Aim High Achieve More

Many urban educators live in fear: of their schools being labeled failures, of increasingly punitive sanctions, of loss of respect and livelihood. This fear pervades the entire school community, affecting the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of its members. The authors of this guide to transformation in urban schools are convinced that the key ingredient for school renewal is fearless leadership. Fearless leaders work in schools under-resourced and overburdened and serve disproportionately large numbers of children who live in poverty and face racism daily. They are ordinary educators committed to proving that demographics need not be destiny. This inspirational yet practical book will help you bridge the divide that separates urban students from their birthright of a high-quality education. You will learn how to * Adopt a leadership approach, consisting of affirmation, inspiration, and mediation (AIM), that will transform your school into a flourishing learning community. * Build a leadership team of important stakeholders--including students--that is committed to improvement. * Tap into the resources that already exist in your school and jettison institutional arrangements that prevent your school from becoming an enriching and creative community. * Create supports that enable teachers to nurture their students' potential to meet high standards and become self-actualized learners. Each chapter closes with reflections and activities that will help your leadership team produce its own roadmap for change. Succeeding in the tough landscape of urban schools requires more than just passion and a sense of urgency; it requires real skills. Aim High, Achieve More provides insights gleaned from real-world experiences that will enable you to create a successful, vibrant learning environment.

Book Description Since the beginning of mankind, there have always been individuals who start life with disadvantages but by sighting their Aim High above mediocrity they have accomplished great things! I chose the title Aim High for this book as an analogy to impress upon the readers that regardless of their beginnings by sighting their Aim High they can go on to be the best that they can be at whatever they want. The key to success is first to develop a desire for something. What do you want out of life? Once a desire is instilled within, motivation follows, and then you must write out a well thought out plan of action on how to do what you want to achieve then you must follow through with action. I believe we all have a purpose in life. The hard part is to find out what that something is. What is your purpose? The soul that has not established aim loses itself. Montaigne (15331592) In the book Aim High I have done my best to present in sixteen steps guidance and stimulus for success. Success does not happen immediately. Achieving success happens by having a series of successes. The first successes are small, but as you move up one step at a time, you will move up to accomplish higher and higher achievements. Aim High is a self-help book about self- improvement. I have written the sixteen-step aim high path to personal achievementstudy guide in a way that I hope will help all who read it improve the quality of their lives. We go through life making choices. We have the capacity to direct our destiny by the choices we make In the Aim High book I have presented sixteen points I call steps: Effort, Example, Enthusiasm, Spiritual, Physical, Personal, Encouragement, Personality, Financial, Career, Looks, Speak, Purpose, Plan, Belief, Action. These sixteen points provide guidance and serve as a stimulus for success through self-motivation. It is the awaking of the inner self to the potential that can be realized. In order to reach your highest and fullest potential, you must first have the courage to think, to imagine, to dream. Dream! What do you want for yourself out of life? What do you desire? The definition of desire in (thesaurus) is synonyms with hunger, craving, longing, and yearning. Desire will stoke your self-motivation to do! Your first priority is to decide and establish what you desire as your goal. Goal setting is the single most important ingredient in self-motivation that leads to achieving success. Your next priority is to write out a specific plan of action about how you are going to achieve your goal, and you should know why you want you desire it. Then go after your goal with passion, a burning desire within you. To do it! My grandson Ryan invited me to go to the movie, The Empire Strikes Back. I was impressed with what the Jedi teacher teaches his student about engaging the force that is the greatest power in the universe. He tells his student that there is no try, that there is either do or not do. Another important ingredient necessary to achieve success is self-confidence. Self-confidence is a by- product of preparation, and in order to succeed you must discipline yourself to establish the habit of doing what need to be done. Now, not tomorrow! Affirm to yourself, I have faith and belief in myself that I will achieve my goal because I expect to achieve it, because I will work hard to do so, and that no matter what the circumstances, I will never give up. Action is what produces results! Do Power! The thrust of Aim High is to implant the sixteen steps outlined in this book into your mind as seeds necessary for success. We are all born with a powerful toolour brain, and it is up to each and every one of us to learn how to use that powerful tool more efficiently and effectively. On the cover of Aim High, there is a red dot in the center. That dot represents you, and you are your own bulls-eye! To try to hit right in the center of the bulls-ey

TV fashion and lifestyle expert Sydney Sadick (TODAY, E!, Inside Edition, Good Morning America) offers an indispensable guide to finding your unique style—from the inside out. Fashion is full of highs and lows. We’ve become experts at blending the two together—a Gucci belt with a blazer from Zara, a Chanel bag with an old pair of Levi’s—but fashion is so much more than what you wear, how you look, or how much money you spend. In Aim High, style savant and fashion expert Sydney Sadick delivers an important message for women everywhere: what you wear on the outside can influence who you are and how you feel, and help you live a more meaningful life. At just 26, Sydney has experienced enough fashion highs (and lows) to last a lifetime. Combined with her experience interviewing some of the world’s most coveted celebrities, designers, and stylists, she uses her insider knowledge and candid voice to break down fashion like you’ve never read before. Sydney goes behind her scenes, from the blog that started it all (created at 1 a.m. from her college dorm), to the first time she interviewed a celebrity (Rihanna, who else?), to every wardrobe malfunction and challenge in between. You’ll learn: · How personal style and what you wear can influence your mood · How to live a fulfilled life you love—even when your weight fluctuates · How to pack like a fashion expert · The remedy for the “I have nothing to wear” syndrome · How to dress for your Bumble profile or Zoom date (you’re welcome) Aim High is a relatable, heart-filled, and inspiring blend of unfiltered stories and expert advice to help you live fearlessly, dress effortlessly, and find your style from within.

