Bøger udgivet af LIVE OAK BOOKS

Includes Author Q&A and discussion questions.

Midlife-the time you spend between the ages of thirty-five and fifty-five-is a critical juncture in anyone's career and life. And yet these tend to be neglected decades. You may feel vulnerable about who you are and what you want to do, boxed in by societal pressures and an overly outward focus. You may know that the time to invoke change is now. But how? Enter Amplify Your Career and Life, an insightful look at successfully traversing these midlife years. Author and executive coach Peter C. Diamond struggled through his own midlife quandary. When faced with a series of life-altering events, he realized the need to reclaim his life and take action in order to move forward in a more holistic and gratifying manner. In this book, Diamond presents the four principles of action developed through his own experience and his time spent coaching hundreds of clients: interrogating your life, formulating your plan to amplify your life, conquering old foes, and adopting the changes you desire. Using personal stories and practical advice, Diamond shows you how to design an action plan to triumphantly navigate the challenges of midlife in order to thrive in the future.

Have you, as head of your team, felt frustrated when team members seem distracted and unable to work because of personal issues? Have you, as a team member, wanted a second opinion for your big idea, but were afraid of being laughed at, or-worse-having your idea stolen? Have you been in a work situation where you felt trust was broken, and you were left with few options for repairing it? These issues stymie productivity and strain relationships in offices around the globe; professional business coach Maxine Attong offers a radical, but proven solution: the office "safe space." Enter this space-where trust is paramount-and find your way forward, free from the worries of being judged, ridiculed, shamed, or stolen from. A safe space offers: an empathetic leader willing to listen as you share what's preventing you from focusing on the day's task; a fellow team member willing to help you hammer out an idea you have for streamlining an office procedure; or a team leader willing to listen to your frustrations over a coworker, yet remaining neutral and sworn to secrecy. Attong developed this "safe space" concept through more than twenty years of work with organizations in the gas and oil, financial, manufacturing, and service industries. When team members feel safe, Attong believes, they will take risks, make decisions, and put forth their best efforts despite what is happening in their personal lives. A team with all members able to perform at their peak will be a winning team-one that achieves excellence and propels its people forward to even greater victories. This book leads the way to those victories. Maxine Attong has been leading small and large teams for the last two decades-both in organizational settings and in her private coaching and facilitation practice. She has helped organizations come to consensus, overcome the perils of ineffective leadership, redesign processes to suit changing environments, and manage the internal chaos inherent in strategy implementation. She has been trained as a Gestalt Organizational Development practitioner, a Certified Evidence Coach, a Certified Professional Facilitator, a Certified Professional Accountant, and is a former Quality Manager. Maxine is a graduate of the University of the West Indies, and divides her time between the Caribbean and the US.

Originally published as: Financially blonde's guide to financial fitness.

In the summer of 1976, the first women were admitted to the United States Military Academy, and the first women to complete a four-year ROTC program were commissioned as second lieutenants. Lori, Maura, Anne, and Amelia's journey into a male-dominated army are chronicled in this exciting, page-turning adventure, as they face the challenges of being accepted into an army that is struggling to integrate women. Refined by Fire shares the women's uncertainty, frustration, and friendship, while accurately depicting the challenges both the academy cadets and active-duty lieutenants encountered in the United States Army of the mid-1970s. Refined by Fire, the first novel in the Guardians of Peace historical fiction series by Ruth VanDyke and Yvonne Doll, weaves a tale of young women surviving and thriving in sometimes difficult and completely uncharted circumstances.

For years, Hope Carmichael, survivor of a shocking child abduction, has lived a sheltered existence under the protection of her fanatically religious father. Now, liberated by her mother, Hope prepares to start life over as a normal kid in an Atlanta, Georgia, high school. Normal, that is, until Hope meets Michael, a gorgeous emancipated teen with a mysterious past and a strong interest in her. Soon, Hope's life is filled with questions. What's behind the angry looks she gets from Lucas, leader of a gang of students? Who's responsible for sending Hope strange valentines inscribed with Bible quotations? How does this relate to the sinister business of human tracking that operates on the periphery of Hope's suburban world? And is Michael really a protector, or something more sinister-and just why does he seem so familiar?

