From the 100-part Penguin Great Ideas series comes an excerpt from the famous Book of the Courtier. In his witty and perceptive discourses on the ideal virtues of a Renaissance courtier, Baldesar Castiglione sets out values that continue to offer illumination in questions of leadership and government—espousing such qualities as prudence, courage, loyalty, affability, and style, and even encouraging the playing of sport as one of the best ways to gain influence and power. Penguin Great Ideas: Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves—and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war, and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked, and comforted. They have enriched lives—and destroyed them. Now Penguin Great Ideas brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals, and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are. Other titles in the series include Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince, Thomas Paine's Common Sense, and Charles Darwin's On Natural Selection.

"Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them." William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night Around the globe people have been crying out for "Leadership": demanding it, begging for it. From the farcical spectacle of short-lived Australian prime ministers shoving each other through the revolving door to scandalous failures of governance in Australia's financial institutions and the moral abyss in church leadership, to the mess of Brexit and the chaotic unpredictability of the Trump administration, and now the greatest leadership challenge since World War II: Covid-19. Stable, reliable, sensible leadership has been in short supply. We often resort to the word 'Shakespearean' to explain our dramatic times. And indeed, we can learn a lot from Shakespeare about leadership – good and bad. The world's greatest analyst of human behaviour and motivation; a man well acquainted with crises of leadership in tumultuous times; a man whose dry wit, bottomless empathy enabled him to encapsulate countless valuable life lessons that still ring with relevance today. As someone who has spent a good deal of the last seventy-something years studying, performing and directing Shakespeare's plays, John Bell has absorbed quite a few valuable lessons in life, character and leadership from the bard, and then put these to good use running two successful theatre companies. Some Achieve Greatness contains invaluable lessons on leadership, drawn from John Bell's extensive relationship with Shakespeare and his own experience as a cultural leader, illustrated with an irreverent and contemporary set of cartoons by Cathy Wilcox.

For years, a maxim of the United States Army was "Be all that you can be." While that familiar slogan may sound simple, there is great depth to the meaning behind it. in Achieving Personal Greatness, Tim Lavender offers his definition of "personal greatness" through three basic laws, and then shares the seven guiding principles for achieveing it. His practical guide explores ten powerful keys for releasing you potential, including: Get Your Cart Before the Horse, Reach Inside the Invisible World, Embrace a Lifetime of Learning,, and Seek to Influence Rather than Control. Finally, Lavender shares te five commitments that are necessary for producing results. For those desiring to explore their untapped potiential in all areas of life, Achieveing Personal Greatness is an ideal resource.

Within all of us lies the potential to achieve whatever we choose to achieve. All it takes to resolve this is personal responsibility and courage. We have got to have self-esteem and to believe in ourselves. Yes, you too can be successful and achieve greatness. You do not have to come from the Rockefeller family, the Kennedys, or the Mandelas. You do not have to possess the royal blue blood as Queen Elizabeth of England or King Goodwill Zwelithini of the mighty Zulus. All that is needed is that you got to come from the human family. From the book Basic Keys to Achieve Success and Greatness, the first key is to believe in yourself.

This book is based on my 30+ years of elite athlete/corporate executive coaching. It speaks about the psychology of performance.

What are the origins of greatness? Few other questions have caused such intense debate, controversy, and diversity of opinions. In recent years, a large body of research has accumulated that suggests that the origins of greatness are extraordinarily complex. Instead of talent or practice, it's talent and practice. Instead of nature or nature, it's nature via nurture. Instead of practice, it's deliberate practice. Instead of the causes of greatness in general, it's the determinants of greatness specific to a field. The Complexity of Greatness brings together a variety of perspectives and the most cutting-edge research on genes, talent, intelligence, expertise, deliberate practice, creativity, prodigies, savants, passion, and persistence. A variety of different domains are represented, including science, mathematics, expert memory, acting, visual arts, music, and sports. This book demonstrates that the truth about greatness is far more nuanced, complex, and fascinating than any one viewpoint or paradigm can possibly reveal. Indeed, it suggests that the time has come to go beyond talent or practice. Greatness is much, much more.

Tired of playing small with your life? Feel like you were meant to be so much more? Ready to become spectacularly successful, breathtakingly effective and wildly fulfilled as you work and live at a level called extraordinary? Passionate, inspiring, provocative and full of big ideas that will get you to your ideal life faster than you’ve ever imagined, The Greatness Guide and The Greatness Guide, Book 2 are those rare books that truly have the power to release your potential and awaken your best self. The Greatness Guide, Book 2 offers more of Robin’s inspiring anecdotes, tips and big ideas. Discover ideas to generate wealth and energy, tool kits for practical work-life balance, time-management techniques that really work, practical strategies to turn setbacks into opportunities and so much more. The Greatness Guide, Book 2 will uplift, energize and move you to action. Robin Sharma is known around the world as the man behind The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari phenomenon, the #1 bestselling series of inspirational books spun around the modern fable of a jet-setting lawyer who gives it all up to search for his best life. Leaders, top entrepreneurs and renowned organizations in over 40 countries have turned to Robin for his deeply insightful yet exquisitely practical advice on getting to greatness. Both The Greatness Guide and The Greatness Guide, Book 2 offer an insider’s look at the tools, tactics and techniques that have transformed so many of Robin’s clients.