The coauthors of the bestselling Peak Performance dive into the fascinating science behind passion, showing how it can lead to a rich and meaningful life while also illuminating the ways in which it is a double-edged sword. Here’s how to cultivate a passion that will take you to great heights—while minimizing the risk of an equally great fall. Common advice is to find and follow your passion. A life of passion is a good life, or so we are told. But it's not that simple. Rarely is passion something that you just stumble upon, and the same drive that fuels breakthroughs—whether they're athletic, scientific, entrepreneurial, or artistic—can be every bit as destructive as it is productive. Yes, passion can be a wonderful gift, but only if you know how to channel it. If you're not careful, passion can become an awful curse, leading to endless seeking, suffering, and burnout. Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness once again team up, this time to demystify passion, showing readers how they can find and cultivate their passion, sustainably harness its power, and avoid its dangers. They ultimately argue that passion and balance--that other virtue touted by our culture--are incompatible, and that to find your passion, you must lose balance. And that's not always a bad thing. They show readers how to develop the right kind of passion, the kind that lets you achieve great things without ruining your life. Swift, compact, and powerful, this thought-provoking book combines captivating stories of extraordinarily passionate individuals with the latest science on the biological and psychological factors that give rise to—and every bit as important, sustain—passion.

The aim of this book is to inspire and encourage project practitioners, executives, and beginners in the project management field to develop passion, persistence, and patience. The author tells his personal stories and experiences managing projects in organizations by practicing his three Ps–passion, persistence, and patience. Several examples and some tools are included at every chapter. The reader will discover how to assess his/her passion, persistence, and patience and will discover suggestions and methods to prepare an improvement plan. This book is the fruit of several years of different author experiences lived as a project manager and as a professional worldwide. Cultivating his passion, persistence, and patience over the years, he has achieved many of his professional goals. Read this book carefully and reflect upon your personal behaviors, then you will achieve your excellence as a professional.

Winner of the 2017 APA William James Book Award The concept of passion is one we regularly use to describe our interests, and yet there is no broad theory that can explain the development and consequences of passion for activities across people's lives. In The Psychology of Passion, Robert J. Vallerand presents the first such theory, providing a complete presentation of the Dualistic Model of Passion and the empirical evidence that supports it. Vallerand conceives of two types of passion: harmonious passion, which remains under the person's control, and obsessive passion, which controls the person. While the first typically leads to adaptive behaviors, the obsessive form of passion leads to less adaptive and, at times, maladaptive behaviors. Vallerand highlights the effects of these two types of passion on a number of psychological phenomena, such as cognition, emotions, performance, relationships, aggression, and violence. He also discusses the development of passion and reviews a range of literature on passion for activities.

In this instant New York Times bestseller, Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent, but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls “grit.” “Inspiration for non-geniuses everywhere” (People). The daughter of a scientist who frequently noted her lack of “genius,” Angela Duckworth is now a celebrated researcher and professor. It was her early eye-opening stints in teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience that led to her hypothesis about what really drives success: not genius, but a unique combination of passion and long-term perseverance. In Grit, she takes us into the field to visit cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, teachers working in some of the toughest schools, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. She also mines fascinating insights from history and shows what can be gleaned from modern experiments in peak performance. Finally, she shares what she’s learned from interviewing dozens of high achievers—from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff to Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll. “Duckworth’s ideas about the cultivation of tenacity have clearly changed some lives for the better” (The New York Times Book Review). Among Grit’s most valuable insights: any effort you make ultimately counts twice toward your goal; grit can be learned, regardless of IQ or circumstances; when it comes to child-rearing, neither a warm embrace nor high standards will work by themselves; how to trigger lifelong interest; the magic of the Hard Thing Rule; and so much more. Winningly personal, insightful, and even life-changing, Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that—not talent or luck—makes all the difference. This is “a fascinating tour of the psychological research on success” (The Wall Street Journal).

The inspiring, influential senator and bestselling author mixes vivid personal stories with a passionate plea for political transformation. Elizabeth Warren is a beacon for everyone who believes that real change can improve the lives of all Americans. Committed, fearless, and famously persistent, she brings her best game to every battle she wages. In Persist, Warren writes about six perspectives that have influenced her life and advocacy. She’s a mother who learned from wrenching personal experience why child care is so essential. She’s a teacher who has known since grade school the value of a good and affordable education. She’s a planner who understands that every complex problem requires a comprehensive response. She’s a fighter who discovered the hard way that nobody gives up power willingly. She’s a learner who thinks, listens, and works to fight racism in America. And she’s a woman who has proven over and over that women are just as capable as men. Candid and compelling, Persist is both a deeply personal book and a powerful call to action. Elizabeth Warren—one of our nation’s most visionary leaders—will inspire everyone to believe that if we’re willing to fight for it, profound change is well within our reach.

Every one of us lives in a box. This box determines what we see and what we do not see. It tells us who to love and hate. What to fight for. How to live. Who we are. Our boxes -- the collection of stories we tell about ourselves and the world -- create the human drama. Whether you become a pawn in this drama or take control of your destiny depends on the ability to answer two questions: Why is my box the way it is? How can I transform it? By examining the forces that have shaped your most deeply held beliefs, this book challenges you to think outside the box that society has provided for you ... ... and begin writing your own story.

"You cannot be a Christian if you are 'cool.'The world supposedly admires coolness and has made cool into a term of admiration. Not so with Jesus Christ. He is saying that unless your commitment is 'hot'; unless it is 'passionate' it has no relationship to Him." Elton Trueblood"s statement is compelling for Christians. Only a passionate faith can confront the disturbing personal and social issues of our time. Lukewarm lip service to the great promises of Scripture simply has no sustaining power, and churches which adhere to a lukewarm faith will continue to decline. Theologian Emil Brunner states: "The church exists by mission as a fire exists by burning. " How else can it grow? The only way you know whether anything is on fire is whether it will start another fire. The metaphor of 'fire' is used to describe our relationship with Christ. In the so-called Gospel of Thomas, found in the dry sands of Egypt, Jesus says: "I came to cast fire upon the earth. He who comes close to me comes close to the fire." In this book, Dr. Gazzard seeks to inspire and empower individuals to grow into a passionate faith by sowing seeds of inspiration, drawn from his