If Success Is a Game, These Are the Rules: Ten Rules for a Fulfilling Career and Life
by Cherie Carter-Scott Ph.D.

Editorial Reviews: Amazon.com

The definition of success (at least in America) is outward accomplishment, whether it's amassing a fortune or leaving a legacy of influence. But a personal sense of well-being or fulfillment--finding love and time with family--is often the inward measurement of success. The two need not be mutually exclusive, says Chérie Carter-Scott, an internationally recognized motivational speaker and management consultant who's written several other "rule" books, such as If Love Is a Game, These Are the Rules. She says that success is achieved only "when your own sense of well being and the extended symbols of accomplishment converge," a feat she says can be met by following her 10 basic guidelines about self-acceptance and self-motivation.

Unstoppable: 45 Powerful Stories of Perseverance and Triumph from People Just Like You
by Cynthia Kersey

Jonathan Livingston Seagull: A Story
by Richard Bach, Russell Munson (Photographer)

Editorial Reviews: Amazon.com

"Most gulls don't bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight--how to get from shore to food and back again," writes author Richard Bach in this allegory about a unique bird named Jonathan Livingston Seagull. "For most gulls it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight." Flight is indeed the metaphor that makes the story soar. Ultimately this is a fable about the importance of seeking a higher purpose in life, even if your flock, tribe, or neighborhood finds your ambition threatening. (At one point our beloved gull is even banished from his flock.) By not compromising his higher vision, Jonathan gets the ultimate payoff: transcendence. Ultimately, he learns the meaning of love and kindness. The dreamy seagull photographs by Russell Munson provide just the right illustrations--although the overall packaging does seem a bit dated (keep in mind that it was first published in 1970). Nonetheless, this is a spirituality classic, and an especially engaging parable for adolescents. --Gail Hudson

The Courage to Create
by Rollo May

Reviewer: Kimberly A. McCarthy from Chicago, IL United States
I have taught a Psychology of Creativity course for over 13 years now and this has been the only book I have ordered for every single course. Not only does May describe the creative process (e.g., the encounter), blocks (fear of life/death), environment (history, mythology) but he DOES offer real-life practical solutions in terms of self-questioning. A Humanistic, Transpersonal, Existential psychologist, May expounds on the "life is a journey" worldview: it is what we make it, yes, but not the "it is what "I" make it. WE, not "I". Laid out like a recipe, May discusses at least two paradoxes of creativity that other psychological theories might refer to as indicative of error. First, his definition of courage is the willingness to take action DESPITE despair. I interpret this not that creativity derives from despair but that it is better measured within the context of despair, for example John Nash "A Brilliant Mind." Secondly he defines creativity as the willingness to be fully committed while keeping in mind we might be wrong (which brings to mind the cognitive concept of functional fixedness). Tolerance for ambiguity is a key characteristic of creative personalities. A willingness to move beyond the "ok" solution in preference for the "original idea". Physical, Moral, Social and Creative courage are each discussed in practical terms. Unlike many books which incorporate "creativity" in the title, this book truly focuses one possible reason creativity continues to elude empirical measurement, not unlike Heisenberg's "uncertainty principle." We can know about the world/nature-at-large but it depends on what we ask. Perhaps there is another side to what it means "to know." If this question intrigues you then read, and re-read The Courage to Create. It is a guidebook for lifetime existential quest that doesn't kick aside practical application. Tolerance for ambiguity--that's the key.

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
by Eckhart Tolle

Editorial Review: Amazon.com
Ekhart Tolle's message is simple: living in the now is the truest path to happiness and enlightenment. And while this message may not seem stunningly original or fresh, Tolle's clear writing, supportive voice, and enthusiasm make this an excellent manual for anyone who's ever wondered what exactly "living in the now" means. Foremost, Tolle is a world-class teacher, able to explain complicated concepts in concrete language. More importantly, within a chapter of reading this book, readers are already holding the world in a different container--more conscious of how thoughts and emotions get in the way of their ability to live in genuine peace and happiness.

Tolle packs a lot of information and inspirational ideas into The Power of Now. (Topics include the source of Chi, enlightened relationships, creative use of the mind, impermanence, and the cycle of life.) Thankfully, he's added markers that symbolize "break time." This is when readers should close the book and mull over what they just read. As a result, The Power of Now reads like the highly acclaimed .

Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton
by David R. Gergen

Editorial Review: From Booklist
Gergen stumbled into the Nixon White House and later served the Ford, Reagan, and Clinton administrations. His focus here is on the nature of leadership, particularly the leadership strengths and weaknesses of his four presidential bosses and, in a final chapter, the types of leadership Americans should seek in electing future presidents. Currently U.S. News & World Report editor-at-large, public-service professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and News Hour with Jim Lehrer

The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life
by Richard Florida

Editorial Review: From Booklist
Florida, an academic whose field is regional economic development, explains the rise of a new social class that he labels the creative class. Members include scientists, engineers, architects, educators, writers, artists, and entertainers. He defines this class as those whose economic function is to create new ideas, new technology, and new creative content. In general this group shares common characteristics, such as creativity, individuality, diversity, and merit. The author estimates that this group has 38 million members, constitutes more than 30 percent of the U.S. workforce, and profoundly influences work and lifestyle issues. The purpose of this book is to examine how and why we value creativity more highly than ever and cultivate it more intensely. He concludes that it is time for the creative class to grow up--boomers and Xers, liberals and conservatives, urbanites and suburbanites--and evolve from an amorphous group of self-directed while high-achieving individuals into a responsible, more cohesive group interested in the common good. Mary Whaley
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Thinkertoys (A Handbook of Business Creativity)
by Michael Michalko