Jeff Madrick has written a compelling book: Age of Greed a Publishers Weekly Top Ten pick for Spring 2011.

Jeff Madrick makes clear in a narrative at once sweeping, fast-paced, and incisive, that the single-minded pursuit of huge personal wealth has been on the rise in the United States since the 1970s, led by a few individuals who have argued that self-interest guides society more effectively than community concerns. These stewards of American capitalism have insisted on the central and essential place of accumulated wealth through the booms, busts, and recessions of the last half century, giving rise to our current woes.

Intense economic inequity and instability is the story of our age, and Jeff Madrick tells it with style, clarity, and an unerring command of his subject. What’s different about the book, is that unlike other recent treatments of the financial crisis, it traces the origins of the problem not to the Bush or Clinton or even Reagan years, but all the way to the late 1960s.

The real scandal revealed by Madrick’s important book is not the well-known tales of dastards such as telecom analyst Jack Grubman or Internet stock promoter Frank Quattrone, but the more elusive and more consequential story of how the government came to abdicate this supreme responsibility.’

'The Age of Greed is a fascinating and deeply disturbing tale of hypocrisy, corruption, and insatiable greed. But more than that, it’s a much-needed reminder of just how we got into the mess we’re in—a reminder that is greatly needed when we are still being told that greed is good'. - Paul Krugman and Robin Wells, The New York Review of Books

"I will tell you the secret to getting rich on Wall Street. You try to be greedy when others are fearful. And you try to be fearful when others are greedy." - Warren Buffett

America is on the verge of losing yet another natural resource. In about ten years, three-quarters of American oldest generation will be gone. They will take with them lessons learned about living through illness, failure, poverty, loss and danger…and more basic things like lessons learned about work, love, parenting and growing old.

Dr. Karl A. Pillemer, a professor of human development in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, created the Life Lessons Project in 2004, as a way of collecting practical advice from America’s elders. He knew that for the first time in history we humans have access to the accumulated wisdom of vast numbers of older people.

Pillemer, spent five years interviewing hundreds of elderly Americans, and found himself startled by their candor, their insights, and yes, their wisdom. He has summarized their thoughts in a book titled, 30 Lessons for Living: Tried and True Advice from the Wisest Americans.

Their advice ranged from:

• How to be happy on a day-to-day basis
• The secrets to a successful marriage
• Tips on raising children
• Ways to have a fulfilling career
• Strategies for dealing with illness and loss
• The importance of long-term care
• How to grow old fearlessly and well

His book has been getting a lot of buzz since released…it has hit a nerve! It’s been written and talked about on: CNN, PBS, Huffington Post, New York Times, The Daily Beast, Tampa Bay Times, Psychology Today, Blog Talk Radio and more.

"My grandmother would strongly agree with much of the collected wisdom, particularly the adage that happiness is a choice and that a practice of gratitude is intrinsic to being happy. I can't wait to read the book!" -Chelsea Clinton

We all know the current global economic system is severely troubled. Most people believe that corporate greed plays a major role in today’s economic turmoil and that human values are lacking in business decisions and actions. Money worries top the list of many people.

Patricia Aburdene one of the world’s leading social forecasters and co-author of four Megatrends books with John Naisbitt—including the New York Times bestseller Megatrends 2000, has discovered another emerging megatrend which she describes in her latest book, Conscious Money.

She believes that if you look below the surface of the current economic disaster, there is a holistic, values-based economic transformation underway opening the door to a new era that can bring fulfillment and prosperity. This emerging megatrend she calls: Conscious Money. Conscious Money is a growing movement of people who draw on values, creativity, and the power of human consciousness to clarify and guide their financial choices.

Join us for this new, profound and life-changing conversation as Patricia shares how you can make financial choices that reflect your values by:

• Identifying your unique personal values
• Breaking down barriers to financial success
• Partnering & working for companies that reflect your values
• Expressing your values through conscious shopping
• Investing in enterprises that honor the planet

Patricia has discovered that people want their money life (where they earn, spend and invest their money) to better reflect the values espoused in their personal and spiritual lives. They want to make financial choices that reflect their values and awareness. They also want to develop a new economy and a way of life that grows out of their true values.

