Keep Stepping

Mike Owen, born with two congenital heart defects, battled with cardiac issues until the age of seven, when he underwent open heart surgery that changed his life. For the following 31 years, Mike was plagued with intense and disabling heart palpitations. In 2004, the cause of the palpitations was diagnosed and, after a short cardiac procedure, for the first time in 38 years his heart was stable. Life became easier. His confidence grew. But so did his workload. After three years of work-related stress, his heart succumbed to a new type of palpitation which would blight his life for the next four years. After taking steps to reduce the frequency and intensity of his cardiac problems, Mike finally felt like he had turned a corner. However, in 2017, he was plunged back into despair following a series of dramatic events. When his Occupational Health Doctor gave him an unexpected Mental Illness diagnosis, Mike embarked on a new path. He now had to deal with psychological issues, learn mindfulness techniques and work through the trauma of his childhood and the uncertainty of having spent so many years living with his heart problems. With his faithful dog, Coco, always by his side, Mike confronted the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness, in his own way. He found physical, emotional, and mental stability thanks to his diagnosis, and this is his uplifting story.

Unlock God's power to elevate your position and reach your full potential with Stepping Up! by Lakewood Church pastor Johnny McGowan. No matter your current position, God will unlock the power for you to reach your incredible potential. The key is to approach all you do with a servant's heart versus your own ambition. This guide to serving with passion, integrity, and intuition for success explores how to appreciate today while anticipating the possibilities that await tomorrow. With biblical wisdom and personal insights, Johnny McGowan reveals his own exciting trajectory and the doors that were opened each time he stepped up to serve God. For the past thirty years, he has devoted his gifts to serving Lakewood, one of America's largest churches. Along the way, he has marveled at the leadership opportunities God presented as he stayed committed to serving something larger than himself. By seeking only to fulfill God's will for his life, Johnny has been blessed with increasing responsibility and innumerable ways to make a difference through Stepping Up! Regardless of where you are, God can take you where you want to go-and beyond! Chasing the "number one" role or promotion by your own hands will never be fulfilling. God has even bigger things in store for you, and your future starts now. Learn to listen to God's call and let Him direct your actions. As you do, you'll rise by discovering the true power of your position.

Offers advice on reaching your full potential through self-love, self-acceptance, and self-realization.

When I look in the mirror, I see a Proverbs 31 woman, a woman that loves God with all her heart, a woman that loves to make people smile and laugh, and a woman that loves her custodian job with a passion. I take it to heart whatever my hands do. A woman that fears the Lord, a woman that loves her family that will try to keep it all together, but finding out through it all, I held on to God’s unchanging hand. God turned everything around and showed me the way in Proverbs 5:6, “In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.” This book has not been so easy to be written; many distractions come, but in the process, you have to fight and keep stepping over the stones of life that come your way. An God has blessed me with a soon-to-be family; Mrs. Towanda Michelle Jones; my best friend and soon-to-be husband, Minster Antonia Laron Jones; my boys, Sameriza Green and Damerizae Green; my nieces, Kia and Angle; my mother, Nettie Lacey; Elder Johnny Lacey, my stepdad; missionary Auntie Lacie Stoudemire; my pastor, Castellanos Williams; First Lady William’s son, Tyler Williams; Church Mother E. Cage; Sister Loletia; and my whole church family at Ming’s Temple Church of God in Christ.

From debut author Cameron Kelly Rosenblum comes a stunning teen novel that tackles love, grief, and mental health as one girl must process her friend’s death and ultimately learn how to stand in her own light. Perfect for fans of All the Bright Places and We Were Liars. It’s the summer before senior year. Reid is in the thick of Scofield High’s in-crowd thanks to her best friend, Hattie, who has been her social oxygen since middle school. But summer is when Hattie goes to her family’s Maine island home. Instead of sitting inside for eight weeks, waiting for her to return, Reid and their friend, Sam, enter into a pact—to live it up, one party at a time. But days before Hattie is due home, Reid finds out the shocking news that Hattie has died by suicide. Driven by a desperate need to understand what went wrong, Reid searches for answers. In doing so, she uncovers painful secrets about the person she thought she knew better than herself. And the truth will force Reid to reexamine everything.

“Gives you the key to unlocking your full potential for greater success, achievement, and personal power in every area of your life.” —Brian Tracy, New York Times-bestselling author of Eat That Frog! All too often, the challenges we face seem overwhelming. Where do we start? What if we fail? But bestselling author John Izzo argues that almost every problem, from personal difficulties and business challenges to social issues, can be solved if all of us look to ourselves to create change rather than looking to others. And with the research to prove it, Izzo shows that by seeing ourselves as the locus of control rather than the victims of change, we are happier, less stressed, and more powerful. Izzo shows how taking responsibility changes our careers, our companies, our lives, and our communities. This book is filled with stories that illustrate the incredible power of stepping up: a homeless man who started a recycling revolution, a middle-aged Italian shopkeeper who fought back against the Mafia, two teenagers who ignited an antibullying movement, an executive who turned a dying division into a profit center, and a few employees who created a multibillion-dollar product for Starbucks, and many more. This second edition includes a new chapter on the Stepping Up Continuum, a model that looks at six ways to know if you are stepping up or stepping back, as well as fresh stories and a self-assessment tool for helping leaders create a culture for stepping up in their organizations. We have the power within ourselves to move mountains—we just have to decide that we are the ones to do it. “Insightful and inspired!” —Marshall Goldsmith, #1 New York Times-bestselling author

Eleven sensual and modern-day short stories about love, loss, sex, devotion and desire. Set in the small lake towns and suburbs of the country's Midwestern heartland, the tales thread from one heart to another with extraordinary effectiveness and power. Lovers, partners, family members and friends-they push courageously toward love, and often win. Intimate and impeccably crafted, they invite us into the passionate world of one of the most important new voices on the American literary scene. JoAnneh Nagler, author of "Naked Marriage," wows her fans again with her first foray into short fiction, where they will beg her to stay.