What is the difference between an average career and a successful one? Why are stellar communication skills critically important? What is grit and why does it matter more than innate natural ability? How do some people pull themselves out of poverty and into the ranks of successful entrepreneurs and professionals? Top Entertainment Lawyer Norman Bacal, in his clear and insightful book Take Charge, faces these questions and challenges young professionals to build the skills which can empower them toward professional success.

“You can float along, hoping everything works out; or you can take charge of your future beginning right now. There are tools you need to survive and thrive,” says Bacal.

The founder of prestigious Canadian law firm Heenan Blaikie and an attorney, Bacal has decades of experience and learned wisdom to draw on. Across the span of his career, Bacal noticed a void between what he was taught in law school and the practical skills he later developed that actually made a difference in building a successful career. In Take Charge, he provides a guidebook which gives back to the world of budding professionals, helping students and young entrepreneurs find their way toward success.

Norman Bacal is a retired attorney and the founder of the Toronto law office Heenan Blaikie. While building and leading this firm, he also became a widely sought expert in tax law for the entertainment business. He has represented studios such as Warner Brothers and MGM, and served on the Board of Directors for Lionsgate while they were producing the Hunger Games film franchise.

Upon retirement from practice in 2015, he took up writing, authoring the Globe and Mail bestselling memoir, Breakdown, as well as his Amazon bestselling fiction novel Odell’s Fall and a soon to be released second novel, Ophelia. Bacal actively mentors young professionals and is a frequent keynote speaker at universities, firm retreats, and conferences. Bacall holds a third degree black belt in Shotokan Karate and is an avid golfer. He currently resides in Toronto with his wife, Sharon.
Visit his website at www.NormanBacal.com

Our guest on this week’s Book Spectrum can not really be categorized.
Is he a businessman? He did found S-M-and-A, led several companies and is what we call a “serial entrepreneur.”
Is he an adventurer? In 1992, at the end of the Cold War, Steven Myers became the first American since Charles Lindbergh in 1931, to pilot an aircraft into the Russian Kamchatka peninsula – to do business.
A life-improvement specialist? His dealings in Post-Soviet territories have made lives better for their populations.
Steven Myers is also a Mathematician and served in the Air Force… that’s a short list.
We wanted to learn more about Myers after reading his book: CrossWinds: Adventures and Entrepreneurship in the Russian Far East, so we invited him on the show.

For more on Steven Myers and his book, visit his website: https://stevenmyers.com/cross-winds/

Can you look back at your life and say you have no regrets? Are you bogged down by the meaningless complexities of the world? In his witty and poignant first book: Let’s Talk, lawyer and “Student of Humanity” – as he puts it – Art Rios says it’s never too late to make your life exciting, easier, and exceptional.

“When, where, why, and how did life stop being exciting and straightforward?” Rios asks. “We’ve taken on so much stress and worry. All the time. But why? For what?”

The book, Let’s Talk, is arranged as a series of “talks.” Rios offers fun, simple ways you can improve your life today. It can be as easy as spending more time with family, relaxing with a long lunch, or enjoying a lazy Sunday in your pajamas.

“Improving your life doesn’t have to be complicated,” says Rios. “It’s just a matter of putting a little common sense and thought into the way you’re living your life.”

Pick up Art’s book through his website: https://riostalks.com/

Political #centrist, attorney and #entrepreneur Martin Lowy presents the moral relevance of capitalism and why it’s crucial for Americans to embrace it in his new book, “Capitalism for Democrats: Why This Country Needs It.”
Could this concise, well-written, easy-to-understand book could unite our country?
Despite the fake news, fighting politicians, and personal agendas, Lowy’s common-sense capitalism that embraces both necessary regulation and the supremacy of the consumer appeals to conservatives and liberals alike.
Find out why a former member of the Federal Reserve, a VP from Brookings Institution, a Supreme Court advocate and an Amazon Top 100 reviewer are so impressed with this important book.
Hear Martin Lowy on our next Book Spectrum. http://www.bookspectrum.com

Martin’s artiles from Seeking Alpha: https://seekingalpha.com/author/martin-lowy#regular_articles

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/noresults/9781694514722
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=9781694514722&i=stripbooks&linkCode=qs&tag=x_gr_w_bb_sin-20&ref=x_gr_w_bb_sin

Welcome to Book Spectrum. This is an introduction to the program, which will launch on Tuesday, Jan 14, 2020. We preview our first episode and what is to come. Thank you for listening; we hope you enjoy our first show, which will be up soon.