When it comes to money, are you controlled by fearDo you live in financial chaos?Do you underestimate your worthAre you ready to go to the next level, but can't seem to get thereIf the answer is yes to these questions, you may be an underearner. Underearners are self-saboteurs who never live up to their earnings potential, says Barbara Stanny, a financial educator, motivational speaker, former journalist, and career counselor. Underearners tend to live paycheck to paycheck. They rarely balance their checkbooks and are often in debt. Ironically, many work incredibly hard. Yet they are ashamed to admit that money matters to them. They all have a high tolerance for low pay. The good news is that underearning is often self-imposed. By focusing on overcoming underearning, you will not only earn what you deserve, but you can live up to your full potential. With techniques and exercises that have helped thousands of people who have participated in her Overcoming Underearningworkshops, Stanny teaches you five essential steps to financial independence. Once you understand these steps, you will be confident asking for a raise, increasing your prices, or getting a better job. "Now I'm making more than my friends, all because I had the guts to dream and ask for more," says one Stanny fan. First, Tell the Truth: be honest about your financial situation and figure out your attitudes toward money. Second, Make a Decision: decide that you want to make more money. Third, Stretch: take action, face your fears, and be willing to be uncomfortable. Fourth, Create Community by finding supporters and asking for help. Fifth, Respect and Appreciate Money: learn to save and invest. Overcoming Underearning is filled with inspiring, real-life stories of underearners who turned their lives around. Stanny brings a message of empowerment and hope to all those who chronically undervalue themselves. "I'm making more, working less, feeling healthier, have more energy, and I'm so much happier," concludes another Stanny believer.

Why have all the sprinters who have run the 100 meters in under ten seconds been blackWhat's one thing Mozart, Venus Williams, and Michelangelo have in common?Is it good to praise a child's intelligenceWhy are baseball players so superstitiousFew things in life are more satisfying than beating a rival. We love to win and hate to lose, whether it's on the playing field or at the ballot box, in the office or in the classroom. In this bold new look at human behavior, award-winning journalist and Olympian Matthew Syed explores the truth about our competitive nature why we win, why we don't, and how we really play the game of life. Bounce reveals how competition the most vivid, primal, and dramatic of human pursuits provides vital insight into many of the most controversial issues of our time, from biology and economics, to psychology and culture, to genetics and race, to sports and politics. Backed by cutting-edge scientific research and case studies, Syed shatters long-held myths about meritocracy, talent, performance, and the mind. He explains why some people thrive under pressure and others choke, and weighs the value of innate ability against that of practice, hard work, and will. From sex to math, from the motivation of children to the culture of big business, Bounce shows how competition provides a master key with which to unlock the mysteries of the world.

From America's most trusted financial advisor comes a comprehensive guide to a new and utterly sane financial choice. In Die Broke, you'll learn that life is a game where the loser gives his money to Uncle Sam at the end. There are four steps to the process: Quit Today No, don't tell your boss to shove it...at least not out loud. But in your head accept that from this day on you're a free agent whose number one workplace priority is your personal bottom line.Pay Cash You should be as conscious of spending as you are of saving. Credit should be a rarely used tool for those few times (buying homes and cars) when paying cash is impossible.Don't Retire Your work life should be a journey up and down hills, rather than a climb up a sheer cliff that ends with a jump into the abyss.Die Broke It sounds terrifying, the one intolerable outcome to your financial life. And yet, in truth, dying broke might be your best option for a life without fear: fear of failure and privation now, fear of impoverishment in the long run.

