Progress Not Perfection

This book is for you if you want a stronger feeeling of mastery over your choices and a deeper sense of fulfilment that permeates your life.

About the Book Former police officer Mark A. Kashirsky is not a celebrity sharing his story of struggle. He is a regular man, husband, father, and White Sox fan. However, after an officer-involved shooting, he began struggling with mental illness—panic attacks, PTSD, depression. Progress Not Perfection is about several life-changing obstacles that Kashirsky has faced in his short forty years, especially becoming handicapped following a surgery that went wrong. His life changed overnight and he had to push forward every day. Kashirsky details his recovery, his growth, and his acceptance of his new normal. This is a story about coping, and he hopes readers take away positivity and hope. “I want them to realize there is good in this world and it is worth living for. And obstacles can be overcome.” About the Author Mark Kashirsky is forty years old. He is happily married to his wife, Jamie, of ten years. They have a sixteen-year-old stepdaughter, Lia, and a nine-year-old son, Jaxon. Kashirsky was a police officer for sixteen years, with the last six years being a detective and an investigator assigned to a homicide task force. He enjoys spending as much time as possible with his family, watching television shows and movies. They are a huge sports family too. They absolutely love the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bears. Kashirsky and his wife cohost a true-crime podcast called Death Do Us Part Podcast. They love researching for the shows and performing live episodes.

Emma Norris guides you in setting purposeful plans that are right for you and nurturing a healthier approach to prioritizing, so you can live a more value-based life. She'll guide you through mono-tasking, batch working, productivity, and resting—not quitting. Being busy or constantly on the go doesn’t always mean we are being productive. Sometimes, it can feel like we are doing too much and accomplishing too little. Or we can have lots of plans and not know exactly where to start achieving what we want. This can make us feel overwhelmed and burned out, leaving little room to figure out what we want to do and lots of room to doubt ourselves. Having more mindful productivity habits can combat these challenges by helping you keep track of your goals and accomplish them. You can pick the right methods to achieve things without feeling stress, anxiety, or the pressure of external factors while also improving your focus and living a purposeful life. Life doesn’t always go as planned, and when that happens we want to be prepared to be our most productive selves. Each chapter of this book is tailored to help you achieve mindful productivity. You'll learn to: Pursue progress over perfection Embrace the chaos Set boundaries Create realistic objectives Practice mindfulness And much more You’ll not only nurture a more stress-free lifestyle, but also learn to embrace the unexpected challenges that may come your way. You will learn how to cultivate productivity into your everyday routine, so you are able to achieve anything you set your mind to without the pressure of doing everything. With Progress Over Perfection, you’ll find the courage and the resolve to do what you want to do without having to compromise your plans to fit the pressures of everyday society. It’s possible to be your true self and achieve anything you want, even among the chaos.

The pursuit of perfection often leads us to believe that there's no progress unless we reach the summit. Not true. In fact, it is that thinking that keeps us from understanding that each day toward our goal is praise-worthy, applaudable, progress. The Progress Not Perfection 44-card inspiration deck offers soul-enriching, life-affirming wisdom bites that will help you open your eyes and expand your brain so that you can see that you're only limited by limited thinking.

Perennial wisdom from one of history's most important but lesser-known Stoic teachers "He knew that all a philosopher could do was respond well--bravely, boldly, patiently--to what life threw at us. That's what we should be doing now."--Ryan Holiday, Reading List email The Stoic philosopher Musonius Rufus was one of the most influential teachers of his era, imperial Rome, and his message still resonates with startling clarity today. Alongside Stoics like Seneca, Epictetus, and Marcus Aurelius, he emphasized ethics in action, displayed in all aspects of life. Merely learning philosophical doctrine and listening to lectures, they believed, will not do one any good unless one manages to interiorize the teachings and apply them to daily life. In Musonius Rufus's words, "Philosophy is nothing else than to search out by reason what is right and proper and by deeds to put it into practice." At a time of renewed interest in Stoicism, this collection of Musonius Rufus's lectures and sayings, beautifully translated by Cora E. Lutz with an introduction by Gretchen Reydams-Schils, offers readers access to the thought of one of history's most influential and remarkable Stoic thinkers.

***INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 2019*** 'Fast-paced, generous, wise, raw, funny, practical and helpful' Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed 'Millions of young women look to Marie Forleo as their inspiration for empowerment and achievement' Oprah Winfrey 'Reading these pages I experienced the sensation of limitless possibility. This book will change lives' Elizabeth Gilbert Do you ever have trouble finishing what you start? Do amazing ideas come to you all the time but after the initial excitement wanes you struggle to follow through? If you're creative and ambitious, the answer is likely yes. The problem isn't you. It's not that you're not hardworking, intelligent or deserving, but that you haven't yet installed the one key belief that will change everything: Everything is figureoutable. Whether you want to leave a dead-end job, heal a relationship, grow a business, master your money, or just find two free hours in your day, Everything is Figureoutable will train your brain to think more positively and help you break down any dream into manageable steps. Inside you'll learn: - How to deal with criticism and imposter syndrome - Why it's crucial that you strive for progress not perfection - How to bounce back from failure - How to overcome a lack of time and money You'll also hear triumphant stories of everyday people using the everything is figureoutable philosophy to transform their life. Everything is figureoutable is more than just a fun phrase to say. It's a practical, actionable discipline. And it's about to make you unstoppable! 'Smart, funny, and as brilliant as it is straightforward. LOVED it!' Brené Brown 'This book delivers a knockout punch to whatever is holding you back' Cheryl Strayed

