This is the true story of one family's heartfelt encounter with a tragic event. It is also the story of how love can transform a nightmare into a miracle. It was an impossibility that Mario had survived the car crash and yet he had. It took almost a brigade of firemen and "The Jaws of Life" to extract him from the wreck. He was found slumped over the drivers steering wheel unconscious. He was having trouble breathing and suffered severe traumatic brain injury. On route to the hospital he was ventilated through an oral mouthpiece. The paramedics could not intubate him because his mouth was clenched shut. He was considered brain dead on arrival to the emergency room. The doctors put Mario in an induced coma for twenty-one days. It was not expected that he would live. Many people prayed for Mario and his family and even though Mario lived, he was considered a vegetable with a poor prognosis for any meaningful recovery. With more prayers and healing Mario slowly recovered. After one hundred forty-one days of hospitals, Mario finally responded to a doctor and got into a rehabilitation facility. He stayed in rehab for forty days and finally came home. He wore diapers, couldn't talk, walk, eat, or move most of his body. The first few years of taking care of Mario were extremely challenging. It has been a difficult journey, but inch-by-inch Mario has kept improving. He never gives up and through the love of his family and friends remains happy most of the time. Richard Carlson a friend of Mario's and author of the "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" books said, "Mario is the happiest person I know." And Mario says, "Smile because somebody loves you."

"In 2006, after building the bestselling franchise Don't Sweat the Small Stuff with her husband Richard, Kristine Carlson faced a shattering loss--the sudden death of her beloved spouse. Woven together with the remarkable stories of others' loss and recovery, her deeply moving story reveals a clear process of healing that is common to everyone and goes far beyond ordinary prescriptions for getting through hard times. In her new book, From Heartbreak to Wholeness, Kristine offers a life-altering map for navigating the heroic journey from loss to joy--one that ultimately awakens readers to a deep love affair with life"--

With a star that rose from unforgettable child acting roles, such as A. C. Slater in Saved by the Bell, to the forefront of today’s entertainment media, Mario Lopez is nothing short of a pop culture sensation. Now, as he turns forty, Mario looks back on his life with a newfound perspective and a humorous sensibility of how things have changed with age, divulging for the first time the endearing, surprising, and sometimes difficult experiences that shaped him into the loving father and husband he is today. In Just Between Us, Mario shares a behind-the-scenes look into his successes and disappointments in the entertainment business and how his tight-knit family and long-standing values helped keep him grounded, no matter what. With wit and candor, Mario reveals his most intimate never-before-told stories, including the details of his often tumultuous and largely public love life—giving readers a look at the ups and downs of his romantic past leading up to his happily-ever-after with his beautiful wife and their two children. This is Mario Lopez unfiltered, for the first time ever.

This is the true story of one family's heartfelt encounter with a tragic event. It is also a guide on how to survive the medical system and navigate through the stresses of a long-term recovery. On August 8, 2002, at the age of eighteen Mario Scharmer sustained a traumatic brain injury from an auto crash. The doctors put Mario in an induced coma for twenty-one days. It was not expected that he would live. Many people prayed for Mario and his family and even though Mario lived he was in a persistent vegetative state for another one hundred forty-one days. Doctors did not expect Mario to have any meaningful recovery. He came home quadriplegic. He wore diapers, couldn't talk, walk, eat, or move. The first few years of taking care of Mario were extremely challenging. It has been a difficult journey, but neuron by neuron Mario has kept improving. After seventeen years Mario is still severely disabled, but living a happy, productive life. He is very active in his local community and continues to inspire others through his love and art. www.MarioLoveProject.com [email protected]

