Meet Jim: Professional counselor, fisherman, workshop leader, retired pastor. He distilled more than forty years of experience in interpersonal relationships into an informal, often humorous volume loaded with practical tips, examples, and techniques to practice.

His book highlights our culture’s courtroom-like communication that so often puts us at odds with each other. His tongue-in-cheek, spot-on, Flat Brain Theory shows how and why we get upset and confused in tense situations and what to do about it. He models communication that works to improve your talking and listening skills.

Would you like to end arguing as you know it? The Talker-Listener Card will give you a method. Listening techniques will get you started improving your relationships. He shows how to moderate difficult discussions (personal or business), and improve family dinner table (or crisis) communication. “Come-alive” communication can improve your life.

Sometimes I think of life as a series of rooms filled with a tangled, more or less random conglomeration of activities, places, people, thoughts, feelings, learning, and the occasional gem. Rummaging through my museum of a life for the gems, I have written them in a short form I call “Miniatures.”

Miniatures touch on everyday happenings ranging from a Midwestern childhood to a foray into the corporate world, touching along the way on mountain climbing, travel, motherhood, creativity and pushing life to the edges.

You can approach a miniature as a peek into one of those rooms, into what I was observing or feeling at the time. It won’t tell you everything about that room, but it may set you thinking… Numbered Limited Edition Special available through 1/31/10.

Meet Sally who ran a successful one-person business for thirteen years. With her creative help, you, too, can create a life of independence and financial well-being. The Real American Dream features effective business tools, fresh ideas, and step-by-step coaching. Decide whether you fit the profile of a one-person business owner. Then, if you do, allow Sally’s experience to lead you through the actions of setting up and running your own business. The book will guide you through the ideas and self-awareness necessary for success. And remember, it’s you who define “success.”

Currently Sally is writing mini-essays she calls miniatures. These brief reflections often will jog your thinking or remind you of something you’ve noticed yourself. You are invited to see what this wise woman is up to on her blog.