Possibility of Greatness
339938
Mr. LaMontagne's "Trouble" is a terrific CD, on multiple levels. Many folks are comparing him to the inimitable Van Morrison. And while that's surely heady company to be associated with, it also carries a large load of inherent "trouble," if you'll pardon the easy shot.

I can easily imagine Mr. LaMontagne has listened to "Astral Weeks" more than a few times and more than casually. No crime there.  Go ahead, name any major artist in this musical vein worth his or her measure who hasn't done the same. "AW" is a seminal reference point for any serious singer/songwriter.

Nonetheless, the very burden of "genuis" Mr. Morrison has had to carry for three decades-plus should be enough to convince any aspiring artist to avoid that label. If Mr. LaMontage learns but a single thing from Van The Man, let's hope it's his integrity, principal and dedication to craft.

So whadda we got here? This is a superb CD, one that contains some songs that border on greatness, and therein is the promise for future efforts.

I, for one, will be eagerly listening.
150027
The first of a series, it has potential to be great.  Let's see what the next book carries, and determine how many in the series.
2956199
<div id="video-block-R3U6FTNNK197UW" class="a-section a-spacing-small a-spacing-top-mini video-block"></div><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/F1C9UD6qlcS.mp4" class="video-url"><input type="hidden" name="" value="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91CtJBtrBCS.png" class="video-slate-img-url">&nbsp;My biggest obstacle to buying the book was the title: The School of Greatness.  I thought, who are you to teach me how to be great?  Once I started to read the book, my objection was blown out of the water.

This is about your divine birthright to greatness.

It starts with:

You were born with potential.
You were born with goodness and trust.  Your were born with ideals and dreams.  You were born with greatness.
You were born with wings.
You are not meant for crawling, do dont.
You have wings.
Learn to use them and fly.

Rumi

Then Lewis Howes shows you in his style (that he serves with a tone of kindness, appreciation, love, and curiosity) actionable steps to achieve greatness.  Like Lewis says there are a million ways to be great and a million more things to be great at.  Such as:  being a parent, being an artist, being generous, being a leader, being a change maker, being an advocate, being healthy, being an entrepreneur and being of service.

His actionable steps are in the categories of:

-Creating a vision
-Turning adversity into advantage
-Cultivating a champions mindset
-Developing hustle
-Mastering your body
-Practicing positive habits
-Building a winning team
-Being of service to others

All taken from Lewis large network of mentors, coaches, colleagues and teaches.  Lewis is known for having a huge, successful network that includes such names as Tony Robbins, Jay Abraham, Sara Blakely, Gabby Bernstein, Marianne Williamson, and Elizabeth Gilbert - in sum a lot of people - who are at the top of their field or passion. He pulls in a lot of interesting stories from his successful network to illustrate various principles.

I think that this book is unequivocally worth your time and money, and will give you some great actionable steps not only toward realizing your own greatness and success, but being a happier person.  Dont think twice about buying it.
844781
Because music touches our emotions in innumerable ways, grading artists is highly subjective.  However, in the case of Martha Argerich, speaking in general terms,, I can say her interpretation of the great masters displays a sparkling presence that is extremely pleasing to the ear.  Adding to the effect are some of the great contemporary orchestras, in collaboration with, her talents seem perfectly blended.  Lawrence Rubinoff
29926
OMIGOD! he outdid himself....if THATS possible...I want to go to see him LIVE....would loved to have been there for that show. His parents must be so proud. I said in an earlier rating that he is among the BEST, one of the TOP performers of all time. I look forward to more good things from him.
4059904
This EP is only a taste of what will most likely be one of the top Alternative albums of 09. Josiah Leming has the passion to carry himself into musical greatness. From the moment I heard him singing on American Idol, I along with  thousands of other people knew that he had natural talent. My only concern was if whether or not he had enough maturity to handle success. That is yet to be seen, as his first album has yet to be released. As long as this wonderfully talent kid from Tennessee can keep his head on the level, he is bound for success.

The lyrical beauty in his songs, mixed in with passionate vocals adds up to reveal an EP and most definitely an album worthy of awards. Hopefully when his album is released later this year, critics and people around the world will recognize this great talent.
526354
One of the greats. Impossible to adequately describe. Best to see him in action but if this is the closest you can come, just enjoy.
The eclectic skeptic.
J
842494
"The Art of Learning" by Josh Waitzkin, while largely autobiographical, contains some really priceless ideas on concept of skill mastery.

The book is an insider's look at what it takes to becoming world class in any field. The second part of the book, which talks about Josh's journey through the martial arts is particularly revealing in this regard. Focus, but also recuperation, are crucial elements... this is very well illustrated in the book, through examples from Josh's life.