The marketing revolution is here, so get on the right side of the barricade and become a part of it! Let's thank Mr. and Mrs. Consumer and their little Consumerlings who have seized power from the corporations and are now firmly in control. In Punk Marketing, Laermer and Simmons take an irreverent, penetrating look at the seismic change in the relationship between the people who sell stuff products, services, entertainment and those who purchase it. They demonstrate that to survive in business, a revolutionary approach is needed one they have branded "Punk Marketing" and it's one we all need to understand, for the traditional divisions among commerce, content, and consumers are continuing to blur ever more rapidly.Never dull, sometimes controversial, but always a helluva lot of fun, Punk Marketing presents a manifesto for any businessperson needing to engage consumers or any consumer seeking to understand and employ their newfound power. And here's the good news: It's based on principles that have existed forever. In an age of digital video recorders, "branded" entertainment, cell-phone TV, multiplayer online games, and never-ending social networking, a coherent approach to marketing has never been more vital. With Punk Marketing, there's a built-in plan to equip you with tools to make all this change work out just fine, thanks.Punk Marketing is the first shot soon to be heard 'round the world of a long-awaited and breathless uprising that businesses want, deserve, and desperately need.

Kate White New York Times bestselling author, editor in chief of Cosmopolitan for fourteen years, and motivational speaker shares her gutsy secrets to success in this witty, straight-talking new career guide for women.Whether you've just settled into your first work cubicle and have no clue how to go after the success you crave, or you've already got a sweet little office but you aren't sure how to take your career to the next level, I Shouldn't Be Telling You This gives you all the secrets you need to become a success, go big with it, and then savor every second. It is jam-packed with insider strategies, interviews with women at the top of their game, and Kate's advice from her own career running five major magazines (including one of the bestselling women's magazines in the world, Cosmopolitan). She hows you how to break out of the pack, master the learning curve, make bold moves, and, ultimately, have the career you've always lusted for!Kate shares five secrets every woman needs to know how to:Land a Job You're Truly Passionate About Use "Bitch Envy" to Your Advantage Radiate Confidence and Get Buzzed About (Without Worrying What Other People Think)Ask for the Money You Want and Get It Manage Your Career and Not Just Your Job (It's a Whole Different Ball Game!)But more than anything, Kate says, you have to go big or go home do what's unexpected and always keep your career trajectory in mind. It might be tackling a project that no one else is taking on and nailing it then making sure your boss knows it. Or it might be developing a "golden gut" that will help you to break the rules the right way, so you always end up shining. In I Shouldn't Be Telling You This, Kate White shares the kinds of secrets no boss is ever likely to spill all with her irreverent wit and candid style. You'll come away with the know-how you need and you'll feel as though you've just gotten up from a fabulously dishy lunch!

One of the nations' foremost financial consultants shares 78 proven ways to cut costs dramatically, send productivity through the roof, and, in just six months, double profits.

Who Killed ChangeSolving the Mystery of Leading People Through Change Every day organizations around the world launch change initiatives often big, expensive ones designed to improve the status quo. Yet 50 to 70 percent of these change efforts fail. A few perish suddenly, but many die painful, protracted deaths that drain the organization's resources, energy and morale.Who or What Is Killing Change?That's what you'll find out in this witty whodunit. The story features a Columbo-style detective, Agent Mike McNally, who's investigating the murder of yet another change. One by one, Agent McNally interviews thirteen prime suspects, including a myopic leader named Victoria Vision; a chronically tardy manager named Ernest Urgency; an executive named Clair Communication, whose laryngitis makes communication all but impossible; and several other dubious characters.The suspects are sure to sound familiar and you're bound to relate them to your own workplace. In the end, Agent McNally solves the case in a way that will inspire you to become an effective Change Agent in your own organization.A step-by-step guide at the back of the book shows you how to apply the story's lessons to the real world. Key questions help you evaluate the health of your organization's change initiatives, and you'll learn best practices for enabling and sustaining the desired change.

