Love and Promise by Khaled Fayyad

https://www.amazon.com/Love-Promise-Khaled-Fayyad/dp/1532006861

Michael is a middle-aged man standing at a crossroads. Recently separated from his wife and desperate to seek a distraction from his chronic pain, the father of three begins playing an online card game with a woman living a thousand miles away. Although he has never met or seen Anna before, her presence quickly reaches the depths of his heart and begins transforming his life.
Beginning from the moment they meet, Michael and Anna become nearly inseparable. Suddenly, Michael is no longer a recluse living with pain. Anna brings not only companionship, but also renewed hope and a belief in a brighter tomorrow. As they become closer and a love story unfolds, Michael embarks on a poetic journey where he takes to his pen in an attempt to understand his growing feelings and contemplate the ways love can bridge divides and heal wounds. But when the trust between Michael and Anna is eventually tested, he must face an agonizing choice whether to define their love or surrender to the abyss that has already begun to claim him.

Love and Promise share a contemporary tale that begins with a chance meeting on the internet and leads a lonely man on an introspective journey through his deepest emotions.

Street Smarts: Trust Your Instincts, Outsmart Danger, and Stay Safe in a World That Isn’t by Dannah Eve

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0063438887

From the mindset you move with, to the habits you create, and the tools you carry—learn how to stay sharp, stay ready, and stay safe in every aspect of your daily life!

Dannah Eve has always been street smart, and for the past several years, she has been sharing her advice, self-defense strategies, and safety tips with millions of engaged social media followers. With the encouraging tone of a savvy older sister, she has built a platform that teaches women how to think like a threat—mastering situational awareness, calculated deception, and the art of always being ready. This is survival on your terms. These are just a few of the rules she lives by:

Lie to survive: You don’t owe a stranger your truth. Especially if it compromises your safety.
On a date: Don’t rush to share your personal details—a Tinder match is not yet a trusted person.
Living alone: Keep a pair of men’s shoes by the door; you’ll be a less-obvious target.
While commuting: Never leave any personal information visible—such as your workplace ID, nametag, or packages showing your address.
On vacation: Walk with confidence and a strong stride; a distracted person is an easy target.
While driving: Never pull over for an unmarked vehicle; anyone can order police sirens and flashing lights online.
At school: Research and use the available campus shuttles and safety services.
Online: Phishing emails, fake texts, scare tactics—don’t bite, don’t click. If it’s “urgent” or too good to be true, it’s probably a scam.
At a concert or other public place: Plan your exit strategy before you need it.
In an unpredictable and often frightening world, Dannah Eve shows you how to weaponize your intuition—and back it up with real-world safety tactics that actually work. Because when you build confidence, you operate with authority—and that ripple effect can protect more than just you.

About the author
Dannah Eve is a trusted safety expert and digital creator known for her sharp instincts, real-world expertise, and engaging content that empowers women to navigate life with confidence. As a former D1 athlete and Summa Cum Laude graduate in Criminology and Psychology, she combines academic knowledge with street smarts to deliver life-saving insights to her rapidly growing audience of over 4 million followers across her social media platforms.

Dannah’s content is equal parts informative and relatable, making safety feel approachable rather than overwhelming. As a mom, she’s passionate about sharing practical tips and personal experiences that resonate with the millions of loyal followers who turn to her for guidance. Her motto, live aware, not in fear, is the foundation of her mission. She lives in sunny Florida.

Unyielding Hope: Victoria Carrera’s Journey from Chaos to Empowerment

Unlocking Brain Potential: How to Thrive After 45

Extendmyrunway.com

About the Guest(s):
Dr. Michael Netzley is an affiliated faculty member and executive coach at IMD Business School. He is the founder of Extend My Runway, a company that applies neuroscience and behavioral science to help senior leaders enhance their judgment and performance, particularly under pressure. With expertise in creating tools like the Executive Brain Playbook, Dr. Michael Netzley has worked with over 15,000 executives across various industries including banking, aviation, healthcare, and professional services. His insights focus on leveraging the brain’s potential to improve with age.

Episode Summary:
In this intellectually stimulating episode, Chris Voss welcomes Dr. Michael Netzley, a distinguished expert in neuroscience and executive coaching, to discuss the fascinating concept that our brains can improve with age. Contrary to the popular belief that cognitive decline is unavoidable after 45, Dr. Michael Netzley elucidates exciting breakthroughs in neuroscience that demonstrate how strategic investments in brain health and training can lead to enhanced mental capacities even in later years. His unique perspective is grounded in scientific evidence that reshapes our understanding of aging and cognitive development.

