From the age of seven, Pat Williams's greatest passion was baseball. However, after two years in the minors, he had to admit it was not his greatest talent. But when he combined his passion for sports with his greatest talents--leadership, salesmanship, and promotion--he found his sweet spot for success. What followed was a phenomenally successful career and a lasting impact on the world. Through engaging stories and inspiring examples of those who have found their sweet spot for success, Williams shows readers how to identify their greatest talent, pursue their greatest passion, and multiply their efforts through teamwork. They'll discover how to maximize their natural gifting, focus their enthusiasm, and leverage their talent and passion into a lifetime of success. Perfect for graduates going off to college or work, or anyone who is still looking for a career that satisfies their soul.

Introduce Young Readers to Inspiring Figures from Early American History We live in scary and unpredictable times, and times of crisis call for heroes. Despite our recent obsession with all things superhero, real heroes are just regular people who rise to the challenge when the going gets tough--like the people who won the American Revolutionary War. Some famous, some obscure, but all models of courage under fire, these ordinary people followed their convictions, took tremendous risks, and faced dire consequences should they fail. Yet they stuck to their principles, winning the most unlikely of victories and not only shaping a new country but reshaping the world. Now Pat Williams brings their stories to vivid life for children ages 9-12. These engaging stories of men, women, and even kids who showed courage despite overwhelming odds during America's fight for freedom will inspire young readers to face their fears, take calculated risks, and imagine a better future for themselves and their country.

When Coach John Wooden graduated from eighth grade, his father gave him a handwritten card and said, "Son, try to live up to this." On the card, his father had written seven simple yet profound life principles:
Be true to yourself
Help others
Make friendship a fine art
Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible
Make each day your masterpiece
Build a shelter against a rainy day by the life you live
Give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day
These principles were the key to Coach Wooden's greatness--and his goodness. Through powerful stories and pithy advice, this book shares the wisdom that made Wooden happy and successful. This inspirational and conversational book, now in trade paper, will encourage, challenge, and motivate readers to build these principles into their own lives.

Pat Williams has shown us what traits are vital for effective leadership and how to develop those skills in our children. In Souls of Steel, he focuses on one specific trait: Character. He explains why character matters and why so many young people today think issues like character, integrity, morality, and truth are relics of a bygone era. He shows us that to be individuals who contribute positively to our world they must have Souls of Steel.

An objective discussion of educational leadership from both inside and outside the school system, focusing on ethical issues, dominant models, and today's unprecedented commitment to community involvement. During the last decade of the 20th century, the United States entered a new era of educational leadership. The seat of educational authority shifted from the district office to the individual school, from the principal-as-manager to the stakeholders: students, teachers, families, community members, school boards, politicians, and corporate and philanthropic foundations. In Educational Leadership, educator Pat Williams-Boyd traces these changes from their roots in the 19th century to the present day. She shows readers what leadership looks like when it is distributed throughout a community and explains how collaborative relationships can be forged. She also examines techniques for effective leadership during the hazardous process of school reform and presents a critical discussion of 20 leading school reform models.

While many developing countries rapidly expanded their scientific and technological capabilities during the 1960s and 1970s, the current international economic crisis has severely threatened these programs and the developing world has staggered under its debt burden. These economic difficulties highlight the need to utilize effectively the limited scientific and technological resources available. In this volume, an international group of experts explore ways to organize research and development programs; create flexible and appropriate linkages to promote supplier user interactions at national, regional, and international levels; and design policy instruments to encourage and finance research and development.Three case studies illustrate all these aspects of research and development.The contributors also* outline suggestions for pioneer projects in such areas as a technological services delivery system for small industries; a local technology system for rural areas; a fund-syndicating technology delivery system for later enterprises and investors; linkages to improved productivity in under-utilized capacity; and identifications of needs in the least-developed countries.

In this book, Pat Williams, senior executive vice president of the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association, gives five secrets he has discovered that lead to a magical, miraculous way of life.

An inspiring biography of one of the most influential and beloved figures of the 21st century, based on more than a thousand interviews. "I've read every book that has ever been written about Walt Disney, going back to some that were published in the 1930s. [How to Be Like Walt] is by far the most enjoyable to read of them all!"
Tim O'Day, Disney Scholar
"How to Be Like Walt is a fitting tribute to Walt's memory and an important contribution to the Disney legacy . . . Now more than ever, we need people with the qualities Walt had: optimism, imagination, creativity, leadership, integrity, courage, boldness, perseverance, commitment to excellence, reverence for the past, hope for tomorrow, and faith in God."
Art Linkletter

How to Be Like is a "character biography" series: biographies that also draw out important lessons from the life of their subjects. In this new book-by far the most exhaustive in the series-Pat Williams tackles one of the most influential people in recent history.

