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Tag: books

  • The Most Common Work From Home Problems — Solved! | Entrepreneur

    The Most Common Work From Home Problems — Solved! | Entrepreneur

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    The following is an excerpt from The Remote Worker’s Handbook, the new book from Entrepreneur Press, available now at Amazon, Entrepreneur and Barnes & Noble.

    Miriam Groom, an industrial and organizational therapist and HR strategist, specializes in employee coaching and counseling. In this interview, she shares her advice about how to overcome the most common pitfalls and challenges of being a remote worker.

    What are the most common psychological or emotional pitfalls related to transitioning from a traditional office job to becoming a remote worker?

    Every individual will experience this transition a bit differently. It really has to do with their personality type. The way people manage their time autonomously and the boundaries they set for themselves are two of the major issues that can cause a lot of stress. “For instance, someone with a perceiving personality type—a type that prefers relaxed, spontaneous schedules, as described by MyersBriggs—may have difficulty with the lack of formal boundaries keeping them in check. These people might end up feeling overwhelmed by too much unstructured free time. Someone who relates more to the judging personality type, characterized by a task-oriented and ‘type A’ personality, however, may find themselves working overtime and on weekends because they can’t separate work from life. Both types can, however, adapt to remote work given the right tools and by learning new behaviors.

    How can someone deal with the stresses of having to separate their personal and professional life once they begin working from home?

    Those who end up working overtime and on weekends can consider scheduling breaks for activities like eating lunch, doing 15-minute meditation sessions, or simply closing their computer for a few minutes. It sounds obvious, but making personal time a formalized ‘to-do’ item can definitely help people feel more balanced. It’s one thing to tell yourself that it’s time to stop working, but it’s another thing to work it into your schedule as a real activity.

    Buy The Remote Worker’s Handbook now on Amazon | Entrepreneur | Barnes & Noble

    Without supervision from superiors or co-workers, what strategies can you share for staying focused and motivated as a remote worker?

    Again, the strategy will depend on the individual and their personality. Someone with perceiving traits will have a harder time staying motivated, as they tend to procrastinate and want to do things that are fun rather than follow rules and check things off their list. For these individuals, asking for routine check-ins with their team can help them stay on track. Ultimately, it comes down to understanding your workstyle and personality so you can identify approaches that make sense for you. There are many tools to discover your working style, such as psychometric tests and other assessments.

    When someone starts working remotely, they often feel isolated from their co-workers and no longer part of their organization’s culture. What should be done to counteract this

    A sense of belonging is important for all employees, be they extroverted or introverted. Replicating an in-person environment isn’t always possible, but people still need to try to bond. This can include a 15-minute ‘virtual coffee break’ each day or making plans to meet in person if the situation allows it. Companies should encourage casual chatting and virtual hangouts, if they don’t infringe on workflow or take up too much time.

    What are some of the signs that someone is not adjusting well to being a remote worker from an emotional or psychological standpoint? What should they do about this?

    It can be hard to identify signs when you can’t see a person’s face. Nonverbal cues can communicate a lot, however, so I recommend having meetings with the camera on so you can gauge people’s facial expressions and body language. “Some signs of isolation can include answering fewer emails as well as seeming less engaged and less involved in meetings and other virtual activities. People expressing sadness and depression are, obviously, some of the most obvious signs they need help adapting to remote work.

    If someone is having trouble focusing on their work as a remote worker, what are some strategies for regaining and maintaining their focus?

    There are different solutions to this problem depending on the psychological profile of the person in question. Someone with a judger personality type may feel overwhelmed without the structure they were once used to. Helping them create a roadmap and then triaging activities so they know where to prioritize their time can help them focus and stay on track. A person with a perceiver personality may end up lacking the discipline needed to perform uninteresting tasks, so helping them identify low-hanging fruit and take baby steps when tackling large projects can help them feel more focused and productive.

    When someone takes breaks from work during their workday as a remote worker, what are some of the things they should do to stay healthy from an emotional/psychological standpoint?

    Meditation, breathing exercises, and physical exercise are all really important. While many of us have sedentary lifestyles in general, going to a physical workplace usually requires more movement compared to waking up and flipping open a laptop. People working from home should be prompted to get up and move around throughout the day. Scheduled exercise can be a companywide policy if these breaks are kept short so that people don’t skip them.

    How can someone overcome anxiety related to being a remote worker and having to take on and learn new skills to meet their work obligations?

    When it comes to anxiety, it’s critical to identify your stress triggers and then work from there. Different people become anxious for different reasons, so there’s no one-size-fits-all solution here. Working with a career counselor can help someone figure out why they feel so anxious and how to deal with it. Some remote work-related anxiety may come from having to learn different project management software, time tracking tools, and so on. A creative with a perceiving personality type, for example, might find tracking their hours and creating productivity reports for their remote manager incredibly anxiety-producing. They can consider talking to their supervisor to see if there’s a workaround for this, or they can ask a colleague to take these tasks off their hands if applicable. Finally, honesty is the best policy, and explicitly telling a manager, “These new administrative tasks are making me anxious” can be the best way to manage the issue.

    Are there specific scheduling techniques you’d recommend when it comes to balancing work and professional life as a remote worker?

    Yes! Schedule downtime in your calendar in the same way you would schedule a meeting. These breaks can include your lunch hour, a quick break to run an errand, or even just 15 minutes to stretch and re-center yourself. “Because people can sometimes get caught up in virtual meetings all day, it’s also important to book meeting-free time to allow for your individual work. Finally, consider scheduling 15-minute meetings as a default, as 30- to 60-minute meetings are often unnecessary.”

    How can someone overcome the overwhelming urge to constantly check their work emails, voice mails, and text messages during their off-hours?

    People get addicted to checking work emails the same way they get addicted to social media and other online distractions. Understand that screens are addictive, and consider turning off notifications on evenings and weekends. It’s important to take our lives and our health as seriously as we take our work.

    From a psychological standpoint, what are some of the biggest mistakes you see first-time remote workers make?

    The list is long. Working into the night, not leaving the house, not having any kind of routine (including hygiene routines), not taking breaks, and failing to implement time management techniques are among the most common. Working in a physical environment typically forces us to follow strict routines that include commuting each day, taking lunch breaks, and following a lot of external cues and prompts. We can re-create these on our own in a remote environment, but it takes self-awareness, deliberate effort, and some relearning.

    If someone must share their home office workspace with a spouse, partner, roommate, or even their kids, what tips can you offer for maintaining their sanity, and privacy, and avoiding too much close contact during their workday and off-hours?

    Like in most situations, communication is key. It’s important to kindly tell the people you live with that you need a certain amount of space and quiet time to work. When it comes to small kids, I recommend using color-coded signs (think red light, green light) rather than a written sign so they can see when you are available. I sound repetitive, but scheduling time to go for brief walks can really help you to re-center, and it relieves some of the stress that can come from sharing a workspace. Finally, noise-canceling headphones are always a great investment.

    What strategies can someone adopt to avoid burnout when they experience too much time in virtual meetings?

    Virtual meetings can be exhausting. Employees can sometimes explore alternatives to videoconferencing, such as a simple voice call, or they can agree on an email template that allows for a brief exchange of ideas without the need for a virtual meeting. Sometimes meetings are unnecessary or are booked for 30 minutes when they only need to be 15 minutes. My recommendation is to be strategic about video calls so that people don’t end up talking into their screen for hours every day.

    Buy The Remote Worker’s Handbook now on Amazon | Entrepreneur | Barnes & Noble

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    Entrepreneur Staff

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  • Margaret Atwood on Loss and Storytelling

    Margaret Atwood on Loss and Storytelling

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    For the release of her new story collection, Old Babes in the Wood, the author talks Victorian murderesses, The Handmaid’s Tale’s TV adaptation, autofiction, the expectedness of death—and much more.

