Creative Development

Writing fast is the most important skill you can develop as a writer. While it seems hard to hit high word counts, the secrets are easier than you think. In this writer's guide, prolific author M. L. Ronn pulls back the curtain on the process that he uses to write six to eight novels a year. He has kept this pace while juggling responsibilities as a husband, father, manager at a Fortune 100 company, and a law school student. The result is a catalog of over 40 books and counting.

Each of us was created for something great - we just need to figure out what it is and find the courage to do it. Whether it's writing the next great American novel, starting a business, or joining a band, Rob Bell wants to help us make those dreams become reality. Our path is ours and ours alone to pursue, he reminds us, and in doing so we derive great joy because we are living our passions.

Let’s say you see a familiar musician from a globe-trotting, touring band hanging out at your local coffee shop, reading the newspaper and typing away on his laptop. This doesn’t look like a musician at work. He seems approachable enough, so you ask him what exactly he does all day. With a grin on his face, he admits the job might not be what you think. So you take a seat, and ask him every question you’ve ever had about how it all works: the nuts and bolts of writing a song, preparing for a show, marketing a band, and the day-to-day business of a creative life.

Media entrepreneur, TedX speaker, and sought-after host, Dr. Terri-Karelle Reid, now adds author to her impressive roster of impact. My Brand Compass: The 13 Cs to Building Your Personal Brand is her first book, and her latest project to motivate and inspire. Drawing on authentic personal reflections from being one of Jamaica’s most-loved media personalities, and professional experience working with global brands and events, this book is the essential guide to unlocking your best self now.

Everyone is born curious. But only some retain the habits of exploring, learning, and discovering as they grow older. Those who do so tend to be smarter, more creative, and more successful. But at the very moment when the rewards of curiosity have never been higher, it is misunderstood and undervalued, and increasingly monopolized by the cognitive elite. A "curiosity divide" is opening up.

Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives celebrates the benefits that messiness has in our lives: why it’s important, why we resist it, and why we should embrace it instead. Using research from neuroscience, psychology, social science, as well as captivating examples of real people doing extraordinary things, Tim Harford explains that the human qualities we value – creativity, responsiveness, resilience – are integral to the disorder, confusion, and disarray that produce them.

This audiobook edition will spark your creativity—and most importantly, help you see the world anew. Through a series of simple and playful exercises—131 of them—Walker maps ways for you to become a clearer thinker, a better listener, a more creative workplace colleague and finally, to rediscover your sense of passion and to notice what really matters to you.

Using client stories and her own saga of moving from $20,000 of debt to complete financial freedom by the age of 28, Northrup acts as a guide in your quest for personal financial freedom. She'll teach you how to shift your beliefs about money, create a budget, spend in line with your values, get out of debt, and so much more. In short, she'll teach you to love your money, so you can love your life.

To finish tasks and achieve goals, most people believe that more focus is the solution. We rely on to-do lists, calendar reminders, noise-blocking headphones, and sometimes medication to help us concentrate - even though these tactics often fail to substantially improve productivity. Drawing on the latest brain research, compelling stories from his psychological practice, and colorful examples of counterintuitive success from sports, business, education, and the arts, neuroscientist Srini Pillay, MD, challenges traditional ideas about productivity.

Why can't salesmen sell? And why won't prospects listen? We offer great products to prospects. We say great things to people. We share our vision and passion with others. And they don't buy, they don't believe us, and they don't share our vision and passion. We say great things, but people don't believe us, and they don't trust us. So we don't need more good things to say. Instead, we need to learn how to get people to believe and trust the good things we are saying already.

It's true that life holds many challenges, but oftentimes the biggest obstacle to our own success and happiness comes from within. In fact, we are experts at self-sabotage. If we could just get out of our own way, imagine what we could accomplish! That's exactly what bestselling author John Mason is going to help you do in this book. Honing in on areas of life where you might be standing in your own way, Mason will help you conquer negative self-talk, fear, lack of focus, regret, indecision, trust issues, distraction, perfectionism, anxiety, overwhelm, and so much more.

A MacArthur Genius Grant recipient pioneers a radical change in how we interact with older loved ones, especially those experiencing dementia, as she introduces a proven method that uses the creative arts to bring light and joy to the lives of elders.

Are you experiencing creative burnout? Using the effective strategies for creative endurance developed by creative director of Fast Company and accomplished marathon runner Mike Schnaidt, you can remain imaginative and inventive through any tough situation, throughout your life and career. Featuring inspiring stories from designers, astronauts, illustrators, ultramarathoners, chefs, photographers, and an Olympic Gold medalist, Creative Endurance provides a unique combination of practical advice, alongside inspiring examples to help you overcome creative obstacles and thrive.

An essential guide on how to build and run a creative business from ten of the world's most inspiring entrepreneurs, including multi-Grammy winner Nile Rodgers, culinary legend Ruthie Rodgers, and Emmy-winning producer of The Crown, Andy Harries. Their stories, actionable advice, and recommendations will help your business thrive and fuel your life potential. The Creative Entrepreneur is a call to adventure, inviting you to think from the perspective of a mission-driven creative professional.

Finally! Discover how to create to-do lists that work! Do you feel frustrated because you can't seem to finish every item on your daily to-do lists? Do you feel discouraged because you're not effectively managing your workload and responsibilities at your office and home? The good news is that there's a simple solution. It's a matter of using an approach specifically designed to help you organize, manage, and address every task and responsibility on your plate in a timely fashion.

In this landmark audiobook, David Epstein shows that the way to excel is by sampling widely, gaining a breadth of experiences, taking detours, experimenting relentlessly, juggling many interests - in other words, by developing range. Studying the world’s most successful athletes, artists, musicians, inventors and scientists, Epstein discovered that in most fields - especially those that are complex and unpredictable - generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel. They are also more creative, more agile and able to make connections their more specialized peers can’t see.

From Thomas Edison to Steve Jobs, the "nail it then scale it" method is based on pattern recognition of the timeless principles and key practices used by successful entrepreneurs to repeatedly innovate. These processes and principles have now been distilled into a handbook to guide entrepreneurs and innovative product managers to victory. Stop following conventional wisdom, and join the few entrepreneurs that can consistently take their innovative idea all the way to a successful company launch.

Psycho-cybernetics is a term coined by Dr. Maxwell Maltz that means "steering your mind to a productive, useful goal so you can reach the greatest port in the world: peace of mind". Dr. Maltz was the first researcher and author to explain how the self-image has complete control over an individual's ability to achieve any goal. In Psycho-Cybernetics: Principles for Creative Living, Dr. Maltz reveals more groundbreaking techniques for improving and managing self-image - visualization, mental rehearsal, relaxation.

On the evening of April 19, 2013, Samantha and Gianna Rucki disappeared. Two of five children born to David Rucki and Sandra Grazzini-Rucki, the teenage sisters vanished in the midst of their parents divorce. The girls father, David Rucki, worked tirelessly with law enforcement to search day and night for his two missing daughters, following every lead while raising three remaining children at home. Their mother, Sandra Grazzini-Rucki, used her newfound freedom to vacation around the world, abandoning her children.

Too often our inner critic fabricates stories that undervalue our capabilities or make us question where we're going and why. The things we keep telling ourselves eventually start to feel true and even inevitable—as if we're destined to live within the confines of that story for the rest of our lives. Sought-after speaker and executive coach Chad Sanschagrin teaches that "you find what you focus on," and he's shown millions in search of a better life how to write a better story by focusing on who they want to become instead of what they want to achieve.