Dysfunction abounds in America in so many ways, from continuous turbulent change in the business environment, to a US federal government polarized by an inability to compromise and fulfill its historic missions, to personal levels where even deeper and darker levels of dysfunction reside within our colleagues, families, friends, and ourselves. Can any of us survive and thrive against such a backdrop of unsettledness and anxiety? Deborah Lee James wants to help us try. As the 23rd Secretary and the “CEO” of the male-dominated US Air Force (only the second woman to lead a US military service), Secretary Deborah Lee James led a force of 660,000 people and managed a $139 billion budget—larger than the GDP of more than 120 countries. In the midst of unprecedented political dysfunction in Washington, she faced down enormous challenges, including preparing military women and men to fight terror in the Middle East, combatting sexual assault in the military, and responding to a crisis in the nuclear enterprise. In Aim High: Chart Your Course and Find Success, Deborah James shares her personal and professional challenges, outcomes, strategies for success, and the problem-solving principles she used to overcome the daunting pressures, threats, and challenges that come with rising to the top of the US Armed Forces. As a supplement to her storytelling, Bain and Company, a top-tier management consulting firm, offers research and statistics that prove James’ insights have widespread impact. The book offers an insider’s view on how things really work in Washington—and how the author’s five-step, repeatable problem-solving approach can work in any walk of life. As a mother and wife, Deborah James carried her insights and problem-solving skills home. For women in similar circumstances, her story will provide a powerful guidebook for excelling in both public and private life, and ensuring that their battles can be won and their challenges overcome.

"In this book, school leaders from instructional coaches to central office staff will find: - A positive, strengths-based focus on learning gains, rather than learning loss - Long-term strategies for improving instruction and increasing achievement - A focus on literacy and numeracy to help all students improve - Short, easy-to-read approach to lasting improvement"--

In her new book, prominent professional developer Yvette Jackson focuses on students' strengths, rather than their weaknesses, To reinvigorate educators to inspire learning and high intellectual performance. Through the lens of educational psychology and historical reforms, Jackson responds To The faltering motivation and confidence of educators in terms of its effects on closing the achievement gap. The author seeks to "rekindle the belief in the vast capacity of underachieving urban students," and offers strategies to help educators inspire intellectual performance. Jackson proposes that a paradigm shift towards a focus on strengths will reinvigorate educators' passion for teaching and belief in their ability to raise the intellectual achievement of their students. Jackson addresses how educators can systematically support the development of motivation, reflective and cognitive skills, and high performance when standards and assessments are predisposed to non-conceptual methods. Furthermore, she examines challenges and offers strategies for dealing with cultural disconnects, The influence of new technologies, and language preferences of students.

The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 20 million copies sold! Translated into 60+ languages! Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results. If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems. Here, you'll get a proven system that can take you to new heights. Clear is known for his ability to distill complex topics into simple behaviors that can be easily applied to daily life and work. Here, he draws on the most proven ideas from biology, psychology, and neuroscience to create an easy-to-understand guide for making good habits inevitable and bad habits impossible. Along the way, readers will be inspired and entertained with true stories from Olympic gold medalists, award-winning artists, business leaders, life-saving physicians, and star comedians who have used the science of small habits to master their craft and vault to the top of their field. Learn how to: make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy); overcome a lack of motivation and willpower; design your environment to make success easier; get back on track when you fall off course; ...and much more. Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success, and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits--whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress, or achieve any other goal.

#1 New York Times Bestseller Legendary venture capitalist John Doerr reveals how the goal-setting system of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) has helped tech giants from Intel to Google achieve explosive growth—and how it can help any organization thrive. In the fall of 1999, John Doerr met with the founders of a start-up whom he'd just given $12.5 million, the biggest investment of his career. Larry Page and Sergey Brin had amazing technology, entrepreneurial energy, and sky-high ambitions, but no real business plan. For Google to change the world (or even to survive), Page and Brin had to learn how to make tough choices on priorities while keeping their team on track. They'd have to know when to pull the plug on losing propositions, to fail fast. And they needed timely, relevant data to track their progress—to measure what mattered. Doerr taught them about a proven approach to operating excellence: Objectives and Key Results. He had first discovered OKRs in the 1970s as an engineer at Intel, where the legendary Andy Grove ("the greatest manager of his or any era") drove the best-run company Doerr had ever seen. Later, as a venture capitalist, Doerr shared Grove's brainchild with more than fifty companies. Wherever the process was faithfully practiced, it worked. In this goal-setting system, objectives define what we seek to achieve; key results are how those top-priority goals will be attained with specific, measurable actions within a set time frame. Everyone's goals, from entry level to CEO, are transparent to the entire organization. The benefits are profound. OKRs surface an organization's most important work. They focus effort and foster coordination. They keep employees on track. They link objectives across silos to unify and strengthen the entire company. Along the way, OKRs enhance workplace satisfaction and boost retention. In Measure What Matters, Doerr shares a broad range of first-person, behind-the-scenes case studies, with narrators including Bono and Bill Gates, to demonstrate the focus, agility, and explosive growth that OKRs have spurred at so many great organizations. This book will help a new generation of leaders capture the same magic.