Life extracts a price from us-and it is up to us to determine what that price will be. This book relates the true story of a young man who believes he has no future. Therefore, he pays the price for failure. He has no goals, no ambition, no work ethic, and no sense of responsibility. After years of self indulgence and numerous brushes with the law, he is on the verge of completely destroying his life. Then something in him ignites: a spark of hope. The spark becomes a raging fire. He finds himself consumed with a burning desire to excel. He learns to pay the price for success and his life is transformed. The dramatic events that motivated this man to rise to the top of his field will inspire those who feel uninspired and give hope to those who feel hopeless. The mature reader will enjoy a nostalgic visit. The teens and younger adult readers will discover the ingredients for success. All readers will experience a roller coaster of emotions.

Today is your chance to make a choice to make a change or stay the same. Everyday chances are given or taken in life. With those chances, we all must make choices that will bring changes in our lives, or cause our lives to remain the same. If you want to make a change today, the choice is yours. Take a chance and see how wonderful your life can be!

Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse. By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.

Herb Hicks is an artist who understands the fear behind painting a self-portrait but who also appreciates that a candid recounting of events in life can provide an emotional catharsis. It is with this theory in mind that he shares his fascinating personal experiences and insight into his views as he recalls a unique journey through a creative life filled with adventures and misadventures. In his memoir, Hicks begins with remembrances from his childhood growing up in North Dakota, where he emulated his cowboy heroes by riding a pretend horse, wearing real bearskin chaps, and firing a Red Ryder BB gun at imaginary desperadoes. As he matured, he found a passion for music, formed his own combo, and began traveling to and from gigs that took him from North Dakota to Montana and beyond. Motivated by his love for music, Hicks eventually landed in California, where he began playing professionally and found a new passion as a visual artista discovery that leads him down an unforgettable path, questioning his challenges, choices, chances, and changes. To and from Gigs is the intimate memoir of a musician, artist, and teacher who embarked on a lifelong search to find his better self.

Much has been written, debated, and learned about whether the intent of charter schools and their relationship to traditional public schools has been realized. The goal has always been to make things better for all children and to offer parents a quality choice. In the City of Newark both the quantity and quality of offerings made available to families over the past twenty years have brought progress and promise. This book through the voice of various stakeholders is a chronicle of what has taken place in the City of Newark, New Jersey.