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    Keziah Weir

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  • How Ivy Style Became One Of the Civil Rights Movement’s Most Powerful Weapons

    How Ivy Style Became One Of the Civil Rights Movement’s Most Powerful Weapons

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    But dressing to fit the mold didn’t sit well with everyone. While Black Ivyists suited up in tweed and flannel to peacefully fight for their rights, members of the ever-growing and often misunderstood Black Panther Party chose another uniform designed to “present an image,” says Russ. But instead of the power, respect, and equality that Black Ivyists were dressing for, Russ says that members of the Black Panther Party “wanted to present an image of power, resistance, and a celebration of Black aesthetics and culture.” According to her, both groups used fashion to visually represent their power in different ways. 

    Eventually, though, following the assassination of Dr. King on April 4, 1968, some activists came to realize that respectability politics—and with it, dressing in Ivy—wasn’t working out in the way that they’d hoped it would. “Dashikis and berets would replace button-downs and trilbies as the clothing of rebellion,” Jules writes in Black Ivy, referring to the pieces associated with the Black Panther Party. According to Russ, the uniform of the organization “was a way to give a proverbial middle finger to white America and the policing of Black bodies,” she says. “They stood strong in not conforming to societal standards or bowing to respectability politics and this showed through their all-black clothing, Afros, and African inspired dress.” As time went on, this mode of dress became the look most associated with the movement, and thus, as Jules noted in the book, replaced the Ivy style that had once defined it.

    Of course, Ivy style, and therefore Black Ivy, never really went away. In the decades since, the sartorial pendulum has swung countless times in favor of Ivy, a look that, today, is one of fashion’s most ubiquitous, specifically in menswear. Modern and heritage brands such as Drake’s, Ralph Lauren, Aimé Leon Dore, Rowing Blazers, Gant, Lacoste, Hackett, and G.H. Bass, have all experienced highs in recent years. And while the role the Black community played in shaping Ivy remains a quieter part of the conversation surrounding the overall preppy trend, its influence can be easily spotted when you look at the way these brands are designing Ivy fashion today. In turn, the discussion around it grows louder by the day.  

    In 2022, Ralph Lauren collaborated with Black Ivy League universities including Morehouse and Spelman, leading to the over 50-year-old brand’s first-ever all-Black campaign. Later that year, Drake’s released a capsule collection inspired by Black Ivy in collaboration with Jason Jules, who acted as the model for the associated campaign. It’s through these examples and more that people, specifically the fashion industry, are beginning to acknowledge and appreciate the role that the Black community played in shaping the Ivy preppy look that, as Take Ivy notes, was the “unwritten dress code” and the “one and only orthodox school of fashion” during the mid-twentieth century. Look around—in many ways, it still is.

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    Eliza Huber

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  • Author Chris Whipple discusses the fight of Biden’s life on “The Takeout” – 2/26/2023

    Author Chris Whipple discusses the fight of Biden’s life on “The Takeout” – 2/26/2023

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    Author Chris Whipple discusses the fight of Biden’s life on “The Takeout” – 2/26/2023 – CBS News


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    Author Chris Whipple joins Major Garrett for this week’s episode of “The Takeout” to discuss his new book, “The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House,” and to explore the successes and failures of the Biden administration’s first two years.

    Be the first to know

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  • I Wrote a Book, But What Now? 5 Things to Do After You Publish Your Book | Entrepreneur

    I Wrote a Book, But What Now? 5 Things to Do After You Publish Your Book | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    It’s no secret today that entrepreneurs are writing and publishing non-fiction books to market themselves and their brands and businesses. As an entrepreneur, it increases your authority and credibility, helps you reach new clients, gain speaking engagements and much more. Books have become the business cards of modern entrepreneurs.

    Since COVID-19, the amount of eBooks available on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) has more than tripled. That means that writing and publishing have become the easy part and that book marketing is the real challenge.

    Despite this, too many entrepreneurs turned authors see their non-fiction book as the end of something when it’s really just the beginning of a new level of marketing.

    Related: How to Begin Your Lead-Generating Non-Fiction Book

    What should I do after I publish a book?

    After your book is published, you shouldn’t sit back and relax. It’s a common mistake to assume that book sales will take care of themselves. In reality, that couldn’t be further from the truth.

    Yes, writing and publishing a book will open many doors for you. But you still have to be the one to walk through those doors. Otherwise, what was the point of all the hard work, time and money you put into publishing your book?

    In this article, I will share five things I tell all of my authors to do after publishing their books.

    Related: 3 Ways to Sell More Copies of Your Non-Fiction Books

    1. Take a bunch of pictures with your book

    Do you know what picture gives me a spike in book sales whenever I share it? The one of me, holding my paperback next to my face and smiling. It’s not a professional picture by any means; it’s just a selfie taken with my smartphone. I don’t use filters or wear makeup, and I certainly don’t dress the part of a traditional businesswoman.

    But guess what? That selfie resembles every other picture your friends, family and colleagues share. It doesn’t look like an ad to buy your book. And that’s what counts. That is what people respond to on social media.

    My advice is to take pictures with your book often. It makes for a much more interesting scene. I tell authors to try different poses and locations. You can find many pictures of my books traveling, standing up in the sand on the beach or atop a balcony overlooking the Caribbean sea. Where I go, my books go.

    Related: 5 Proven Tips for Effectively Marketing Your First Book

    2. Tell people about your book again… and again

    To be clear, I am not talking about bringing up your published book non-stop and no one ever being able to have a productive conversation with you. I just mean that you need to remind people periodically, preferably in various creative ways. You can share pictures with your book (as I mentioned), record videos of you reading powerful one-liners or valuable paragraphs, book quotes, glowing reader reviews, bestseller status or other sales updates, anniversaries and more.

    You need to keep reminding people subtly about your book for two main reasons. One is that people get distracted easily, and you have to catch them at the right time if you want them to buy something.

    The other is the commitment implied by purchasing a book. There is a funny thing that happens. Readers only want to buy it if they actually have time to sit down and read it. They take the book purchasing commitment seriously.

    It’s been almost two years since my first book was published, and every time I share an update, I get messages in my inbox from someone who had no idea and/or just finally got the chance to sit down and purchase it.

    3. Set up an author meet and greet and book signing

    Nothing is as effective in selling your book as in-person events where you can connect with your ideal reader. Unfortunately, nothing else is as intimidating either. New authors always doubt their ability to organize book signings, draw a crowd and actually sell copies of their books.

    Stop doubting yourself! You will be surprised just how open venues are to hosting you as an author. Contact local libraries, bookstores, relevant organizations, schools, universities, etc.

    Related: The World’s Best Marketing Tool: Writing a Book

    4. Start guest blogging

    One of the biggest benefits of writing a book is having a writing sample in front of you. Guest blogging in your niche is a great way to grow your audience and boost your book sales by providing insights and value to your ideal reader.

    This can also be very lucrative as well. I have found that not only are niche websites willing to pay for my knowledge, but they also link directly back to my books within the blog post.

    5. Write a speech to expand on your book

    Most speaking engagements go to published authors. Writing a speech is very similar to the idea of guest blogging. You want to write a talk, or talks, that expand on your book.

    You can find speaking opportunities online via virtual summits and in person with relevant professional organizations, events, universities, etc. As a bonus, you can usually set up a book table where you can sign and sell copies of your book and connect with your ideal reader.

    Related: 7 Simple Ways to Market Your Book and Brand Organically

    To sum up

    In conclusion, there are several ways to market your book, and by extension, yourself and your ideas, after publication if you want to sell as many copies of your title as possible.

    I always give the advice to my authors that you really can’t screw up a book launch, unless you go silent. All you have to do is keep talking and, above all, have fun! It may sound a little cheesy, but happiness and excitement are contagious. Keep talking, participating, sharing, and interacting by using the five strategies I outlined, and you will have no problem marketing yourself as an author.

