I Have Learned a Few Things is a book to be read slowly, critically, and thoughtfully. If you can, take at least one day to quietly ponder each chapter and answer its questions before you move on. Also, give yourself permission to digest and experience a full range of emotions, feelings, and thoughts. Take your time, because your life is too important to be examined quickly. You are too valuable not to give yourself your full attention and your full consideration. So find a quiet space, get still, and stay open. Be ready to hear whispers from your own soul; that is where your truth lies.
This book began as a list designer Sagmeister made in his diary under the title Things I have learned in my life so far and transformed these sentences into typographic works. This series is revealed as a complex blend of personal revelation, art, and design.
Ken Kesey's bracing, inslightful novel about the meaning of madness and the value of self-reliance, and the inspiration for the new Netflix original series Ratched Boisterous, ribald, and ultimately shattering, Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is the seminal novel of the 1960s that has left an indelible mark on the literature of our time. Here is the unforgettable story of a mental ward and its inhabitants, especially the tyrannical Big Nurse Ratched and Randle Patrick McMurphy, the brawling, fun-loving new inmate who resolves to oppose her. We see the struggle through the eyes of Chief Bromden, the seemingly mute half-Indian patient who witnesses and understands McMurphy’s heroic attempt to do battle with the awesome powers that keep them all imprisoned.
Forget the 10,000 hour rule— what if it’s possible to learn the basics of any new skill in 20 hours or less? Take a moment to consider how many things you want to learn to do. What’s on your list? What’s holding you back from getting started? Are you worried about the time and effort it takes to acquire new skills—time you don’t have and effort you can’t spare? Research suggests it takes 10,000 hours to develop a new skill. In this nonstop world when will you ever find that much time and energy? To make matters worse, the early hours of practicing something new are always the most frustrating. That’s why it’s difficult to learn how to speak a new language, play an instrument, hit a golf ball, or shoot great photos. It’s so much easier to watch TV or surf the web . . . In The First 20 Hours, Josh Kaufman offers a systematic approach to rapid skill acquisition— how to learn any new skill as quickly as possible. His method shows you how to deconstruct complex skills, maximize productive practice, and remove common learning barriers. By completing just 20 hours of focused, deliberate practice you’ll go from knowing absolutely nothing to performing noticeably well. Kaufman personally field-tested the methods in this book. You’ll have a front row seat as he develops a personal yoga practice, writes his own web-based computer programs, teaches himself to touch type on a nonstandard keyboard, explores the oldest and most complex board game in history, picks up the ukulele, and learns how to windsurf. Here are a few of the simple techniques he teaches: Define your target performance level: Figure out what your desired level of skill looks like, what you’re trying to achieve, and what you’ll be able to do when you’re done. The more specific, the better. Deconstruct the skill: Most of the things we think of as skills are actually bundles of smaller subskills. If you break down the subcomponents, it’s easier to figure out which ones are most important and practice those first. Eliminate barriers to practice: Removing common distractions and unnecessary effort makes it much easier to sit down and focus on deliberate practice. Create fast feedback loops: Getting accurate, real-time information about how well you’re performing during practice makes it much easier to improve. Whether you want to paint a portrait, launch a start-up, fly an airplane, or juggle flaming chainsaws, The First 20 Hours will help you pick up the basics of any skill in record time . . . and have more fun along the way.
At the age of thirty-six, I had accomplished all my professional goals and questioned whether I wanted to spend the rest of my professional career coaching competitive swimmers to swim a given distance faster than they ever had before. Surely, I thought, there are more important and significant professional endeavors that I could pursue. It then occurred to me that what we were doing was not primarily about swimming from one end of the pool to the other faster than we ever had before. First and foremost, it was about the life lessons and the principles, values, and attributes which contribute to success and fulfillment in all aspects of our lives that are acquired in the process of striving to be the best that we can be as competitive swimmers. Our culture may change and evolve, but the prerequisites for success and fulfillment remain constant. This book is about the life lessons learned from the trials and triumphs of some of the most accomplished athletes and teams in the history of competitive swimming.
Educating Students to Make-a-Difference covers a range of issues related to service learning, addressing the “who,” “why,” and “so what” of service-learning experiences. It provides information that will aid in the development of service-learning programs and courses. The in-depth studies on student volunteerism found in this book will show you how incorporating student service objectives into your curriculum can improve your students’self-esteem and school involvement, as well as alleviate depression and problem behavior. Educating Students to Make-a- Difference will enhance your knowledge and understanding of volunteerism and its many benefits, showing you how to ignite the volunteer in each of your students. By encouraging volunteerism, you’ll increase your students’problem-solving and leadership skills, as well as their awareness of social issues, and see the positive impact service learning has on students, faculty and the community. Educating Students to Make-a-Difference gives qualitative and quantitative assessments of attributes that predict volunteerism in student populations and the social values that are developed or enhanced as a consequence of service-learning experiences. You’ll learn about student predispositions and motivations for community service across a variety of student populations. In addition to promoting moral and social values, service-learning opportunities present educational benefits as well as benefits to personal and professional growth. You will see this as the book explores: the “who”, “why”, and “so what” of service learning educational benefits of service-learning opportunities self-esteem and self-efficacy faculty benefits comparisons between volunteers and nonvolunteers motivations and predispositions for student volunteerism selection and retention of student volunteers Your colleagues will want to borrow your syllabus after seeing the results of your new community service incorporated class material. Educating Students to Make-a-Difference gives you the insight on student patterns and volunteerism and data to service learning activities that enhance your students’educational experiences.
If you've ever thought, "There must be more to life than this," The Art of Non-Conformity is for you. Based on Chris Guillebeau's popular online manifesto "A Brief Guide to World Domination," The Art of Non-Conformity defies common assumptions about life and work while arming you with the tools to live differently. You'll discover how to live on your own terms by exploring creative self-employment, radical goal-setting, contrarian travel, and embracing life as a constant adventure. Inspired and guided by Chris's own story and those of others who have pursued unconventional lives, you can devise your own plan for world domination-and make the world a better place at the same time.
