Since the day we are born, we are bombarded with the contradictory claims that our lives are predestined and that Fate deals us the cards we must play, or that our lives are the results of our choices and that we shape it as we go along. Destiny vs. Choice examines the philosophical, spiritual, and scientific evidence for both claims, and shows us how we can live better, more fulfilling lives no matter which side ultimately "wins" the debate. Destiny Vs. Choice explores: The historical battle between Fate and free will. Intelligent design, evolution, the Big Bang, and DNA as blueprints for life. The Law of Attraction, intention, and consciousness as ways to create reality. How quantum physics offers evidence for both destiny and choice. Fate and the paranormal: ghosts, life-after-death experiences, and astrology.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the governor of Maryland, the “compassionate” (People), “startling” (Baltimore Sun), “moving” (Chicago Tribune) true story of two kids with the same name: One went on to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated combat veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader. The other is serving a life sentence in prison. The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his. In December 2000, the Baltimore Sun ran a small piece about Wes Moore, a local student who had just received a Rhodes Scholarship. The same paper also ran a series of articles about four young men who had allegedly killed a police officer in a spectacularly botched armed robbery. The police were still hunting for two of the suspects who had gone on the lam, a pair of brothers. One was named Wes Moore. Wes just couldn’t shake off the unsettling coincidence, or the inkling that the two shared much more than space in the same newspaper. After following the story of the robbery, the manhunt, and the trial to its conclusion, he wrote a letter to the other Wes, now a convicted murderer serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole. His letter tentatively asked the questions that had been haunting him: Who are you? How did this happen? That letter led to a correspondence and relationship that have lasted for several years. Over dozens of letters and prison visits, Wes discovered that the other Wes had had a life not unlike his own: Both had had difficult childhoods, both were fatherless; they’d hung out on similar corners with similar crews, and both had run into trouble with the police. At each stage of their young lives they had come across similar moments of decision, yet their choices would lead them to astonishingly different destinies. Told in alternating dramatic narratives that take readers from heart-wrenching losses to moments of surprising redemption, The Other Wes Moore tells the story of a generation of boys trying to find their way in a hostile world.

From the bestselling author of The Passenger and the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel The Road comes a "profoundly disturbing and gorgeously rendered" novel (The Washington Post) that returns to the Texas-Mexico border, setting of the famed Border Trilogy. The time is our own, when rustlers have given way to drug-runners and small towns have become free-fire zones. One day, a good old boy named Llewellyn Moss finds a pickup truck surrounded by a bodyguard of dead men. A load of heroin and two million dollars in cash are still in the back. When Moss takes the money, he sets off a chain reaction of catastrophic violence that not even the law—in the person of aging, disillusioned Sheriff Bell—can contain. As Moss tries to evade his pursuers—in particular a mysterious mastermind who flips coins for human lives—McCarthy simultaneously strips down the American crime novel and broadens its concerns to encompass themes as ancient as the Bible and as bloodily contemporary as this morning’s headlines. No Country for Old Men is a triumph. Look for Cormac McCarthy's latest bestselling novels, The Passenger and Stella Maris.

A Seminary Co-op Notable Book of 2016 William James is often considered a scientist compromised by his advocacy of mysticism and parapsychology. Jonathan Bricklin argues James can also be viewed as a mystic compromised by his commitment to common sense. James wanted to believe in will, self, and time, but his deepest insights suggested otherwise. "Is consciousness already there waiting to be uncovered and is it a veridical revelation of reality?" James asked shortly before his death in 1910. A century after his death, research from neuroscience, physics, psychology, and parapsychology is making the case, both theoretically and experimentally, that answers James's question in the affirmative. By separating what James passionately wanted to believe, based on common sense, from what his insights and researches led him to believe, Bricklin shows how James himself laid the groundwork for this more challenging view of existence. The non-reality of will, self, and time is consistent with James's psychology of volition, his epistemology of self, and his belief that Newtonian, objective, even-flowing time does not exist.

Get the Knowledge Without the College! You are a writer. You dream of sharing your words with the world, and you're willing to put in the hard work to achieve success. You may have even considered earning your MFA, but for whatever reason--tuition costs, the time commitment, or other responsibilities--you've never been able to do it. Or maybe you've been looking for a self-guided approach so you don't have to go back to school. This book is for you. DIY MFA is the do-it-yourself alternative to a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. By combining the three main components of a traditional MFA--writing, reading, and community--it teaches you how to craft compelling stories, engage your readers, and publish your work. Inside you'll learn how to: • Set customized goals for writing and learning. • Generate ideas on demand. • Outline your book from beginning to end. • Breathe life into your characters. • Master point of view, voice, dialogue, and more. • Read with a "writer's eye" to emulate the techniques of others. • Network like a pro, get the most out of writing workshops, and submit your work successfully. Writing belongs to everyone--not only those who earn a degree. With DIY MFA, you can take charge of your writing, produce high-quality work, get published, and build a writing career.

In this penetrating book, renowned intuitive, speaker, and teacher Robert Ohotto guides us on an investigation of the Heroic Journey of the Soul. Exploring three modern-day manifestations of Fate, he shows how psychic energy from family patterns, cultural influences, generational legacy, and global evolution inform our self-concept every day, and how they often block our highest potential and "Fate" us to challenging circumstances and relationships. But, he reveals, these Fated encounters are actually the keys to our unlived life. Each chapter maps our psyche and unravels the mysterious connections of Fate, Free Will, and Destiny, transforming our Fate into Destiny and our limitations into gifts. Through this seminal work, based on years of experience, discover how we’ve made two fundamental agreements with the Universe as part of our Heroic Journey—one with Fate and the other with Destiny. As we learn to dance with these two forces, they become two voices challenging and beckoning us to discover our ultimate purpose—the primary task of the modern-day Hero and Heroine; and in the process, serve to unleash the power of our Soul in delivering grace to the world.

THE THIRD EDITION of the classic book Coaching for Leadership is written for today’s coaches who are challenged with the task of combining concepts from various disciplines in order to help their clients, especially high-potential leaders, learn and succeed. In this sense, coaches have to become discriminating eclectics, developing a keen sense of judgment to select which ideas are best woven into their coaching method and which concepts are best to ignore. Coaching for Leadership is intended to be a cherished companion in that learning journey presented by the world’s greatest coaches, including: Marshall Goldsmith, Paul Hersey, Beverly Kaye, Dave Ulrich, and many more. This comprehensive resource offers a wealth of material for established and novice coaches including proven coaching techniques, key principles, and important learning points. The book offers a concise overview of the foundations of coaching and reveals What it takes to coach for engagement and retention Why mentoring is circular How to build a team without wasting time What it means to be a purposeful leader How to write like a leader The right stuff of leadership What is needed to lead across national boundaries How to coach high potential women Why coaching is empowerment How to influence decision makers Why you should double your value The ten suggestions for successful peer coaching The coaching tools for the leadership journey How to coach executives for succession Coaching for Leadership is a proven resource that offers best practices, sample scenarios, case studies, and practical tools.