Reframing the Battle of Wills

Are you feeling unmotivated in your job and life? Are you finding your current goals unsatisfying to keep working toward? Drive believes your work structure is to blame. Historically, employers have motivated employees through financial rewards and kept workers on a tight leash. These principles worked well when people were primarily working in assembly lines, but today’s creative work demands more: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Why do so many attempts at changing our behavior fail? Psychologist Sean Young reveals it’s not about willpower or motivation—instead it’s about understanding the science of lasting change. In Stick With It, Young presents a research-backed approach that can help you change your behavior for good. Whether you’re trying to exercise more, reduce screen time, or boost productivity, you’ll discover why your previous attempts may have failed and how to finally make changes stick. Most importantly, you’ll learn that lasting change doesn’t require becoming a different person—you just have to use a smarter, science-based process.

Our guide breaks down Young’s system into concrete steps—from breaking big goals into manageable “stepladders” to using “neurohacks” that rewire your brain’s responses. You’ll discover how modern neuroscience explains why behavior change is so difficult, how connecting to what’s important to you can sustain motivation when willpower fails, and why the conflict between conscious intentions and unconscious habits is at the heart of your struggles with change.

Want to motivate your employees and teammates to do a better job? Does your team seem unhappy, unmotivated, and distrustful of your organization?

In Carrots and Sticks Don’t Work, Paul Marciano argues that engagement stems from respect. Employees don’t want to be treated like cogs in a chain. Instead, they want to feel empowered, have autonomy, receive supportive feedback, and be treated considerately. Learn what components of work people really want, and simple actions to take today to engage your team.

What can the earliest days of psychology teach us about being happy? In The Courage to Be Happy, counselor Ichiro Kishimi and author Fumitake Koga explore the work of early 20th-century psychotherapist Alfred Adler and discuss why his ideas are still relevant. This is a sequel to the best-selling book The Courage to Be Disliked—however, while The Courage to Be Disliked was simply an introduction to Adlerian psychology, The Courage to Be Happy discusses how you can find happiness by applying Adler’s principles to your life.

This guide will explore the authors’ interpretations of Adlerian psychology’s main goals: independence and a strong sense of community. We’ll then discuss how you can raise and teach children in ways that guide them toward those goals. Our commentary will compare and contrast these ideas with other influential self-help books. We’ll also discuss which of these principles are supported by modern psychology and which aren’t. Finally, we’ll provide some strategies so you can start putting Kishimi and Koga’s ideas into action.

What is the key to accomplishing seemingly impossible goals? According to the authors of Influencer, it’s all about knowing how to change human behavior. Drawing on their background in social science and organizational change, Joseph Grenny, Kerry Patterson, David Maxfield, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler break down the complex task of influencing people into a simple three-step process: To get things done, you have to be able to set a clear goal, know what people need to change, and motivate them to make it happen. Armed with this advice, the authors say that you have everything you need to meet any goal.

In this guide, we’ll show how the authors’ arguments about influencing human behavior are rooted in psychology, touching on multiple theories of behavior change. We’ll also supplement the author’s recommendations with advice from other behavior change books like Atomic Habits by James Clear, Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins, and High Performance Habits by Brendan Burchard.

Teachers and students alike often struggle. What if that’s because our ideas about teaching are all wrong? In Uncommon Sense Teaching, learning experts Barbara Oakley and Beth Rogowsky team up with neuroscientist Terrence Sejnowski to explain how your brain actually processes and stores information. They also provide practical, science-based strategies to help you harness your brain’s natural learning mechanisms.

We’ll begin this guide by explaining how learning works in a neurological sense and discussing the two main systems your brain uses to learn new information. Then, we’ll explore various ways to create a healthy and effective learning environment for others. In our commentary, we’ll go into greater detail about the scientific reasons behind the authors’ methods. We’ll also compare and contrast their ideas with those of other influential books on education, such as Jim Kwik’s Limitless and Oakley’s own A Mind for Numbers. Finally, we’ll suggest some actionable ways to improve your own learning and teaching skills.

Have you ever found yourself stuck in a project with people you don’t agree with, like, or trust? In Collaborating with the Enemy, conflict resolution expert Adam Kahane draws on his experience mediating high-stakes conflicts—from post-apartheid South Africa to corporate boardrooms—to offer an unconventional approach to working with difficult collaborators. Kahane’s “stretch collaboration” framework shows how to embrace both conflict and connection, experiment with different solutions when the path ahead isn’t clear, and focus on changing your contribution rather than trying to change others.

In our guide, you’ll learn strategies for transforming seemingly impossible collaborations into productive partnerships without requiring artificial harmony or universal agreement. We’ll also explore how these principles apply across different contexts—from community organizing to couture ateliers—and how they connect to Buddhism and its imperative to transcend your own perspective. Master these techniques and you’ll never again feel powerless when faced with collaborating with your “enemies.”

Why do so many attempts at changing our behavior fail? Psychologist Sean Young reveals it’s not about willpower or motivation—instead it’s about understanding the science of lasting change. In Stick With It, Young presents a research-backed approach that can help you change your behavior for good. Whether you’re trying to exercise more, reduce screen time, or boost productivity, you’ll discover why your previous attempts may have failed and how to finally make changes stick. Most importantly, you’ll learn that lasting change doesn’t require becoming a different person—you just have to use a smarter, science-based process.

Our guide breaks down Young’s system into concrete steps—from breaking big goals into manageable “stepladders” to using “neurohacks” that rewire your brain’s responses. You’ll discover how modern neuroscience explains why behavior change is so difficult, how connecting to what’s important to you can sustain motivation when willpower fails, and why the conflict between conscious intentions and unconscious habits is at the heart of your struggles with change.