Dr. Michael Netzley dives deep into the neuroscience behind brain development after 45, explaining how maintaining brain health through a balanced diet, proper sleep, and regular exercise can help extend cognitive longevity. The conversation further explores the challenges and methods of adapting to the modern world filled with distractions like social media. Tune in to discover practical strategies and insights into sustaining brain health, leveraging life experiences for growth, and the surprising potential for peak innovation and strategic thinking well past middle age.

Key Takeaways:
The brain can get better with age if properly cared for through healthy lifestyle choices like a balanced diet, exercise, and adequate sleep.

Engaging in brain training exercises can significantly improve cognitive performance and adaptability in older adults.

Innovations in neuroscience suggest that people in their later years can excel at strategic and innovative thinking, challenging negative stereotypes about aging.

Avoiding activities such as multitasking and excessive screen time can preserve cognitive bandwidth for more critical tasks.

Dr. Michael Netzley’s work emphasizes the importance of sustained cognitive health and details actionable steps to thrive after 45.

Notable Quotes:
“Your brain is actually your unfair advantage in the age of AI.”
“The brain health trinity…improve sleep, nutrition, and exercise.”
“The truth is brain decline is inevitable, but the compensation can be stronger than the decline.”
“Considering the whole body issue is crucial as all these parts are more interconnected than previously thought.”
“We waste our most precious cognitive bandwidth on nonsense when it should be used more wisely.”

The Fox’s Tale by Jay Sherfey

https://www.amazon.com/Foxs-Tale-Jay-Sherfey/dp/1964462010

The Fox’s Tale is a fantasy story describing Jack Fox, a teenager, surviving in a dog-eat-dog world. He and his mother, Lilly, a physically disintegrating alcoholic, get by under the protection of Gracie Hargreaves: a success in the shipping business and lifelong friend of Lilly and others. Their town is Snakeport, often called the Snake, in a country known as the South. There is no central government and the law is whatever your strength allows you to command. Southern technology involves horses, wind, and gunpowder used in rifled muskets with firing caps. Consider this story a variation on the American Civil War in the 1860s mixed with the English Civil War in the 1600s with hints of Roman arrogance at their peak around 200 A.D. The North-fat, dumb, and happy-after coercing, bullying, and defeating the South in a war fought one hundred years earlier, steals southern children for the menial work needed to maintain an advanced culture with a centralized government. Northern technology is based on the projection of energy by its citizens: horseless vehicles, advanced medicine, advanced architecture, and other advantages. The war deprived the South of its projectors. The North takes what it wants in natural resources and slaves but pays well enough to find allies in the South. Not all Northerners are projectors In the North energy projection ability decides your vocation in life unless you are female. Women in the north are appreciated above southern men but not by much. Southerners in the minds of northerners were stupid, criminal, and incapable. Jack Fox changes everything.

Cheers to Monday: The Surprisingly Simple Method to Lead and Live with Less Stress and More Joy by Amy Leneker

https://www.amazon.com/Cheers-Monday-Surprisingly-Simple-Method/dp/1394388802

What if the secret to less stress is just three simple steps?

If you’ve ever woken up on a Monday already exhausted – or spent Sunday night bracing yourself for the week ahead – the problem isn’t you. The problem is stress. And there’s a surprisingly simple way to break free.

Stress is embedded in today’s workplaces – disguised as drive, rewarded as resilience, and even praised as passion. But chronic stress isn’t a strength; it drains leaders, divides teams, and damages entire organizations.

Cheers to Monday is the joyful rebellion against stress and burnout you’ve been waiting for. In this transformative book, Amy Leneker – a former C-suite executive and now a trusted leadership advisor to Fortune 100 companies and public sector organizations – reveals a liberating truth: stress isn’t the price of success – it’s the thief that steals it. And she proves it with sharp wit, refreshing honesty, and laugh-out-loud stories. You’ll get the same coaching and science-backed strategies Amy shares in boardrooms, workshops, and conferences around the world.

Learn how to:

See stress differently – and finally break the cycle of exhaustion, overwhelm, and self-doubt
Sort stress into five clear categories – so you know exactly what to do with each one
Solve stress with a simple framework to reclaim your time, energy, and focus – at work and beyond
Celebrate the shift – because reducing stress isn’t just a wellness strategy, it’s a joy strategy…and much more.
Cheers to Monday isn’t just a book – it’s a movement to transform how you lead, live, and work. It’s for every leader quietly falling apart, every team crushing goals while getting crushed in the process, and every human who’s tired of pretending they’re “fine.” Whether you’re just starting your career, climbing the corporate ladder, or reflecting on the legacy you’ll leave behind, this book gives you three simple steps to finally break free from stress – and reclaim the life you were meant to live.

About the author
You deserve to lead—and live—with less stress and more joy. Amy Leneker will show you how.

Amy is an optimistic, joy-seeking, recovering workaholic. She’s also a leadership expert, keynote speaker, and author of Cheers to Monday, the Surprisingly Simple Method to Lead & Live with Less Stress & More Joy (Wiley, 2026).