The bestselling author of The Sellout tells the explosive story of the government’s crackdown on insider-trading networks an investigation that has already racked up more than 60 convictions.In Circle of Friends, award-winning journalist Charles Gasparino one of Wall Street's most knowledgeable observers follows government investigators and prosecutors as they pursue one of the most aggressive and broad-reaching series of insider-trading cases in the nation's history. A richly textured page-turner of investigative journalism based on extensive reporting, Circle of Friends chronicles the massive federal crackdown that has already put some of the biggest names on Wall Street behind bars, including Raj Rajaratnam, founder of the Galleon Group, and Rajat Gupta, a former CEO of consulting giant McKinsey & Co. Other similarly sized targets are still waiting nervously, including the biggest one of them all financial impresario Steve Cohen of SAC Capital, the giant hedge fund that has confounded regulators for years by cranking out a steady stream of market-busting returns.Gasparino goes behind the headlines to reveal how the government makes its case, using every tool at its disposal and at great expense to taxpayers to supposedly make the investing world safer for average Americans. Gasparino asks why federal officials are so eager to prosecute these cases: What is the real damage to individualsDo average investors really careHe explores why insider trading is all the rage these days when the U.S. government has failed to bring a single criminal case against the culprits who caused the 2008 financial crisis. Circle of Friends is not a defense of insider trading, but it does offer an account of the politics of Wall Street crime fighting, revealing the behind-the-scenes ambitions that motivate headlines and burnish political careers. A riveting work of narrative nonfiction, as engrossing and explosive as fictional thrillers of the finest magnitude, Circle of Friends is a wakeup call to the investing public.

leverage (lev'r ij) The power to act or influence.ditch (dich) Slang, to get rid of; discard.Finally, you hold in your hands a powerful tool that will show you how to take full advantage of -- Leverage! -- your strengths and most positive qualities, while at the same time discarding or getting around -- Ditch! -- whatever gets in your way.Scott Blanchard and Madeleine Homan, co-founders of Coaching.com, share their groundbreaking program, honed by fourteen years of high-level executive coaching and consulting. They offer new perspectives on how to spend your precious and limited resources, time, emotions, passions, and energy to generate the best results.The three-part process begins with a twenty-five-question self-assessment, then moves on to the Three Perspectives -- major life queries that focus on how you are perceived, your own self-image, and self-imposed limitations. The final step, the Seven Leverage Points, offers fresh insight into the choices you make and how you conduct yourself in business and in life. You will find immediately applicable tools to appraise and manage your work environment and personal gifts. You will be guided to make tiny but crucial shifts in getting needs met and drawing boundaries.Leverage Your Best, Ditch the Rest eliminates the stupid stuff that distracts you and gets in your way. It shows you how to capitalize on what you've got going for you and how to invest in yourself like a hot new stock.*****In addition, we have built a Web site, www.leverageyourbest.com, for those who have made a commitment to their own coaching journey. Coaching is a dynamic tool and you are a work in progress---technology makes it easy to track growth. Leverage Your Best readers can use the Web site, the first of its kind, to work through exercises in the book electronically, keep a personal record of progress, communicate with other readers in an online coaching experience, and give feedback to the authors. A collaborative effort, the Web's online coaching community defines the www.leverageyourbest.com site experience, adding new dimensions to professional development...all for the price of the of the book . Visit the world's only online coaching Web experience and see what has people everywhere jumping in their cubicles. Enjoy!

If you're loosing sleep over your financial worries, help is here at last.Whether you're fretting over a mortgage that's been denied; a loan that's delayed; a marriage settlement that seems unfair; or a business that's struggling, this extraordinary book will not only help you rest easy, it will show you how to turn adversity into success.Here you'll learn the Pollan method for turning no into yes: how to determine your problem; how to make sure you're dealing with only one problem at a time; and how to create an environment of trust. With literally hundreds of scenarios to illustrate it's success, this unique and practical method will make you feel like you've got a coach, strategist, and motivator at your beck and call -- and will help you sleep well, knowing you're on the way to getting what you want.

Technology is not the answer. It is also not the problem. What matters insteadAwareness, Engagement, and Wisdom.Wisdom 2.0 addresses the challenge of our age:to not only live connected to one another through technology,but to do so in ways that are beneficial, effective, and useful.

A completely updated and revised edition of a bestselling book that has helped tens of thousands of people learn how to network effectively, Success Runs in Our Race is more important than ever in this fluctuating economy. With scores of anecdotes taken from interviews with successful African Americans -- from Keith Clinkscales, founder and former CEO of Vanguarde Media, to Oprah Winfrey -- Fraser shows how to network for information, for influence, and for resources. Readers will learn, among other things, how to cultivate valuable listening skills, which conferences blacks are most likely to attend when looking to build their business network, and how to effectively circulate a rsume.More than a guide for personal achievement, this is an information-packed bible of networking that also seeks to inspire a social movement and a rebirth of the "Underground Railroad," in which successful African Americans share the lessons of self-determination and empowerment with those still struggling to scale the ladder of success.