Besides that, a lot of it is downright inspirational... I was particularly inspired by Josh's account of training through an arm injury to reach an ever greater level of success. A lesson to all of us who sit on the sidelines as soon as we get hurt a little.

I would have loved to hear perhaps a "metaphysical" perspective on the Art of Learning... does complete devotion to a skill lead to happiness, ultimately? Perhaps the subject of a later book!

Paul
paultheo2004@yahoo.ca
84769
All are an incredible body of work and insight.

If everyone could realize their own essential nature and the Oneness that implies, there would be peace on Earth in a very short while.

Warmest Wishes Guys,
Ye shall know them by their
Great Works.

NowHere,

Fla.
210885
This book gives some insight and ideas about where globalization might be taking us. The author, Gregg Easterbrook, has thought a lot about the big trends in globalization and what it means for the future.

To sum up his main points: the main worldwide trend is increasing general prosperity yet with a permanent the feeling of economic uncertainty. Personally, I have no doubt about the economic anxiety and uncertainty that Easterbrook aptly describes. If we feel anxious about the economic growth, then Sonic Boom attempts to put our minds at ease. The trend is up Easterbrook says, citing the truly magnificent developments in globalization such as an increase in the number of democratic countries, the availability of information and increasing education in developing countries.

Easterbrook injects optimism about the economy. Our lifestyles, other than increased anxiety and lack of job security, will improve because this global movement is powerful without precedent. But he cites some facts in isolation that make me not quite as optimistic yet. For example, he says military spending per world capita is on a downward trend, and he applauds China for not investing in its military. Not so quick I think. Look at the new naval base China is building on Sri Lanka and think about how China may be positioned to one day become the number one military goods exporter. Many nations have announced plans to build navies, air forces and rapid deployment forces. Military spending worldwide might not be on a long-term downward trend as the author claims.

Chapters are named after geographical places. Each place plays some important role in the big trends. One is Yakutsk, Russia. That's the coldest major city in the world. Global warming will open up the Siberian permafrost to mineral exploitation and make Yakutsk a great city, according to the book. Those commodities will supply the world markets, writes Easterbrook. Consider the floods associated with that kind of warming and you might predict military conflict to be the order of the day rather than just a chance to get more oil and natural gas. In other words, some of these positive things the author cites have strong negative associations. That's why I didn't catch the optimism bug.

In terms of calling the main trends, I think Easterbrook makes good points and is probably correct. However, one might reconsider though the rule that the economy is always on an upward trend. The big counterexample is the fall of the Roman Empire. After that, the Italian Renaissance didn't begin until roughly one thousand years later. During that thousand year bear market, also known as the Middle Ages, many skills and a great deal of knowledge accumulated during the Roman age were lost. Even their language, Latin, died. I'm not suggesting we expect a repeat of such a decline. The point of factoring in such things is to remind us not to take economic growth for granted.

The main reason I'd recommend this book, other than boosting one's confidence in economic growth somewhat, is that it is full of ideas and connections. Sonic Boom helps us to form megatrend ideas that events will later test and confirm or deny.
2952072
If you are a public speaker, writer, or just lover of words, Better Than Great will provide you with  the tools to put a new shine on your presentations. It's more a source of entertainment than anything else for most. However, I personally find many of the over-the-top superlatives very useful in my work.

Better Than Great may not be a timeless masterpiece, but the right audience will find it to be a total joy!
2501921
A very exciting book indeed. But does it really need to be so? I do understand that the author must have put in a great deal of time into researching the material for this book. I do believe that that it was written with much sincerity. And for those who already know of the works of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, this book could serve as an inspiration. But frankly, as far as introducing someone else to their way of thought, I think it might actually be doing some harm.

The book is a "thriller". A very great portion of the book focuses on the role played by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother in World War II. In fact, there is the suggestion that Hitler made his wrong decisions because he was misled by the Mother. I am not sure if the author realizes how disturbing such a claim might be to a critical outsider. There are thousands of "spiritual gurus" with such fantastic claims. And such a story seems to put Sri Aurobindo and the Mother in their ranks. But that is NOT what they were. Sri Aurobindo never made public statements about his "miracles". In fact, most of such stories seem to have sprouted from rumours circulating among his disciples. I am NOT suggesting that they are lies. Maybe there is some truth to them. Maybe Sri Aurobindo and the Mother did influence the course of history a great deal during that period. But that is not what we need to know about. There is perhaps a reason why they did not make public statements about their role in such things. It was because they did not want to establish a new religion or a cult. They did not want to attract people by such things.