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    Sara Tyler

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  • Time Travel, Brain Scans, and FBI Drop-Ins: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of a QAnon Commune

    Time Travel, Brain Scans, and FBI Drop-Ins: The Spectacular Rise and Fall of a QAnon Commune

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    Kasey watched as her sister, now living just a few blocks from where they had grown up, tried to put a girl-power branding on QAnon. When I talked to Kasey in July 2020, a month after she had first asked me for help, she was losing hope that her sister would ever leave Steinbart’s group. Mutual friends who saw Kiley’s increasingly QAnon-focused posts asked Kasey if her sister had lost her mind.

    “She’s more into it than even before,” she said.

    I never heard from Kasey again. After we spoke in July, she stopped responding to my calls and text messages. But in videos posted by Steinbart’s group, Kiley addressed her sister’s recent death. Kasey died of a heart attack at twenty-seven years old.

    With Kasey gone, I lost my closest connection to Steinbart’s group, right as he drew in more followers and became a more vocal figure in QAnon. But internally, Steinbart’s compound had already started to collapse.

    The Ranch crew projected a cheerful image online, coming off like a season of The Real World with a time-traveler for a roommate. Steinbart’s videos garnered tens of thousands of views, filled with responses from QAnon believers convinced he was Q.

    It seemed like there was nothing those closest to Steinbart wouldn’t accept. They didn’t seem to mind that there was no evidence that he had billions of dollars. At times, it seemed like Steinbart had set up a force field outside the Ranch that no sense of reality could penetrate.

    The fun-loving portrayal of life at the Ranch belied the fact that Steinbart faced a mountain of legal problems that could send him to prison for years. Steinbart’s bail conditions prohibited him from drinking alcohol or using drugs, rules he freely flouted in the company of his followers. Tellingly, visitors were required to sign non-disclosure agreements prohibiting them from discussing any such drinking or smoking “habits” they witnessed at the Ranch. But Steinbart’s drug and alcohol use became a vulnerability as some of his followers started to become suspicious about his claims.

    A follower named Mike became disaffected. Instead of working to carry out “Operation QAnon,” Mike noticed, residents at the Ranch just drank all night and slept the day away. And while Steinbart claimed that he had enough money to fund the entire Space Force, he asked his followers to pay whenever he wanted a six-pack of beer.

    “He never paid for a single thing there,” Mike said in a video posted online, urging other Steinbart followers to abandon their leader.

    The Ranch purge began. He began to suspect that his once-loyal aides had installed hidden cameras around the house to catch him breaking his bail conditions.

    Somehow, whether from one of Steinbart’s defectors or some other means, court officials discovered that Steinbart had violated his bail restrictions. He was arrested again in September 2020, and admitted to drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. When police searched his house, they found a “Whizzinator,” a prosthetic penis meant to cheat drug tests. A judge ruled him held until trial.

    Steinbart’s imprisonment shattered the Ranch. With their charismatic leader now in only sporadic contact via a jailhouse telephone, some of Steinbart’s remaining followers began to wonder what they were doing with their lives.

    Steinbart was out of jail by the summer of 2021, after pleading guilty in April 2021 to the extortion charge and being sentenced to eight months time-served. But his path back to QAnon greatness had vanished. The Ranch collective dissolved in his absence. The post-riot social media crack-down on QAnon followers obliterated his YouTube and Twitter accounts. And while Steinbart claimed he had won new adherents in jail, many of his genuine followers had returned to their pre-Steinbart lives.

    Michael Rae Khoury, a Steinbart follower who had put $40,000 of his own money into the group invited me to Phoenix to see Steinbart give a speech at the premiere of an election fraud documentary. Other QAnon believers treated Steinbart’s flock like “lepers,” Khoury complained, but they didn’t know what was really going on since Steinbart’s release. I should come see it for myself.

    I couldn’t turn down the chance. Steinbart’s QAnon experiment had burned itself out, but it was still one of the strangest ways that QAnon had played out in the real world. And I wanted to find out what had happened to Kiley Mayer.

    Steinbart had somehow snagged a speaking spot at the premiere of a conspiracy-theory film about election fraud.

    Steinbart helped secure a church on the outskirts of Phoenix for the premiere, and his remaining followers passed out flyers to drum up interest. The premiere coincided with the end of Arizona Republicans’ controversial inspection of millions of votes—an attempt to find any scrap of evidence to dispute the fact that Biden had won the state—and the premiere doubled as a party for the audit team. It had drawn some boldface names on the right, including Michael Flynn’s brother and some state lawmakers.

    Steinbart struggled to get invited to conferences for mainline QAnon believers, who still saw him as, at best, a crank. But he had no problem getting a booth at the premiere, where his roughly dozen remaining supporters advertised a club service called “Q Meetups”—Steinbart’s latest attempt to take his version of QAnon nationwide.

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    Will Sommer

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  • 3 Books to Help Business Leaders Discover Innovation and Growth

    3 Books to Help Business Leaders Discover Innovation and Growth

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    When it comes to leadership development and business growth, more leaders and entrepreneurs are looking to achieve their growth goals by looking for “outside-the-box” opportunities.

    According to McKinsey & Company, “About a quarter of companies don’t grow at all, and between 2010 and 2019, only one in eight achieved more than 10% revenue growth annually.” Thus, profitable growth arises when leaders can swiftly adapt, shift, move and adjust to new ideas and ways of thinking when building a business from the ground up.

    Check out these new publications that offer a new way of thinking regarding leadership, innovation and growth.

    Related: 4 Ways Market Leaders Use Innovation to Foster Business Growth

    1. Mastering Microdosing: How to Use Sub-Perceptual Psychedelics to Heal Trauma, Improve Performance and Transform Your Life by Paul Austin

    In his newest book, Paul Austin provides a comprehensive look at using sub-perceptual psychedelics to address mental health and wellness needs, discover innovative business ideas and find out-of-the-box solutions to team performance issues.

    To ensure the safety of the practice, Austin provides an all-inclusive guide to the practice, protocols, benefits and potential drawbacks of microdosing.

    While this may seem like a wild idea to some, Austin’s approach incorporates a wealth of research and anecdotes to demonstrate the effectiveness and positive impact that sub-perceptual psychedelics can have on the general well-being of today’s entrepreneurs, leaders, creative minds and healers — and he is not the only one.

    In 2022, the MIT Sloan Management Review offered a study on the progressively mainstream practice of business leaders using psychedelic medicines and therapies to address mental health and illness. This includes the practice of taking small amounts (a “micro dose”) of psychedelic drugs that may consist of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), psilocybin mushrooms and other common psychoactive substances that impact your perceptions, thoughts and emotions of the world and ideas around you.

    Such studies have continued to modernize the idea of how we address mental health and wellness, including when it comes to encouraging the growth of safe and inclusive work cultures. In 2022, the American Psychological Association (APA) conducted a Work and Well-being Survey that found 71% of employees “believe their employer is more concerned about the mental health of employees now than in the past.” This belief, in itself, has the capacity to improve individual and team performance for a company.

    Related: Embrace the Unknown to Transform Your Life

    2. DEO’s Financial Secrets to Grow Dental Organizations by Ken and Ashley Kaufman

    In this book, Ken and Ashley Kaufman give their insight into the top financial tools and best practices that dental entrepreneurs can use to succeed as business leaders.

    The authors recognize that many of the common challenges entrepreneurs face during the startup process are related to common financial pitfalls. This includes everything from the location of your business to local tax regulations and operational expenses to financing strategies.

    To help entrepreneurs identify these common mistakes, errors, traps and pitfalls — the authors seek to empower business leaders to take charge of their businesses and find financial success. As a result of this financial leadership growth, entrepreneurs can find greater clarity in their work to focus more on the people they serve rather than worrying about financial business woes.

    Related: Best Financial Tools and Business Ideas to Make More Money in 2023

    3. Innovating Innovation!: Why Corporate Innovation Struggles in the Age of the Entrepreneur by Mike Stemple

    The first year of any business startup is crucial to its long-term success. Last year, HubSpot found that at least 90% of startups fail within their initial year, while another 10% fail before the following year. Yet, according to Mike Stemple in his new book, more startups are successful in driving innovation compared to their large corporate counterparts.