It was an inconceivable deception: over $65 billion stolen in the world's largest Ponzi scheme. Including new and revealing interviews with those who worked closest to himand his family, Betrayal is an in-depth, penetrating look at the man who perpetrated history's most notorious financial crime. To the people who knew him, Bernie Madoff was a kind and honorable person; a loving father and husband; generous to his employees and charitable even to strangers. On Wall Street, he was known as a wise elder statesman, wildly successful in his investments but never too risky with people's money. He was so revered and trusted that thousands placed their life savings with him, and he in turn provided them with early retirements and affluent lifestyles.But on December 11, 2008, Madoff confessed that he'd lied to them all. The monthly financial statements he'd sent customers for decades were all works of fiction. Their money was gone.Despite the crush of media attention on Madoff's scam, little is known about Madoff himself. What could lead a seemingly good man to ruin the lives of everyone who ever cared about himWhat caused Bernie Madoff to commit an unspeakable act of betrayal, bankrupting his family, his friends, his mentors, and thousands of investors who depended upon him for their livelihoodsBetrayal: The Life and Lies of Bernie Madoff is about the man who realized that he could have everything he wanted if he simply lied to the people who trusted him the most. Author Andrew Kirtzman tracked down more than a hundred people from Madoff's past, from the first girl he ever kissed to family members who played in his house as children; from his secretaries to his drivers; from traders at his company to his inner circle of friends. He pored through thousands of pages of court records; private e-mails; phone-conversation tran*s; and census, military, and immigration records. The result is a fascinating story about the rise of a deeply immoral man.Kirtzman describes Madoff's feelings of inferiority and humiliation as a child, and his obsession with making money to prove himself worthy as he grew older. He reveals Madoff's construction of a criminal enterprise at a young age, long before he's ever claimed it began. He paints a picture of a loving yet strange family that ran a multibillion-dollar corporation like a small family restaurant. He offers an inside look at life within the company and the characters who worked on the infamous seventeenth floor. He reveals the details of an underground flow of cash that no one has known about until now. And he chronicles the desperate moments leading up to Madoff's fall, from the perspective of the people who spent the last hours with him before his house of cards collapsed.

Are You Playing By the New Rules?Forget what you know about personal finance. The old rules no longer apply. Ric Edelman's 88 strategies, tailor-made for today's economy, will show you how to achieve financial success. Ric is famous for making personal finance fun, and you'll discover how easy it is to put his advice into action!Is it smart to buy company stock with your 402 (k) planDiscover the right way to handle your company retirement plan. See Rule #85 Learn why you must carry a big, long mortgage -- and never pay it off! See Rule #21Learn why not to invest in the new Roth IRA-and discover the most powerful anti-tax investment available today. See Rules #69 and #76Planning to retireLearn why you won't -- and what you must do instead. See Rule #88Find out why those who invest in S&P 500 Index Funds will wish they hadn't. See Rule #36Learn why that higher - paying job could actually cost you money. See Rule #32

From the founders of ClassyMommy.com and MomGenerations.com comes the ultimate guide to helping moms build successful careers at home by doing what they already do online just better.To work or not to work it's the toughest question for most mothers today. But Audrey McClelland and Colleen Padilla have found the coveted middle ground, creating successful careers from home via the Internet. They've literally Skyped, blogged, vlogged, tweeted, and Facebooked their way to the top and in this eye-opening book they show other moms how to find success through these seven basic steps: 1. Find your passion. 2. Hang a digital shingle and start typing. 3. Find your tribe. 4. Make opportunity knock and learn how to answer that door. 5. Manage the Benjamins. 6. Don't forget the children! 7. Live happily ever after by living your values.