While many recent biographies of Walt Disney have reveled in the negative, this book takes an honest but positive look at the man behind the myth. For the first time, the book pulls together all the various strands of Disney's life into one straightforward, easy-to-read tale of imagination, perseverance, and optimism. Far from a preachy or oppressive tome, this book scrapes away the minutiae to capture the true magic of a brilliant maverick.

Tom Osborne's Leadership Principles
- Be a servant leader. Sacrifice yourself for the benefit of others.
- Accentuate the positive and empower those around you.
- Focus on your values and principles and stay true to them.
- Bring a sense of teamwork through loyalty and unity.
- Do whatever you can to help make a difference in the world.
- Whenever you deal with adversity, learn from the experience.
- Focus on what matters most: character, principles and process.
- Mentor someone and leave a legacy of spirit and perseverance.

What if you could get leadership advice directly from the man universally recognized as one of America's most admired presidents, Abraham Lincoln himself? And then what if you could hear from a well-known contemporary marketplace leader about functional ways to apply those lessons today? In this unique book, you'll be able to do just that, thanks to the creative lessons offered by Lincoln writer, actor, and playwright Gene Griessman. To drive the lessons home, NBA executive Pat Williams offers his trademark wisdom, humor, and practical insight based on his rich and varied personal experiences. If you want your leadership life to pop in a way that spells resounding success, make sure this book is on your shelf, easily within reach. You'll want to refer to it again and again.

How can you be sure you'll win that next job interview? Unless you have a crystal ball, a genie's lamp, or a lucky rabbit's foot that accurately forecasts the future, it is difficult to predict. NBA guru Pat Williams knows a trick or two about what it takes to make the team's final cut. In this book, he shows you how to build a business network, plan your career path, package yourself to get the right kind of attention, and much more. The secret to nailing the job interview is to approach life as if every day is a championship game.

Through engaging stories and inspiring examples of those who have found their sweet spot for success, Williams shows readers how to identify their greatest talent, pursue their greatest passion, and multiply their efforts through teamwork. They'll discover how to maximize their natural gifting, focus their enthusiasm, and leverage their talent and passion into a lifetime of success. Perfect for graduates going off to college or work, or anyone who is still looking for a career that satisfies their soul.

An expert guide to the development of the middle school model as the best educational environment designed to address students' developmental and social needs as well as educational needs. Middle Grades Education: A Reference Handbook explores the distinctive middle school approach to helping adolescents develop as human beings and citizens as well as students, with coverage that ranges from the conceptual foundations of the middle school model, to research-based best practices, to sample lesson plans and activities. Edited by Pat Williams-Boyd, with contributions from experienced, frontline educators, the book showcases a number of places where the ideal middle school has become reality, where individual talents are nurtured, families are involved, teachers serve as role models and advocates, and crucial health and developmental needs are met. Readers will experience classrooms where students dance their math, sing their science, and breathe the winds of history, and where the joy of learning is bounded only by the educator's imagination. Learning activities for all instructional strategies including differentiated instruction, inquiry-based and concept-based education, critical thinking and problem-solving strategies, the use of multiple intelligences, learning styles and cultural congruence, and cooperative learning Planning guides and step-by-step presentations of academic service-learning, which connects the classroom to the community

On 2 February 1959, a musical about the life and times of heavyweight boxing star Ezekiel Dhlamini (known as 'King Kong') opened in Johannesburg to a packed audience that included Nelson Mandela. King Kong was not just South Africa's first ever musical, but one that grew out of a collaboration between black people and white, and showcased an all-black cast.

It was an instant hit, bursting through the barriers of apartheid and eventually playing to 200,000 South Africans of every colour before transferring to London's West End. Pat Williams, the show's lyricist, was at the time an apolitical young woman trying to free herself from the controls and prejudices of the genteel white society in which she lived. Here she recounts her experience of growing up in a divided South Africa, her involvement in the musical, and its lasting impact both on herself and on the show's cast, many of whom went on to find international fame, like South African jazz legends Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela. Her memoir takes the story up to the present day.

It is both a vivid evocation of a troubled time and place as well as a celebration of a joyous production, in which a group of young people came together in South Africa's dark times - to create a show which still lives on today.

Each topic is a gem of brilliant writing from a master storyteller. By turns delightful, thought provoking, funny and packed with stories and observations about life's vagaries.