    Entrepreneurs can learn a lot from corporate leaders. And the main question corporate executives are asking is, “What can large companies do to innovate as easily as their disruptive startup competitors?”

    The objective of Innovating Innovation! is to help prevent businesses from going under and to continue to see growth throughout their maturity. Mike gives support to leaders looking to transform their company’s sense of innovation by understanding the contemporary building blocks necessary and how to effectively execute a modern innovation program.

    As a result, readers finish the book understanding how they can catch up in their industry and find the same quick-to-market innovations that new business startups use to disrupt entire industries.

    If you are looking to recapture an innovative culture, become more financially savvy in your new business venture, or focus more on mental health and well-being, these new books can help guide you.

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    Peter Daisyme

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  • 7 Tips to Help You Write the Book You Always Dreamed About

    7 Tips to Help You Write the Book You Always Dreamed About

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Whether we tap into our lived experiences or allow our minds to spin a yarn, writing a book is a magical form of art. Yet, whereas over 80% of the population say they have always wanted to write, apparently only 1% start and complete their book. Thought-provoking, isn’t it? If we were to gently dive into the thoughts of those who never start or finish their books, what might be their primary hindrance?

    The good news is that as writers, we can bring together all our entrepreneurial and leadership skills and abilities from which to draw upon. Strategy development, time management, innovation, effective marketing, continuous learning, agility and managing change are some of the many business aptitudes that will enhance the life of an author.

    Related: How to Write a Book (and Actually Finish It) in 5 Steps

    The “aha” pieces of the puzzle

    What are the steps we should take to realize our dream of writing that novel, manuscript or book? In my case, it was letting go of preconceived assumptions and embracing learning, growing and connecting with the vibrant writing community as an aspiring author. When my fingertips dance across the keyboard, the self-doubt evaporates into the admixture of words, characters, scenes and settings. A few months ago, I started writing my first book, a fictional novel. To my surprise, I finished my first draft in four weeks.

    Let’s explore and transform seven common obstacles into “aha!” moments that will prompt you to write that book:

    1. I don’t have time

    Whether or not we love them, plans, structures and goals help us move forward. The same applies to writing a book. Can you find a window of time in your average day to create the time? Nothing earth-shattering. Can you set up a consistent writing pattern, perhaps a daily 30 minutes or a few hours every second day? If so, you are a step closer to your dream.

    2. I don’t know how

    Start with an idea, and there are methods, formats or templates available to develop that idea. I created an outline first and expanded from there. Some authors follow their impulses without an outline. There are helpful resources, such as writing software (like Scrivener) story development templates (like Save the Cat) and, of course, online grammar writing assistants such as Grammarly. And there is the vibrant writing community of editors, proofreaders, fellow authors and readers, all of whom can be of help.

    Related: 9 Tips to Stay Motivated When Writing a Book

    3. I need to be more creative

    Over the years, this was a thought that I kept repeating to myself. Putting pen to paper is a process of learning and growth, much like the other facets of life. When I started baking sourdough bread, I did not expect my first bread to be edible; in fact, it was dense and flat. But my husband cheered me on and even proudly ate it. When editing, the experience can be daunting. It involves writing, rewriting, revising, editing and rewriting again. But it hones the craft. You have the option of working with professional editors who tell you if your story feels too vague or too flat. Not all successful authors are natural-born writers and neither am I. But I enjoy the growing knowledge enveloping me like rays of sunshine while I edit and refine my story.

    4. My first attempt is/was not successful

    It’s no surprise they are called messy first drafts. Unless you choose to share it, your first draft is just for you to read. I still love my first draft, though. At a writing seminar, the lecturer told us that our story would probably be dreary if we didn’t rewrite 90% of our first draft. So, when writing the first draft, the rule is to write, write and write. No fixing, no editing. This will prevent us from judging our writing too soon on the journey.

    5. Publishing a book is too challenging

    There are various publishing paths. The traditional route of working with an agent and publisher is one option, or you could access a specific provider who will help with writing, editing, publishing and marketing. There is also self-publishing as an independent author. There are success stories from all; it is up to us to choose the right course of action and enjoy the path we choose.

    Related: This is the Future of Book Publishing

    6. I am not comfortable putting my name out there

    This is easy. Choose a pseudonym, a pen name. I have a pen name. For instance, many great writers like Stephen King and Agatha Christie used pen names. There is no universal rule; you choose what you feel most comfortable with.

    7. I have other commitments

    Many authors manage a successful career while still having other commitments, whether a full-time job or something else. Many become full-time authors and authorpreneurs. So, it is not impossible.

    Whether it is a fiction or nonfiction book, the writing journey ahead is like an unwinding spool of ribbon, rolling and growing. As a result, my debut book will be meeting its readers in the summer of 2023.

    Let’s imagine yourself sitting behind a table. You admire a stack of books in front of you. The room is bustling with excited laughter and chatter. A line of fans in front of you, one by one, and you are signing their books. Imagine hearing someone tell you how much your book meant to them. Imagine the spark in your eyes and the beam on your face.

    Aha! It’s time to begin! Let’s start writing and crafting that tale that your future readers deserve.

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    Gulcan Telci

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  • First Look: Jennifer Garner Is Back in Action with ‘The Last Thing He Told Me’

    First Look: Jennifer Garner Is Back in Action with ‘The Last Thing He Told Me’

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    Enter Hannah, a woodturner (yes, Garner learned to turn wood for the role, and no, she wouldn’t say she’s great at it, but she does still have “a bowl that I accidentally went too deep inside and I accidentally got rid of the bottom, so really, it’s a tube” in her house) who desperately wants to be accepted by her husband’s daughter. It’s only when the duo loses the one thing linking them that they start to bond.

    “I thought it was the love story of the two of them [Hannah and Owen],” Dave says. “It wasn’t until I had my son in 2016 when I realized, Oh, this is a love story, but not the love story I thought I was telling. It’s a story of someone becoming a mom. Once I sort of tapped into that, after many, many iterations, I figured out what Hannah’s journey really was.” 

    Fittingly, with Garner’s screen pedigree, including the long-running spy thriller Alias and the hard-hitting Peppermint, Hannah’s journey involves high-stakes chases, shady figures, and deeply guarded secrets. Though she’s been playing in more family-friendly waters in recent years, Garner found it easy to slip back into action mode, to the point where a director would have to remind her that Hannah isn’t actually a pro at the whole espionage thing.

    “He would say, Okay, she doesn’t know what she’s doing,” she says, laughingly, of reminders from the directors during action sequences. “Because I would just naturally—I can really skulk down a hallway, you know, really slip into a door. He’d be like, ‘just remember she doesn’t know what she’s doing. Right?’ ‘Right, right.’” 

    By Saeed Adyani/Apple TV +.

    But this found-family tale isn’t just a thriller, and it’s not only a mother-daughter story. Think of it as Stepmom meets Gone Girl, but also nothing like either of those movies, really. It’s a conundrum that catapulted the source novel to accolades and the top of the bestseller list, a story that Dave says “really lives across these genres.” She adds, “Sometimes your heart has to kind of break open for you to get to the place that you didn’t know you were meant to be, which is, I think, where this thriller ultimately goes.” 

    As for Garner, she just hopes to capture what got her hooked as a booklover in the first place. “As Laura Dave’s number one fan, I just want people who love the book to feel satisfied with what I’ve done—what we’ve done—and to feel compelled to keep watching in the same way that I was driven to read,” Garner says. “Chapter, after chapter, after chapter.”

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    Kase Wickman

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  • Why You Need A Ghostwriter For Your Next Book

    Why You Need A Ghostwriter For Your Next Book

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Would you believe me if I told you I just attended New York Fashion Week? If you are someone who celebrates fashion, you might know that Fashion Week is one of the biggest events in the industry. I was honored to be personally invited to participate in one of the shows.