Corporate sabotage was not in Tanzie's job description per se, but she proves to be a natural at it--as well as her own little deceits. Tanzie Lewis used to have it all. The stylish wife of a successful oil executive at the top of the Houston social scene, she used to spend her days playing scratch golf or lunching with friends at the club. That was before she was dumped in favor of a beautiful younger woman and the global financial crisis wreaked havoc on her divorce settlement. Now, at 52, Tanzie finds herself depressed and alone in Tulsa, watching her waist size grow and her professional opportunities shrink, working as a minion for clueless bosses in the internal audit department of the Bishop Group. So what's a "girlie" to do? Snoop! Taking advantage of Bishop Group's security weaknesses, Tanzie begins to unravel the intricate warp and woof of corporate fraud, manipulation, and a cover-up that enrages her. Avenging the death of innocent Houstonians after a massive pipeline explosion, and uncovering her own hidden talents for sleuthing and cleverly tampering with the system, Tanzie dishes out her own justice to get even--and to get a little something for herself!

Are you looking for a better way to connect with your employees and keep them motivated? Every person in your organization desires to be understood and accepted. The purpose of this book is to teach you how to empathize with each of your employees, and create a better work environment. When work days become mundane, you will learn how to create a sense of connection with your employees. During stressful times, you can display empathy to calm and reassure each employee, so that they can think clearly and problem solve. The purpose of empathy-based management is to create a work environment in which employees internalize your support and encouragement, and this sense of connection inspires their professional growth and development. The goal of empathy-based management is to develop managers and employees who are: (1) motivated and ethical, (2) competent, and (3) enjoyable coworkers. How Do I Keep My Employees Motivated? provides clear, specific technics that teach you how to empathize and create an atmosphere where everyone working for you feels accepted and understood. Through empathy you will be able to create an environment that results in professional growth and internalized motivation.

Previously published: Melbourne University Press, 2008.

Years after Pamela Graham thwarted a U.S. government plot to kill millions of its own citizens, a new presidential candidate is poised to take the White House. Donald Wynn's loyal following supports him primarily because of his tough, anti-China stance-a position that puts him in the crosshairs of Eastern leaders. Pamela, meanwhile, is trying to get over her paranoia and lead a normal life when this clash of world leaders threatens to pull her back into a life of conspiracy and intrigue. As polls begin to clearly favor Wynn as president of the United States, strange, dark-suited men seem to once again be tailing her. It is at this point Pamela learns that her adopted Russian son, Alex, has a close personal tie to the Chinese president-a man who's dead-set on keeping candidate Wynn out of the presidency, even if it takes deadly force. As East and West collide, Pamela is forced to sort good from bad, serve the country that once betrayed her, and most important, keep herself and her family alive.

Have you reached a respectable level of business and financial success but feel a nagging sense that you're still not good enough to sustain it? Do you appear self-assured to the world but secretly feel plagued by self-doubt? Have you hit ceilings that you can't break through? Welcome to the club. This book is for people like you: high achievers who want to feel better about what they've already accomplished while being empowered to accomplish even more. You're an ambitious, results-driven, no-excuses bottom-liner. You've climbed over or pushed your way through monumental barriers to get where you are. You accept nothing but the best in yourself and in others. You've earned your success. So why do you still feel insecure? In striving to get to the next level, you studied the lives of other high achievers; you read all the cutting-edge business books in search of the next breakthrough strategy. But the answers and the reassurance you seek lie much closer to home; they lie within yourself. This book teaches you how to access your inner resources consistently and powerfully. As you do so, you will learn how to expand your inner capacity to think and see clearly, maintain positive and optimistic thoughts, make wise decisions, and feel calm, peaceful, and confident regardless of what is happening in your external world.

A gripping saga of covert government action, classism, and modern espionage, Hard Whispers runs at full speed with a spellbinding intensity that dances on the edge of reality.

Abraham Nevski is a dedicated and eccentric professor of medicine at the Royal Prince John Hospital. He prides himself on his diagnostic skills and powers of reasoning. On returning to work after a break he becomes aware of disturbing changes taking place in the hospital. A series of suspicious deaths then throws his world into confusion. Nevski's inner turmoil grows and he has to confront the dangers that close in around him. RIDING A CROCODILE is both an insider's account of life in a major teaching hospital and a chilling detective story, exploring life and death issues of urgent contemporary relevance. Paul Komesaroff is a physician and philosopher at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Interior illustrations by Mirranda Burton.