Passion

From acclaimed bestselling author James Runcie, a meditation on grief and music, told through the story of Bach's writing of the St. Matthew Passion. In 1727, Stefan Silbermann is a grief-stricken thirteen-year-old, struggling with the death of his mother and his removal to a school in distant Leipzig. Despite his father's insistence that he try not to think of his mother too much, Stefan is haunted by her absence, and, to make matters worse, he's bullied by his new classmates. But when the school's cantor, Johann Sebastian Bach, takes notice of his new pupil's beautiful singing voice and draws him from the choir to be a soloist, Stefan's life is permanently changed. Over the course of the next several months, and under Bach's careful tutelage, Stefan's musical skill progresses, and he is allowed to work as a copyist for Bach's many musical works. But mainly, drawn into Bach's family life and away from the cruelty in the dorms and the lonely hours of his mourning, Stefan begins to feel at home. When another tragedy strikes, this time in the Bach family, Stefan bears witness to the depths of grief, the horrors of death, the solace of religion, and the beauty that can spring from even the most profound losses. Joyous, revelatory, and deeply moving, The Great Passion is an imaginative tour de force that tells the story of what it was like to sing, play, and hear Bach's music for the very first time.

Probing the ominous side of career advice to "follow your passion," this data-driven study explains how the passion principle fails us and perpetuates inequality by class, gender, and race; and it suggests how we can reconfigure our relationships to paid work. "Follow your passion" is a popular mantra for career decision-making in the United States. Passion-seeking seems like a promising path for avoiding the potential drudgery of a life of paid work, but this "passion principle"—seductive as it is—does not universally translate. The Trouble with Passion reveals the significant downside of the passion principle: the concept helps culturally legitimize and reproduce an exploited, overworked white-collar labor force and broadly serves to reinforce class, race, and gender segregation and inequality. Grounding her investigation in the paradoxical tensions between capitalism's demand for ideal workers and our cultural expectations for self-expression, sociologist Erin A. Cech draws on interviews that follow students from college into the workforce, surveys of US workers, and experimental data to explain why the passion principle is such an attractive, if deceptive, career decision-making mantra, particularly for the college educated. Passion-seeking presumes middle-class safety nets and springboards and penalizes first-generation and working-class young adults who seek passion without them. The ripple effects of this mantra undermine the promise of college as a tool for social and economic mobility. The passion principle also feeds into a culture of overwork, encouraging white-collar workers to tolerate precarious employment and gladly sacrifice time, money, and leisure for work they are passionate about. And potential employers covet, but won't compensate, passion among job applicants. This book asks, What does it take to center passion in career decisions? Who gets ahead and who gets left behind by passion-seeking? The Trouble with Passion calls for citizens, educators, college administrators, and industry leaders to reconsider how we think about good jobs and, by extension, good lives.

The coauthors of the bestselling Peak Performance dive into the fascinating science behind passion, showing how it can lead to a rich and meaningful life while also illuminating the ways in which it is a double-edged sword. Here’s how to cultivate a passion that will take you to great heights—while minimizing the risk of an equally great fall. Common advice is to find and follow your passion. A life of passion is a good life, or so we are told. But it's not that simple. Rarely is passion something that you just stumble upon, and the same drive that fuels breakthroughs—whether they're athletic, scientific, entrepreneurial, or artistic—can be every bit as destructive as it is productive. Yes, passion can be a wonderful gift, but only if you know how to channel it. If you're not careful, passion can become an awful curse, leading to endless seeking, suffering, and burnout. Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness once again team up, this time to demystify passion, showing readers how they can find and cultivate their passion, sustainably harness its power, and avoid its dangers. They ultimately argue that passion and balance--that other virtue touted by our culture--are incompatible, and that to find your passion, you must lose balance. And that's not always a bad thing. They show readers how to develop the right kind of passion, the kind that lets you achieve great things without ruining your life. Swift, compact, and powerful, this thought-provoking book combines captivating stories of extraordinarily passionate individuals with the latest science on the biological and psychological factors that give rise to—and every bit as important, sustain—passion.

The PassionBook is the most famous work of erotica in the vast literature of Tibetan Buddhism, written by the legendary scholar and poet Gendun Chopel (1903-1951). Soon after arriving in India in 1934, he discovered the Kama Sutra. Realizing that this genre of the erotic was unknown in Tibet, he set out to correct the situation. His sources were two: classical Sanskrit works and his own experiences with his lovers. Completed in 1939, his “treatise on passion” circulated in manuscript form in Tibet, scandalizing and arousing its readers. Gendun Chopel here condemns the hypocrisy of both society and church, portraying sexual pleasure as a force of nature and a human right for all. On page after page, we find the exuberance of someone discovering the joys of sex, made all the more intense because they had been forbidden to him for so long: he had taken the monastic vow of celibacy in his youth and had only recently renounced it. He describes in ecstatic and graphic detail the wonders he discovered. In these poems, written in beautiful Tibetan verse, we hear a voice with tints of irony, self-deprecating wit, and a love of women not merely as sources of male pleasure but as full partners in the play of passion.

