The Leap

What does it mean to be enlightened or spiritually awakened? In The Leap, Steve Taylor shows that this state is much more common than is generally believed. He shows that ordinary people — from all walks of life — can and do regularly “wake up” to a more intense reality, even if they know nothing about spiritual practices and paths. Wakefulness is a more expansive and harmonious state of being that can be cultivated or that can arise accidentally. It may also be a process we are undergoing collectively. Drawing on his years of research as a psychologist and on his own experiences, Taylor provides what is perhaps the clearest psychological study of the state of wakefulness ever published. Above all, he reminds us that it is our most natural state — accessible to us all, anytime, anyplace.

The revolutionary follow-up to Chris Turner's Governor General's Literary Award and National Business Book Award nominee, The Geography of Hope. The most vital project of the twenty-first century is a shift from our unsustainable way of life to a sustainable one--a great lateral leap from a track headed for economic and ecological disaster to one bound for renewed prosperity. In The Leap, Chris Turner presents a field guide to making that jump, drawing on recent breakthroughs in state-of-the-art renewable energy, cleantech and urban design. From the solar towers of sunny Spain to the bike paths and pedestrianized avenues of the world's most livable city--Copenhagen, Denmark--to the nascent "green-collar" economies rejuvenating the former East Germany and the American Rust Belt, he paints a vivid portrait of a new, sustainable world order already up and running. In his 2007 book, The Geography of Hope, Chris Turner wrote about an emerging world of cleantech possibility. This led to a two-year stint as sustainability columnist for the Globe and Mail, during which many of the fringe developments covered in his book became vital. By the time those two years were up his reporting tracks were being retraced by mainstream outlets like the New York Times. In The Leap, he once again charts the world's near-future course.

Discusses the Buddhist concept of shenpa in order to describe how to become free from the destructive energy experienced during moments of conflict.

The key to unlocking your potential isn't in training harder or doing more sophisticated workouts. It's in thinking better about your training. Think better, train better.Make the Leap provides athletes and coaches a step-by-step guide to thinking more effectively about all aspects of training. It begins with an explanation of what "leaps" are, why they happen, and the "Build, Leap, Sustain" Leap Cycle all athletes go through.It then breaks down, via 11 Optimal Training Principles, 4 mental model spotlights and numerous stories, visuals, and tactical suggestions, exactly how to think better about your training. Some of these topics include:- the importance of attitude and mindset- the Hidden Training Program and how to reveal it- systems vs purposeful practice and when to implement them- North Star goals vs Next Step goals, and how to set each effectively- the four types of mistakes and how to make them better- and many other topics, including the author's powerful Momentum ModelTwo-time National Coach of the Year Ken Reeves said of the book: "A mental running clinic in book form, Make the Leap allows an individualized approach for each person that reads the book. Put it next to your bed stand for that 15 minutes of reading every night. It has the potential to inspire and educate you each and every reading."Olympians, hall of fame coaches, and competitive runners all agree: this book will help you and your athletes think better, train better, and make the leap.

Have you ever asked yourself, "Is this it?" Maybe you're trapped in a dead-end job that you're afraid to leave. Or maybe you already have a good job-one that gives you room to grow and exercise your talents-but you don't really feel like you're doing your best work. Your life is plain vanilla, yet you know in your heart that you can be a triple scoop banana split. You just don't know how to make that leap. So what do you do? Rick Smith knows firsthand what it's like to feel stuck in a career rut. He worked in a midlevel job where he had modest success. Then his life took an unexpected turn and he found himself creating a business that became successful beyond his wildest dreams. He unlocked a level of performance he did not know he had in him. After all, Smith was just a regular guy who didn't like to take chances or even step outside his comfort zone. But as he found out, those qualities don't have to be stumbling blocks. In fact, they're two of the keys to making the leap from good to great. And after talking to others who had also transformed their careers from mundane to magnificent, he realized that the secret doesn't lie with some mysterious talent, trait, or affinity for risk. And it certainly doesn't require you to quit your job and start from scratch. Rather, it lies with your ability to harness your true strengths and passions-what Smith calls your Primary Color. You'll meet remarkable people who've made the leap, such as: A soft-spoken middle manager who transformed her company, her industry, and her career with a simple-yet groundbreaking-idea. A door-to-door fax machine saleswoman who became a global fashion mogul after developing her own line of women's apparel. A Florida shrimp farmer who became a globally recognized genetics expert after both of his sons were diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder. A software designer who became a leading advocate for the homeless after volunteering part time at a local shelter and realizing his true calling. Through powerful anecdotes, lessons from brain science, and tools for self-assessment, Smith shows how, with the right amount of passion, determination, and three simple steps, anyone can make the leap to a more successful and fulfilling life.

