Running With My Head Down

A no-holds-barred rags-to-riches story of finding your purpose and living a life of no regrets. Running with My Head Down is the inspirational story of one man’s search for purpose and meaning, a quest without limitation that ultimately leads to unique business success and personal fulfillment. A native of Queens, New York, Frank was born into a working-class family, surrounded by the unified love of his parents. But in the mid-1970s, the nine-year-old was deeply impacted by his parents’ divorce. Emotional and financial turmoil follow, fueling Frank’s burning passion to discover his direction in life, and with it, certainty and security. During his difficult school years when Frank was underestimated by teachers, he discovered his love of baseball—not just playing it, but becoming a fanatical student of the game. It became an all-out obsession that he would later turn into a multi-million-dollar franchise sports business by creating his own leagues. Follow Frank’s journey from his early days after college unhappily working in medical sales to the brilliant stroke of starting an adult softball league—and then to strategically expanding his dream by creating i9 Sports, which becomes the nation’s largest youth sports franchise. After much inner struggle about defining his true purpose in life, Frank ultimately sell his company, having had a startling epiphany. Through it all, we see how Frank’s purpose finds him again and again. A series of unique people come into his life, including peak performance coach Tony Robbins, who has a profound effect on Frank’s personal development. No matter what obstacles arise, Frank remains laser-focused, always purposely running with his head down. This guide to personal and professional growth is filled with valuable strategies relevant to entrepreneurs and anyone who wants to lead a happier life. Transformative lessons and business insights include— • The Passion Priority: How to transform the needs of your soul into reality, channeling the power of your vision. • The Live Your Life With No Regrets Motto: Learn when to take a risk and go all in—banking on passion, not on security. • The Entrepreneur Identity Crisis: How to overcome the self-limiting belief that your identity is your business. • The Lonely at the Top Syndrome: How to build a solid relationship with your employees without losing your authority and the secret to overcoming CEO isolation. • The Executive Burnout Phase: Identifying the signs of mental and physical overload and utilizing powerful techniques for restoring life balance. • The Affluenza Affair: How to recreate the spark in your business in order to feel the same ambition and hunger as you once did. • The Critics and Crises: How to handle internal company crises and external criticism. • The Influence of Family and Friends: How to deal with a skeptical support network—and what to do when their advice, values, and judgments don’t match yours. • The Spiritual Awakening: How to expand your self-awareness through a passionate commitment to personal growth and self-care. • And More! Frank graduated from St. John’s University and began a career as a medical equipment sales rep, though he was determined to pursue his life’s true purpose. So in l995, he created his own adult men’s softball league, ABA Sports. The start-up company quickly grew to over 900 teams in just six years, making it the largest adult sports organization on Long Island. In 2003, Frank sold ABA Sports in order to create i9 Sports, a business that catapulted him to national recognition and that Entrepreneur magazine ranked as the #1 children’s fitness franchise. Frank has been featured on Fox Business News, HBO Real Sports, and in dozens of publications and national news media outlets, including USA Today, Sports Illustrated, and The Wall Street Journal. Frank sold i9 Sports in 2017 to a private equity firm, but remains a minority shareholder and member of the board of directors. He resides in the Tampa Bay area with his wife, Nadine, their children, Taylor-Marie and Frankie, and their Chocolate Lab, Dillon.

Charlie Spedding describes himself as ‘not particularly talented’ – at least, compared to the group of people he had chosen to find himself among. These were the athletes in the Olympic marathon. So how did he end up with a bronze medal? How did he win the London Marathon? And why does he still hold the English record for the distance? In this remarkable autobiography he explains how – how someone who was almost bottom of the class when he first went to school, and even worse at sport, eventually turned himself into a genuinely world-class athlete, competing in top marathons all over the world, and genuinely going from last to first. As well as the enthralling life story of one of our finest distance runners, this book is a wonderfully clear and inspiring piece of life coaching for anyone who wants to make the most of their talents. But more than this, as Spedding says at the start, ‘I believe that on occasions you can create the circumstances in which you can perform at a higher level than your talent says you can’. Spedding’s own story, and his chronicle of the big races he excelled in, proves it’s true. For anyone aspiring to run a marathon, or indeed anyone who wants to set themselves a goal they think beyond their reach – and achieve it – this is an essential book.

Pheidippides did it once and became a legend. Brian Mills did it over 800 times...but you might be forgiven for not knowing who he is. He is a runner and 'it' is the marathon - all 26 miles and 385 yards of it - and for some people, once is not enough. Brian Mills is rumoured to have a butterfly tattoo for each of his 800 plus efforts. And Brian is not the only one who has notched up three digits of gruelling athletic endeavour. The 100 Marathon Club, also known as the Hell's Angels of Running and Running Sluts (running one race whilst thinking of another) is growing in number every year. This is a club with no prejudices and only one prerequisite for membership - the completion of 100 marathons. It is full of colourful, contrasting characters with idiosyncratic personalities and diverse lifestyles. They make up a gargantuan melting pot of humanity linked by one common desire - to run...and run ...and run. But who would want to run 100 marathons or more? And why? How do they find the time, the money, the energy? Are they crazy? Find out by reading their stories. Some will make you laugh, others will make you cry, some may even inspire you to run a marathon. Believe it or not, these are ordinary, everyday people like you. Although when you have finished laughing and crying, you may still not be sure whether they are crazy or passionate. But you - as they do when they run - will have a lot of fun along the way.