Whether the practice of Yoga has any value at all is for each individual to find out. But if I were to do so, such stories of miracles are the last thing I would choose to think about. They may entice you and fill you with hope and inspiration when you are depressed. But I am not sure if they lead you in the right direction.

So to summarize: It is a nice book. I think it might give a good notion of the kind of the ideals that Sri Aurobindo and the Mother established. It is a very inspiring book, but perhaps best taken with a pinch of salt.
3710977
Although long awaited this new release does little more than to assuage the thirst for some thing new from the Master of Cool. Rumour has it that we are to be blessed with some new gems in the future. Timeless, his dulcet tones waft across your ears but its a real shame cos most of us, have got the catalogue anyway. But it is still a real pleasure to listen. More Please!!!
3384996
Are you content with the way your life is today?  Is there something you feel like you're called to do, but haven't figured out what it is yet?  Do you feel like your occupation, family, or life is something less than extraordinary?  Then Steven Furtick's book, Greater was written for you.

Elijah and Elisha were amazing prophets.  From calling down fire from heaven, to parting the Jordan River, God did some amazing things using these guys.  Furtick weaves throughout the stories of Elijah and Elisha and demonstrates to the reader the path to greatness.  Greatness in your family, in your job, in your life and in your world.  God has called all of us to greatness and this book wants us to attain that greatness.

One of the best features of this book is that it calls us to be greater right where we are.  While some books guilt you into thinking that you have to go off to some foreign country and raise orphans to be great, Steven Furtick's book tells you to be greater right where you live.  Are you a teacher?  Then be greater right there in the school.  Are you a housewife?  Then be greater right there in the house.  Are you a janitor?  Then be greater.  Steven recognizes that God has called some to move to Africa/South America/Asia, but God has also called us to live right where He's placed us.  Not to mention (as the title portrays) we should start smaller and dream bigger.  What would it look like to live Greater right where you are?

Overall, I thought this book was great and is a great motivator and encourager for those who know their not quite living up to greatness.  I do worry though that some who maybe are content to stay how they are, and where they are will miss the message of the book.  While it does a great job of motivating the audience that knows there is a problem, it lacks in shedding light on the problem if we are oblivious to it.  Another thing I was thinking about were the practical steps after reading this book.  How do I become greater?  What steps are there to become greater?  Obviously some of these steps could be different for different people, but it's important to guide people on their path to greatness somehow and I think this book could have used some better direction for people to start.  On that note, maybe the place to start would be surrounding yourself with people who are already great or are striving to be greater?

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.
1420463
Super AI could be the greatest boon to human kind, or the greatest threat. We won't know until it happens. What I appreciated about this movie was how it portrayed both the potential good and the bad. The Super AI, portrayed by Depp, appeared sympathetic and deeply human, peaceful and paternalistic, and yet the threat was there. The humans arrayed against him ranged from reluctantly concerned to the fanatically opposed. You could never really develop a TV series to explore this as a fiction series because in the event that super AI does become a reality, and that it is not isolated to fulfill the function of an oracle, the evolution would proceed so rapidly and the changes it would  affect would be deployed so quickly that the series would be over before the season was half done. But it would be interesting to see a series of movies on the subject, each exploring different possible scenarios.
4527064
Sebastian Marshall definitely has a unique outlook on life and encourages the
reader to shun normalcy and embrace their full potential. Despite the often
heavy-handed comments, Sebastian seems to be humble in the face of greatness.
He draws upon the experiences of great historical figures and references
ancient philosophies to guide his own life. There is no doubt that the ideas in
the book are a culmination over years of research, experimentation and introspection.

The prose is colloquial and often times seems unedited with grammatical errors
intact; but this adds to the material instead of detracting from it. The
message is portrayed as if Sebastian is speaking directly to you and often
times it hits home, hard.

He lives an extraordinary life and at the same time seems much like the rest of
us; taking away all avenues for making excuses. He closes the latter third of
the book with actionable tactics that he personally uses. There are great ideas
here but one needs to be develop their own set of tactics drawing upon these as
a starting point. It is definitely not a one-size-fits-all
easy-ten-step-guide-to-success book; but it does provide some intuition on how
great people think, act, and preceive life around them.

There are also some parts of the book that I feel are incomplete or are left
unattended due to time constraints (this book was published in only one week).
Regardless, the material is fresh and insightful and I
encourage readers to challenge their life trajectory with the ideas presented
here in conjunction with their own experiences, goals, and ideals. You
don't necessarily have to agree with everything in this book to get something out of it.
3212036
The author puts forth a vision of what a future free society would likely look like, while offering a mechanism to bring it into being.  His ideas are well worth consideration.  His devotion to bringing about that glorious, marvelously beneficial future is beyond question.