Book description
A battle-tested guide on how to live a great life
In Greatness Is a Choice, Wall Street legend Ethan Penner presents a jewel box filled with thoughts and ideas that challenge readers by stimulating a higher level of awareness and critical thinking. Penner’s forthright style makes the book invaluable to a broad range of readers. Each chapter is a guidepost for today’s challenging societal issues, but the words are also rooted in timeless thinking culled from Penner’s considerable personal and professional experiences. Greatness Is a Choice asks readers to consider new ideas and strategies as critical tools in the pursuit of a better life for themselves and their families.
Greatness Is a Choice is also a compendium of values and ideals anyone can adopt to achieve greater personal and societal fulfillment. Penner writes about kindness, respect, and faith, along with a healthy reverence for family and legacy. Penner challenges readers to see the natural interconnectivity of politics, finance, economics, ideology, faith, nature, and music. Readers will:
- Discover new ways of thinking about how to define and attain personal success.
- Be reminded of the American principles that contributed to the nation’s rapid ascent and still serve as a beacon of hope, equality, and prosperity.
- Learn how choices to pursue a life of personal growth also benefit society.
- Be challenged to think and take action to do their part in creating a more peaceful and productive future.
Greatness Is a Choice is a must-read for anyone with the courage to be intellectually challenged, consider and adopt new ideas, and think deeply about choices that lead to better lives for ourselves and our children. It is an ideal book to share with others to help establish a better intellectual framework for our future.
Table of contents
- COVER
- TABLE OF CONTENTS
- TITLE PAGE
- COPYRIGHT
- DEDICATION
- FOREWORD
- PROLOGUE
-
PART ONE: THE GREATNESS IN YOU
- CHAPTER 1: YOU MUST ADMIRE YOURSELF
- CHAPTER 2: WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
- CHAPTER 3: PRAYER IS POWERFUL
- CHAPTER 4: BE HUMAN
- CHAPTER 5: RISK IS LIFE
- CHAPTER 6: THE SPECTER OF DEATH
- CHAPTER 7: TIME IS EVERYTHING
- CHAPTER 8: THE GROUND BECKONS
- CHAPTER 9: SACRIFICE IS A PREREQUISITE FOR GREATNESS
- CHAPTER 10: WE MUST HONOR OUR BODY
- CHAPTER 11: YOU HAVE THE POTENTIAL FOR MAGIC
- CHAPTER 12: LIFE IS HARD FOR A REASON
- CHAPTER 13: WORK IS NOT A FOUR‐LETTER WORD
- CHAPTER 14: PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
- CHAPTER 15: THE STEEP PRICE OF DISHONESTY
- CHAPTER 16: THE BUBBLE OF JOY
- CHAPTER 17: DON'T SHARE YOUR UNRESEARCHED OPINIONS, PLEASE
- CHAPTER 18: FULFILLING POTENTIAL IS FULFILLING
- CHAPTER 19: THERE IS NO DISCIPLINE, ONLY FAITH
- CHAPTER 20: QI
- CHAPTER 21: MUSIC IS ETERNAL
- CHAPTER 22: FINDING PEACE AND JOY IN NATURE
-
PART TWO: FINDING YOUR GREATNESS IN THE WORLD
- CHAPTER 23: CHOOSING WHOM TO SHARE YOUR LIFE WITH
- CHAPTER 24: THE DEBILITATING EFFECTS OF THE VICTIM MENTALITY
- CHAPTER 25: DUALITY
- CHAPTER 26: HONOR YOUR ANCESTORS AND YOUR LEGACY