    But you’re probably thinking, how did this happen to someone like me who is decidedly not in the fashion industry? It happened because of a book. My company wrote a book for one of the designers, and she was generous enough to let me see her collection launch during the infamous event.

    In the current age, more and more entrepreneurs are jumping into the literary space to gain authority in their field. I have heard it said that entrepreneurs having their own books is like having a really good business card. But is everyone good at making business cards?

    Not everyone is a writer. Some might not enjoy the act, don’t feel they have the skills or don’t have the time needed to create a book. Plus, writing is hard. But it can be much more manageable if you have someone who knows what they’re doing. They can guide you along the process, working with you to create your book while saving you time. Enter the “ghostwriter.”

    Related: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Writing a Book

    A common misconception

    People hear the word ‘ghostwriter’ and get weary that the book is untrue. But just because something is “ghostwritten” doesn’t mean the ideas aren’t from the author (in this case, the client or the person whose name is on the book).

    Authors play a huge role in writing the book! They’ll discuss their ideas with the writer, provide feedback on drafts and even edit the ideas in the book. With ghostwriting, someone else puts those ideas into coherent, eloquent words, but the author gets the credit because they brought the book to life. It becomes a helpful tool devised through an equitable partnership. This is why working with a trusted professional will give you the best results.

    Related: How One Man Made $200,000 Last Year Ghostwriting Tweets

    Save time

    As I mentioned, another benefit of hiring a ghostwriter is saving time in the writing process. Writing a book is nothing if not time-consuming and having a ghostwriter by your side makes life much easier. If you are an entrepreneur, you’re most likely busy balancing your personal and professional life while trying to earn the best results for your clients. This is no easy task, but the best leaders know that they cannot do everything themselves.

    Did somebody say delegation? Having someone who helps you out is okay, especially if that individual understands your goals. Reaching out to someone like a ghostwriter doesn’t make you fraudulent or a bad business person; it just makes you a person who is willing to ask for help, which is an admirable quality if you ask me.

    How do ghostwriting services work?

    While every ghostwriter may have a slightly different process, typically, it starts with a discovery interview where they ask what you want to write about. Here the writer will gauge if you have any topics that you want to be implemented. This is a great time to lay out those ideas that have been brewing inside your head. This way, the writer can already start piecing together what the actual text of your book might look like.

    Usually, ghostwriters will then take your input and put it into words that foster connection and empathy from your audience. Ghostwriting is an intimate process so expect the call to get personal at points, especially if it is a nonfiction book and even more so if it’s biographical. You must feel comfortable with your ghostwriter so that you and your work don’t suffer in creating your book.

    Related: The Entrepreneur’s Complete Guide to Ghostwriting

    After the preliminary call is done, the ghostwriters get to work. Once they have the first draft done, they will typically send it to you, encouraging you to make any edits you deem appropriate. Remember, this is your book! So this is an excellent time to clear up any misunderstandings or bumps in the manuscript.

    Even if you are not a linguist at heart, you can create your own book with a good ghostwriter by your side. When you start to promote your books (especially if it centers around you and your field of business), others will see you as an authority. Books are a great way to prove your knowledge in your field, allow your customers to get to know you better, and allow you to flex those creative muscles.

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    Morissa Schwartz

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  • Day of reckoning for Macron on French pension reform

    Day of reckoning for Macron on French pension reform

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    PARIS — France is bracing for a day of severe disruptions and strikes on Thursday as trade unions and opposition parties vow to force the government to abandon French President Emmanuel Macron’s flagship pensions reform.

    Schools, universities and public administrations are expected to close, public transport will be severely affected and demonstrations are planned in major cities across the country.  

    “It’s going to be a [day] of hassles… It’ll be a Thursday of great disruption of public services,” warned Transport Minister Clément Beaune.

    Workers are protesting the government’s decision to raise the legal retirement age to 64 from 62. As part of the proposed overhaul, the number of years of contributions needed for a full pension will also rise faster than previously planned and will be set at 43 years from 2027.

    This is one of the biggest tests for Macron since losing outright majority in parliament in June. Macron was reelected last year on promises he would reform France’s public pension system and bring it in line with European neighbors such as Spain and Germany where the legal age of retirement is 65 to 67 years old. According to projections from France’s Council of Pensions Planning, the finances of the pensions system are balanced in the short term but will go into deficit in the long term.

    “Whatever pension projection you look at, the system will be go into the red within 15 years… it is difficult to deny the funding issues … The level of expenditure has stabilized but it’s simply higher than the revenues,” said Antoine Bozio, director of the Institute of Public Policy in Paris.  

    French polls suggest that the French are opposed to the reform but are aware of the need to overhaul state pensions. There is, however, deep disagreement on how to achieve that. Both the far-right National Rally party and the leftwing NUPES coalition staunchly oppose pushing back the age of retirement to 64 and argue that it will unfairly hit French working classes. Both groups vow to fight the government and stall debates as the pensions bill goes through parliament.

    “The Macron-Borne reform is a serious step back for French welfare,” tweeted Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of the far-left France unbowed party — which is planning a second day of protests on Sunday.

    Macron is hoping to get the votes of the conservative Les Républicains to get the reforms passed in parliament, where he does not have absolute majority.

    In the battle to win over public opinion, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, who unveiled the reform last week, has repeatedly maintained that the changes include several measures that benefit the poorest. The government plans to increase the minimum monthly pension by close to 10 percent to €1,200 for low-income earners, and vows to improve access to early retirement schemes for employees who work in difficult professions.

    According to Bozio, while the government’s aim is primarily to balance the books amid increased funding needs for health, education and support for businesses, there are legitimate questions over the fairness of the reform.

    “Pushing back the retirement age will not hit the poorest in France, so in that sense the reform is fair,” said Bozio referring to precarious workers who have checkered careers and often leave the workforce later at 67 years old.

    In the battle to win over public opinion, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has repeatedly maintained that the changes include several measures that benefit the poorest | Pool photo by bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images

    However, lower-income groups, who start work early, will be disadvantaged compared to higher-income groups who have later careers.

    “Those hit by the reform will be qualified factory workers, less qualified office workers … Senior managers, the intellectual classes who have done long studies, will be less affected,” he said.

    There were other options on the table. In 2020, Macron’s government worked on a more balanced reform, which had the backing of one of France’s main trade unions the CFDT, but was forced to shelve it following months of strikes along with the COVID-19 pandemic which brought the country to a halt.

    France has a long history of showdowns between government-led pension reforms and the public backlash on the street in the form of mass protests and walking off the job. In his second term, Macron has settled for a less aggressive, more topical reform focused on raising the legal age of retirement in the hope that it would be easier to pass through parliament. The breadth of Thursday’s protests will be a first test of that choice.

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    Clea Caulcutt

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  • Yes, Prince Harry Watches (and ‘Fact-Checks’) ‘The Crown’

    Yes, Prince Harry Watches (and ‘Fact-Checks’) ‘The Crown’

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    Royals—as we’re rapidly discovering—are just like us. Since the bombshell release of Spare, Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir about life within and beyond the palace walls, he’s provided relatable details on everything from familial strife to his affinity for Friends. (He’s “a Chandler,” by the way.) On Tuesday night, the Duke of Sussex stopped by The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, where he revealed that he also binge-watches The Crown with Google open.

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    Between anecdotes about brotherly betrayal and his frostbitten penis, Harry admitted, “Yes, I have actually watched The Crown,” clarifying, “the older stuff and the more recent stuff.” (So…all of it?) When asked if he did any “fact-checking” while watching the series, he replied, “Yes, I do, actually. Which, by the way, is another reason why it’s so important that history has it right.” Alas, Harry didn’t do any live corrections on the depiction of his father, King Charles, and stepmother Queen Consort Camilla’s infamous Tampongate phone call or Elizabeth Debicki’s portrayal of his late mother, Princess Diana.  

