Showing results by narrator "Kevin M. Connolly" in All Categories

How do you define “growing up?” Does it mean you achieve certain cultural benchmarks - a steady income, paying taxes, marriage, and children? Or does it mean leaving behind the expectations of others and growing into the person you were meant to be? Here acclaimed author James Hollis guides you through 21 areas for self-inquiry and growth - such as how to exorcise the ghosts of your past, when to choose meaning over happiness, how to construct a mature spirituality, and how to seize permission to be who you really are.

To know your true calling - your dharma, as the yogis say - is perhaps the greatest desire within each of us. And yet, few can say we know our purpose with absolute certainty. Fortunately, there is a time-tested guide - an ancient map - for discovering and fulfilling your unique calling. In The Great Work of Your Life, Stephen Cope walks you through each step of the journey.

Solid wax is somehow changed into light and heat. But how? Travel back in time to December 28, 1848 in London, England to one of the most famous juvenile science Christmas lectures at the Royal Institution. British scientist Michael Faraday (1791-1867) encouraged kids to carefully observe a candle and to try to figure out how it burned. Known as one of the best science experimenters ever, Faraday’s passion was always to answer the basic questions of science: “What is the cause? Why does it occur?”

True leaders inspire us with their confidence, dedication, and track record of achievement - but does their success arise from innate gifts, or qualities that we all can develop? With The Four Virtues of a Leader, Eric Kaufmann presents a must-hear guide to help you awaken and amplify the fundamental competencies that every successful leader embodies.

If you build a perfect castle, a dragon will move in - and that's exactly what happens to one very lucky boy when his family gears up for some changes. The boy and his dragon bounce in their castle, duel with delight, and have an amazing time together...until they find out that their castle is a crib for a new baby. Huh? As soon as they get used to the news, the boy and dragon are back in roaring form, entertaining the infant with marching music, aerial acrobatics, and baby-bottle bowling. But merriment turns to mischief and mischief leads to consequences.

If you build a perfect sandcastle, a dragon will move in. And that's exactly what happens to one very lucky boy at the beach. Dad is busy sunbathing, and Mom is busy with her book, so the boy and dragon roam the beach together, flying a kite, braving the waves, and roasting marshmallows. But no one believes him when he shares the news of his magnificent dragon: Mom only hears the roar of the ocean, Dad thinks the dragon feather is a seagull feather, and know-it-all sis claims there's no such thing as a dragon. 

One night, when Ethan reaches under his bed for a toy truck, he finds this note instead: “Monsters! Meet here for final test.” Ethan is sure his parents are trying to trick him into staying in bed...until he sees five colorful sets of eyes blinking at him from under the bed. Soon, a colorful parade of quirky, squeaky little monsters emerge from beneath the bed and compete to become Ethan's monster. But only the little green monster, Gabe, has the perfect blend of stomach-rumbling and snorting needed to get Ethan into bed and keep him there.

When Ethan checks under the bed for his monster, he finds this note instead: “So long, kid. Gotta go. Someone needs me more than you do. - Gabe” Ethan knows that the "someone" must be his little sister, Emma, who keeps climbing out of bed to play. She obviously needs a monster to help her get to sleep, but not his monster! Will Ethan lose Gabe forever?

US Marines Capt. Kramer and his dog Sgt. Shadow survive hell in Afghanistan - but worse awaits them back home. You Can Run is not your average crime thriller. Full of crime, absolutely! A thrilling ride, most definitely! But Greg Smith takes it up a couple of notches, pulls you, the listener, into a dangerous, action-packed FBI operation. You enter the world of 2 US Marines who offer their services to bring down a diabolical kingpin. 

As he leaves his small, Midwestern town behind and heads off to marine boot camp, young farm boy Kramer hopes his new life will dull the recent loss of his dearest friend. Years later, battle hardened and war weary, Captain Kramer rescues a pup at the scene of a horrific car bombing while deployed to Afghanistan, and a new friendship is born. Months later Kramer and his new friend, Shadow, are back home in California, recuperating from serious injuries received in a deadly ambush by the Taliban.

This short tale about a man's desire to live a different kind of life unfolds during a single day. At the crack of dawn the ferryman opens his eyes to find an impatient businessman nudging him with his foot. The businessman demands they cross the river. Immediately. Right this second. Not a minute to spare.