- CHAPTER 27: TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER
- CHAPTER 28: THERE WILL ALWAYS BE HATRED
- CHAPTER 29: EVERYONE IS A PHILOSOPHER, TEACHER, AND STUDENT
- CHAPTER 30: GIVING ADVICE IS SENSELESS
- CHAPTER 31: LIFE IS AN IMPROV
- CHAPTER 32: KINDNESS AND GENEROSITY ARE THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF SELFISHNESS
- CHAPTER 33: MASTERY IS SIMPLICITY
- CHAPTER 34: THE BEST IDEAS SURVIVE OPEN DEBATE
- CHAPTER 35: THE RIPPLE EFFECT
- CHAPTER 36: SEXUALITY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF SEXUAL ENERGY
- CHAPTER 37: EMOTIONS OFTEN BLOCK TRUTH
- CHAPTER 38: WE ALL SCREW UP
- CHAPTER 39: THE KID IN THE PLAYGROUND
- CHAPTER 40: THE UNIQUE LOVE OF A PARENT
- CHAPTER 41: COMFORT IN THE HERD
- CHAPTER 42: INERTIA DESTROYS, ALWAYS GO
- CHAPTER 43: MORE IS NOT BETTER
-
PART THREE: THE FOUNDATIONS OF A GREAT SOCIETY
- CHAPTER 44: THE IMPORTANCE OF TIMING
- CHAPTER 45: TRUSTING OUR INSTINCTS
- CHAPTER 46: FREEDOM
- CHAPTER 47: MOST OF US NEVER NOTICE
- CHAPTER 48: PRO‐CYCLICALITY CAN BE CRUSHING
- CHAPTER 49: RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION ARE THE DOMAIN OF THE DUMB
- CHAPTER 50: DEMOCRACY DEPENDS ON EDUCATION
- CHAPTER 51: PHYSICAL SAFETY IS THE CORNERSTONE OF A HEALTHY SOCIETY
- CHAPTER 52: THE HUNGER FOR SECURITY
- CHAPTER 53: INTEGRATED SYSTEMS AND INTERSECTIONS
- CHAPTER 54: EARTH IS A GIANT, CHALLENGING, AND DIVERSE SCHOOL
- CHAPTER 55: GOVERNMENT IS INHERENTLY DANGEROUS
- CHAPTER 56: EQUALITY IS NOT THE POINT
- CHAPTER 57: GOVERNMENT IS A COMPANY AND TAXPAYERS ARE THE INVESTORS
- CHAPTER 58: THE PERSUASION INDUSTRY
- CHAPTER 59: THE WORLD IS SELF‐CORRECTING
- CHAPTER 60: TEACHING PEOPLE TO FISH
- CHAPTER 61: THE TREADMILL OF LIFE IS MOVING TOO FAST
- CHAPTER 62: THE TRUTH ABOUT MONEY AND FINANCE
- CHAPTER 63: CAPITALISM …
- CHAPTER 64: … NOT CRONYISM
- CHAPTER 65: THE LIMITATIONS OF CAPITALISM
- CHAPTER 66: CANARIES IN THE COAL MINE
- CHAPTER 67: CLASS ENVY IS A DANGEROUS POISON
- CHAPTER 68: THE BASIS OF CYNICISM: THE MILGRAM STUDY
- CHAPTER 69: A FINAL THOUGHT … THE WORLD WON'T END
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE AUTHOR
- INDEX
- END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT
Product information
- Title: Greatness Is a Choice
- Author(s):
- Release date: October 2023
- Publisher(s): Wiley
- ISBN: 9781394185757
You might also like
article
Twenty Years of Open Innovation
Organizations that practice open innovation draw on external resources to develop new ideas for products and …
book
The Pursuit of Excellence: The Uncommon Behaviors of the World's Most Productive Achievers
A master class in achieving and sustaining excellence, even in the most challenging of times—from the …
audiobook
The Year in Tech, 2025
<B>A year of HBR's essential thinking on tech—all in one place.</B><br/><br/><br/><br/>Generative AI, biometrics, spatial computing, electric …
article
Three Ways to Sell Value in B2B Markets
As customers face pressure to reduce costs while maintaining profitability, value-based selling (VBS) has become critical …