    He previously confessed to watching the Emmy-winning show about his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, during another late-night appearance. “They don’t pretend to be news—it’s fictional, but it’s loosely based on the truth,” Harry told James Corden (who gets a shout-out in Spare’s acknowledgments section). “It gives you a rough idea about…what the pressures of putting duty and service above family and everything else—what can come from that.”

    The estranged royal continued, “I’m way more comfortable with The Crown than I am seeing the stories written about my family, my wife, or myself. That is obviously fiction—take it how you will—but this is being reported on as fact because it’s supposedly news. I have a real issue with that.”

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    Savannah Walsh

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  • Prince Harry’s “Spare” jumps to No. 1 on bestseller lists

    Prince Harry’s “Spare” jumps to No. 1 on bestseller lists

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    Prince Harry’s memoir’s title, “Spare,” is a nod to his position as the backup son in the line of royal succession. The book, however, is hardly an afterthought in bookstores, with the title jumping to the top of several bestseller lists as it hit store shelves on Tuesday.  

    As “Spare” made its debut it ranked No. 1 on Amazon’s nonfiction bestseller list, while it was also atop Barnes & Noble’s top 100 sellers the same day. However, it may take a week or more to show up on the gold standard of bestseller lists, the New York Times, as its current nonfiction bestseller list is based on data from sales before December 31, which is prior to the publication date of the book.

    In the memoir, the 38-year-old Harry details his life as part of the royal family, warts and all — and it may be the warts that are boosting book sales. The memoir covers his decades-long struggle with grief after his mother Princess Diana died in a car crash and discusses conflicts he has had with his father, King Charles; his stepmother, the Queen Consort Camilla; and his brother, Prince William, who is heir to the throne. 

    In the book, Harry writes about his father waking up him and his brother, then 12 and 15, respectively, to tell them of their mother’s death. 

    “Pa didn’t hug me. He wasn’t great at showing emotions under normal circumstances. But his hand did fall once more on my knee and he said, ‘It’s going to be okay,'” Harry wrote in his recounting of hearing the painful news. 

    In an interview with Anderson Cooper of “60 Minutes,” Harry said, “Nothing was okay.”

    Book bombshells

    The book details Harry’s experiments with psychedelics in search of relief from his trauma, as well as his military career and his revelation that he killed 25 people in Afghanistan while serving in the British armed forces.

    Other bombshells include his claim that William physically assaulted him over tension related to Meghan Markle, whom Harry married in 2018. William reportedly called Meghan “abrasive,” “difficult” and “rude,” the book says. 

    “It all happened so fast. So very fast. [William] grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor. I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out,” Harry wrote in “Spare.”

    Reviews: The good, the bad and the ugly

    So far, reviews of the book have been mixed, with some critics praising the memoir while others not. The Economist called it an “ill-advised romp.” 

    “‘Spare’ is by turns compassion-inducing, frustrating, oddly compelling and absurd,” The Guardian wrote in its Monday review of the book. 

    Other reviewers praised the book, but with caveats. The Financial Times noted, “You may question whether you should be reading anything more about Harry, let alone a 416-page book.” 

    But, its reviewer added, “Of all Harry and Meghan’s output since they stepped down from royal duties in 2020 — the interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Spotify podcasts, the six-hour Netflix documentary — ‘Spare’ is the most bearable and revelatory.”

    Not exactly high praise, but it may be enough to convince readers to open their pocketbooks and order a copy. 

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  • War in Ukraine has another front line: the classroom

    War in Ukraine has another front line: the classroom

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    KYIV — When the Russians first came to the school where Larysa taught history in southeastern Ukraine, they asked for all the history and Ukrainian language textbooks.

    The director refused to hand them over.

    The school closed — but then reopened virtually on September 1, with up to 80 percent of its 700 pupils attending online. More than half of them remain in occupied Berdiansk in Zaporizhzhia region, said Larysa, who left in April for the Odesa region.

    “Some go to Russian school and do homework with us,” she said. “We do all we can to make it incognito. We deleted all electronic lists, never put up any photos or screenshots or write names.” 

    Larysa did not give her surname or name the school for security reasons. Half of her colleagues are still on occupied territory and teaching online, risking imprisonment or worse from occupying forces — two were already detained and later released in September.

    “They’re holding lessons in extreme conditions,” Larysa said. “Some were saved just because someone was on lookout. The wife was teaching a lesson and her husband was watching from the window so that she had time to hide everything before they came.”

    After reopening in autumn 2021, following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, Ukrainian schools have moved mostly back online following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February. But from bombs to blackouts to displacement to occupation, millions of Ukrainian children and young adults face an education interrupted, with educators struggling to work under desperate conditions.

    Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion, more than 3,000 educational institutions in Ukraine — 10 percent of the total — have been damaged or destroyed, according to the Ministry of Education. School buildings are at risk of shelling or lack heating after massive damage to the country’s energy infrastructure, while blackouts and interrupted internet connections hamper learning from home.

    Meanwhile, thousands of students and teachers living under occupation face pressure to switch to Russian schooling.

    Education, with its propaganda potential to influence young hearts and minds, has become a front line in the war.

    Ideological battle

    Crimea, under Russian control for more than eight years, is an example of how Russian education in occupied territories aims — with eventual success — to erase Ukrainian identity and militarize children.

    History lessons there claim that Ukraine was always part of Russia. Army cadet courses and classes sponsored by law enforcement agencies start for children as young as six, says Maria Sulyanina from the Crimean Human Rights Group.

    Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion, more than 3,000 educational institutions in Ukraine — 10 percent of the total — have been damaged or destroyed | Genya Savilov AFP via Getty images

    “We see that these children who were small kids when the occupation started, after eight years they have been turned into Russians,” she said.   

    Meanwhile, Ukraine has steadily been moving its educational system away from that inherited from the Soviet Union. It has relegated Russian to foreign language teaching; moved Russian literature to part of the study of world literature; and revised history courses to include events like the Holodomor, the Soviet-caused famine in the 1930s that killed millions of Ukrainians and is still largely denied in Russia.

    Yet despite Russia’s carrot-and-stick approach — from September, parents in recently occupied territories are paid a one-off of 10,000 rubles (€145) to send their children to Russian school, plus 4,000 per month that they stay — many families are sticking to a Ukrainian education for their children, and teachers are still teaching it.

    But the war has made Ukrainian education extremely tenuous.

    When Russia invaded and occupied Kupiansk, a town in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region, the vocational school where Viktoria Scherbakova taught was pressured to switch to the Russian system, and later damaged and looted.

    Now, her classroom — and office — is the kitchen table at a small rented flat she shares with her two children and elderly parents in Kyiv, after she and her children fled the Russian occupation. The flat is also her daughter’s Kharkiv university virtual lecture hall and her son’s Kyiv ninth-grade classroom on days when air raid sirens sound and he can’t attend school.

    The motor transport vocational college in Kupiansk where Scherbakova taught, which offered practical training for mechanics and drivers along with courses in transport logistics to some 300 pupils aged 14 to 18, exists as a displaced, virtual entity, with no home of its own. Although she is offering lessons online, Scherbakova doesn’t know if she’ll ever be able to teach there again in person.

    “We’re not in Kyiv, not in Kharkiv, not in Kupiansk,” she said. “We’re not anywhere.”

    The education front line

    As of October, about 1,300 schools were on Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia. Teachers have been targeted for collaboration and detained, threatened and mistreated. Staff have been sent to Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea for retraining in the Russian education system or told they would be replaced by teachers from Russia if they refused to work.

    In Kupiansk, after the then-mayor surrendered to the Russians on February 27, educational establishments stayed open. However, many parents kept their children out of school — including Scherbakova, whose 14-year-old son stayed at home although she herself continued to work at the college.

    Apart from hoisting a Russian flag outside, the occupiers left them alone — until June. But by the end of term, it became clear that staff would be forced to decide: leave, or start the next school year under the Russian system.

