Sailing Home


Book Description

Homer’s Odyssey holds a timeless allure. It is an ancient story for every generation: the struggle of a man on a long and difficult voyage longing to return to love and family. Odysseus’s strivings to overcome both divine and earthly obstacles and to control his own impulsive nature hold valuable lessons for us as we confront the challenges of daily life. Sailing Home breathes fresh air into a classic we thought we knew, revealing its profound guidance for the modern seeker. Dividing the book into three parts—“Setting Forth,” “Disaster,” and “Return”—Fischer charts the course of Odysseus’s familiar wanderings. Readers come to see this ancient hero as a flawed human being who shares their own struggles and temptations, such as yielding to desire or fear or greed, and making peace with family. Featuring thoughtful meditations, illuminating anecdotes from Fischer’s and his students’ lives, and stories from many wisdom traditions including Buddhist, Judaic, and Christian, Sailing Home shows the way to greater purpose in our own lives. The book’s literary dimension expands its appeal beyond the Buddhist market to a wider spiritual audience and to anyone interested in the teachings of myth and story.




21 Years of Wisdom


Book Description

From his shoe-box apartment, a black American from South Central Los Angeles builds a successful language academy across Japan. As business soars, private lessons lead to numerous romantic encounters, labor union battles, and clashes with the Japanese mob. Doing business in Japan has never been more stirring. And the price never so high.




The Odyssey


Book Description

A new translation of Homer's epic adventure endeavors to instill the poetic nature of its original language while retaining accuracy, readability, and character vibrancy, creating the most captivating rendition of one of the defining masterpieces of Western literature.




Odyssey


Book Description

Since their composition almost 3,000 years ago the Homeric epics have lost none of their power to grip audiences and fire the imagination: with their stories of life and death, love and loss, war and peace they continue to speak to us at the deepest level about who we are across the span of generations. That being said, the world of Homer is in many ways distant from that in which we live today, with fundamental differences not only in language, social order, and religion, but in basic assumptions about the world and human nature. This volume offers a detailed yet accessible introduction to ancient Greek culture through the lens of Book One of the Odyssey, covering all of these aspects and more in a comprehensive Introduction designed to orient students in their studies of Greek literature and history. The full Greek text is included alongside a facing English translation which aims to reproduce as far as feasible the word order and sound play of the Greek original and is supplemented by a Glossary of Technical Terms and a full vocabulary keyed to the specific ways that words are used in Odyssey I. At the heart of the volume is a full-length line-by-line commentary, the first in English since the 1980s and updated to bring the latest scholarship to bear on the text: focusing on philological and linguistic issues, its close engagement with the original Greek yields insights that will be of use to scholars and advanced students as well as to those coming to the text for the first time.




Designing Your Life


Book Description

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • At last, a book that shows you how to build—design—a life you can thrive in, at any age or stage • “Life has questions. They have answers.” —The New York Times Designers create worlds and solve problems using design thinking. Look around your office or home—at the tablet or smartphone you may be holding or the chair you are sitting in. Everything in our lives was designed by someone. And every design starts with a problem that a designer or team of designers seeks to solve. In this book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise.




The Choice of Odysseus


Book Description

The Choice of Odysseus demonstrates how the Odyssey provided Renaissance authors and readers with a poetic ethics—tools for living developed in poetry—to navigate the challenges of their age. As they endured schisms, ruptures, and failures of ideals, readers and poets turned to the Odyssey for narratives of recovery and aftermath. Sarah Van der Laan reconstructs Renaissance readings of the Odyssey from myriad sources. Situating major works by Petrarch, Poliziano, Ariosto, Tasso, Spenser, Monteverdi, and Milton in these Odyssean contexts, she recovers a powerful Renaissance tradition of Odyssean epic. Renaisance poets adopted the Odyssey as an epic model that supplements and even opposes the Virgilian epic model of conquest and imperial foundation. For Renaissance readers and authors, the Odyssey renders heroic other kinds of lived experience: the necessity of facing the world and its challenges with only human wisdom and reason; the ability to integrate traumatic detours and reversals into a vision of a successful and accomplished self; the recovery of a private life and personal desires painfully suspended for public service. Emphasizing marriage, reconciliation, homecoming, and the return to private life and private desires as suitably heroic matter for epic and powerful conventions for narrative and poetic closure, the Renaissance Odyssey and the epics and operas it inspired confer a uniquely heroic status on experience for men and women alike.




