From overflowing priority lists to power-hungry colleagues to nagging parental guilt, stress is the defining characteristic of most of our lives. Sharon Melnick provides a flexible array of stress-busting strategies to help you overcome the things that are weighing you down. You'll gain a veritable arsenal of "magic-bullet" solutions--hundreds of situation-specific, quick-acting tips for defusing stress and boosting productivity complete with quizzes, examples, exercises, and more to help you reach your professional goals.Success Under Stress eschews one-size-fits-all breathing exercises and visualization techniques and instead offers tangible advice to help you see opportunities rather than obstacles, get focused when overwhelmed, find energy when exhausted, stay calm when wired, and change the problem to prevent stress from returning. This practical book helps you gain control and exude calmness and confidence amidst everyday chaos by offering professional-level solutions appropriate to help you manage your big-time stressors.

To-do: Stop the bad guys. Rescue the wizard. Find the perfect outfit for New Year’s Eve. At last, Owen Palmer, the dreamboat wizard at Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc., has conjured up the courage to get Katie Chandler under the mistletoe at the office holiday party. But just when it looks like Katie has found her prince, in pops her inept fairy godmother, Ethelinda, to throw a wand into the works. Ethelinda’s timing couldn’t be worse. A plot hatched by MSI’s rogue ex-employees, Idris and his evil fairy gal pal Ari, threatens to expose the company’s secrets–and the very existence of magic itself. Even worse, it could also mean the end of Katie’s happily-ever-after. Now Katie and Owen must work side by side (but alas, not cheek to cheek) to thwart the villains’ plans. Braving black-magic-wielding sorceresses, subway-dwelling dragons, lovelorn frog princes, and even the dreaded trip to meet Owen’s parents at Christmas, Katie and her beau are in a battle to beat Idris at his own sinister game. All mischief and matters of the heart will come to a head at a big New Year’s Eve gala, when the crystal ball will drop, champagne will pour, and Katie will find herself truly spellbound. Praise for Shanna Swendson’s Once Upon Stilettos “Magical and totally delightful . . . [a] quirky, lighthearted romance.” –freshfiction.com “A fast and funny read. Chicklit meets urban fantasy.” –Mary Jo Putney, author of The Marriage Spell

The secret to reducing your stress is not a better work-life balance, nor is it in meditation or mindfulness. Chronic high stress—the kind contributing to heart disease—is not caused by an inability to decompress, but rather external factors that are out of our control—namely, overwhelm and uncertainty. So, while most people are focusing on either eliminating or coping with their stressors, they should be working to become immune to unavoidable stress. Stress-Proof Your Life leverages insights from Eliz Greene’s 17 years of research, including a 4,000-person study, to provide the reader with stress management techniques that actually work. Through data-driven health insight and actionable exercises, this book teaches readers how to: Quantify and assess their current stress level Overcome overwhelm by practicing stress ecology Combat uncertainty and the paralyzing loop of anxiety that accompanies it Offset the physical impact of stress Recover from the emotional toll of stress Cultivate resiliency in the face of crisis and change Eliz also shares insights from her research on generational and gender differences, leading high-performance teams, and cultivating a purpose-driven organizational culture that is immune to external and internal pressures. Once you implement the strategies detailed in this book, you’ll elevate your quality of life, enhance your productivity, boost your capacity for critical and creative thought, and attain heightened levels of personal and professional success. After experiencing a near-fatal heart attack at the age of 35 while 7 months pregnant with twins, Eliz Greene committed herself to uncovering and combating the preventable risk factors for heart disease, which led her to focus on job stress as a deadly and underexamined cause of heart attacks. For nearly two decades, Eliz has been on a mission to inspire busy people to pay attention to their heart health by identifying and taming their stress environment so that they can increase their vitality and create a purpose-driven and enjoyable life. Don’t let job stress hold you back from the fulfillment and wellness you deserve or cause you to miss those special moments that make everything matter. Stress-proof your life and discover the secret to weathering adversity and uncertainty and improving your overall well-being!

A guide to understanding the human stress response and how to manage and relieve stress.

Praise for Overloaded and Underprepared “Parents, teachers, and administrators are all concerned that America’s kids are stressed out, checked out, or both—but many have no idea where to begin when it comes to solving the problem. That’s why the work of Challenge Success is so urgent. It has created a model for creating change in our schools that is based on research and solid foundational principles like communication, creativity, and compassion. If your community wants to build better schools and a brighter future, this book is the place to start.” —Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New Mind “Challenge Success synthesizes the research on effective school practices and offers concrete tools and strategies that educators and parents can use immediately to make a difference in their communities. By focusing on the day-to-day necessities of a healthy schedule; an engaging, personalized, and rigorous curriculum; and a caring climate, this book is an invaluable resource for school leaders, teachers, parents, and students to help them design learning communities where every student feels a sense of belonging, purpose, and motivation to learn the skills necessary to succeed now and in the future.” —Linda Darling-Hammond, Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education, Stanford University “Finally, a book about education and student well-being that is both research-based and eminently readable. With all the worry about student stress and academic engagement, Pope, Brown and Miles gently remind us that there is much we already know about how to create better schools and healthier kids. Citing evidence-based ‘best practices’ gleaned from years of work with schools across the country, they show us what is not working, but more importantly, what we need to do to fix things. Filled with practical suggestions and exercises that can be implemented easily, as well as advice on how to approach long-term change, Overloaded and Underprepared is a clear and compelling roadmap for teachers, school administrators and parents who believe that we owe our children a better education.” —Madeline Levine, co-founder Challenge Success; author of The Price of Privilege and Teach Your Children Well “This new book from the leaders behind Challenge Success provides a thorough and balanced exploration of the structural challenges facing students, parents, educators, and administrators in our primary and secondary schools today. The authors’ unique approach of sharing proven strategies that enable students to thrive, while recognizing that the most effective solutions are tailored on a school-by-school basis, makes for a valuable handbook for anyone seeking to better understand the many complex dimensions at work in a successful learning environment.” —John J. DeGioia, President of Georgetown University

We want it all as modern women today, don’t we? And more than ever we can have it all: success, a rewarding career, family, relationships, a social life. Perhaps you already do have it all… But at what expense? For most women, stress is at an all-time high as we endeavour to achieve it "all." Our health, happiness and well-being at stake with feelings of being over-worked, under-appreciated, tired and burnt out. So what is stress? How does it work? And why are we slaves to its damaging effects, which impact the very elements of life we are trying to achieve? Join a collective of inspiring women from all walks of life who have come together to share their experiences and their insights on how you can learn to balance the trifecta of love, life and happiness by… - Identifying key areas of stress in your life - Limiting the impact of stress on your health and well-being - Practising gratitude to shift your perception - Saying "NO’" to anything that no longer serves you - Prioritizing the elements of a fulfilling life and putting YOU first Rethink the way you approach your journey to happiness and success with each chapter of this book. Written from the heart, this is a guided journey of laughter, tears, gut-wrenching experiences and life lessons through the eyes of a tribe of strong, soulful and successful women. It’s time for you to say goodbye to stress! Repeat after me… Dear Stress, I’m breaking up with you!