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to healing the wounds of traumatic experiences, although most survivors agree that just talking about the trauma does not work. Expressive arts therapy offers a wide range of potential solutions for trauma survivors by taking an all of the above approach to creative practices, working with multiple expressive pathways in a variety of combinations. This book invites you into artmaking, music, dancing, movement, writing, and other expressive practices to both cultivate your existing strengths and to help you step outside of your comfort zone. Explore how the practices of expressive arts can best support your healing and recovery journey.

Soaring skyscrapers, deep-dish pizza, and improv comedy may be what the city is best known for, but they are only the beginning of Chicago’s story. It could take a lifetime to experience everything this one-of-a-kind town has to offer. But what if you only have a few days to explore? You're in luck! The one hundred adventures in this candid insider’s guide promise an authentic taste of the Windy City whether you’re taking a weekend-sized bite or sticking around for the buffet of a lifetime. You’ll find seasonal and themed itineraries to make planning your explorations easier. Discover which blues club locals swear by, pay a visit to a quiet green space hidden in plain sight, or dig in to an ice cream cone piled high with five different flavors! If you’re visiting for the first time, or you’re lucky enough to call Chicago home, these one hundred iconic experiences should top your to-do list. No matter when you visit or how long you stay, as you cross off each item, you’re certain to learn something new and have fun in the process.

"With its gentle affirmations, inspirational quotes, fill-in-the-blank lists and tasks — write yourself a thank-you letter, describe yourself at 80, for example — The Artist’s Way proposes an egalitarian view of creativity: Everyone’s got it."—The New York Times "Morning Pages have become a household name, a shorthand for unlocking your creative potential"—Vogue Over four million copies sold! Since its first publication, The Artist's Way phenomena has inspired the genius of Elizabeth Gilbert and millions of readers to embark on a creative journey and find a deeper connection to process and purpose. Julia Cameron's novel approach guides readers in uncovering problems areas and pressure points that may be restricting their creative flow and offers techniques to free up any areas where they might be stuck, opening up opportunities for self-growth and self-discovery. The program begins with Cameron’s most vital tools for creative recovery – The Morning Pages, a daily writing ritual of three pages of stream-of-conscious, and The Artist Date, a dedicated block of time to nurture your inner artist. From there, she shares hundreds of exercises, activities, and prompts to help readers thoroughly explore each chapter. She also offers guidance on starting a “Creative Cluster” of fellow artists who will support you in your creative endeavors. A revolutionary program for personal renewal, The Artist's Way will help get you back on track, rediscover your passions, and take the steps you need to change your life.

Learning Chinese can be frustrating and difficult, partly because it's very different from European languages. Following a teacher, textbook or language course is not enough. They show you the characters, words and grammar you need to become proficient in Chinese, but they don't teach you how to learn them! Regardless of what program you're in (if any), you need to take responsibility for your own learning. If you don't, you will miss many important things that aren't included in the course you're taking. If you study on your own, you need to be even more aware of what you need to do, what you're doing at the moment and the difference between them. Here are some of the questions I have asked and have since been asked many times by students: How do I learn characters efficiently? How do I get the most out of my course or teacher? Which are the best learning tools and resources? How can I become fluent in Mandarin? How can I improve my pronunciation? How do I learn successfully on my own? How can I motivate myself to study more? How can I fit learning Chinese into a busy schedule? The answers I've found to these questions and many others form the core of this book. It took eight years of learning, researching, teaching and writing to figure these things out. Not everybody has the time to do that! I can't go back in time and help myself learn in a better way, but I can help you! This book is meant for normal students and independent language learners alike. While it covers all major areas of learning, you won't learn Chinese just by reading this book. It's like when someone on TV teaches you how to cook: you won't get to eat the delicious dish just by watching the program; you have to do the cooking yourself. That's true for this book as well. When you apply what you learn, it will boost your learning, making every hour you spend count for more, but you still have to do the learning yourself. This is what a few readers have said about the book: "The book had me nodding at a heap of things I'd learnt the hard way, wishing I knew them when I started, as well as highlighting areas that I'm currently missing in my study." - Geoff van der Meer, VP engineering "This publication is like a bible for anyone serious about Chinese proficiency. It's easy for anyone to read and written with scientific precision." - Zachary Danz, foreign teacher, children's theatre artist About me I started learning Chinese when I was 23 (that's more than eight years ago now) and have since studied in many different situations, including serious immersion programs abroad, high-intensity programs in Sweden, online courses, as well as on the side while working or studying other things. I have also successfully used my Chinese in a graduate program for teaching Chinese as a second language, taught entirely in Chinese mostly for native speakers (the Graduate Institute for Teaching Chinese as a Second Language at National Taiwan Normal University). All these parts have contributed to my website, Hacking Chinese, where I write regularly about how to learn Mandarin.