Thriving After Graduation: Managing Big Changes

#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.

Researcher, thought leader, and New York Times bestselling author Brene Brown offers a liberating study on the importance of our imperfections-both to our relationships and to our own sense of self The quest for perfection is exhausting and unrelenting. There is a constant barrage of social expectations that teach us that being imperfect is synonymous with being inadequate. Everywhere we turn, there are messages that tell us who, what and how we're supposed to be. So, we learn to hide our struggles and protect ourselves from shame, judgment, criticism and blame by seeking safety in pretending and perfection. Brene Brown, PhD, LMSW, is the leading authority on the power of vulnerability, and has inspired thousands through her top-selling books Daring Greatly, Rising Strong, andThe Gifts of Imperfection, her wildly popular TEDx talks, and a PBS special. Based on seven years of her ground-breaking research and hundreds of interviews, I Thought It Was Just Me shines a long-overdue light on an important truth- Our imperfections are what connect us to each other and to our humanity. Our vulnerabilities are not weaknesses; they are powerful reminders to keep our hearts and minds open to the reality that we're all in this together. Brown writes, "We need our lives back. It's time to reclaim the gifts of imperfection-the courage to be real, the compassion we need to love ourselves and others, and the connection that gives true purpose and meaning to life. These are the gifts that bring love, laughter, gratitude, empathy and joy into our lives."

"Dr. Allison McWilliams has hit the nail right on the head and provides focused, effective and actionable ideas for recent college grads who are getting too much inspiration and too little useable help addressing the substantial challenge of building their lives after college. Much of the literature for this audience patronizingly over-compliments them ("You are amazing and can do anything ') or over-criticizes them ("Today's young adults are so entitled - they're impossible "). Neither of these categorizations is accurate or helpful - quite the opposite. Dr. McWilliams distills her substantial experience in working in some of the most advanced career-preparatory institutions in the country well by picking five key areas for grads to focus their efforts in building a life they own and can love. Her assessments of what's needed directly complements our decade-plus of work in the Stanford Life Design Lab. Her counsel spans the wide swath of necessary critical skills ranging from forming deep habits of personal reflection to navigating the tactical constraints of that tough first job out of college many grads will get. She tells it like it is without making assumptions or judgments about her reader and balances artfully conversing with her reader and challenging them via exercises to do the work. Like Dr. McWilliams, our team believes that successfully journeying those first five years after graduation (and defining what success is wisely ) is terrifically important. If you love anyone who is currently or about to be in those five years, do them the kindness of giving them this book." Dave Evans, Co-Author, New York Times #1 Bestseller Designing Your Life, and Co-Founder, Stanford Life Design Lab *** Young adults making their way from college to life-after-college face a multitude of decisions, challenges, and opportunities. How do you build skills and experiences that will benefit you in the future, when you are on the lowest rung of the professional ladder, or in a job that doesn't seem to be going anywhere? How do you balance creating a life with professional demands when your time is not your own? How do you ensure you are practicing self-care - physically, mentally, financially, and emotionally - when you don't know what the resources are to do that? How do you build community and find friends? How do you build your network and find mentors? And, how do you take ownership for what comes next? These and many others are the questions that all young professionals should be asking themselves, especially in the critical first five years out of college. This is the time when you will discover more about yourself than at any other point in your life. You will discover strengths, interests, and beliefs that will guide your future career and life decisions. You will learn professional and life skills and habits that will be the foundation for your future professional selves. You will begin to discern what matters to you, and begin to define what a meaningful life looks like, for you. And, you largely will be expected to do all of this work on your own. Where do you begin? FIVE FOR YOUR FIRST FIVE is based on twenty years of experience working with college students and young adults as they make this sometimes challenging and overwhelming transition from college to life-after-college. It combines real-life stories and experiences, from young adults who have already navigated through these waters, with tools, strategies, discussion, and reflection questions. The reader is encouraged to do real, intentional work while exploring the five key areas: Do the Work, Build a Life, Create Community, Practice Reflection, and Own What's Next. Part workbook, part wise counselor and mentor, FIVE FOR YOUR FIRST FIVE provides meaningful insight into what can happen when you truly take ownership for your career and life. ***

#1 New York Times Bestseller "This brilliant book will shatter your assumptions about what it takes to improve and succeed. I wish I could go back in time and gift it to my younger self. It would've helped me find a more joyful path to progress." --Serena Williams, 23-time Grand Slam singles tennis champion The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again illuminates how we can elevate ourselves and others to unexpected heights. We live in a world that's obsessed with talent. We celebrate gifted students in school, natural athletes in sports, and child prodigies in music. But admiring people who start out with innate advantages leads us to overlook the distance we ourselves can travel. We underestimate the range of skills that we can learn and how good we can become. We can all improve at improving. And when opportunity doesn't knock, there are ways to build a door. Hidden Potential offers a new framework for raising aspirations and exceeding expectations. Adam Grant weaves together groundbreaking evidence, surprising insights, and vivid storytelling that takes us from the classroom to the boardroom, the playground to the Olympics, and underground to outer space. He shows that progress depends less on how hard you work than how well you learn. Growth is not about the genius you possess--it's about the character you develop. Grant explores how to build the character skills and motivational structures to realize our own potential, and how to design systems that create opportunities for those who have been underrated and overlooked. Many writers have chronicled the habits of superstars who accomplish great things. This book reveals how anyone can rise to achieve greater things. The true measure of your potential is not the height of the peak you've reached, but how far you've climbed to get there.