Author: Michael Rank
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781511671347
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 224
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Book Description
They never knew how he did it. Few composers write more than one or two symphonies in their lifetimes. Beethoven spent a year on his shorter symphonies but more than six years on his 9th Symphony. The prodigy Mozart finished his last three symphonies (39, 40, and 41) in the span of a few weeks. His 25th Symphony took only two days.None of these speed records match those of baroque composer Georg Philipp Telemann. Friends with both Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel, he was the most prolific composer in history and considered to be a leading German composer at a time when giants roamed the earth. During his duties as court musician for Count Erdmann II of Promnitz in Poland he composed at least 200 overtures in a two-year period. Over his lifetime Telemann's oeuvre consists of more than 3,000 pieces, although "only" 800 survive to this day.Telemann was not the only person whose productivity defied all reason. Greek scientist Archimedes discovered mathematical phenomena that weren't confirmed for 17 centuries. He also single-handedly defended Syracuse from the Romans by building massive catapults, a huge iron claw that could pick ships up out of the ocean, and even a solar-powered death ray.Ibn Sina was a medieval mathematician who wrote hundreds of treatises, including a medical compendium used in European universities for the next 400 years. Philipp II of Spain ruled a global empire from his throne in Madrid in the 1500s. Isaac Newton invented classical physics and was one of the inventors of calculus. Benjamin Franklin wrote, published, politicked, invented, experimented, and humored, sometimes all at the same time. Theodore Roosevelt won the presidency twice, was the first American to earn a belt in judo, hunted, wrote numerous books, and read four hours a day even during the busiest moments of his political life. This book will explore the lives of the 17 most productive people in history. We will look at their biographies, understand the cultural context into which they were born, and see the methods that they used to achieve such sweeping results. Their exact processes for achievement will be broken down and analyzed on a day-to-day, or even hour-to-hour basis. Perhaps with their examples in mind, we can create enough time to focus on the tasks in life that are truly meaningful.
Author: Mason Currey
Publisher: Knopf
ISBN: 0307962377
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 305
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Book Description
More than 150 inspired—and inspiring—novelists, poets, playwrights, painters, philosophers, scientists, and mathematicians on how they subtly maneuver the many (self-inflicted) obstacles and (self-imposed) daily rituals to get done the work they love to do. Franz Kafka, frustrated with his living quarters and day job, wrote in a letter to Felice Bauer in 1912, “time is short, my strength is limited, the office is a horror, the apartment is noisy, and if a pleasant, straightforward life is not possible then one must try to wriggle through by subtle maneuvers.” Kafka is one of 161 minds who describe their daily rituals to get their work done, whether by waking early or staying up late; whether by self-medicating with doughnuts or bathing, drinking vast quantities of coffee, or taking long daily walks. Thomas Wolfe wrote standing up in the kitchen, the top of the refrigerator as his desk, dreamily fondling his “male configurations”.... Jean-Paul Sartre chewed on Corydrane tablets (a mix of amphetamine and aspirin), ingesting ten times the recommended dose each day ... Descartes liked to linger in bed, his mind wandering in sleep through woods, gardens, and enchanted palaces where he experienced “every pleasure imaginable.” Here are: Anthony Trollope, who demanded of himself that each morning he write three thousand words (250 words every fifteen minutes for three hours) before going off to his job at the postal service, which he kept for thirty-three years during the writing of more than two dozen books ... Karl Marx ... Woody Allen ... Agatha Christie ... George Balanchine, who did most of his work while ironing ... Leo Tolstoy ... Charles Dickens ... Pablo Picasso ... George Gershwin, who, said his brother Ira, worked for twelve hours a day from late morning to midnight, composing at the piano in pajamas, bathrobe, and slippers.... Here also are the daily rituals of Charles Darwin, Andy Warhol, John Updike, Twyla Tharp, Benjamin Franklin, William Faulkner, Jane Austen, Anne Rice, and Igor Stravinsky (he was never able to compose unless he was sure no one could hear him and, when blocked, stood on his head to “clear the brain”).
