Reach For Greatness

How do you close the achievement gap? Start by changing the question. When we use the achievement gap to define success, we shortchange our students. It's time to recognize that the potential for greatness lies in a unique form within each child--and that the goal of education should be to encourage and develop it. This inspiring manifesto brings in research from different disciplines and demonstrates how to uncover individual greatness by giving students control of their learning. You'll also find: Strategies for implementing personalizable education Examples showing practices that have gone wrong--and right Guidance for teaching disadvantaged students

Why does modern life revolve around objectives? From how science is funded, to improving how children are educated -- and nearly everything in-between -- our society has become obsessed with a seductive illusion: that greatness results from doggedly measuring improvement in the relentless pursuit of an ambitious goal. In Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned, Stanley and Lehman begin with a surprising scientific discovery in artificial intelligence that leads ultimately to the conclusion that the objective obsession has gone too far. They make the case that great achievement can't be bottled up into mechanical metrics; that innovation is not driven by narrowly focused heroic effort; and that we would be wiser (and the outcomes better) if instead we whole-heartedly embraced serendipitous discovery and playful creativity. Controversial at its heart, yet refreshingly provocative, this book challenges readers to consider life without a destination and discovery without a compass.

In mathematics, infinite is defined as lacking limits or endless. In Infinite Greatness, author Jivolae James Harris shows how the extent of ones greatness can be infinite. He discusses how success in life is predicated on how you act and think and how you can transform your mind in order to achieve your goals. Harris introduces a number of high-achieving individuals and profiles their accomplishments throughout history, including a king, a heavyweight champ, a president, a valedictorian, a CEO, and a PhD. Through the habits and actions of these people, he helps you develop like strategies to propel you toward your own personal greatness. Infinite Greatness recommends for you to act like a champ and think like a king. It tells you to reach for the stars, be ambitious, be determined, have a burning desire to be great, follow your passions, and be innovative. Harris outlines a philosophy of greatness that will set you on your path to success and fulfillment.

When a career-ending injury left elite athlete and professional football player Lewis Howes out of work and living on his sister’s couch, he decided he needed to make a change for the better. He started by reaching out to people he admired, searching for mentors, and applying his past coaches’ advice from sports to life off the field. Lewis did more than bounce back: He built a multimillion-dollar online business and is now a sought-after business coach, speaker, and podcast host. In The School of Greatness, Howes shares the essential tips and habits he gathered in interviewing “the greats” on his wildly popular podcast of the same name. In discussion with people like Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson and Pencils of Promise CEO Adam Braun, Howes figured out that greatness is unearthed and cultivated from within. The masters of greatness are not successful because they got lucky or are innately more talented, but because they applied specific habits and tools to embrace and overcome adversity in their lives. A framework for personal development, The School of Greatness gives you the tools, knowledge, and actionable resources you need to reach your potential. Howes anchors each chapter with a specific lesson he culled from his greatness “professors” and his own experiences to teach you how to create a vision, develop hustle, and use dedication, mindfulness, joy, and love to reach goals. His lessons and practical exercises prove that anyone is capable of achieving success and that we can all strive for greatness in our everyday lives.

A guide to successfully getting the life you want by changing your perspective and discovering your ideal self. More often than not, our own mental obstacles are holding us back from the joy, fulfillment, and meaning that we all crave, but by retooling our perspectives, we gain the ability to see the path toward the life we truly desire. Charlie Harary, business executive, professor, speaker, and radio host, combines the wisdom of science, spirituality, and personal growth in practical and understandable terms so you can take the life you have and make it the life you want. Everyone has the extraordinary capacity to transform their life. And it’s easier to do than you might think—in order to get what you want, to achieve that sense of greater life satisfaction, all you need to do is learn how to best use the resources you already have. Based on the latest research into the brain’s neuroplasticity, analysis of ancient wisdom, and exploration of the practices of today’s greatest achievers, he offers guidance and inspiration so you can break through the clutter and confusion of your life and find your true purpose.

This path-breaking work offers the first comprehensive examination of the important personalities and events that have influenced the course of history. It discusses whether people who go down in history are different from the rest of us and whether specific personality traits predispose certain people to become world leaders, movie stars, scientific geniuses, and athletes. It sheds light on the depth of potential in everyone, yielding important clues as to how we can take advantage of our own individual personality traits. Probing the lives of a range of important figures, the book explores the full range of phenomena associated with greatness, scrutinizing the significance of everything from genetic inheritance, intuition, aesthetic appreciation, and birth order, to formal education, sexual orientation, aging, IQ, and alcohol and drug abuse. This book will be of interest to anyone interested in the people and events that have helped shape the world, including mental health professionals and scholars studying psychological topics in the larger context of science, art, politics, and history. The book also serves as an engaging text for undergraduate psychology courses.

"Everyone is capable of greatness ... sadly, not everybody finds it. Many peoples lives are ripped apart by self-doubt and destroyed by fear of failing. This results in never fully unleashing their true selves and always settling for second best in the job they apply for, the course of study they pursue, the person they ask out to coffee or to marry them! What makes it worse is that deep down they know they are capable of so much more ...and it tears them apart inside! If you are sick and tired of settling for second best or want to achieve the greatness you know is just there in front of you, then this book is for you!"--Back cover.

Each brief chapter has three parts--original quotations by the authors, Rick Olson's page to teach a concept, followed by Robert Strand's page to illustrate that teaching.