"...conversations at the intersection of business, art, technology, and a great life..."

The Psychology of Self-Esteem
– Nathaniel Branden

“Self-esteem is the reputation we acquire with ourselves.” Of all the judgments you make in life, none is as  important as the one you make about yourself. The  difference between low self-esteem and high self-esteem is the difference between passivity and action, between failure and success. Now, one of  America’s foremost psychologists and a pioneer in self-esteem development […]

Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy
– David D. Burns

“When two people respect each other, the ability to be vulnerable and to reveal hurt feelings can create a powerful emotional connection that is the source of real intimacy and friendship.”  The good news is that anxiety, guilt, pessimism, procrastination, low self-esteem, and other “black holes” of depression can be cured without drugs. In Feeling Good, […]

Emotional Blackmail
– Susan Forward

“Successful adult relationships, whether between lovers or friends, require a significant degree of vulnerability, trust, and openness”  “If you really loved me…” “After all I’ve done for you…” “How can you be so selfish…” Do any of the above sound familiar? They’re all examples of emotional blackmail, a powerful form of manipulation in which people […]

The Origin of Everyday Moods
– Robert E. Thayer

Caffeine. Candy. Sex. Shopping. Smoking. Whether we realize it or not, all of us have strategies for self-medicating ourselves when we feel threatened or overwhelmed by tension or tiredness. But why does one person respond to pressure by going for a five-mile run, while another indulges in a five-hour drinking marathon? Why do some of […]

Authentic Happiness
– Martin Seligman

“While you can’t control your experiences, you can control your explanations.”  A national bestseller, Authentic Happiness launched the revolutionary new science of Positive Psychology—and sparked a coast-to-coast debate on the nature of real happiness. According to esteemed psychologist and bestselling author Martin Seligman, happiness is not the result of good genes or luck. Real, lasting happiness comes […]

The key to success? Grit!
– Angela Lee Duckworth

From TED.com Leaving a high-flying job in consulting, Angela Lee Duckworth took a job teaching math to seventh graders in a New York public school. She quickly realized that IQ wasn’t the only thing separating the successful students from those who struggled. Here, she explains her theory of “grit” as a predictor of success. At the […]

Tribal leadership
– David Logan

From TED.com David Logan talks about the five kinds of tribes that humans naturally form — in schools, workplaces, even the driver’s license bureau. By understanding our shared tribal tendencies, we can help lead each other to become better individuals. And it’s within these tribes that all of our work gets done. But not just work. It’s […]

The Art of Peace
– Morihei Ueshiba

 “When you bow deeply to the universe, it bows back; when you call out the name of God, it echoes inside you.”  The real way of the warrior is based on compassion, wisdom, fearlessness, and love of nature. So taught the great Morihei Ueshiba (1883–1969), founder of the Japanese martial art of Aikido.     […]

Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success
– Adam M. Grant

“highly successful people have three things in common: motivation, ability, and opportunity.”  A New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller from Wharton’s top-rated professor. Named one of the best books of 2013 by Amazon, the Financial Times, and the Wall Street Journal– as well as one of Oprah’s riveting reads, Fortune‘s must-read business books, and the Washington Post‘s books every leader should read. For generations, we have focused […]

A kinder, gentler philosophy of success
– Alain de Botton

From TED.com Alain de Botton examines our ideas of success and failure — and questions the assumptions underlying these two judgments. Is success always earned? Is failure? He makes an eloquent, witty case to move beyond snobbery to find true pleasure in our work. Through his witty and literate books — and his new School of Life […]

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