In a world filled with dysfunction, futility, and confusion, people are looking for meaning and significance. They want to break through the barriers holding them back. BREAKING THE BARRIERS offers three foundational pillars to equip readers for overcoming the most difficult obstacles in their lives. These three pillars teach readers how to: -Take on the character of God the Father -Take on the wisdom of the Son -Take on the discipline of the Spirit. Through dynamic stories of people who have overcome seemingly insurmountable odds, and the powerful example of the author who has overcome great adversity in his own life, this book shows readers that God is on their side and desires for them to fulfill the dreams and purposes he has placed in their hearts.
Johnny Quinn shares his “wild dream” of playing in the NFL, being crushed after getting cut three times, losing $2.6 million in contracts, and blowing out his knee. At age thirty, when most professional athletes are considered “over the hill,” Johnny was competing for Team USA in the sport of bobsled at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. This book ushers readers through the valleys of life to the thrills of rocketing down icy mountains at 80+ mph with no seat belt. Discover how the author overcame failure on the road to achieving greatness. From an NFL failure to a US Olympian, Johnny Quinn had a “what’s next” attitude that led him to success he had never imagined. In Push, he looks at failure as a season of life rather than a death sentence. He provides incredible insight into the “what’s next” instead of “what could have been.” We all experience failure at some level; Quinn equips us to embrace change, accept risks, and learn to push through barriers, to live life on purpose.
Have you ever felt like life was beating up on you because you dared to be different or tried to defend what you felt was right? This author describes the painful details from her childhood as she pioneered during the most challenging times of her life-the times when schools in the South were being desegregated. Although the challenges described in this book took place during the Civil Rights Movement, the experiences shared by the author are by no means limited to color barriers. The author shares her story to encourage anyone who may be perceived as different-no matter if they are young or old, tall or short, overweight or not, shy or out-going, or male or female. This book is written for anyone who may be feeling despair because they have been mistreated in life. It is written to encourage you to face life's challenges and to believe that God will give you the strength to break through barriers.
This book takes the reader through a journey of how fear of loss progressively creates barriers and bureaucracy that inevitably cause companies to fail -- and what leaders need to do to overcome these seemingly impenetrable walls. The greatest threat to an organization's success is not always the competition. Often, it is what a company does to itself. Because of fear, companies become plagued with barriers and bureaucracy that limit success, crush employees, and infuse frustration and a sense of futility across the enterprise. It starts with a narrowing of focus, which leads to the first level of bureaucracy: parochialism. Parochialism exists when managers and departments begin to view the world through the filter of their own little silo and build walls made of rules and policies to protect their turf. As businesses grow and become more complex, the second level of bureaucracy is reached: territorialism. While parochialism is about protecting a department from outsiders, territorialism is about controlling those inside the silo. The third and final level of bureaucracy is empire building, which is a response to perceived threats to a department's ability to be self-sufficient. These barriers cost organizations a fortune in inefficiency, turnover, waste, and demoralization. Tearing down these barriers is difficult, but it can be done. Parochialism can be eliminated by resetting rules and policies and refocusing on the ultimate mission of the organization. Territorialism can be eliminated by creating true empowerment, along with appropriate levels of accountability. Empire building can be addressed through shared goals and a set of guiding principles that help act as a referee in decision making. But that's not enough. Managers must also create a culture of courage to enable employees to take advantage of these new freedoms and accountabilities. Courage killers must be rooted out and dealt with swiftly and strongly. Finally, leaders must refocus on mission success rather than just checking off their part of the process, manage reference points, and engage employees. By doing all these things, an organization can become fearless and unstoppable.