After two decades in leadership (including ten years in the C-suite), Amy stepped off the hamster wheel of hustle and onto a more meaningful path. Known for her warmth, wit, and wildly relatable stories, Amy has trained over 100,000 people around the globe to lead (and live!) with less stress and more joy.

She and her family make their home in the Pacific Northwest.

Bushy Tail: The Curious Squirrel by Florence P Bullis

https://www.amazon.com/Bushy-Tail-Squirrel-Florence-Bullis/dp/B0B3VTTDWW

Bushy Tail The Curious Squirrel

By: Florence P. Bullis

The camp may be home for several squirrels, but only one called Bushy Tail, shows up regularly and he is into everything. Bushy Tail, a lively, energetic, inquisitive creature of the forest, reclaims the campground as his permanent residence. Nothing is beyond his ability to investigate and report back to Chatter, his mate. The campers all appear to have fun, especially with a character like Bushy Tail around.

If there are more squirrels than these two, the others are too shy to be seen in the campsite at the same time as Bushy. A young couple with two small boys are quite challenged to live for six weeks in a conestoga-like, fold-down camper trailer. The campground is located in Florida with a shower and restroom building close to the site. A natural pool is provided for recreation, and Bushy Tail’s antics entertain at least this one camper family.

Florence P. Bullis combines a little fiction with a bit of non-fiction in poetic form, from a squirrel’s point of view with humor and excitement, filling the experience with treasured memories worth sharing back home and with future campers.

About the Author

When her own children had grown and produced children of their own, Florence P. Bullis began gathering the journals of her memories to share with the next generation. Her hope is that in the lives of this electronically connected culture, the joy of experiencing nature is not lost. Florence is now a retired LPN and an author of 5 other books: Including Vision of Two Ships, an auto-biography and Welcome Holy Spirit, a 50 day devotional. From her kitchen window, she often checks on the lively black and brown squirrels, wild turkeys, groundhogs and an occasional deer that appear in her backyard. More episodes of Bushy Tail may be pending.

Young Entrepreneur John Magnor Shares B2B, SAAS and AI-Driven Business Success Strategies

Youtube.com/@johnpmag

About the Guest(s):
John Magnor is a successful 24-year-old entrepreneur, primarily focused on building and scaling B2B companies, including software and service providers. With a career that began at 16, he has devoted himself over the past years to expand businesses through developing robust sales teams and streamlining marketing systems. John is the founder of Magner Equity Partners, aiming to create a portfolio of businesses scalable enough to be sold to private equity. His entrepreneurial journey is motivated by a passion for the business game and the art of marketing and sales.

Episode Summary:
In this riveting episode of The Chris Voss Show, host Chris Voss engages with John Magnor, a young yet remarkably proficient entrepreneur who has made significant impacts in the B2B industry. Broadcasting from Buenos Aires, John shares his journey from a 16-year-old eager to break norms to becoming a key player in software and service-associated entrepreneurship. This episode shines a light on John’s unique approach to scaling B2B companies, underlining the importance of sales and marketing in business growth.

John Magnor narrates his story, highlighting foundational motivations stemming from personal needs and family influence. The discussion flows into the importance of learning sales and marketing, with Chris echoing the sentiment, noting their pivotal role in any business venture. The conversation naturally gravitates towards the future trajectory of businesses, exploring the intricacies of AI technology in revolutionizing traditional market landscapes. With an impressive track record and insightful perspectives, John discusses his investment strategies and shares an exclusive look into his upcoming project, Nova, an AI-driven sales trainer and role player.

Key Takeaways:
John Magnor started his entrepreneurial journey at a young age, driven by the desire to deviate from the norm and make a mark in the B2B scene by leveraging his skills in sales and marketing.

Magnor Equity Partners focuses on helping businesses scale by refining their sales processes and marketing systems, aiming to add them to John’s expanding portfolio.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a crucial element in modern business strategies, offering unparalleled opportunities for growth and efficiency.

The interplay between AI, sales, and marketing can drastically improve training and operational efficiency, as evidenced by the introduction of Nova, an innovative AI sales training platform.

Chris Voss and John stress the importance of a solid business foundation, emphasizing the benefits of starting young and evolving with market changes.

Notable Quotes:
“Once you learn sales, you can work anywhere. Sales is an invaluable skill.” – John Magnor
“AI is here to stay; companies not utilizing it are left in the dust.” – John Magnor
“Business is the best sport…you can do this until you kick the grave.” – John Magnor
“Build a foundation in your youth. It creates an amazing arc for the rest of your life.” – Chris Voss
“Knowing sales and marketing is crucial. They are the building blocks of successful business ventures.” – John Magnor