Wisdom: A Very Valuable Virtue That Cannot Be Bought


Book Description

Will a deep appreciation of wisdom lead to more happiness, flourishing, and success in life? Why is America increasingly plagued by tribalism, elitism, materialism, and ME-ism? What do philosophy, psychology, and personal growth have to say about wisdom? Are the Bible and other religious texts legitimate and useful sources of human wisdom? Though powerful and beautiful, philosophy has typically discouraged many readers who find it difficult, abstract, and boring. Moreover, modern psychology and age-old personal growth principles are given a bad name by many social media personalities who oversimplify them in an effort to make money. What is wisdom, how can it help me, and is this book authentic, reliable and useful ? Four-time author Jason Merchey believes wisdom can be developed and acquired, and improving your understanding of wisdom will certainly lead to living a better life! Wisdom is one of humankind's oldest and most prized virtues, yet it is not much respected nowadays. . . This new book has the potential to assist readers to live a life that harnesses the power of philosophy, critical thinking, and applied psychology. These secular sources of wisdom are not as complicated as they may seem, and indeed are road maps to a better life. Greater wisdom leads to improved personal growth, happiness, and success. Wisdom is not simple or plug-and-play, but it will yield its secrets to those who love it. In fact, the word philosophy is Greek for “the love of wisdom.” Wisdom is a comprehensive, transparent exploration of ancient and intriguing concepts combined with critical thinking, compassion, and other aspects of wisdom. Brimming with examples of psychological principles, careful analysis, and insightful quotes from many cultures and civilizations, it provides a basis for authentic intellectual, emotional, spiritual and moral growth. The author deftly combines digestible psychological research findings, compelling personal stories, and useful quotations about wisdom. Anyone aiming to build a life of value—one that yields purpose and happiness—should consider wisdom to be their basis. Wisdom has been one of humanity's highest aspirations for millennia. Jason Merchey has dealt with mental illness most of his life, but also earned a master's degree in clinical psychology and trained as a psychotherapist. No stranger to “the big questions” and the difficulty of life, he has studied wisdom, values and virtues for twenty years. In addition to personal benefits, this book sheds light on some of America’s significant social problems. The great philosopher Socrates himself knew that ancient Athens, Greece was in serious trouble. If we were all wiser and we had more enlightened and humane priorities, many of the problems that mark communities and nations would give way to more love, fellowship, and prosperity. This deep and eclectic book is full of ideas and insights that will assist you to: * Discover and prioritize wisdom in your personal life and relationships * Achieve greater fulfillment, happiness and self-confidence * Bring about true success based on self-knowledge and values * Make a positive difference in your community—and the world as a whole One cannot buy wisdom per se, but investing in this affordable book provides a refreshing opportunity for self-improvement and intellectual growth. It has the potential to assist you to make wisdom your greatest strength!




Medieval Wisdom for Modern Christians


Book Description

Many Christians today tend to view the story of medieval faith as a cautionary tale. Too often, they dismiss the Middle Ages as a period of corruption and decay in the church. They seem to assume that the church apostatized from true Christianity after it gained cultural influence in the time of Constantine, and the faith was only later recovered by the sixteenth-century Reformers or even the eighteenth-century revivalists. As a result, the riches and wisdom of the medieval period have remained largely inaccessible to modern Protestants. Church historian Chris Armstrong helps readers see beyond modern caricatures of the medieval church to the animating Christian spirit of that age. He believes today's church could learn a number of lessons from medieval faith, such as how the gospel speaks to ordinary, embodied human life in this world. Medieval Wisdom for Modern Christians explores key ideas, figures, and movements from the Middle Ages in conversation with C. S. Lewis and other thinkers, helping contemporary Christians discover authentic faith and renewal in a forgotten age.




