Impatient Optimist


Book Description

"A collection of direct quotes from Bill Gates on topics related to business, technology, Microsoft, philanthropy, and life"--Provided by publisher.




Jane Fonda


Book Description

Get inside the head of Jane Fonda: actress, political activist, environmentalist, philanthropist, and creator of an unlikely fitness empire that captivated the country beginning in the 1980s. This collection of quotes has been curated from Jane Fonda’s numerous public statements—interviews, books, social media posts, television appearances, and more. It’s a comprehensive picture of her legacy and her impact on American popular culture. Fonda began her career in the public eye as a model before taking up acting and bursting onto the scene as a stage actress in New York in the 1950s. She transitioned to film work in the 60s and skyrocketed to global prominence through her performance as the title character in Barbarella (1968). While she continued to headline in major motion pictures through the 70s and into the 80s, she became just as well known for the political activism she pursued in the late 60s and early 70s, most notably in the anti-war movement during the Vietnam era. In an effort to fund some of her activist efforts, she launched a second career in fitness. Fonda built a multi-million dollar aerobics exercise empire, starting with the release of Jane Fonda’s Workout Book (1981), which was a national bestseller, and quickly followed by her popular exercise video, Jane Fonda’s Workout, which was the top-selling VHS tape for a number of years. She went on to film more than 20 other workout videos, which collectively sold more than 17 million copies worldwide. She took a brief hiatus from acting throughout the 90s, during which time she founded several philanthropic organizations, including the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential, the Fonda Family Foundation, and the Jane Fonda Foundation. Her foundations make charitable donations to a number of causes including reproductive services, education, human services, and the environment. Fonda eventually returned to acting in the early 2000s, capturing a new generation of fans through her work in film and on popular television series including The Newsroom and the contemporary Netflix hit series Grace and Frankie. She has continued to do activist work, particularly in opposing the Iraq War and supporting environmental causes. Now, for the first time, you can find Jane Fonda’s most inspirational, thought-provoking quotes in one place.




Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know


Book Description

“I would say that learning this material ... has lifted some of the existential weight from me. Things aren’t as bad as they are trumpeted to be. In fact, they’re quite a bit better, and they’re getting better, and so we’re doing a better job than we thought. There’s more to us than we thought. We’re adopting our responsibilities as stewards of the planet rapidly. We are moving towards improving everyone’s life." —Jordan B. Peterson, Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life Think the world is getting worse? If so, you’re wrong. The world is, for the most part, actually getting better. But 58 percent of people in 17 countries who were surveyed in 2016 thought that the world was either getting worse or staying the same. Americans were even more glum: 65 percent thought the world was getting worse and only 6 percent thought it was getting better. The uncontroversial data on major global trends in this book will persuade you that this dark view of the state of humanity and the natural world is, in large part, badly mistaken. World population will peak at 8–9 billion before the end of this century, as the global fertility rate continues its fall from 6 children per woman in 1960 to the current rate of 2.4. The global absolute poverty rate has fallen from 42 percent in 1981 to 8.6 percent today. Satellite data show that forest area has been expanding since 1982. Natural resources are becoming ever cheaper and more abundant. Since 1900, the average life expectancy has more than doubled, reaching more than 72 years globally. Of course, major concerns such as climate change, marine plastic pollution, and declining wildlife populations are still with us, but many of these problems are already being ameliorated as a result of the favorable economic, social, and technological trends that are documented in this book. You can’t fix what is wrong in the world if you don’t know what’s actually happening. Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know will provide busy people with quick-to-read, easily understandable, and entertaining access to surprising facts that they need to know about how the world is really faring.




Tribe of Mentors


Book Description

Life-changing wisdom from 130 of the world's highest achievers in short, action-packed pieces, featuring inspiring quotes, life lessons, career guidance, personal anecdotes, and other advice




The Skeptical Environmentalist


Book Description

The Skeptical Environmentalist challenges widely held beliefs that the environmental situation is getting worse and worse. The author, himself a former member of Greenpeace, is critical of the way in which many environmental organisations make selective and misleading use of the scientific evidence. Using the best available statistical information from internationally recognised research institutes, Bjørn Lomborg systematically examines a range of major environmental problems that feature prominently in headline news across the world. His arguments are presented in non-technical, accessible language and are carefully backed up by over 2500 footnotes allowing readers to check sources for themselves. Concluding that there are more reasons for optimism than pessimism, Bjørn Lomborg stresses the need for clear-headed prioritisation of resources to tackle real, not imagined problems. The Skeptical Environmentalist offers readers a non-partisan stocktaking exercise that serves as a useful corrective to the more alarmist accounts favoured by campaign groups and the media.