"We have a new economic era now – where sustainable values and the genius of human consciousness outperform fear and greed."
– Marianne Williamson

Are you one of those people who have been looking for love in all the wrong places? Or perhaps you are someone who has found love, only to find that it fizzles out faster than a lit match in the spring rain? Have you genuinely tried your best to leave behind your pattern of unfulfilling relationships, only to find that you keep on going back to them, again and again?

Dr. Srini Pillay will spend an evening with us to unravel the mysteries of love and help us make wiser more informed choices about the loving relationships in our lives. He will address the following questions with cutting-edge scientific answers:

1. Why do so many people look for love in all the wrong places? What can you do about this?
2. Why you end up doing all the wrong things in love despite your best intentions? How can you change this?
3. Why does loving someone else require that you love yourself first? How can you achieve without the hype of a contemporary tabloid?
4. Why do you repeat your destructive patterns of falling in love? How can you escape these patterns?
5. Why does love become so boring so quickly? What can you do to lead a more sustainable fulfilling romantic life?

Dr. Pillay will also explain in everyday language how our fears complicate finding and forming loving relationships that last. By helping us understand the science of love, Dr. Pillay will help us move through the roadblocks that prevent us from living a satisfying, fulfilling and magical life.
"The secret to living life successfully is to recognize that you can be different from what is happening to you." - Srinivasan S. Pillay

After having to turn back during her first attempt at climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Herta Von Stiegel vowed to return a decade later in a big way. For her 50th birthday, Von Stiegel paired a group of seven people with disabilities with able-bodied climbers to benefit Enham, a non-profit that empowers people with disabilities.

The emotionally charged climb to the top was captured in her award-winning documentary The Mountain Within. She also wrote a book about the experience, The Mountain Within: Leadership Lesson and Inspiration for Your Climb to the Top.

The book weaves a dramatic narrative of the gripping Kilimanjaro climb with personal stories of other mountains met and mastered; stories about the obstacles some of the world’s most influential leaders face in knowing themselves and their values, being true to both while ascending the highest peaks. Full of practical wisdom, courage and inspiration, The Mountain Within expands our understanding of what achievement means and the roads we can take to get there.

Von Stiegel’s second attempt was a success. She learned that life may be full of obstacles, but it is the mountain within that most often needs to be conquered. Her story reveals several invaluable lessons for today’s business leaders:

• Ruthlessly prepare
• Use failure as a stepping-stone for success
• Hang on to your vision
• Know when it's time to come down from the mountain

"It’s the mountain within that needs to be conquered one day at a time." – Herta Von Stiegel

Scientists have discovered the secret of healthy permanent weight loss – and it’s got nothing to do with dieting! People are over-weight because they are imprisoned by their bad habits. The fatter someone is, the more habits they have.

Charles Duhigg award-winning New York Times business reporter has written a new book: The Power of Habit …why we do what we do and how to change it. The book examines the specific ways in which people are learning to radically manipulate habits –either their own or those of other people and confirms that once we understand how habits really work, and how change occurs, we can develop new habits or get rid of old ones with the same basic tools. This discovery will inspire people to re-think many aspects of their daily lives.

Duhigg will explore why some people, companies, and communities never achieve real transformation, while others remake themselves almost overnight. He will share the key to conquering our most stubborn vices. We will learn that transforming a habit – or a life – isn’t necessarily easy or quick. It isn’t always simple. But it is possible.

An article adapted from his new book ‘The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business.’ was recently featured on the front cover of the New York Times Magazine

‘By the time we reach adulthood, we are driven as much by habit as by anything else, and there is infinity of habits in us. They do not merely rule us; they inhibit us and make fools of us.’ –Warren Bennis