7 Wisdoms for Highly Effective Entrepreneurs


Book Description

Embark on an Unprecedented Entrepreneurial Adventure! Dive into the world of entrepreneurship with "7 Wisdoms for Highly Effective Entrepreneurs," a distinctive guide that unearths the wisdom hidden in nature, the deeds of historical figures, and childhood games, framing them into the entrepreneurial context. "7 Wisdoms for Highly Effective Entrepreneurs," a path-breaking book designed with both budding and seasoned entrepreneurs, startup enthusiasts, and business connoisseurs in mind. With a well-orchestrated blend of timeless wisdom, renowned figures, and elements of nature, this book carves a captivating pathway to entrepreneurial success. The book's ever-increasing value resembles a meticulously woven tapestry, reflecting timeless lessons that entrepreneurs can carry into any era. The book unfolds in four insightful parts: Part 1, "The Foundation of Wisdoms," unwraps seven compelling chapters, each painting an intriguing fusion of life lessons and entrepreneurial spirit. Uncover lessons of resilience from the lotus, adaptability from Bruce Lee, and patience from the Tawny Frogmouth. Part 2, "The Entrepreneur's Toolkit," solidifies your learning with key concepts, checklists, thought-provoking insights, and critical assessments for each wisdom, nudging you to transition from knowledge to action. Part 3, "Wisdoms in Action," rounds out the book with two enlightening chapters: "The Extraordinary Ventures of Billy Buckleworth," a narrative that depicts the wisdoms in play, and "Practical Scenarios: Applying the 7 Wisdoms," which presents real-life scenarios demonstrating the wisdoms in action. Part 4, "The Tapestry and The Adventure," of the book emphasizes its timeless relevance, solidifying its position as a vital guide for entrepreneurs across generations, borders, cultures, and beliefs. Who is this book for? - Aspiring Entrepreneurs - Small Business Owners - Startup Enthusiasts - Freelancers - Business Strategists - Leadership Aficionados - Personal Development Seekers What value does it bring for an entrepreneur or a startup founder? "7 Wisdoms For Highly Effective Entrepreneurs” is not merely a book to read; it's an investment in your future. It's an interactive guide that invites contemplation, self-assessment, and direct action. The wisdom gathered from diverse disciplines within this over 340 pages book is fine-tuned to confront contemporary challenges, equipping you with the key to unlocking a dimension of entrepreneurial victory. It fosters a new generation of entrepreneurs destined to bring about significant change in the world. Let this guide illuminate your path through the unpredictable labyrinth of entrepreneurship. Let the knowledge of centuries and the secrets of nature propel your journey to unimaginable heights. What makes this book unique? This book uniquely stand out from tons of entrepreneurial literature in the market. The distinction lies in its inventive method of deriving lessons from nature and human excellence. Unlike many that focus purely on conventional business strategies, this book appeals to the innate human spirit. It's about more than just monetary gain – it weaves together passion, dreams, and transformative change. This book employs a holistic approach, drawing inspiration from nature, historical figures, and age-old wisdom. It stitches together practical advice and strategies for the modern-day entrepreneur. The narrative is both engaging and illuminating, turning the book into more than just a guide - it is an odyssey, a mentor, and a valuable wellspring of wisdom. Its unique mix of ancient and contemporary insights offers a comprehensive and practical understanding of entrepreneurship. Overflowing with priceless knowledge, this book is a treasured vessel destined to traverse vast seas, disseminating its rich teachings across the globe. Don't just dream, achieve! Join us in empowering aspiring entrepreneurs globally!




The Odyssey


Book Description