Quotes to Live By

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.
(John Quincy Adams)

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit. (Aristotle)

Every artist was first an amateur. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. (Thomas Jefferson)

It takes ten years to build up a reputation, but only five minutes to ruin one. (Anonymous)

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

The 101 Collection for Leaders

Although I requested this book, I really don't know what the hype is about. If you knew nothing at all about leadership and hid yourself in your house without socializing with anyone, you would definitely need this book.

Here is where the hype comes in:

Think of The Complete 101 Collection as a crash course?or rather, an entire semester?of leadership fundamentals to help you reach your potential in these areas:

Attitude 101 Attitude is contagious, so make sure your team is catching the right one.
Self-Improvement 101 To improve your life, improve yourself.
Leadership 101 No matter who you are, you can lead?and lead well.
Relationships 101 Great leadership is built on great relationships
Success 101 Success may look different for each person, but the principles remain the same.
Teamwork 101 Talent wins games, but teamwork wins championships.
Equipping 101 Leaders with an equipped team possess an edge that will help them win.
Mentoring 101 Multiply your impact by increasing the number of leaders on your team.

Career Playbook

This is a great little book that gives you a play by play on the ins and outs of getting a career. This book is great for anyone looking to changing or finding a job. Just like a playbook for a specific sport, this book is also good at pointing you in the right direction for interviews and resumes which could be hard to navigate if you do not understand its jargon.

Based on an in-depth survey of thousands of graduates and young professionals, and hundreds of interviews with the world’s top business and nonprofit leaders—not to mention James Citrin’s decades of experience as a senior partner at the premier executive search firm Spencer Stuart—The Career Playbook offers recent graduates and aspiring young professionals actionable advice for excelling. From his practical tips on generating valuable introductions, nailing interviews, and negotiating compensation to strategic advice on the arc of a career, the importance of relationships, how to cultivate a mentor, and knowing when to change jobs or industries, Citrin provides an invaluable guide to the most urgent questions that are at the heart of every person’s career deliberations.

Packed with first-person advice from graduates and young professionals themselves, as well as the perspectives of seasoned CEOs, entrepreneurs, leaders, and experts, such as Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson, Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg, Third Point Advisors’ Daniel Loeb, author Malcolm Gladwell, and US Navy SEALs’ Admiral Eric Olson, The Career Playbook is an essential resource for landing, launching, and thriving in your career.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

God Bless Our Country!

A new addition to the bestselling Berenstain Bears' Living Lights series that teaches simple Christian truths to children.

In the newest Berenstain Bear Living Lights, the glorious Fourth of July has arrived and the Bear family is busy decorating with flags and bunting. Brother, Sister and Honey are just waiting for the big parade and all the fireworks and aren't really thinking about the true meaning of the day.

But Mama and Papa make sure the cubs know just how much Bear Country is blessed with a quick lesson about the first Fourth of July.

I really like how this book mentions that our country was born from the foundation of knowing God, but I would have liked the book to go more in depth about the founding fathers and the Christian morals instilled in the country.

Sure, I'm thankful that this book even mentions God at all, but I would like a little more history and less on how the parade went and the details about who won 1st and 2nd prize. That's why this book gets 4 stars, instead of 5 stars from Book Look Bloggers.

Giving Love Letters

Love letters used to be a way of romancing your second half by knights in shining armor. Whenever you read a romance novel or watch a chick flick, the handsome guy uses a beautiful, poetic love letter to woo his lady love.

Fast forward a couple hundred years in 2015, where the art of letter writing is slowly being replaced by social media, instant text messages, and e-mails. Where is the romance in that? Anyone can write an e-mail these days and send an impersonal e-mail to strangers across the globe.

I may be the only conservative girl out there who still hopes for a love letter written by my prince whom God is preparing for me. I still want the romance of the old times, where the guys pick the flowers from a nearby field and present it in a romantic way.

This is why I still hold out hope that my prince is as romantic as I am. I love the free book I got from Blogging for Books called: The World Needs More Love Letters All-in-One Stationery and Envelopes by Hannah Brencher. This book is made out of 32 pages of stationary that can be turned into a simple envelope. The last few pages of the book is made up of stickers that are used to seal the envelope. The idea is to hide it somewhere ideal that your loved one will find and be inspired by it.

Don't laugh, but my dream date isn't a movie and a dinner. It's a day where my prince and I enjoy a beautiful day enjoying God's creation by having a picnic, flying a kite or doing something that we both enjoy each other's company.

I'm a very romantic person at heart. I would be the person who thinks of creative things to do for the other person like setting up a candlelit dinner or hiding love notes around the house or even making a scrapbook of all the memories of our dates.

I really like how both covers of the book have prompts for people who aren't creative. Each suggestion can be used in each of the 32 pages. I love the last suggestion that says you should write a love letter and then cut up the pieces for your loved one to put together like a treasure hunt of puzzle pieces.

Friday, April 10, 2015

What Color is Your Parachute? Edition for Teens

The first edition not for teens was very helpful to me as an adult. Interviewing is the most stressful thing in life other than taking the SATs and the GRE. Everyone needs to practice before going to an interview. I love how it breaks down every component for an interview.

The teen edition is more or less the same kind of thing except it targets teens. Because in this generation, toddlers are seen with ipads and iphones, playing away in restaurants and doctor offices. So this book has a chapter that deals with social media. Most importantly, it’s packed with the big-picture advice that will set you up to land the job that’s perfect for who you are—and who you want to be.

It pays to figure out your interests early, so you can decide what additional schooling—and tuition debt—makes sense for your chosen field. In What Color Is Your Parachute? For Teens, career authorities Carol Christen and Richard N. Bolles not only help you plan for these decisions, but also help you define the unique passions that will lead  you to your dream job. With new chapters on social media and sustainable jobs—along with all-new profiles of twenty-somethings who’ve found work in solar energy, magazine writing, and more—this new edition has all the nitty-gritty details you need to get started now.

Friday, April 3, 2015

Am I Beautiful?

In this day and age, more and more girls are looking at outward appearances and failing miserably in the self-esteem department. Plastic surgery is more and more popular for those girls who come from wealthier families or those who want to improve themselves even more.

Teen girls who look up to these fake plastic role models feel that their comparison is almost unattainable. They feel that in order to be popular, they must look a certain way or be a certain height or weight before someone will notice them.

There are also red carpet scandals out there where the stars themselves fall all over to get the public to notice them so they wear the most ludicrous clothes.

I feel this book should be a best seller for preteens and even teenage girls because it teaches them that outward appearance is not the first priority in life, nor should it be. We should be content that we don't all look like Barbie models and that God didn't make us that way.

In this Brave Girls devotional, 90 engaging devotions will help young girls find their place in the world and learn that the beauty of their imperfections is what makes them unique, loved, precious, and "better than perfect" in God's eyes. Each devotion will include:

A relevant opening scripture from the Bible
A thought-provoking devotion to build a young girl's spirit
An engaging closing prayer to help the reader navigate her day!