Found wandering along the roadside as a child, Kayden Pruitt was rescued by an angelic woman and her husband and grew up knowing a life of love and laughter. Now a student at the University of Oregon, Kayden hopes to make his foster mother proud of him through hard work and dedication. But always, at the back of his mind, is a nagging question of just who he really is and where he came from. When Kayden becomes entranced with a legend involving a long lost war between angels and demons and the rise of half-breeds, a multitude of inconceivable events begin to occur. But what was once just a need for answers quickly turns into a quest for survival for Kayden. As Kayden digs deeper into his own past and into the legend, a hidden world will come to light, secrets will be revealed, enemies will be made, and a race to save all of mankind from extinction will be set in motion. If that wasn't hard enough for Kayden to handle, discovering he is something that isn't supposed to exist, a..."unique" kind of half-breed, should really prove to complicate matters. And so, The Genesis begins.

Ali Mazhin wrote The Running Journey to help others find more purpose in their running and health. He is forty-three years old and called it The Running Journey because he describes his experience in racing, working two jobs, and how other people can learn, improve, and participate in various running events. He gives examples through his own experience and enjoyment in marathons, his pace, challenges, motivation to succeed, growing up as a kid, racing stories, and health advice, and it's mostly a chronological story. Ali made it a journey and focused on what he felt and discovered with each long-distance event he ran, and it portrays his interactions with volunteers, race crew, race directors, and even spectators.He has a passion for running, and he continues to learn, succeed, and wrote a story about it. He wanted to show the readers that they can learn and appreciate running wherever they are in life. He acknowledges people who work and gives the readers a path to succeed with their goals. The book sets itself apart from the normal running book and entices readers to move beyond their everyday running goals. Ali portrays his running journey to be visually informative and exciting.Ali paints his experiences in various marathons and events and motivates others to run and make sense of their own running. He illustrates his story in color, and is purposeful, constructive, and uses honorable words that show him as a happy, and experienced long-distance runner. The story includes Ali's visions that portray a successful and imaginative running journey. Ali portrays a role model who is worthy or praise and recognition that influences people to go in the right direction. His uses collaboration of words to show his running style to appeal to anyone who runs, works, exercises, or wants to improve themselves. Ali is a runner that goes through a journey of navigating through various challenges to learn, succeed, and complete races. His journey is encouraging and appeals to all types of people, including beginner, intermediate, and professional runners. Ali is professional and worthy of respect to most readers. He shows himself running on his own, in groups of people, and in races as an athletic, elite, and educated man. The book markets to most people, including those who exercise, run, are in school, and others who read various newspapers and magazines. Ali illustrates his own idea of motivation, perseverance, and resilience, and shows people that they can succeed through running and that life challenges are not typically easy, but can be overcome. He shows viewpoints from the many sides to illustrate his success.

Have better ideas, faster, without the stress and burnout. It isn't enough to just do your job anymore. In order to thrive in today's marketplace, all of us-even the accountants-have to be ready to generate brilliant ideas on demand. Business creativity expert Todd Henry explains how to establish effective practices that unleash your creative potential. Born out of his consultancy and his popular podcast, Henry has created a practical method for discovering your personal creative rhythm. He focuses on five key elements: •Focus: Begin with your end goal in mind. •Relationships: Build stimulating relationships and ideas will follow. •Energy: Manage it as your most valuable resource. • Stimuli: Structure the right "inputs" to maximize creative output. •Hours: Focus on effectiveness, not efficiency. This is a guide for staying inspired and experiencing greater creative productivity than you ever imagined possible.

'Superb - a great book to fuel your wanderlust.' Mark Beaumont 'The ultimate running book, showcasing the ultimate running adventure.' Sean Conway --- In 2019, Nick Butter became the first person to run a marathon in every country on Earth. This is Nick's story of his world record-breaking adventure and the extraordinary people who joined him along the way. On January 6th 2018, Nick Butter tied his laces and stepped out on to an icy pavement in Toronto, where he began to take the first steps of an epic journey that would see him run 196 marathons in every one of the world's 196 countries. Spending almost two years on the road and relying on the kindness of strangers to keep him moving, Nick's odyssey allowed him to travel slowly, on foot, immersing himself in the diverse cultures and customs of his host nations. Running through capital cities and deserts, around islands and through spectacular landscapes, Nick dodges bullets in Guinea-Bissau, crosses battlefields in Syria, survives a wild dog attack in Tunisia and runs around an erupting volcano in Guatemala. Along the way, he is often joined by local supporters and fellow runners, curious children and bemused passers-by. Telling their stories alongside his own, Nick captures the unique spirit of each place he visits and forges a new relationship with the world around him. Running the World captures Nick's journey as he sets three world records and covers over five thousand miles. As he recounts his adventures, he shares his unique perspective on our glorious planet, celebrates the diversity of human experience, and reflects on the overwhelming power of running.

Run for My Life is a compelling memoir that chronicles the life of Daniel Kolmann who was born in Communist-occupied Czechoslovakia in 1948. Blessed with athletic talent but victimized by antisemitism and a repressive, post-World War II regime, Daniel was taken away from his family at age twelve and forced to live in a Russian-controlled sports camp where he was trained six hours a day, seven days a week to be an internationally competitive athlete. During this time, there were months when he was only allowed to visit his parents once every thirty days. As Daniel’s athletic prowess continued to develop, he became the top soccer player in the camp as well as the #1 player on the junior tennis team that traveled throughout Europe in various international competitions. Despite being under constant surveillance by armed guards, Daniel’s craving for freedom became the focus of his life. Although understanding that a failed attempt to escape would result in a death sentence, Daniel nevertheless stages a daring, nail-biting escape from two armed guards whose sole mission is to capture or kill him. Teen readers will be on the edge of their seats as they read Run for My Life, an exciting, inspirational, page-turning book, skillfully written by accomplished novel and memoir author, Joseph P. O’Donnell