    “And if you didn’t work for them, it wasn’t clear what the consequences would be,” said Scherbakova. “If you openly said you didn’t support them, you would end up in their prisons or cellars.”

    Many families are sticking to a Ukrainian education for their children, and teachers are still teaching it | Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty images

    One school director in Kupiansk, who refused to open her school after occupation, spent almost a month detained in the basement of the police station.

    Of nearly 50 teaching and administrative staff in the vocational college, only seven refused to work with the Russian occupying authorities, according to Scherbakova.

    “I’m ashamed of my college,” she said.      

    Spurred by the apparent ultimatum, Scherbakova and her children managed to leave Kupiansk for free Ukrainian territory in early June. The college was moved to operate virtually in Ukrainian-controlled territory, with her role shifting to acting director. With a colleague, they printed diplomas for those graduates who were reachable — 35 out of 53 — and developed a program to start the new teaching year.

    But when she and a colleague started calling students, they found out that the teenagers had been enrolled to start the year in the college in Kupiansk — under the Russian system.

    The physical and the virtual college started teaching parallel courses on September 1. Eight days later, Ukrainian forces took back Kupiansk.

    When Scherbakova went back to Kupiansk after liberation, she found that though the college had been completely looted of its equipment and training vehicles, the library was full of untouched new Russian textbooks.

    Some of the college staff who had remained in Kupiansk fled to Russia. Others got in touch with Scherbakova asking if they could work with her.

    “At first I didn’t have an answer. I’m not the SBU [Ukrainian security services], I can’t judge them,” she said.

    Some are under suspicion of collaboration. Later, the Ministry of Education clarified that teachers who had collaborated or brought in the Russian education system were banned from teaching. According to Ukrainian legislation on collaboration adopted in early September, teachers who engage in Russian propaganda in schools can be sentenced to prison terms. By mid-September, 19 proceedings had been opened against teachers in Ukraine.

    Back in Kyiv, Scherbakova conducts online lessons and end-of-term exams amid daily power cuts since Russia began bombing essential infrastructure in Ukraine. 

    Her students, scattered around the country by war, face power outages too. Others, displaced abroad, are fitting lessons around schooling in Germany or England. And some remain in Kupiansk, recently liberated from occupation, where there is no internet, and the town comes under Russian shelling morning and night.

    Viktoria Scherbakova conducts online lessons and end-of-term exams amid daily power cuts since Russia began bombing essential infrastructure in Ukraine | Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty images

    “Those ones, all I can do is call and ask: ‘Are you alive? How did the night go? This is your exam question, just tell me something, whatever comes into your head,’” said Scherbakova.

    “Of course, I can’t give them good marks. But I can’t abandon them.”

    Lost generation

    The physical challenges of war and the ideological battle as Russia seeks to impose its education system threaten the very basis of education in Ukraine: participation.

    Scherbakova says her students, many of whom come from low-income families, are dropping out of online courses. “They need to survive. They dropped everything to find work,” she said. “Many of them had to leave their homes, and they need to live on something.”

    Teachers are leaving the profession too — due to migration, retirement, low salaries, and war-related stresses and bans. The Kharkiv region has lost nearly 3,000 of 21,500 teachers since February, according to its education department.

    In Kupiansk, as in many liberated towns and villages, the will to learn is not matched by the necessary infrastructure of electricity, internet and teachers. Children can only get an education if they move.

    “We don’t want to leave. This is our land, and we want to live here,” said Iryna Protsenko, who was recently collecting humanitarian aid in Kupiansk with her daughter Zlata, 6. The family ran a small dairy business in the town before the war and stayed throughout occupation. “But now I’m afraid we will have to leave, because of school.”

    Zlata, smiling shyly next to her mother, wants to learn, said Protsenko. She should start school this year. For the moment they read books together at home — easier now that electricity has been restored. “But she’s lonely.” 

    Ukrainian children were already starved of live interaction due to pandemic restrictions. Now, with only online teaching, plus the interrupted routines and safety restrictions of war, they are becoming increasingly stressed and withdrawn.

    “It’s not so much the quality of education as the communication. They are losing socialization,” said Larysa, the teacher from Berdiansk.

    Some parents compare the situation to that of their grandparents, who missed years of education during World War II. When the war was over, they had to study together with much younger children, earning themselves the name ‘pererostki,’ or ‘overgrown.’

    “I think it will be like my grandma,” said Maria Varenikova, a journalist living in Kyiv with her son Nazar, 11. “Something will have to be figured out in Ukraine, given that for years children don’t have an education because of COVID, and now war.”

    “They try hard and worry so much. They are lost children” said teacher Viktoria Scherbakova | Sergey Bobok/AFP via Getty images

    Nazar’s school opened in person this September, keeping going with generators, bottled water and a basement bomb shelter. But Nazar is repeating the largely lost previous school year.

    Scherbakova’s son, on top of the trauma of fleeing his home, had to cram in most of the last school year in extra classes over the summer in order to progress to the next grade in Kyiv.

    “They try hard and worry so much,” said Scherbakova. “They are lost children.”

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    Lily Hyde

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  • 9 Best Business Books for Entrepreneurs in 2023

    9 Best Business Books for Entrepreneurs in 2023

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    Many of the most successful business leaders, from Warren Buffett to Oprah Winfrey to Tory Burch, share a common thread: They are voracious readers. Books have the power to educate, inspire and give you a fresh perspective on what you can do to improve your business and personal growth.

    As 2023 begins, Entrepreneur‘s editors have hand-selected the following list of best-selling books that will give you a concrete roadmap for your entrepreneurial journey ahead. Whether you are launching a business, side hustling for the first time or looking to ramp up your existing business, this selection can be your blueprint for a successful and fulfilling year.

    Related: See what’s on sale now at the Entrepreneur Bookstore

    Now in its 8th edition, Start Your Own Business covers every detail of what entrepreneurs will face in their first three years of running a business. Okay, we know a lot of books profess to be a “one-stop shop” for everything you need to know, but this edition more than lives up to that claim. Experts from all industries chime in with clear, concise and easy-to-understand advice to get you on your way. It is an indispensable resource that you will find yourself returning to repeatedly as you progress. Simply put, it is the bible of startup business books. Buy now

    After 30 years of telling it like it is, we’ve collected legendary millionaire-maker Dan S. Kennedy’s best sales and marketing wisdom into one tome, The Best of No B.S. Kennedy’s frank and, well, no b.s. approach to educating readers is fresh, fun and most importantly, it works. Kennedy breaks down what really matters in your marketing, how not to get distracted by ego-centric goals that actually don’t add up to any monetary value and so much more. If you want realistic, straight-talking marketing advice, this is the book. Buy now

    This book is perfect for entrepreneurs who want to get started fast. The Ultimate Guide to Shopify shares all the inside tricks to getting the most out of Shopify’s low-cost, low-risk platform. It is packed with easy-to-digest and simple-to-implement advice on everything from product selection to targeting your ideal audience to managing your inventory. Many people who use Shopify leave its most powerful functions unused — this book will teach you how to leave no stone unturned and no tool unused to accomplish your goals. Buy now

    Related: A heartwarming and inspirational book for entrepreneurial kids

    Facing debilitating fatigue and depression, best-selling author Ben Angel set out on a 90-day mission to find and conquer the root of his issues. Enlisting the help of biohackers, neuroscientists, doctors and New York Times bestselling author Dave Asprey, Angel discovered a world of wellness and in Unstoppable shares tactics that have helped him reduce stress, increase focus, improve physical performance and eliminate fears. This is a compelling and useful guide to healthier, happier and more productive living. Buy now

    Based on interviews with hundreds of successful people, leadership and success coach Brian Tracy’s Million Dollar Habits shares insights from their habits that we can all use to work more effectively, make better decisions and ultimately boost our income. Tracy breaks down how getting into the right habits will give you a better handle on your finances, give you better physical health, strengthen relationships and help you turn your personal and financial dreams into reality. Buy now