Do you have a hobby you wish you could indulge in all dayAn obsession that keeps you up at nightNow is the perfect time to take that passion and make a living doing what you love. In Crush It! Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion, Gary Vaynerchuk shows you how to use the power of the Internet to turn your real interests into real businesses. Gary spent years building his family business from a local wine shop into a national industry leader. Then one day he turned on a video camera, and by using the secrets revealed here, transformed his entire life and earning potential by building his personal brand. By the end of this book, readers will have learned how to harness the power of the Internet to make their entrepreneurial dreams come true. Step by step, Crush It! is the ultimate driver's manual for modern business.

The legendary leadership guide, distilled from a lifetime of wisdom and experience in government and business Throughout his long and distinguished career—as a naval aviator, a U.S. Congressman, a top aide to four American presidents, a high-level diplomat, a CEO of two Fortune 500 companies, and the only twice-serving Secretary of Defense in American history—Donald Rumsfeld has collected hundreds of pithy, compelling, and often humorous observations about leadership, business, and life. When President Gerald Ford ordered these aphorisms distributed to his White House staff in 1974, the collection became known as "Rumsfeld's Rules." First gathered as three-by-five cards in a shoebox and then typed up and circulated informally over the years, these eminently nonpartisan rules have amused and enlightened presidents, business executives, chiefs of staff, foreign officials, diplomats, and members of Congress. They earned praise from the Wall Street Journal as "Required reading," and from the New York Times which said: "Rumsfeld's Rules can be profitably read in any organization…The best reading, though, are his sprightly tips on inoculating oneself against that dread White House disease, the inflated ego." Meanwhile, the collection continued to grow as Rumsfeld added new rules derived from things he read, heard, or observed in more than eight decades of a remarkable life. Now these legendary rules are made available for the first time to corporate executive. Rumsfeld has selected his most useful and important rules for effective leadership, enhanced with fresh insights and entertaining anecdotes, and discusses them in the blunt and witty style that made his Pentagon press conferences "must-see TV." Distilled from a career of unusual breadth and accomplishment, and organized under practical topics like hiring people, running a meeting, and dealing with the press, Rumsfeld's Rules can benefit people at every stage in their careers and in every walk of life, from aspiring politicos and industrialists to recent college graduates, teachers, and business leaders. The book provides unprecedented insight into leadership, management, strategy, and life—thinking that not only helped Rumsfeld lead the Pentagon in wartime, but earned him a reputation as one of America's toughest and most effective CEOs.

Drawing on his experience as a leader in some of the nation's largest corporations, Baum issues a convincing call for honest, ethical, "transparent" dealing throughout the business world. Baum outlines the management techniques he uses within and without the company to get outstanding results without skirting the rules or bending the truth. Baum maintains that by fostering trust, integrity and accountability at all levels within the corporation, managers can stop the erosion of employee loyalty, restore consumer trust in brands, products, and American business. Baum teaches executives fresh ways of managing Wall Street analysts, communicating with shareholders, and wading through the complex maze of social responsibility issues.As a member of six corporate boards, Baum offers unique insight into transparent leadership, including the advantages and pitfalls of corporate governance, and the pressures executives face in reporting earnings. He also discusses the importance of setting standards for ethical business practices, yet highlights the dangers of government regulations that may result in excessive compliance costs at the expense of shareholders, creative risk taking, and innovation.

