We live in a time when things are tough for a lot of folks. The boomers are beginning to feel anxiety as they move toward retirement. Many people are facing financial pressure and are up to their ears in debt. We are having to care for both our kids and our parents. The pace of life, and the demands of life, just keep getting more intense. And for many, these tough times bring life crises. This is a book of encouragement, hope and freedom... an invitation to meet Christ at the crossroads of our lives and move beyond the tough times.
Life is tough. It's that simple. If you don't agree, you haven't lived long enough, because when we stop to think about the trials that life sends our way, it's always something! Despite our deep-seated and very natural desire for a trouble-free, happy, secure existence, Christians everywhere face family struggles, financial crises, debilitating diseases, and crushing disappointments. So what do you do when life gets so tough you think you can't endure another minute? If you're feeling . . . Sandwiched between aging parents who need your help and teenagers with demanding schedules; Stretched beyond your limits at work, trying to survive the next round of corporate downsizing; Dazed and emotionally bruised after your spouse walked out on the marriage you thought would last for a lifetime . . . This Getting Through the Tough Stuff Workbook offers help and hope! Based on Chuck Swindoll's characteristic insight, humor, and powerful yet gentle teaching style, this workbook delivers a strong message of encouragement, hope, faith, and the freedom we have in Jesus Christ. This practical resource will help you to get through the tough times of life. Perfect for personal devotions, small-group Bible studies, and church curriculum, this workbook offers special features including "Getting to the Root," which explores biblical words and concepts, and "Taking Truth to Heart," which guides you into personal reflection and application.
THE BARRIER TO YOUR TEAM'S PERFORMANCE? It's you. As the speed of change in elite sports has increased, the support infrastructure around head coaches has not kept up. This has left many coaches--supposedly experts in human performance--walking zombies who don't sleep, don't exercise, and don't see their families. To succeed in the modern sporting world, head coaches must face some hard truths. By grappling with these truths, which cut to the very core of who they are as human beings, head coaches can get out of their own way and achieve all-new levels of personal performance. In The Tough Stuff you'll learn: Just how much the emotional toll impacts your ability to coach How to become a high-performance knowledge worker Why communication mastery is key to unlocking your full potential As well as sharing his own struggles as a head coach, Cody Royle enlists the help of some friends who are all too familiar with The Tough Stuff, such as Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn, Connacht Rugby head coach Andy Friend, Ryerson Rams basketball head coach Carly Clarke, DC United head coach Ben Olsen, Toronto Raptors and Phoenix Suns head coach Jay Triano, and Colorado Avalanche head coach Tony Granato. Cody Royle is the head coach of AFL Team Canada, the men's national team for Australian Rules football. He is a standout voice on how teams create sustained success. His debut book, Where Others Won't, is a go-to guide for professional sports teams around the world, and his podcast of the same name was nominated for a Podcast Award in 2019.
A practical toolkit for handling workplace conflict and difficult conversations Dealing with the Tough Stuff is the business leader's critical guide to handling difficult conversations in the workplace. Based on the science of human behaviour — both verbal and nonverbal — this book is packed full of practical and pragmatic strategies for managing conflict situations. You'll learn a variety of diagnostics, models and processes that you can start using today, and you'll benefit from expert tips, tricks and tools for leading important conversations with empathy and assertiveness. This updated second edition includes new material on key conversations with distance workers, as well as within the context of a fast-growth company, and a broad selection of real-world case studies from a diverse array of workplaces. Backed by contemporary psychological theory and time-tested amongst thousands of leaders, these highly relevant suggestions give you the power to deal with the tough stuff effectively and compassionately. The human element plays a large part in the manager's role, yet many lack the training needed to deal with people effectively. This book helps you understand what makes people tick, and helps you develop the human skills you need to manage. Achieve clarity and directness in your communications Deal with anger, stubbornness and defensiveness Develop the skills to manage immediate crises Set priorities, and build a foundation of strong communication Avoiding the tough stuff can be extremely costly for managers, staff and the business as a whole. No one enjoys these conversations, but they are inevitable — and the right set of skills goes a long way toward making them run smoothly, with greater results out the other side. Dealing with the Tough Stuff is your indispensable primer on human behaviour, and effectively navigating tough conversations at work.