Don’t just imagine the life you want, start living it right now with this guide to putting your dreams into practice every day. Inspirational author and speaker Heather McCloskey Beck wants you to know that there's nothing more important than figuring out what makes your heart sing—and doing it every day. So many of us have been trained to think it's not “responsible” to prioritize doing what we love, that there are more important things to life than feeling fulfilled. Yet we yearn for a more creative, engaged life. Beck, a popular Huffington Post columnist and creator of the global peace movement, Peace Flash, offers guidance, stories, and dozens of practical suggestions for how to take the leap into the life you were meant to live. If you've forgotten what makes you tick, Heather will help you rediscover it. If you know what it is but aren't doing it, she'll help you clear a path. Starting with just fifteen minutes. Today.

The ultimate road map for landing your dream job, packed with true inspiring stories from more than sixty people who made profound changes in their lives and careers, plus practical advice from experts. “If you are ready to go for the life and the job you really want, Take the Leap is the go-to book for anyone making a career change” (Bobbi Brown). Take the Leap features inspiration and advice from game changers, rule breakers, and side hustlers who once stood where you are now, wondering if they should take a risk. They went from production assistant to million-dollar screenplay writer; attorney to surf instructor; mom to DJ; hairdresser to firefighter; real estate agent to award-winning chef. Do you want to go for that career you’ve always dreamed about? Launch a new company? Become a tech mogul? Live a life of adventure? Save the world? You’ll find wisdom from successful mentors like creative visionary and writer Simon Doonan, entrepreneur Barbara Corcoran, NFL player turned artist/activist Aaron Maybin, and wellness and beauty guru Bobbi Brown. Whether you watch Shark Tank religiously and think I could have thought of that, or harbor daydreams about traveling the globe in style, your wildest career dream is represented in this empowering guidebook. Take the Leap serves as the reminder we all need: don’t settle—go after whatever it is that you truly want.

Every business faces the existential threat of competitors producing cheaper copies. Even patent filings, market dominance and financial resources can't shield them from copycats. So what can we do--and, what can we learn from companies that have endured and even prospered for centuries despite copycat competition?In a book of narrative history and practical strategy, IMD professor of management and innovation Howard Yu shows that succeeding in today's marketplace is no longer just a matter of mastering copycat tactics, companies also need to leap across knowledge disciplines, and to reimagine how a product is made or a service is delivered. This proven tactic can protect a company from being overtaken by new (and often foreign) copycat competitors.Using riveting case studies of successful leaps and tragic falls, Yu illustrates five principles to success that span a wide range of industries, countries, and eras. Learn about how P&G in the 19th century made the leap from handcrafted soaps and candles to mass production of its signature brand Ivory, leaped into the new fields of consumer psychology and advertising, then leaped again, at the risk of cannibalizing its core product, into synthetic detergents and won with Tide in 1946. Learn about how Novartis and other pharma pioneers stayed ahead by making leaps from chemistry to microbiology to genomics in drug discovery; and how forward-thinking companies, including China's largest social media app--WeChat, Tokyo-based Internet service provider Recruit Holdings, and Illinois-headquartered John Deere are leaping ahead by leveraging the emergence of ubiquitous connectivity, the inexorable rise of intelligent machines, and the rising importance of managerial creativity.Outlasting competition is difficult; doing so over decades or a century is nearly impossible--unless one leaps. Ultimately, Leap is a manifesto for how pioneering companies can endure and prosper in a world of constant change and inevitable copycats.