Author: Robert C. Pozen
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062188542
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 237
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Book Description
“Required reading for professionals—and aspiring professionals—of all levels.” —Shirley Ann Jackson, President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Former Chairman of U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Robert C. Pozen, one of the business world’s most successful—and productive—executives, reveals the surprising secrets to workplace productivity and high performance. It's far too easy for working professionals to become overwhelmed by a pile of time-sensitive projects, a backlog of emails, and endless meetings. In order to be truly productive, they must make a critical shift in mindset from hours worked to results produced. With Extreme Productivity, Pozen explains how individuals can maximize their time and energy by determining and focusing on their highest priorities. He also provides a toolkit of practical tips and techniques to help professionals at all stages of their careers maximize their time at work. This essential handbook empowers every person with proven methods for prioritizing their time to achieve high-impact results and refine their career goals for long-term success, all while leading a full and meaningful personal life as well.
Author: Stephen Wolfram
Publisher: Wolfram Media
ISBN: 9781579550035
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
This book of thoroughly engaging essays from one of today's most prodigious innovators provides a uniquely personal perspective on the lives and achievements of a selection of intriguing figures from the history of science and technology. Weaving together his immersive interest in people and history with insights gathered from his own experiences, Stephen Wolfram gives an ennobling look at some of the individuals whose ideas and creations have helped shape our world today. Contents includes biographical sketches of: Richard Feynman Kurt Godel Alan Turing John von Neumann George Boole Ada Lovelace Gottfried Leibniz Benoit Mandelbrot Steve Jobs Marvin Minsky Russell Towle Bertrand Russell Alfred Whitehead Richard Crandall Srinivasa Ramanujan Solomon Golomb
Author: E. H. Gombrich
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300213972
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401
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Book Description
E. H. Gombrich's Little History of the World, though written in 1935, has become one of the treasures of historical writing since its first publication in English in 2005. The Yale edition alone has now sold over half a million copies, and the book is available worldwide in almost thirty languages. Gombrich was of course the best-known art historian of his time, and his text suggests illustrations on every page. This illustrated edition of the Little History brings together the pellucid humanity of his narrative with the images that may well have been in his mind's eye as he wrote the book. The two hundred illustrations—most of them in full color—are not simple embellishments, though they are beautiful. They emerge from the text, enrich the author's intention, and deepen the pleasure of reading this remarkable work. For this edition the text is reset in a spacious format, flowing around illustrations that range from paintings to line drawings, emblems, motifs, and symbols. The book incorporates freshly drawn maps, a revised preface, and a new index. Blending high-grade design, fine paper, and classic binding, this is both a sumptuous gift book and an enhanced edition of a timeless account of human history.
Author: Malcolm Harris
Publisher: Little, Brown
ISBN: 0316510874
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 247
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Book Description
In Kids These Days, early Wall Street occupier Malcolm Harris gets real about why the Millennial generation has been wrongly stereotyped, and dares us to confront and take charge of the consequences now that we are grown up. Millennials have been stereotyped as lazy, entitled, narcissistic, and immature. We've gotten so used to sloppy generational analysis filled with dumb clichés about young people that we've lost sight of what really unites Millennials. Namely: We are the most educated and hardworking generation in American history. We poured historic and insane amounts of time and money into preparing ourselves for the 21st-century labor market. We have been taught to consider working for free (homework, internships) a privilege for our own benefit. We are poorer, more medicated, and more precariously employed than our parents, grandparents, even our great grandparents, with less of a social safety net to boot. Kids These Days is about why. In brilliant, crackling prose, early Wall Street occupier Malcolm Harris gets mercilessly real about our maligned birth cohort. Examining trends like runaway student debt, the rise of the intern, mass incarceration, social media, and more, Harris gives us a portrait of what it means to be young in America today that will wake you up and piss you off. Millennials were the first generation raised explicitly as investments, Harris argues, and in Kids These Days he dares us to confront and take charge of the consequences now that we are grown up.