Poems of Optimism


Book Description




From Here to Where???


Book Description

This book offers an intimate look at the trials and triumphs of an immigrant from Uruguay who spoke no English when he arrived in America. Part memoir, part inspirational life lessons, from Here to Where??? offers personal insights, inspirational quotes, and sayings that shaped the business ideology of this self-made entrepreneur. Throughout this book, he explains how he applies or modifies these sayings in real situations to guide him on his path in times of uncertainty. Gabriel Silva Lamboglia writes in his introduction, "The way you choose to apply the sayings and information in this book will determine the results you achieve. However you choose to read the book, I hope you will embrace these sayings and incorporate them into your daily life to help you through uncertain times and to achieve the happiness you desire." Presented with delightful illustrations that bring the book to life, from Here to Where??? inspires all of us to do our best and be our best selves. Whether read in a single sitting, or picked up occasionally for inspiration, this is a valuable book for those who are just starting out and established business leaders alike.




The Obstacle Is the Way


Book Description

#1 Wall Street Journal Bestseller The Obstacle is the Way has become a cult classic, beloved by men and women around the world who apply its wisdom to become more successful at whatever they do. Its many fans include a former governor and movie star (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a hip hop icon (LL Cool J), an Irish tennis pro (James McGee), an NBC sportscaster (Michele Tafoya), and the coaches and players of winning teams like the New England Patriots, Seattle Seahawks, Chicago Cubs, and University of Texas men’s basketball team. The book draws its inspiration from stoicism, the ancient Greek philosophy of enduring pain or adversity with perseverance and resilience. Stoics focus on the things they can control, let go of everything else, and turn every new obstacle into an opportunity to get better, stronger, tougher. As Marcus Aurelius put it nearly 2000 years ago: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” Ryan Holiday shows us how some of the most successful people in history—from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs—have applied stoicism to overcome difficult or even impossible situations. Their embrace of these principles ultimately mattered more than their natural intelligence, talents, or luck. If you’re feeling frustrated, demoralized, or stuck in a rut, this book can help you turn your problems into your biggest advantages. And along the way it will inspire you with dozens of true stories of the greats from every age and era.




Seeding Empire


Book Description

In Seeding Empire, Aaron Eddens rewrites an enduring story about the past—and future—of global agriculture. Eddens connects today's efforts to cultivate a "Green Revolution in Africa" to a history of American projects that introduced capitalist agriculture across the Global South. Expansive in scope, this book draws on archival records of the earliest Green Revolution projects in Mexico in the 1940s and 1950s, as well as interviews at development institutions and agribusinesses working to deliver genetically modified crops to millions of small-scale farmers across Africa. From the offices of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to the halls of the world's largest agricultural biotechnology companies to field trials of hybrid maize in Kenya, Eddens shows how the Green Revolution fails to address global inequalities. Seeding Empire insists that eradicating hunger in a world of climate crisis demands thinking beyond the Green Revolution.




Not the End of the World


Book Description

This "truly essential" book will transform how you see our biggest environmental problems (Margaret Atwood)—and explains how we can solve them. It’s become common to tell kids that they’re going to die from climate change. We are constantly bombarded by doomsday headlines that tell us the soil won’t be able to support crops, fish will vanish from our oceans, and that we should reconsider having children. But in this bold, radically hopeful book, data scientist Hannah Ritchie argues that if we zoom out, a very different picture emerges. In fact, the data shows we’ve made so much progress on these problems that we could be on track to achieve true sustainability for the first time in human history. Did you know that carbon emissions per capita are actually down, deforestation peaked back in the 1980s, the air we breathe now is vastly improved from centuries ago, and more people died from natural disasters a hundred years ago? Packed with the latest research, practical guidance, and enlightening graphics, this book will make you rethink almost everything you’ve been told about the environment. Not the End of the World will give you the tools to understand our current crisis and make lifestyle changes that actually have an impact. Hannah cuts through the noise by outlining what works, what doesn’t, and what we urgently need to focus on so we can leave a sustainable planet for future generations. These problems are big. But they are solvable. We are not doomed. We can build a better future for everyone. Let’s turn that opportunity into reality.