon-fed ideas, beliefs, and routines that program you into the same default path as everyone else. This leads to the same quality of life as everyone else. It’s no wonder why most people feel anxious, overwhelmed, and have a cloud of meaninglessness hovering over their heads at all times. Focus is the cure.

Wondering how to reconcile your calling with your need to make a living wage, or what to do once your art starts selling, or how to achieve success in your field, or what it even means to be successful? David Nichtern offers his lived, learned experience as an entrepreneur, musician, and Buddhist teacher to first help you figure out what "success" means to you and then show you how to get there. He offers advice on the creative process and principles of business and ethics, and provides mindfulness exercises to help you integrate inspiration and aspiration, vocation, and avocation.

Identity. It’s an abstract term. But it starts with realizing where you came from, in order to know where you should be going. And that’s the difference between fulfillment and going through the motions day after day. Find clarity and direction, the true foundations of happiness. How to Find Yourself provides a thorough and scientific approach to understanding yourself and why you do the things you do. You will discover your values, the roots of your behaviors, and what makes you tick. And then you can use this information to your advantage.

When Shakespeare has the Three Witches cast Macbeth’s lot, he uses something very weird to do it: not simply “eye of newt and toe of frog,” but the number seven. And when Hamlet claims, “To be or not to be, that is the question,” Shakespeare reaches for eleven. For Shakespeare, prime numbers were magical. And he is not alone. As Marcus du Sautoy showcases in Blueprints, creativity is inseparable from mathematics.

Creativity is at the heart of human expression, and the arts provide a powerful medium through which this creativity flourishes. In Unlocking Creativity: A Journey Through the Arts, listeners are invited to explore the rich and diverse world of artistic expression, from visual arts and music to dance, literature, and beyond. This audiobook offers a deep dive into how creativity can be nurtured, cultivated, and unlocked in individuals across all walks of life.

Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives celebrates the benefits that messiness has in our lives: why it’s important, why we resist it, and why we should embrace it instead. Using research from neuroscience, psychology, social science, as well as captivating examples of real people doing extraordinary things, Tim Harford explains that the human qualities we value – creativity, responsiveness, resilience – are integral to the disorder, confusion, and disarray that produce them.

"The Sprinkle Effect" is here to show you that there’s so much more. This down-to-earth guide reveals how small, powerful changes—your very own "sprinkles"—can transform your life. Each chapter explores a different sprinkle, such as courage, mindset, or discipline, showing you how to incorporate these qualities into your everyday routine.

Memories are the cornerstones of our identity, shaping who we are, how we act, and how we feel. In his work as a happiness researcher, Meik Wiking has learned that people are happier if they hold a positive, nostalgic view of the past. But how do we make and keep the memories that bring us lasting joy? The Art of Making Memories examines how mental images are made, stored, and recalled in our brains, as well as the "art of letting go" - why we tend to forget certain moments to make room for deeper, more meaningful ones.

Photographer, entrepreneur, and bestselling author, Chase Jarvis has collaborated with some of the world’s most successful athletes, entrepreneurs, performers, and artists. What’s the secret to a good life? he’s asked them. Is it having enough money in the bank? Chasing the right dream? Surrounding themselves with the right people? What are the secrets not just of success but of fulfillment? In Never Play It Safe, Jarvis reveals the surprising answer: It’s not a new gadget, technique, or life-hack. It’s something much simpler

91% of small and medium sized businesses fail in the first 10 years. What is the other 9% doing to succeed? The 9% Edge is a highly practical guide to entrepreneurship and taking your business to the next level, no matter where you currently are in your build. Developed from extensive research on businesses and their founders, combined with the real-world, firsthand experience of author Candy Valentino, this book breaks down the core principles and concepts that are essential to bridging the knowledge gap between different stages of a build.

Introducing "Loving an Avoidant Partner," a groundbreaking guide that takes you deep into the enigmatic maze of an avoidant person's inner world like never before. Armed with remarkable insights, you'll decode the guarded secrets and fears of your elusive partner, shattering the barriers that have kept you apart.

Are you ready to move forward in your life, embracing happiness and confidence in who you truly are? Do you find yourself repeating the same mistakes and wondering why? "Heal Your Inner Child: A Path to Becoming Your Authentic Self" is your compassionate guide to breaking free from self-sabotaging patterns and stepping into a life filled with self-love and inner peace. In this book, you'll discover: Reconnect with Your Inner Child: Learn to listen to the deepest parts of yourself, offering the love, understanding, and support you always needed.

Author Scott Dikkers will tell you how to write jokes. He’s a master joke writer, founder of the world’s most popular humor site TheOnion.com, number one New York Times best-selling humor author, professional public speaker, and successful cartoonist. In this definitive joke-writing handbook, he'll teach you comedy writing and how to write a joke with a simple comedy-writing and joke-writing formula you can use right now to write your own jokes.

The traditional attitude toward creativity in the American business world is to "think outside the box": to brainstorm without restraint in hopes of coming up with a breakthrough idea, often in moments of crisis. Sometimes it works, but it’s a problem-specific solution that does nothing to engender creative thinking more generally. Inside the Box demonstrates Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT), a method that systemizes creativity as part of the corporate culture. SIT requires thinking "inside the box", working in one’s familiar world to create new ideas independent of specific problems.

The Family Board Meeting is a carefully designed, easy-to-follow strategy for creating quality time with your children. It takes only a few minutes to plan your first Board Meeting, and it's guaranteed to be a ton of fun for both you and your child!

In every industry, there are companies that take off. They effortlessly hire talented people, attract loyal customers, create cool products and make lots of money. These companies seem to stand out and scale up quickly with support from investors, partners and the media. Sadly, most companies don't perform this way. Most entrepreneurs aren't building anything of value. They work hard, make sacrifices, struggle, dream, plan and strive, but in the end, it doesn't pay off. This audiobook sets out a method for building a business that becomes a valuable asset.