This latest offering in the best-selling Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul series explores a host of challenges faced by today's teens. Teen contributors share their thoughts and feelings on difficult issues, ranging from poor self-image to thoughts of suicide, from family discord to coping with the loss, from peer pressure to school violence.
Our little hero is growing up in a world that can seem big, loud, and scary. Some people tell him he's too small, too young, or too whatever. But when he puts on his cape and learns to play through the fearless traits of his superhero stuffed animal, Captain Storm, he finds the courage and resilience to show up in a more brave way and ultimately unlocks his heroic self. This children's book captures the big idea nested in the already Wall Street Journal and Publisher's Weekly bestseller, The Alter Ego Effect, from award-winning Performance & Mental Game Coach to Olympians, leaders & public figures, Todd Herman. What's the big idea? Humans find out what they're made of when they play with the idea of acting through the abilities of someone or something else they admire. And kids are better at it than adults. Little kids will enjoy following the story of Captain Storm, who makes his way through a maze of adventures and everyday challenges. This fun read will inspire them to believe in themselves and face down tough stuff with more grit.
Some of the country’s most admired authors—including Andre Dubus III, Mark Doty, Marianne Leone, Michael Patrick MacDonald, Richard Blanco, Abigail Thomas, Kate Bornstein, Jerald Walker, and Kyoko Mori—describe their treks through dark memories and breakthrough moments and attest to the healing power of putting words to experience. What does it take to write an honest memoir? And what happens to us when we embark on that journey? Melanie Brooks sought guidance from the memoirists who most moved her to answer these questions. Called an essential book for creative writers by Poets & Writers, Writing Hard Stories is a unique compilation of authentic stories about the death of a partner, parent, or child; about violence and shunning; and about the process of writing. It will serve as a tool for teachers of writing and give readers an intimate look into the lives of the authors they love. Authors profiled in Writing Hard Stories: Andre Dubus III, Sue William Silverman, Michael Patrick MacDonald, Joan Wickersham, Kyoko Mori, Richard Hoffman, Suzanne Strempek Shea, Abigail Thomas, Monica Wood, Mark Doty, Edwidge Dantict, Marianne Leone, Jerald Walker, Kate Bornstein, Jessica Handler, Richard Blanco, Alysia Abbott, and Kim Stafford Insights from Writing Hard Stories “Why we endeavor collectively to write a book or paint a canvas or write a symphony...is to understand who we are as human beings, and it’s that shared knowledge that somehow helps us to survive.”—Richard Blanco “Here’s what you need to understand: your brothers [or family or friends] are going to have their own stories to tell. You don’t have to tell the family story. You have to tell your story of being in that family.”—Andre Dubus III “We all need a way to express or make something out of experiences that otherwise have no meaning. If what you want is clarity and meaning, you have to break the secrets over your knee and make something of those ingredients.”—Abigail Thomas “What we remember and how we remember it really tells us how we became who we became.”—Michael Patrick MacDonald “The reason I write memoir is to be able to see the experience itself...I hardly know what I think until I write...Writing is a way to organize your life, give it a frame, give it a structure, so that you can really see what it was that happened.”—Sue William Silverman “After a while in the process, you have some distance and you start thinking of it as a story, not as your story...It was a personal grief, but no longer personal...[It’s] something that has not just happened to me and my family, but something that’s happened in the world.”—Edwidge Danticat “Tibetan Buddhists believe that eloquence is the telling of a truth in such a way that it eases suffering...The more suffering that is eased by your telling of the truth, the more eloquent you are. That’s all you can really hope for—being eloquent in that fashion. All you have to do is respond to your story honestly, and that’s the ideal.”—Kate Bornstein “You can never entirely redeem the experience. You can’t make it not hurt anymore. But you can make it beautiful enough so that there’s something to balance it in the other scale. And if you understand that word beautiful as not necessarily pretty, then you’re getting close to recognizing the integrative power of restoring the balance, which is restoring the truth.”—Richard Hoffman
Based in the timeless truths of Scripture, drawing upon life experiences of people who've navigated the dark valleys, this popular duo's newest book shows readers where to turn when the going gets rough--to the God who cares about every difficulty they face.
In his new devotional, Charles Swindoll shares many of the most intimate experiences of his life--and how God used them to teach him some of life's most profound lessons. This devotional shows how daily struggles are the palette God uses to make each of us into His masterpiece.
