This is a story of perseverance and awakening. As a child, Angela Walker Franklin faced clear expectations for success from very supportive and engaged parents, yet self-doubt and trepidation continued to raise its ugly head along the way. She was steadfast and determined in her journey, which took several twists and turns until she let go and let God order her steps. This journey evolved into a purpose-driven life that led her to a college presidency in a most unlikely place. The lessons learned along the way have defined her current approach to leadership and should be inspirational to others who are trying to chart their own path.
Ellen Semple's 'Influences of Geographic Environment' (1911) - a treatise on what would later be called environmental determinism - coincided with the emergence of geography as an independent academic discipline in North America and Britain. Highly controversial and written by one of America's first female professional geographers, it was considered by some a monument to Semple's scholarship and erudition, whilst for others it was conceptually flawed. And yet its influence on the development and direction of the new discipline of geography was profound. Innes Keighren explains why 'Influences' was encountered differently by different people, at different times and in different places, and reveals why the book aroused the passions it did. The result is a pioneering work that provides a wholesale re-visioning of the way in which geographical knowledge is disseminated.
This is a story of perseverance and awakening. As a child, Angela Walker Franklin faced clear expectations for success from very supportive and engaged parents, yet self-doubt and trepidation continued to raise its ugly head along the way. She was steadfast and determined in her journey, which took several twists and turns until she ?let go and let God? order her steps. This journey evolved into a purpose-driven life that led her to a college presidency in a most unlikely place. The lessons learned along the way have defined her current approach to leadership and should be inspirational to others who are trying to chart their own path.
Using a conversational style - and a blend of research, theory and practical applications - this text explores the ways in which adults change or develop in both shared and individual ways over the full range of adult years - from 18 to 100 or more. Comprehensive in scope, it explores aspects of the process of development - physical, cognitive, social, personality, and spiritual development - and the biological, psychological, or social forces or laws that may govern the changes we see among adults.
“You don’t look like brothers . . .” Peace activist and cofounder of the Enough Project, John Prendergast is known as a champion of human rights in Africa. But the not-so-public face of J.P. is the life he’s led as a Big Brother to Michael Mattocks. As a curious, driven, and emotionally wounded twenty-year-old, J.P. made the life-changing decision to form a “Big Brother/Little Brother” relationship with then seven-year-old Michael, who was living out of plastic bags and drifting from one homeless shelter to the next with his mother and siblings. Lacking a connection with his own brother and distancing himself from a disastrous relationship with his father, J.P. formed a unique bond with Michael the moment they met. Michael and J.P. became like family, with Michael and some of his siblings even living with J.P. one summer. In the years that followed, J.P. took Michael and his brothers on outings, whether it was fishing, playing basketball, patronizing cheap restaurants, or going on road trips. This friendship would continue for over twenty-five years as the two coped with varying degrees of violence, instability, and trauma in their own lives. Told in duet, Unlikely Brothers follows Michael as he grows up on the tough streets of Washington, D.C., where as a young teenager he watched his best friend get shot, dropped out of school, and started dealing crack cocaine shortly thereafter. By sixteen, Michael had become the kingpin of his neighborhood, guns and drugs always close at hand. Meanwhile, J.P. was traveling to and from African war zones. J.P. offered Michael a refuge from the streets, never really confronting the gravity of what Michael was going through in his adolescence. In turn, Michael afforded J.P. an escape from his own turbulent personal and professional life. As the years go by, the two swoop in and out of each other’s lives, slowly disconnecting as they disappear into their respective worlds, but making their way back to each other at a critical moment for both of them. The effect the two have on each other is extremely significant to both of their paths to redemption. Inspirational and deeply moving, Unlikely Brothers beautifully showcases how life’s most random moments can often be the most profound.
From a double-wide trailer on a farm in Georgia to the 2016 Miss America pageant, Betty Cantrell was not a likely contender for the crown. She won by being herself—mistakes and all. Miss Unlikely takes you through Betty’s unconventional childhood, the surprising pageant journey, an incredible year as Miss America, a fairytale wedding, and everything in between. She offers wisdom on school, boys, self-esteem, choices, disappointments, insecurities, mentors, cyberbullies, and more. Behind-the-scenes moments and previously untold stories show how her faith and family ultimately carried her through difficult times. Betty’s personal and sincere account will remind you the only way to get where you want to go is through God’s unique plan. Find confidence in being you, and turn your dreams into reality.
Many church leaders and other people of faith feel constrained by time-worn strategies, tactics, and attitudes. Unwritten rules of how to do church seem to force us into neat and tidy patterns. But new ideas and methods are bubbling up in all corners of the Church, and new leaders are taking risks, creating opportunities, and rewriting their communities’ definition of church. One such leader is author Scott Chrostek. In The Misfit Mission, Chrostek describes what it looks like for us to do the right thing in ministry, even when logic or ‘rules’ say it’s the wrong thing. He shows how we really can do more than we might ask or imagine, when we remember God’s call and the promises of scripture—when we live each day with the expectation of holy surprise. Chrostek shares inspiring stories from all sorts of people, and often funny, poignant tales from his ministry as church planter and campus pastor of The Church of the Resurrection Downtown, in urban Kansas City. He illustrates how people can uncover their innate passion for knowing and serving Christ, and how a church can become an integral part of the community. The misfit mission is God’s own creative, surprising, crazy-beautiful way, and this book proves how we can be a part of it!
We all have the ability to push aside accepted conventions to revolutionize the way we view modern leadership and become exceptional leaders. Neill Wallace looks back at his own personal and workplace experiences. Inspired by other leaders - from polar explorers to contemporary businesspeople - Neill gives a straightforward view on how you can truly get to know, understand, and inspire your team members. By taking an unconventional approach to leadership, youll be able to: Determine the type of leader you are and learn how you can effectively use your natural style to put people first. Empower yourself to make positive changes. Hire and promote people best suited for the job. Increase employee engagement by allowing them to contribute more to the organization. If youve never quite fit the mold, prefer the freedom of being outside the box, believe that everyone can contribute to an organizations success, then this guidebook is for you. While you may have to disturb the status quo, you will find engaging your team and achieving goals easier when you apply the lessons of An Unconventional Leader.
In this inspiring coming-of-age memoir, a world-renowned astrophysicist emerges from an impoverished childhood and crime-filled adolescence to ascend through the top ranks of research physics. Navigating poverty, violence, and instability, a young James Plummer had two guiding stars-a genius IQ and a love of science. But a bookish nerd was a soft target in his community, where James faced years of bullying and abuse. As he struggled to survive his childhood in some of the country's toughest urban neighborhoods in New Orleans, Houston, and LA, and later in the equally poor backwoods of Mississippi, he adopted the persona of "gangsta nerd"-dealing weed in juke joints while winning state science fairs with computer programs that model Einstein's theory of relativity. Once admitted to the elite physics PhD program at Stanford University, James found himself pulled between the promise of a bright future and a dangerous crack cocaine habit he developed in college. With the encouragement of his mentor and the sole Black professor in the physics department, James confronted his personal demons as well as the entrenched racism and classism of the scientific establishment. When he finally seized his dream of a life in astrophysics, he adopted a new name, Hakeem Muata Oluseyi, to honor his African ancestors. Alternately heartbreaking and hopeful, A QUANTUM LIFE narrates one man's remarkable quest across an ever-expanding universe filled with entanglement and choice.