From Patagonia to Apple, Whole Foods to New Balance, we love our favorite products--and, by extension, the companies that provide them. The emotional connections we form with our beloved brands and services are important relationships--relationships that are potentially worth billions. In the fast-paced, constantly-changing world of the modern marketplace, brands must adapt or perish—strategies, methods, and techniques must evolve to remain effective and relevant. Are you using yesterday’s thinking for tomorrow’s challenges? Brand Intimacy details ways to build better marketing through the cultivation of emotional connections between brand and consumer. The book provides lessons for marketers and business leaders alike who are seeking to understand these ultimate brand relationships and the opportunities they represent. Divided into three sections, Brand Intimacy starts with Context and Understanding. This explains today’s marketing landscape, the effects of technology, consumer behaviors and the advancements around decision making. Through research we discovered that people form relationships with brands the same way they develop relationships with other people. This section provides guidance on how to think about complimentary concepts such as loyalty, satisfaction and brand value. We then explore and compare established approaches and methodologies and showcase why intimacy is a compelling new and enhanced opportunity to build your brand or market your business. The second section, Theory and Model reveals and dimensions the brand intimacy model and dissects it into steps to help you better factor it into your marketing approaches or frameworks. Here you will learn the core concepts and components that are essential to build bonds and the role emotion can play to help you achieve greater customer engagement. You can also review the rankings of the best brands in terms of Brand Intimacy. A summary of our annual research reveals the characteristics of best performers, the most intimate industries, and differences based on geography, age, gender and income. By examining the top intimate brands, we reveal and decode the secrets of the bonds they form with their customers. The third section is Methods & Practice, this details the economic benefits and advantages of a strategy that factors Brand Intimacy. Intimate brands are proven to outperform the Fortune 500 and Standards and Poors’ index of brands. Intimate brands create more revenue and profit and last longer. Consumers are also willing to pay more for a brand they are more intimate with. Conversely, we also explore a series of brand failures and lessons learned to help you avoid common pitfalls in brand management. We articulate the steps to build a more intimate brand as well as share a glimpse on the future where software will play a more important role in brand building. The book outlines a proprietary digital platform that we use to help manage and enable intimacy through collaboration, simulators and real-time tracking of emotions. Business and marketing owners face an increasing difficult task to build brands that rise above the clutter, engage more and grow. Brand Intimacy explains how to better measure, build and manage enduring brands. Brands that are built to inspire as well as profit. Written by experienced marketers and backed by extensive research, Brand Intimacy rewrites the rulebook on how to establish and expand your marketing. The book is equal parts theory, research and practice, the result of 7 year journey and a new marketing paradigm for the modern marketer.

The often hilarious and sometimes poignant story behind Dal LaMagna's rise in the beauty industry. By the time LaMagna graduated from the Harvard Business School, his entrepreneurial activities—including operating discotheques in drive-in theaters, working with the 1960s musical teen sensations the Cowsills, and opening an ice cream parlor on the Venice Beach boardwalk—had landed him $150,000 of debt. Raising Eyebrows tells the story of how he finally succeeded. After years of failures and living pennilessly, LaMagna founded Tweezerman, one of the world's most respected, innovative and successful beauty tool manufacturers with over 40 million customers. A leader for socially responsible companies, Tweezerman became a success by making helping communities and caring for the environment everyday practices, not publicity gimmicks. A responsible capitalist, LaMagna wrote this roller-coaster memoir for entrepreneurs who are struggling and disenchanted with the ever changing economic system Packed with business lessons, financial plans, and practical advice Raising Eyebrows is full of inspiration, conscience, and good ideas for entrepreneurs and would-be entrepreneurs everywhere.

Almarie Chalmers, mother of the player behind the "Shot Heard Around the World," '08 Final Four Champions and NBA star Mario, shares the challenges and joys of raising a superstar son and a highly successful daughter. She delves into the profound struggle that all parents feel when they are torn between their children's dreams and their own. Almarie reveals how she was able to reconcile the two: to be supportive of her children's aspirations while working toward her own goals. From the cradle to the court, Almarie Chalmers shares her winning strategies for raising confident, successful children prepared to follow their dreams. Foreword by NBA Player Mario Chalmers