Author: Mary Camuto
Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser
ISBN: 163265878X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 192
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Book Description
Even if you don’t have your dream job, every day is precious and filled with opportunities. Make the Most of Your Workday challenges you to actively manage and make the most of workday possibilities and problems. With drive, determination, and optimism, it offers solutions to workday predicaments. You can take control; you don’t have to wait for leaders, people, or circumstances to change. No matter your level, situation, or dilemma, Mary shows you how to regroup, reframe, and bounce back. Make the Most of Your Workday begins with six common scenarios. Can you relate to any of the following challenges? Getting caught up in office dramas. Watching workloads increase while resources decrease. Feeling your interest, enthusiasm, and focus fade. Yearning for effective leadership. Wanting to avoid working with certain people. Feeling at the mercy of technology. Make the Most of Your Workday contains powerful strategies and tools from several key areas and combines them into a concise practical guide, from strengthening your mindset and self-awareness to identifying needs and goals, from prioritizing your time and energy to communicating effectively and managing the unexpected.
Author: Benjamin Spall
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 073522028X
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 290
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Book Description
ONE OF AMAZON’S BEST BUSINESS BOOKS OF 2018 ONE OF THE FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS BOOKS OF THE MONTH ON RELEASE ONE OF BUSINESS INSIDER’S BEST BUSINESS BOOKS TO READ THIS SUMMER A guide to the early morning habits that boost your productivity and relax you—featuring interviews with leaders like Arianna Huffington, General Stanley McChrystal, Marie Kondo, and more. Marie Kondo performs a quick tidying ritual to quiet her mind before leaving the house. The president of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, Ed Catmull, mixes three shots of espresso with three scoops of cocoa powder and two sweeteners. Fitness expert Jillian Michaels doesn't set an alarm, because her five-year-old jolts her from sleep by jumping into bed for a cuddle every morning. Part instruction manual, part someone else's diary, the authors of My Morning Routine interviewed sixty-four of today's most successful people, including three-time Olympic gold medalist Rebecca Soni, Twitter cofounder Biz Stone, and General Stanley McChrystal–and offer timeless advice on creating a routine of your own. Some routines are all about early morning exercise and spartan living; others are more leisurely and self-indulgent. What they have in common is they don't feel like a chore. Once you land on the right routine, you'll look forward to waking up. This comprehensive guide will show you how to get into a routine that works for you so that you can develop the habits that move you forward. Just as a Jenga stack is only as sturdy as its foundational blocks, the choices we make throughout our day depend on the intentions we set in the morning. Like it or not, our morning habits form the stack that our whole day is built on. Whether you want to boost your productivity, implement a workout or meditation routine, or just learn to roll with the punches in the morning, this book has you covered.
Author: Mark Forster
Publisher: Teach Yourself
ISBN: 1473608864
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 242
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Book Description
Discover the 50 secrets that productive people know - complete with strategies for putting them into practice. What do productive people know that the rest of us don't? Do they have a secret recipe for success? Is there a special alchemy to being productive? The Secrets of Productive People reveals the 50 things you need to know to get things done. Each chapter outlines one of the 50 ideas and gives three strategies for putting it into practice. Some ideas will surprise you, all will inspire you. Put these simple strategies together and you have a recipe for a better life, a formula that will unlock a more productive you. Whether you want to improve your efficiency, clear your desk, or be on top of your work, this book provides the tools and techniques you need to be more productive. With dedicated sections on having a productive attitude, managing specific projects, aids to productivity and productivity in action, it gives you everything you need to know.
Author: Peter Ferdinand Drucker
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
ISBN: 1633691012
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 69
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Book Description
We live in an age of unprecedented opportunity: with ambition, drive, and talent, you can rise to the top of your chosen profession regardless of where you started out. But with opportunity comes responsibility. Companies today aren't managing their knowledge workers careers. Instead, you must be your own chief executive officer. That means it's up to you to carve out your place in the world and know when to change course. And it's up to you to keep yourself engaged and productive during a career that may span some 50 years. In Managing Oneself, Peter Drucker explains how to do it. The keys: Cultivate a deep understanding of yourself by identifying your most valuable strengths and most dangerous weaknesses; Articulate how you learn and work with others and what your most deeply held values are; and Describe the type of work environment where you can make the greatest contribution. Only when you operate with a combination of your strengths and self-knowledge can you achieve true and lasting excellence. Managing Oneself identifies the probing questions you need to ask to gain the insights essential for taking charge of your career. Peter Drucker was a writer, teacher, and consultant. His 34 books have been published in more than 70 languages. He founded the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management, and counseled 13 governments, public services institutions, and major corporations.
