Some people come to Alcoholics Anonymous feeling terrible about themselves and are told, bewilderingly, that their problem is too much ego and a lack of humility. Bill W., who wrote most of the AA literature, described himself as an egomaniac. He put his own needs and wants ahead of others, was grandiose, felt entitled, and thought he was all-powerful. He called this the alcoholic personality type, and designed a program to crush the ego as the foundation of sobriety. It worked for him and millions of other alcoholics like him, and he deserves great credit. But what about alcoholics who normally put others' needs before their own and see themselves as less-than, unentitled, not enough, defective, impostors, losers? Their egos need building, not deflating. This book reframes the Twelve Step program so people with low self-esteem can grow to feel better rather than worse about themselves. Each Step includes exercises to build and strengthen the person's sense of self, to grow from a place of feeling unlovable into a strong sober person, no longer dependent on alcohol or external validation to feel good. This groundbreaking book opens the door for people who feel less-than to find a comfortable sobriety in AA, rather than trying to force themselves into Bill's shoes when they just don't fit.

Conquering the Electron offers readers a true and engaging history of the world of electronics, beginning with the discoveries of static electricity and magnetism and ending with the creation of the smartphone and the iPad. This book shows the interconnection of each advance to the next on the long journey to our modern-day technologies. Exploring the combination of genius, infighting, and luck that powered the creation of today's electronic age, Conquering the Electron debunks the hero worship so often plaguing the stories of great advances. Want to know how AT&T’s Bell Labs developed semiconductor technology—and how its leading scientists almost came to blows in the process? Want to understand how radio and television work—and why RCA drove their inventors to financial ruin and early graves? Conquering the Electron offers these stories and more, presenting each revolutionary technological advance right alongside blow-by-blow personal battles that all too often took place.

The world is full of toxic people. You don’t have to put up with them. Outsmarting Egomaniacs is the self-help book for people who want to protect themselves from getting bullied, abused, and manipulated in relationships. The scams, cons, cults, and shady situations we watch on TV are happening in real life every day, damaging far too many innocent people. Carla Litto, marriage and family therapist in Los Angeles specializing in relationship issues, specifically Narcissistic Personality Disorder and emotional abuse recovery, breaks down the manipulation tactics that predatory individuals use to confuse you and abuse you. Laugh-out-loud funny and full of insights and strategies, Outsmarting Egomaniacs will help you— • Identify the different types of manipulators in your life • Recognize the manipulation tactics they are using on you • Protect yourself—with strategies and comebacks—from getting manipulated Learn from this witty professional’s unfiltered take on the psychology behind narcissists, con-artists, and every other specific type of egomaniac you can imagine. You’ll understand what got you stuck in relationships or relational patterns with egomaniacs, how to get unstuck, and how to recognize new egomaniacs coming from a mile away.

"When Amanda Cooper gets out of jail, she's determined to never go back. Two years behind bars meant leaving her teenage daughter, Taylor, with Amanda's wild and riotous mother, but now that she's back, it's the three of them against the world. All Amanda wants is to secure her dream life: predictable, boring, and bordered by a white picket fence. But someone is trying to pull her back into the game. Is Amanda's new life within reach, or will her final gamble mean losing everything?"--Dust jacket flap.

The definitive guide to working with -- and surviving -- bullies, creeps, jerks, tyrants, tormentors, despots, backstabbers, egomaniacs, and all the other assholes who do their best to destroy you at work. "What an asshole!" How many times have you said that about someone at work? You're not alone! In this groundbreaking book, Stanford University professor Robert I. Sutton builds on his acclaimed Harvard Business Review article to show you the best ways to deal with assholes...and why they can be so destructive to your company. Practical, compassionate, and in places downright funny, this guide offers: Strategies on how to pinpoint and eliminate negative influences for good Illuminating case histories from major organizations A self-diagnostic test and a program to identify and keep your own "inner jerk" from coming out The No Asshole Rule is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Business Week bestseller.

Chögyam Trungpa continues his study of the three “yanas” of Tibetan Buddhism with this overview of the teachings of the mahayana This three-volume collection presents in lively, relevant language the comprehensive teachings of the Tibetan Buddhist path of the hinayana, mahayana, and vajrayana. Considered Chögyam Trungpa’s magnum opus, The Profound Treasury of the Ocean of Dharma will resonate with new and senior students of Buddhism. In this second volume, Chögyam Trungpa presents the bodhisattva teachings of the mahayana. At this point—having trained and seen the benefits of looking within—the student begins to shift their focus outward to the broader world. Formal entry into the mahayana occurs with taking the bodhisattva vow. Mahayana practitioners dedicate themselves to the service of all sentient beings, aspiring to save them from sorrow and confusion, and vowing to bring them to perfect liberation. This stage of the path emphasizes the cultivation of wisdom through the view and experience of emptiness, or shunyata, in which all phenomena are seen to be unbounded, completely open, ungraspable, and profound. From the ground of shunyata, compassionate activity is said to arise naturally and spontaneously. In addition to mindfulness and awareness, the mahayanist practices lojong, or "mind training," based on the cultivation of the paramitas, or "transcendent virtues": generosity, discipline, patience, exertion, meditation, and prajna, or "knowledge." As a component of lojong, tonglen, or "sending and taking," is practiced in order to increase maitri, or loving-kindness. Other topics covered in detail in this volume include bodhichitta, skillful means, Buddha nature and basic goodness, Madhyamaka, the ten bhumis, the three kayas, and more.

When Charles Darwin finally completed his life’s greatest work, On the Origin of Species, he waited twenty-three years to publish it. That's roughly the life expectancy of a man in the fourteenth century, for scale. It took a mediaeval lifetime to contemplate whether or not the disruption to mankind’s way of life was truly worth it. When Leonidas Archibald Agglesfield found the missing 95 per cent of the universe, however, he neglected to apply the same degree of contemplation. From Socrates to Descartes, perhaps the question that has pestered mankind the most is: What makes us human? Are we human because we think or because we feel? Are we humans made in the image of the one true God? Or have we fashioned God in our image to imbue ourselves with the power to determine our own fate and immortality? What Leonidas found... was not what he had bargained for. And as a Doctor of Dark Matter, his findings did not disappoint. God would be joining the black rhino on the endangered species list. And while that was precisely what Leonidas Archibald Agglesfield had thought he wanted... he had no idea of the ramifications. There are forces that we might have once thought to be outside of our control. But perhaps we're capable of more than we think. And sometimes what we need the most... has a way of finding us instead.