    Related: Read the best-collected writings of influential entrepreneurs

    “Work less and make more money” sounds like a pipe dream, but Perry Marshall has a simple theory for marketing pros: You can save 80 percent of your time and money by zeroing in on the right 20 percent of your market. 80/20 Sales and Marketing outlines his process for identifying your precise customers, and the book comes with access to a powerful online tool that helps marketers track and improve positions on search engines, differentiate themselves from competitors and gain a foothold in the market. Buy now

    This comprehensive companion to Start Your Own Business is a deep-dive into what can be the most critical step to launching a successful business. Before you spend a penny on your idea, Write Your Business Plan will help you vet your concept, fine-tune it and give you advanced insights into where your advantages and pain points lie. Unfortunately, there are no crystal balls that will let you know with certainty if an idea will succeed, but having a solid plan is the next best thing. Buy now

    Social media seems so simple, but as anyone who has tried to get more than get a few likes on a great sunset photo knows, it can be confusing and frustrating. We pulled together a team of experts to create The Ultimate Guide to Social Media so that startup founders can learn efficient and effective brand-building techniques without having to become social media mavens. The book breaks down all of the best practices for the most well-known platforms and identifies what business owners can do on their own, and which initiatives they may want to farm out to save time and energy. Social media, it goes without saying, is the most powerful tool a brand can use to get its name out there — and using organic tactics, won’t cost you a penny. Buy now

    Serving as a compliment to the tactics outlined in Unstoppable, Ben Angel’s The Unstoppable Journal is a planner to help you structure your day and reach your goals more efficiently while helping you identify triggers that destroy your focus, zap your energy and bring on anxiety. The journal offers tips along the way, and we especially love that it forces you to put down your devices and be mindful about your journey. Buy now

    Check out the entire selection of the best business books to kickstart 2023 here.

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  • In a Cheeky New Jimmy Kimmel Skit, the Princes Have Hands

    In a Cheeky New Jimmy Kimmel Skit, the Princes Have Hands

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    Prince Harry’s forthcoming memoir, Spare, was accidentally leaked a week early in Spain. The highly-anticipated, secret-spilling, 416-page tome promised to be a revealing portrait of the Duke of Sussex’s life. And according to the Spanish translations which have dominated the current global news cycle, it delivers.

    The memoir, officially set to be released on January 10th, spills all the tea:

    • His wild experimentation with drugs from his teenage years to adulthood
    • His unrequited crush on former Friends star Courtney Cox
    • His strained relationship with his daddy, King Charles
    • How it was his brother who encouraged him to wear that Halloween costume
    • His shocking time in the army (including the number of people he killed)
    • And, most compellingly, his gradual falling out with said brother, the royal golden-boy, Prince William

    The most talked about and memed passage in the book (so far) details a scuffle between the Dukes of Sussex and Cambridge over Harry’s relationship with Meghan Markle, the now-Dutchess of Sussex. William had been vociferously against their marriage, and they actually had a knock-down-drag-out fracas in Nottingham Cottage that ended with broken crockery and Harry’s bum in a dog bowl. Such outrage is detailed in his memoir.

    Obviously, the internet had a field day with this alleged altercation. The best take on the fight was a reenactment on Thursday, January 5th’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! In this hilarious skit, two actors dressed as the rock legend Prince go at it in a spoof of the Harry and William brawl.

    Watch the Jimmy Kimmel Live! Prince Harry and Prince William fight skit here:

    The brilliant premise has the two princes played by a pair of actors each dressed as Prince to reenact the fight without getting into too much trouble.

    Meanwhile, a voiceover reads from the memoir as the actors perform a word-for-word version of the events. To signify Nottingham Cottage, a sign reads “Nott Cott.” The wordplay is subtle, yet uproarious.

    The most riotous moment happens when Harry describes the dog bowl breaking beneath him — which is far funnier when played by the two actors in flamboyant wigs and Prince’s superstar get-up.

    The skit is already viral and is sure to rack up sales in anticipation to the memoir’s actual release date. All I can say is, this fight better be the inspiration for Ryan Murphy’s next season of Feud. And godspeed to the writers of the coming seasons of The Crown.

    For now, you should order the book to read even more drama and sordid details about the royal Prince.

    Preorder Spare to get the rest of the juicy gossip firsthand.

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    LKC

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  • The 21 Best Fashion Books of All Time, According to Professors

    The 21 Best Fashion Books of All Time, According to Professors

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    Whether you’re new to fashion and aching to know more or looking to further your expertise, there’s no better portal to knowledge than a book. 

    Tasked with educating the next generation of designers, editors and industry changemakers, fashion professors have unique insights into the best texts on the subject. So we asked scholars at the New School, the Pratt Institute, the Rhode Island School of Design and more about the fashion-related titles they consider must-reads. And each is abundant in new learnings, whether to inspire your creativity or power your hunger to learn more.

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    Andrea Bossi

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  • The Book Report: Ron Charles’ favorite novels of 2022

    The Book Report: Ron Charles’ favorite novels of 2022

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    The Book Report: Ron Charles’ favorite novels of 2022 – CBS News


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    The Washington Post book reviewer shares his top fiction titles of the year.

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  • The 31 Best Books Fashion People Read in 2022

    The 31 Best Books Fashion People Read in 2022

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    Between the covers of any good book are pages that transport and enrich the mind of its reader. In 2022, leaders in the fashion industry turned to various texts to inspire their upcoming collections, deepen the knowledge behind their curations and find personal liberty within their identity.

    Major book releases swept the fashion community this year, like Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue’s Edward Enninful’s memoir, “A Visible Man,” in September. Other books like Safia Minney’s made an urgent call to regenerative fashion and a closer look at today’s fashion system. 

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    Andrea Bossi

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  • Why Don DeLillo is America’s greatest living writer

    Why Don DeLillo is America’s greatest living writer

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    The story, about a college professor who teaches “Hitler studies”, takes aim at modern life: consumerism, paranoia, technology. It’s full of riffs and jokes: “California deserves whatever it gets,” goes one. “Californians invented the concept of lifestyle. This alone warrants their doom.” It satirises our reliance on devices and our deadened responses: “The smoke alarm went off in the hallway upstairs, either to let us know the battery had just died or because the house was on fire. We finished our lunch in silence.”

    In White Noise, people talk in advertising slogans, and savour the bad news that saturates the media: “Only a catastrophe gets our attention. We want them, we depend on them. As long as they happen somewhere else.” But in the book, suddenly there’s a local catastrophe: the Airborne Toxic Event, which spreads a cloud over the area, leading to mysterious evolving symptoms (“At first they said skin irritation and sweaty palms. But now they say nausea, vomiting and shortness of breath”) and creating bizarre conspiracy theories.

    The mode of White Noise – like much of DeLillo’s mature work – is postmodernism: fragmented, subjective, layered with extra-literary elements. The words that come from the TV and radio are presented like dialogue, as though those devices are characters, fully paid-up members of the household. (“The TV said, ‘And other trends that could dramatically impact your portfolio.'”) The self-referential media mash of DeLillo’s world, where brand names become a mantra (the working title for White Noise was Panasonic, but he was refused permission to use it), makes perfect sense in the 21st Century, where our experiences are endlessly processed, photographed, commented on, reshaped and shared. It’s a world that has seen, as the British writer Gordon Burn put it in his book Best and Edwards, “the electronic society of the image – the daily bath we all take in the media – replace the real community of the crowd.”

    Images, in fact, are key to DeLillo’s writing, and exemplify the fourth of his distinct qualities: the coolness of his world view, as seen best of all in Mao II (1991). The title of the novel comes from Andy Warhol’s silkscreen prints of Mao Zedong, which flattened and replicated one of the world’s great tyrants into an image of colourful celebrity. (It’s very DeLillo-esque that Warhol said of his mechanised approach to art: “The reason I’m painting this way is that I want to be a machine.”)

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