Why is medical care in the United States so expensiveFor decades, Americans have taken it as a matter of faith that we spend more because we have the best health care system in the world. But as costs levitate, that argument becomes more difficult to make. Today, we spend twice as much as Japan on health care—yet few would argue that our health care system is twice as good. Instead, startling new evidence suggests that one out of every three of our health care dollars is squandered on unnecessary or redundant tests; unproven, sometimes unwanted procedures; and overpriced drugs and devices that, too often, are no better than the less expensive products they have replaced. How did this happenIn Money-Driven Medicine, Maggie Mahar takes the reader behind the scenes of a $2 trillion industry to witness how billions of dollars are wasted in a Hobbesian marketplace that pits the industry's players against each other. In remarkably candid interviews, doctors, hospital administrators, patients, health care economists, corporate executives, and Wall Street analysts describe a war of "all against all" that can turn physicians, hospitals, insurers, drugmakers, and device makers into blood rivals. Rather than collaborating, doctors and hospitals compete. Rather than sharing knowledge, drugmakers and device makers divide value. Rather than thinking about long-term collective goals, the imperatives of an impatient marketplace force health care providers to focus on short-term fiscal imperatives. And so investments in untested bleeding-edge medical technologies crowd out investments in information technology that might, in the long run, not only reduce errors but contain costs. In theory, free market competition should tame health care inflation. In fact, Mahar demonstrates, when it comes to medicine, the traditional laws of supply and demand do not apply. Normally, when supply expands, prices fall. But in the health care industry, as the number and variety of drugs, devices, and treatments multiplies, demand rises to absorb the excess, and prices climb. Meanwhile, the perverse incentives of a fee-for-service system reward health care providers for doing more, not less. In this superbly written book, Mahar shows why doctors must take responsibility for the future of our health care industry. Today, she observes, "physicians have been stripped of their standing as professionals: Insurers address them as vendors ('Dear Health Care Provider'), drugmakers and device makers see them as customers (someone you might take to lunch or a strip club), while . . . consumers (aka patients) are encouraged to see their doctors as overpaid retailers. . . . Before patients can reclaim their rightful place as the center—and indeed as the raison d'être—of our health care system," Mahar suggests, "we must once again empower doctors . . . to practice patient-centered medicine—based not on corporate imperatives, doctors' druthers, or even patients' demands," but on the best scientific research available.

The workplace guide to putting "I wish I'd said" moments in the past Ever wish that you could have a "do over" after a conversation at workDo you often find yourself regretting what you've said to a coworker or kicking yourself for not saying something better, stronger, or more preciseIf so, you're like most people, and in Comebacks at Work, management professor and consultant Kathleen Kelley Reardon, Ph.D., provides the tips and tools you need to know what to say and how to say it better next time.In this compelling, entertaining book, Reardon argues that we are responsible for 75 percent of the way we're treated at work, and our success or failure at the workplace depends largely on how we handle ourselves in conversation with our colleagues. To break free of the stale *s and expected actions that allow politically astute people to manipulate us, we must increase our conversational awareness and effectively employ what Reardon calls "comebacks." Comebacks at Work provides a game plan for doing so and explains: Why some comebacks work, while others fall flat; Why our mind goes blank when we are confronted, and how to overcome that response; How to determine which comebacks work, and when to use them. Every conversation is different, and while many situations are common, one set of comebacks isn't enough. Offering a personalized repertoire of comebacks and a plan for using them strategically as well as the skills you will need to package them for maximum effect, Comebacks at Work will prepare you for any difficult conversation that comes your way.

An inspiring exploration of how unorthodox business practices and the freedom to experiment can fuel innovationWe're at a crossroads. Many iconic American companies have been bailed out or gone bankrupt; others are struggling to survive as digitization and globalization remake their industries. At the same time, the tectonic forces disrupting U.S. corporations ubiquitous bandwidth and computing power, cheap manufacturing and distribution have enabled large organizations to foster new innovations and products through experiments that are at once more aggressive and less risky than they would have been twenty years ago. At companies such as Google, employees are encouraged to spend 20% of their work time on projects they're personally interested in. Almost half of Google's new product launches have originated from this policy, including Gmail and AdSense. Now other companies have adopted the concept, providing them a path to innovation and profits at a time of peril and uncertainty and offering employees creative freedom when many are feeling restless.The 20% Doctrine is about goofing off at work, and how that goofing off can drive innovation and profit. Here Ryan Tate examines the origins and implementation of 20% time at Google, then looks at how other organizations such as Flickr, the Huffington Post, and even a school in the Bronx have adapted or reinvented the same overall concept, intentionally and serendipitously. Along the way, he distills a series of common themes and lessons that can help workers initiate successful 20% style projects within their own organizations. Only through a new devotion to the unhinged and the ad hoc can American businesses resume a steady pace of development and profitability.