For nearly sixty years, the University of Oklahoma, in obedience to state law, denied admission to African Americans. Only in October 1948 did this racial barrier start to break down, when an elderly teacher named George McLaurin became the first African American to enroll at the university. McLaurin’s case, championed by the NAACP, drew national attention and culminated in a U.S. Supreme Court decision. In Breaking Down Barriers, distinguished historian David W. Levy chronicles the historically significant—and at times poignant—story of McLaurin’s two-year struggle to secure his rights. Through exhaustive research, Levy has uncovered as much as we can know about George McLaurin (1887–1968), a notably private person. A veteran educator, he was fully qualified for admission as a graduate student in the university’s School of Education. When the university denied his application, solely on the basis of race, McLaurin received immediate assistance from the NAACP and its lead attorney Thurgood Marshall, who brilliantly defended his case in state and federal courts. On his very first day of class, as Levy details, McLaurin had to sit in a special alcove, separate from the white students in the classroom. Photographs of McLaurin in this humiliating position set off a firestorm of national outrage. Dozens of other African American men and women followed McLaurin to the university, and Levy reviews the many bizarre contortions that university officials had to perform, often against their own inclinations, to accord with the state’s mandate to keep black and white students apart in classrooms, the library, cafeterias and dormitories, and the football stadium. Ultimately, in 1950, the U.S. Supreme Court, swayed by the arguments of Marshall and his co-counsel Robert Carter, ruled in McLaurin’s favor. The decision, as Levy explains, stopped short of toppling the decades-old doctrine of “separate but equal.” But the case led directly to the 1954 landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which finally declared that flawed policy unconstitutional.
Is there an unidentified hindrance in your life? For transformation to begin, we need to diagnose the obstacles to blessing in our lives. Sins, wounds, and demons are the three general areas where most problems occur. David Legge seeks to help you identify and overcome these hindrances, releasing you to a life of blessing and fulfilment.--R.T. Kendall, author of Total Forgiveness, Prepare Your Heart for the Midnight Cry, A Man after God's Own Heart, and other titles
"With job opportunities in decline for youth with no postsecondary degree, and college completion rates especially for students of color stagnating, a high school diploma is no longer enough. To solve this large-scale global problem. High school must be completely redesigned and reinvented providing all students real opportunity with both equity and excellence. P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) has done just that by combining public high schools and community colleges in partnership with employers, providing both opportunity and support for all students, regardless of income, race or any screen for admission. Unlike many school models, this innovative and effective approach has spread across the US and around the world, eliminating barriers to replication by engaging all stakeholders. The first P-TECH, opened in a low-income Brooklyn neighborhood, across from a public housing project, and served 100% students of color. It has become the model for school reform across over a dozen US states and nearly twenty countries. Praised by President Obama, governors in red and blue states, and heads of nations, its story is told in this book through the personal stories of students who have destroyed the myths about which students can succeed. Their stories demonstrate that all students, if given the opportunity and support, can reach great heights in high school, college, and career"--
Are you a woman getting on with shaping your surroundings - in the office, at church, in your local community? Do you ever feel unsupported and unequipped? Do you sometimes doubt your calling? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, INFLUENTIAL is for you. In it Jo Saxton unpacks biblical principles on leadership, interviews women who lead in different situations and contexts, asks the deepest, most difficult questions, and gives all sorts of practical ideas for how to be a woman of influence - wherever you are.
Snell writes this book from the perspective of addressing the human elements that targets the 4 Barriers to Quality, Fear, Lack of Communications, Lack of Procedures, and the Lack of Training.
HOW A MARATHON INSPIRED A CALL TO PURPOSE On the outside, I was like every other 4-year-old. I had no idea what cancer was, or the real reason my parents had uprooted our family and moved to America. They did it for me, to find a cure before it was too late. So begins a personal journey decades in the making. Author Bishoy Tadros has faced seemingly insurmountable setbacks and impossible odds--from his childhood bout with acute lymphoblastic leukemia to crossing the finish line in Central Park competing in the TCS New York City Marathon. Break Barriers is a story about uncovering your potential, even if you are the underdog. It's about learning to apply the virtues of patience, perspective, and purpose to achieve whatever you dream in life. Bishoy's message is a reminder that your comeback will always be stronger than the original setback.
