Whenever a young child is asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" the answer will undoubtedly include childlike wonder, optimism, and unbridled imagination. A future-traveling astronaut, a fashion designing veterinarian, a doctor for stuffed animals, and the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, as we age and settle firmly into adulthood, that wonder dissipates and we swap our childhood dreams for life's demands. Our days feel prescribed and responsibilities rule our minutes and how we prioritize what matters. As adults, we are taught to believe the question is somehow invalid because we are functioning as a "grown-up." Even though Melissa M. Proctor did not play basketball or have extensive knowledge of the game, her dream as a child was to be the first female coach in the NBA. Instead, her unconventional path has taken a number of twists and turns, starting with being the first ball girl for the Miami Heat and ultimately, earning the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena. However, some would be surprised to learn that even at this stage of her career, Melissa still doesn't know what she wants to be when she grows up?and she's okay with it. From Ball Girl to CMO includes relevant themes of hope, persistence, empowerment, and courage to help readers navigate everything from the personal to the professional. Throughout the pages, Melissa shares lessons learned, guiding principles, and a means of comfort for those not quite sure what to do next. With her laid-back style and down to earth attitude, she offers acceptance at a time when many are confused and hope when uncertainty distorts the light at the end of the tunnel. From Ball Girl to CMO urges us to consider if we have in fact been asking ourselves the right question, or if perhaps, we've been expecting an answer from the wrong version of ourselves.

Dynamic corporate speaker and coach, Cassandra Worthy, introduces a growth mindset practice that helps readers to view change and the emotions surrounding it as a gift. Cassandra Worthy is a highly sought-after consultant, speaker, and Change Enthusiast, who is sharing her revolutionary approach for not only embracing change but using it to propel you to heights you never imagined. Only 10 percent of successful change adoption is about know-how; the other 90 percent is centered squarely on the motivation and willingness to accept the change. Cassandra explains that if you don't address the emotions surrounding change then your transformation journey will be stopped in its tracks. In this book, Cassandra will teach you to: Redefine your relationship to change Embrace "negative" emotions and use them for epic growth and transformation Make conscious, productive choices in the face of disruption of any sort Develop your resilience muscle View change as something that happens for you vs. to you Cassandra's practical yet inspiring strategies can inspire anyone to authentically embrace change and find their own unique power of resilience during turbulent times. Using insights gleaned from her life, those of her clients, and the tools and exercises she has refined over the years, Cassandra Worthy has written the playbook for anyone leading, influencing, going through, or embarking upon change.

A bold and inspiring memoir and manifesto from a renowned voice in the women's leadership movement who shows women how to cultivate the single skill they really need in order to thrive: the ability to let go. Once the poster girl for doing it all, after she had her first child, Tiffany Dufu struggled to accomplish everything she thought she needed to in order to succeed. Like so many driven and talented women who have been brought up to believe that to have it all, they must do it all, Dufu began to feel that achieving her career and personal goals was an impossibility. Eventually, she discovered the solution: letting go. In Drop the Ball, Dufu recounts how she learned to reevaluate expectations, shrink her to-do list, and meaningfully engage the assistance of others—freeing the space she needed to flourish at work and to develop deeper, more meaningful relationships at home. Even though women are half the workforce, they still represent only eighteen per cent of the highest level leaders. The reasons are obvious: just as women reach middle management they are also starting families. Mounting responsibilities at work and home leave them with no bandwidth to do what will most lead to their success. Offering new perspective on why the women’s leadership movement has stalled, and packed with actionable advice, Tiffany Dufu’s Drop the Ball urges women to embrace imperfection, to expect less of themselves and more from others—only then can they focus on what they truly care about, devote the necessary energy to achieving their real goals, and create the type of rich, rewarding life we all desire.

An Inspirational Book for Girls Who Love STEM “This book is an inspiration to the next-gen of women innovators all over the world.”— Charlotte Yarkoni, CVP Cloud & AI, Microsoft AZ is a young girl who finds herself in a robot building competition. Can she use girl power to overcome crashes, explosions, and hackers to beat school bully and three-time champ, Dalk? Smart and strong is the new pretty. In this funny, action-packed book about robots for kids, talented AZ fights gender and learns tough lessons on leadership. With the help of her quirky friends, Li and 10, the team builds a feisty robot named Ada. Together, they work hard, solve puzzles, grow in confidence, and learn the importance of friendship and collaboration. All science girls welcome! Written to raise awareness about the challenges faced by women in science and engineering, She’s Building a Robot celebrates voices from diverse socioeconomic and ethnic background. Perfect for bedtime stories or girls who code, She’s Building a Robot gives young women the opportunity to relate to smart characters, promotes girl empowerment, and shows that there’s room in STEM for girls. If you’re looking for young girl gifts, robot books for kids, or stories for children—or enjoyed books like The Fourteenth Goldfish, Women in Science, and Hidden Figures Young Reader’ Edition—then She’s Building a Robot is your next read!

"These are the 'know your value' conversations that we need to have. These women--their challenges, choices, and successes--are all of us." --Mika Brzezinski Over the last sixty years, women's lives have transformed radically from generation to generation. Without a template to follow--a way to peek into the future to catch a glimpse of what leaving this job or marrying that person might mean to us decades from now--women make important decisions blindly, groping for a way forward, winging it, and hoping it all works out. As they faced unexpectedly fraught decisions about their own lives, journalists Hana Schank and Elizabeth Wallace found themselves wondering about the women they'd graduated alongside. What happened to these women who seemed set to reap the rewards of second-wave feminism, on the brink of taking over the world? Where did their ambition lead them? So they tracked down their classmates and, over several hundred hours of interviews, gathered and mapped data about real women's lives that has been missing from our conversations about women and the workplace. Whether you're deciding if you should pass up a promotion in favor of more flex time, planning when to get pregnant, or wondering what the ramifications are of being the only person in your house who ever unloads the dishwasher, The Ambition Decisions is a guide to the changes that may seem arbitrary but are life defining, by women who've been there. Organized by theme, each chapter draws on real women's stories of facing down crisis, transition, and decision-making to illustrate broader trends Schank and Wallace observed. Each chapter wraps up with a useful bulleted list of questions to consider and tips to integrate that will guide women of all ages along the way to finding purpose and passion in work and life.

Winner of the 2012 Randolph Caldecott Medal This New York Times Bestseller and New York Times Best Illustrated Book relates a story about love and loss as only Chris Rashcka can tell it. Any child who has ever had a beloved toy break will relate to Daisy's anguish when her favorite ball is destroyed by a bigger dog. In the tradition of his nearly wordless picture book Yo! Yes?, Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka explores in pictures the joy and sadness that having a special toy can bring. Raschka's signature swirling, impressionistic illustrations and his affectionate story will particularly appeal to young dog lovers and teachers and parents who have children dealing with the loss of something special.