Whole-Person Education

A Wall Street Journal Bestseller Now available in trade paper! Experience explosive growth and success in your career and personal life by taking ownership of your personal development and understanding you don't need to know all the answers--but you do need to ask the right questions. Whether you're a leader of ten, a hundred, or many more, there's no one more important to lead than yourself. If you're not leading yourself, why would anyone else want to follow you Ryan Leak speaks to thousands of leaders every year, and he has learned that the most successful people have taken ownership of their own development--and in order to realize your potential, you need to fully understand yourself. Being a great leader is not about having all the answers but asking the right questions--and that starts with careful introspection and inviting others to tell you what they see in you. Leveling Up helps you focus on the person you're becoming and think about the goals you want to accomplish. Some of the twelve strategic questions in this book include: What is it like to be around me (The Self-Awareness Question) What credit can I give away (The Team Player Question) Who knows who I really am (The Transparency Question) What's my definition of success (The Vision Question) Do I have to do it all (The Rest Question) Am I enjoying it (The Fun Question)   Leadership theory and business practices are important to study, but nothing is better than discovering the answers that will reveal who you are at your core, where you want to go in your career and life in general, and how you can influence and impact those around you.

"Character" has become a front-and-center topic in contemporary discourse, but this term does not have a fixed meaning. Character may be simply defined by what someone does not do, but a more active and thorough definition is necessary, one that addresses certain vital questions. Is character a singular characteristic of an individual, or is it composed of different aspects? Does character--however we define it--exist in degrees, or is it simply something one happens to have? How can character be developed? Can it be learned? Relatedly, can it be taught, and who might be the most effective teacher? What roles are played by family, schools, the media, religion, and the larger culture? This groundbreaking handbook of character strengths and virtues is the first progress report from a prestigious group of researchers who have undertaken the systematic classification and measurement of widely valued positive traits. They approach good character in terms of separate strengths-authenticity, persistence, kindness, gratitude, hope, humor, and so on-each of which exists in degrees. Character Strengths and Virtues classifies twenty-four specific strengths under six broad virtues that consistently emerge across history and culture: wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence. Each strength is thoroughly examined in its own chapter, with special attention to its meaning, explanation, measurement, causes, correlates, consequences, and development across the life span, as well as to strategies for its deliberate cultivation. This book demands the attention of anyone interested in psychology and what it can teach about the good life.

In this instant New York Times bestseller, Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent, but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls "grit." "Inspiration for non-geniuses everywhere" (People). The daughter of a scientist who frequently noted her lack of "genius," Angela Duckworth is now a celebrated researcher and professor. It was her early eye-opening stints in teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience that led to her hypothesis about what really drives success: not genius, but a unique combination of passion and long-term perseverance. In Grit, she takes us into the field to visit cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, teachers working in some of the toughest schools, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. She also mines fascinating insights from history and shows what can be gleaned from modern experiments in peak performance. Finally, she shares what she's learned from interviewing dozens of high achievers--from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff to Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll. "Duckworth's ideas about the cultivation of tenacity have clearly changed some lives for the better" (The New York Times Book Review). Among Grit's most valuable insights: any effort you make ultimately counts twice toward your goal; grit can be learned, regardless of IQ or circumstances; when it comes to child-rearing, neither a warm embrace nor high standards will work by themselves; how to trigger lifelong interest; the magic of the Hard Thing Rule; and so much more. Winningly personal, insightful, and even life-changing, Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that--not talent or luck--makes all the difference. This is "a fascinating tour of the psychological research on success" (The Wall Street Journal).