I’m a cognitive psychologist, originally from Scotland, but I have lived and worked in Canada for the last 50 years, first at the University of Toronto, and then at a research institute in Toronto. My passion has always been to understand the human mind – especially memory – through experimental research. Memory is fundamental to our mental life as humans; to a large extent it defines who we are. It is a complex and fascinating topic, and my career has been devoted to devising experiments and theories to understand it better. In our recent book, Larry Jacoby and I attempt to pass on the excitement of unravelling these fascinating mysteries of memory.
This bestselling book is not so much about your memory as how to implant lasting memories in others.
How is it that some events and pieces of information are amazingly memorable, whereas others are lost as soon as our mental backs are turned? In a series of entertaining real-life examples, the authors propose and illustrate ways in which information can be “made to stick.” These include some obvious ones like getting people’s attention and building on their existing knowledge – stuff they are interested in.
Other factors are less obvious; set up an intriguing puzzle, provide some really unexpected information, especially of an emotional kind, embed the new information in an attention-grabbing story. Of course knowing how to teach effectively also reveals much about how memory works!
Why does fake news stick while the truth goes missing?
Why do disproved urban legends persist? How do you keep letting newspapers and clickbait sites lure you in with their headlines? And why do you remember complicated stories but not complicated facts?
Over ten years of study, Chip and Dan Heath have discovered how we latch on to information hooks. Packed full of case histories and incredible anecdotes, it shows:
- how an Australian scientist convinced the world he'd discovered the cause of stomach ulcers by drinking a glass filled with bacteria
My life was turned upside down because of a devastating divorce, becoming an empty nester, and my job as a theology professor ending. The identity crisis was real because the doing that gave me purpose was gone, yet God had a lesson and a purpose. I realized that what was left was more than what left me, and I understand that the key to resilience is your spiritual foundation. I believe the crown you wear is the treasure; elevation begins head first. Today, I empower women to live life confidently, on their terms, with peace and financial security. I help women reframe their stories, reinvent themselves, and reimagine their future.
At some time in our lives, we all go through losing a loved one. I was introduced to this book after my mother died. I love the honesty of what others would say and the grace suggested to get through difficult seasons. Don’t be fooled that this is just a story to comfort.
This book helps you do the heart work to understand your feelings. I love the timeline and the fact that recovery is the main point of this book. It’s not you hiding behind work, school, or substances. It helps you see the triggers and gives you tools to actually recover.
Updated to commemorate its 20th anniversary, this classic resource further explores the effects of grief and sheds new light on how to begin to take effective actions to complete the grieving process and work towards recovery and happiness.
Incomplete recovery from grief can have a lifelong negative effect on the capacity for happiness. Drawing from their own histories as well as from others', the authors illustrate how it is possible to recover from grief and regain energy and spontaneity.
Based on a proven program, The Grief Recovery Handbook offers grievers the specific actions needed to move beyond loss. New material…
Though my two doctorates and experience landed me in the arenas of education and data-sharing, I soon realized that merely sharing information was not the way to get people to embrace fact. My books and speaking (I’ve lectured at Cambridge, Columbia, Oxford, Comic-Con, etc.) now focus on how to persuade people to absorb, remember, care about, and act on new information. I teach everyone from scientists to parents about how to share information in ways that get around people’s mental blockades. I’m also a Mensan and Fulbright Specialist who writes for Psychology Today and was honored by the White House.
I first fell in love with Vedantam’s way of weaving storytelling with research via his podcast Hidden Brain. When I found out he had written a book I was thrilled, and his written account of our unconscious minds did not disappoint. Vedantam doesn’t shy away from anything (terrorism, capital punishment, race, gender, politics…) in tackling why our reasons for thinking things are not what we believe them to be. He helps us understand the power (for good or for bad) of our “hidden brains” in a way you will never forget.
The hidden brain is the voice in our ear when we make the most important decisions in our lives—but we’re never aware of it. The hidden brain decides whom we fall in love with and whom we hate. It tells us to vote for the white candidate and convict the dark-skinned defendant, to hire the thin woman but pay her less than the man doing the same job. It can direct us to safety when disaster strikes and move us to extraordinary acts of altruism. But it can also be manipulated to turn an ordinary person into a suicide terrorist…
I’m a journalist and critic who fell in love with the ancient art of rhetoric through Shakespeare, Chaucer… and Barack Obama. It was when I watched Obama’s consciously and artfully classical oratory as he campaigned for the 2008 election that my undergraduate interest in tricolons, epistrophe, aposiopesis and all that jazz surged back to the front of my mind. I went on to write a 2011 book arguing that not only is this neglected area of study fascinating, but it is the most important tool imaginable to understand politics, language, and human nature itself. Where there is language, there is rhetoric.