Passion is a pervasive concept in the work domain. Workers aspire to be passionate in the hope of finding meaning and satisfaction from their professional life, while employers dream of passionate employees who will ensure organizational performance. Does passion for work matter ? Does passion invariably bring about the anticipated positive outcomes or is there a darker side to passion for work that can also lead to negative outcomes for individuals and organizations? The goal of this book is to address these issues. This volume reviews major theories of work passion, focusing specifically on the dominant theory: the Dualistic Model of Passion. This theory distinguishes between two types of passion-harmonious and obsessive- and their associated determinants and consequences. This volume provides a comprehensive understanding of passion for work by addressing the origin of the concept and its theoretical issues: how can passion for work be developed, what are the consequences to be expected at the individual and organizational levels, and how can passion for work shed new light on contemporary issues in the workplace. Passion for Work: Theory, Research, and Applications synthesizes a vast body of existing research in the area, provides insights into new and exciting research avenues, and explores how passion for work can be cultivated in work settings in order to fulfill both workers' and employers' hopes for a productive and satisfying work life.

Arthur Beauchamp, a heralded criminal lawyer, has moved to a quiet island off the British Columbia coast. While trying to recover from a marriage gone sour, his retirement is interrupted by his former law partners—they want Arthur to take charge of the defense trial of Jonathan O'Donnell, the acting dean of a law school. O'Donnell has been accused of rape by one of the students, Kimberley Martin, a smart but arrogant woman who is engaged to a rich businessman. After much pleading, Beauchamp agrees to handle the case. He is drawn into complex legal situations dealing with gender and sex, while his personal life takes a provocative turn as well. A courtroom drama ensues, with unpredictable twists and bizarre events. This replaces 0771026730.

The methods of attaining great heights are frequently discussed, with many postulations propounded by pundits and individuals of phenomenal accomplishments, yet reaching the pinnacle of such heights remains ever so elusive to the masses; hence, only a select few are able to make these extraordinary strides. In Drive to Passion, Ted Obomanu chronicles the lives of a few highly accomplished individuals: Harland Sanders, a perfectionist, who was the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC); Winston Churchill, the vivacious and popular prime minister of Britain, who led his country to victory during the Second World War; Joseph Kennedy, patriarch of the Kennedy clan, business mogul, and kingmaker; Sidney Poitier, acclaimed actor and the first African-American movie star to receive an Oscar in a leading role; Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest presidents of the United States, responsible for the abolition of slavery; Suze Orman, financial guru and popular TV host who epitomizes passion; Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the United States, who accomplished this unprecedented feat despite its improbability; Oprah Winfrey, owner of a TV network, one of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the world, and was the host and producer of one of the most popular TV shows ever. Obomanu does this to explore firsthand how these individuals were able to reach the summit of their vocations. He also turns the chronicling of these great individuals lives into an intriguing narrative, without compromising the lessons. Obomanu makes significant findings in this book: Passion more than anything else is responsible for success and greatness, which is self-evident in the lives of the great individuals he chronicles; to attain distinction, the quest for passion should always be centered around a niche; passion is fueled by drive, and a shift in focus from passion to the rewards of accomplishments, such as wealth, may potentially derail the attainment of success and greatness; mentors play a huge role in the accomplishment of our goals. At the conclusion of this great reading, Obomanu delves into how spirituality and personal development can greatly enhance the quest for passion and how the pursuit of passion can trigger happiness and longevity. He sums up by asserting that the aspiration of success and greatness should be driven by all the components of passion to ensure its sustainability and potential value to society.

"In Jeff 's book, "Contagious Passion," he provides first-hand insights into selling and how to apply many practical approaches to improve one's effectiveness. Jeff shares authentic life experiences with candor and purpose. These brief but valuable messages surely help any of us in our world of selling!" -Mark Brashear, C.E.O. Hugo Boss "It's possible to keep selling using the same old techniques, but every so often new tools come along that make things so much easier. Jeff 's book, for me, is one of those new tools; "Contagious Passion" has made me look at my old ways and really appreciate what new ideas can now do for me." -Earl Estep, Advertising Director Curtco Media/Robb Report WHY NOT SELL MORE? Jam-packed with insights from a 35-year plus sales career, this book is going to show you 1) how to make more money, 2) truly enjoy all your moment-to-moment daily encounters, and 3) experience richer, deeper personal relationships. Whether you're just launching your sales career or have many years in the field, this will become "the" book you'll refer to like a trusted friend. Discover how easy it is to: -Tap passion's power! -Sell your product simply by sharing! -Connect on a deeper personal level with anyone! -Appreciate everyone in your life, including you! -Have a positive impact on people you meet and those you may never meet! You can visit Jeffrey Cox at his website: www.jeffreyrcox.com.