Philip Collins was a speechwriter in Tony Blair’s New Labour government in the UK, and in this book he looks at 25 great speeches through history and picks them apart to show what they were trying to do and how they did it.
It’s very approachable, and full of insider knowledge, anecdotal nuggets, and a craftsman’s insight into speechwriting tricks – as well as mounting a firm and impassioned case for the importance of rhetoric to democracy itself. The jokes are good, too. “Barack Obama may be the best male speaker in living memory,” Collins writes, “and the second-best speaker in his own family.”
'For all those who believe in the politics of principle and hope this a wonderful reminder that they do not always lose. For all those who despair that politics can ever be inspiring again this is a must-read to shake you out of your misery' Paddy Ashdown
'By the people, for the people'
'I have the heart and stomach of a king'
'We shall never surrender'
The right words at the right time can shape history.
By analysing twenty-five of the greatest speeches ever given - delivered by iconic figures from Elizabeth I to…
Kate Garraway, one of the United Kingdom's leading television presenters, has suffered hugely during the Covid pandemic, owing to the fact that her middle-aged husband Derek Draper became extremely unwell and spent months and months in hospital. In this unbelievably frank and truly touching book, the author has explained how she and her family have had to cope with this deeply heartbreaking family trauma. Every single reader will be hugely impressed by Ms. Garraway's unbelievably inspiring emotional fortitude, and I believe that we all have a very great deal to learn from this extraordinary human being.
*** The Sunday Times Bestseller *** 'Intimate, tender and brutally honest ... a remarkable book.' Decca Aitkenhead, The Sunday Times
'These are probably the toughest times we have faced in many decades, and we all have to find within us the strength and resilience to get through and to find happiness and love in our futures, whatever life throws at us.'
Kate Garraway has had to learn how to adapt ever since her husband Derek began his fight against the devastating impact of Covid, a condition that has left him needing 24-hour care at home and long spells in hospital,…
I have made it my business to teach basic business skills to creative professionals who should have learned them in school but, alas, did not because it’s not taught in school. This has for years perpetuated a “starving artist” mentality amongst creative professionals, who are naturally talented and could easily bring their creativity to the business side of their business, if only they knew how. That’s the mission I’m on with all of my work through marketing-mentor.com
Essential Skill #2 for Creatives: Practicality, not Passion
Creative professionals tend to be “passionate practitioners” but if you need to “love” every single aspect of your business, you won’t get very far. That’s why I love Terri’s book. It’s the funniest business book I’ve read! Part comic autobiography, part business handbook, Unfollow Your Passion provides practical, clear, and excellent advice. It also happens to be beautifully written, the stories so compelling and hysterical that you’ll learn the practical skills in spite of yourself. The message of this book – forget about passion – is so important, something I’ve espoused for years, but not nearly as eloquently and clearly as Terri has.
One of the Best Feel-Good Books of 2021 by The Washington Post
A hilarious and honest not-quite-self-help book in the vein of Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies and I Used to Have a Plan.
Every person on the planet wants their life to mean something. The problem is that you've been told there's only one way to find that meaning.
In Unfollow Your Passion, Terri Trespicio-whose TEDx talk has more than six million views-questions everything you think you need: passion (fun, but fleeting), plans (flimsy at best), and a bucket list (eye roll), to name a few.
Like many people who consciously decided to leave the constrictive religion to which they were randomly born (and raised), I see retrospectively that the decision was an essential act of self-preservation and self-actualization. I abandoned the transactional relationship with a Judging God, including its barter of mindless obedience in exchange for a heavenly eternity after death. In doing so, I discovered my true soul. Through “godless” practices and continual seeking, I have discovered a profound, meaningful spirituality. The books on this list are among so many that have expanded my thinking and helped me become, I hope, a better human along the way. It is my pleasure to recommend them to you.
I receivedThe Book of Awakening in 2015 after my husband, Jamie, died of ALS. It collected dust on my bookshelf for far too long. Once I finally cracked it, I made up for lost time by returning time and again to this beautiful, inspiring collection of deeply personal essays — one for each day of the year. Among other things, Nepo is a poet, a teacher, and a cancer survivor. He brings his considerable literary skill to telling moving, high-impact stories about what really matters in life, along with sprinklings of wisdom from a variety of ancient traditions. God isn’t referenced as the Big White Guy in the Sky who’s pulling the strings, but rather as a beautiful, ineffable presence that connects the divine light in each individual.
A new edition of the #1 NYT’s bestseller by Mark Nepo, who has been called “one of the finest spiritual guides of our time” and “a consummate storyteller.”
Philosopher-poet and cancer survivor Mark Nepo opens a new season of freedom and joy—an escape from deadening, asleep-at-the wheel sameness—that is both profound and clarifying.
His spiritual daybook is a summons to reclaim aliveness, liberate the self, take each day one at a time, and savor the beauty offered by life's unfolding. Reading his poetic prose is like being given second sight, exposing the reader to life's multiple dimensions, each one drawn…
I'm a Greek mom and entrepreneur at heart. Growing up, we cherished spirited conversations, ideas, and researching topics we loved. The whole goal was to really push each other to higher states of intellectual rigor that would improve the quality of life. Ideas and communication rival great food and Greek dancing fun. I share my passion for Philotimo (Greek imperative of love of honor and working for the greater good) through my books, brands, and marketing agency. I'm a fierce advocate for women and small businesses and have been featured in USA Today, Small Business Journal, Amazon Entrepreneurs, and enjoy being a weekly guest on national radio shows.
Skip the Line literally changed my perception of human potential. His deep dive into the path to achieving any goal exposes his secrets of success and failure. He has been a multi-millionaire and broke. James leaves nothing to chance or imagination in giving his step-by-step ideas and examples of how he broke through the commonly accepted limitations on steps to bold change. His style is self-effacing and so real that the story drags you in and you absolutely can not put it down.
The 10,000-hour rule isn't the only way to achieve mastery. Entrepreneur, angel investor and bestselling author James Altucher reveals a new mindset and proven toolkit that will empower anybody to quickly acquire the skills they need to succeed and achieve their dreams.
We live in a hierarchical world where experience has traditionally been the key to promotion. But that period is over! Straight, clear-cut career trajectories no longer exist. Industries disappear, job descriptions change, and people's interests and passions evolve. The key to riding this wave is to constantly be curious about what's next, to be comfortable with uncertainty so…
I’ve always looked to books for support, even as a child when in need of comfort from my parents’ constant fighting. As I became older, I looked for ways to build stress resilience and optimism, so it was only natural that I would turn to books again. I would spend hours in libraries and bookstores reading the self-help books. I eventually went on to get a master’s degree in counseling and a doctoral degree in clinical psychology, each providing plenty of opportunity to expand my collection. I now write my own self-help books and cherish the idea of giving someone else the support I once so desperately needed.
Whenever I need a dose of inspiration and motivation, I listen to this book. The idea of first visualizing how we want to be in the future and then acting from THAT place is revolutionary.
Usually, we’re taught to create change in the present through new habits, which will then impact our future. I use this book to clarify my vision for the future so I can then act as though I’m already that person or living that life.
This isn't a book about BECOMING it's about BEING: noted psychologist Dr. Benjamin Hardy shows how to imagine the person you want to be, then BE that person now. When you do this, your imagined FUTURE directs your behavior, rather than your past.
Who is your Future-Self?
That question may seem trite. But it's literally the answer to all of your life's questions. It's the answer to what you're going to do today. It's the answer to how motivated you are, and how you feel about yourself. It's the answer to whether you'll distract yourself on social media for hours,…
I am a writer. That is the simplest way to condense the comedic, entrepreneurial, megalomaniacal human who appears in this form. And yes, I am an introvert, but one of the few who lacks stage fright. Additionally, I have met four of the five authors on this list. I am hoping the fifth one invites me to speak on her new journey to Unlock Your Big Energy. In conclusion, I 💜choco chip cookies, Murder, She Wrote, and BTS, in that order. Thank you for reading. 🙂
As an immigrant who moved from Los Angeles to Toronto in 2018 and became a Canadienne of Américaine descent in 2023, the past five years have been challenging. Alexandra Franzen’s book reminded me that I am going to be okay, good even.
These horror stories that became celebrations of triumph showed me, in the words of Dr. Maya Angelou, how to find the rainbow in my cloud. I have faced my own share of disappointment, and I have turned lemons into lemonade. But having a book that not only tells stories of other people’s struggles but also provides survival tips based on those stories helps me to face my fear of failure and keep working toward my goals.
"This book is your new best friend on a bad day." -Vanessa Van Edwards, bestselling author of Captivate
"It's one thing to say 'never give up!' but it's another thing to actually live through the pain of rejection and disappointment that makes you question your work and your worth. When that happens, read this book. It will get you through." -Nicole Antoinette, host of Real Talk Radio
Life involves overcoming adversity. No matter what kind of career you've chosen, you're going to deal with discouragement, frustration, and situations that are, shall we say, "less than ideal." It…
