Somewhere in here is a book that could change your life…
Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)
Comments: Decent audio. Nothing to write home about. Collection of a whole bunch of Brian Tracy motivation.
Add on Mar 16 2016: I was clearly coming to the end of my sales book phase. :)
Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)
Comments: A story of arguably one of the greatest inventors that ever existed. What made this man formidable was his appetite for the extraordinary combined with canny business sense. A decent book – just not one I’d be in a hurry to read.
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Comments: I enjoyed reading the book – short, easy to get through and high on impact. It convinced me that I was a creative genius and hidden (deep) inside was a great artist, musician, poet and the like. :-) Most importantly, inspired me to try a hand at poetry for a while and encouraged me to take a few ‘creative’ shots! In this book, Tony Buzan attempts (rather successfully in my view) to convince us that we are all brimming with creativity and ideas that only got stamped out of us because of some unfortunate incident as a child. The book tries to bring out that creativity and encourages us to practice it regularly.
It was a fun read.
Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)
Comments: I can hear all the anti-self help/self improvement activists scream right now. And before I give my comments, let me give you a warning – this book is very preachy. It is also true that this book doesn’t delve into the human psyche like the ‘7 Habits of highly effective people’, for example, among other books. This book is purely focused on the personality side of things and yes, you can ‘fake’ all those ideas in the book and yet, they might just work.
Having said that, this book offers a starting point for those who have difficulty connecting with people. And if that is not enough, the book makes it easier for us (thanks to many many stories) to understand why people are the way they are. And as a result, we are then empowered to use all the ideas and traits mentioned in the book in our day-to-day life.
And, while it can be argued that anyone can adopt most of the principles by ‘pretending’ or ‘faking’ it, I doubt anyone can do so without being found out in due time. If you care, it shows.
My view was simple – if we can even fully understand and implement principles that are consistent with our styles, we would likely be more successful socially and professionally than we are now. Principles vary from ‘Never criticize’ to ‘Compliment people’ among many others. Simple in theory, difficult in action.
If you haven’t read it, I’d still recommend buying it and read it. And if you still don’t like it, that’s still fine. I believe you will be richer by this experience. At the very least, just make sure you read the ‘Father Forgets’ letter twice. :)
Add on Mar 16, 2016: I think I’ve become less and less a fan of the book over time. However, I still think it is worth reading it to understand what the fuss is about. I definitely learnt a thing or two from the book. And, as a psychology oriented book, it was definitely well ahead of its time.
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Comments: If you are a worry-wart like I was when I read this book, I’d definitely recommend checking it out. To put this in context, this book was written during the ‘Great Depression’ – so there were likely a lot of worried people then. The book had many simple ideas and stories and thoughts on how to execute them. Ideas that stuck with me were to ‘live in 24 hour compartments’, ‘stop rushing’ among others.
Again, at a time when I was prone to worrying a lot, the book was definitely positive.
Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)
Comments: Very good book if you like sales. Gives you simple steps that you can implement. Very useful for anybody who feels they are constantly trying to sell ideas (which is everybody in my point of view but then again.. :)). It had a collection of clear principles that involve building credibility with a client, building credibility in an industry with thought through examples.
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Comments: Great book. In many ways, it felt like a continuation of ‘The Tipping Point’ by Malcolm Gladwell but is a fantastic stand alone as well. It is exceptional as it brings about a framework for ideas that stick that is not too hard to apply in our own lives if we are disciplined enough.
What to expect: Lots of examples and proof that the ‘SUCCES’ principle is what makes great ideas stick. Great ideas are S(imple), U(nexpected), C(oncrete), C(redible), E(motional) and are packaged in a S(tory).
Category: 3 – SHELF it (All Categories are 1 – Read ASAP!, 2 – BUY it!, 3 – SHELF it, 4 – SOMEDAY it)
Comments: Stever Robbins’ team sent the book over via mail to Singapore so I could review it. For a small time blogger like me, it is massive inspiration. And after I finished the book, I found it to be on that fine line between ‘Shelf’ and ‘Buy’ as it does have a very wholesome collection of productivity hacks.
What to expect: 9 steps increase your productivity and each step typically contains a bunch of easy-to-execute hacks that are certain to improve your productivity if implemented.
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Comments: Fantastic book for anyone who is just about to enter into his/her first real job. It is a collection of rules that are fundamental to the working world but may not be all that obvious when you start out. It was written in the 1950s but is probably as relevant today as it was then.
Add on Mar 16, 2016: I don’t remember much but do remember finding it useful as a student. Then again, I don’t know if I’d change my recommendations having spent a few years working.
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Comments: Fantastic book for those planning to make a foray into entrepreneurship someday. So, if you ever aspire to be an entrepreneur, I think this is a MUST READ as it makes you see entrepreneurship in very different light.
What to expect: The story of a woman who has reached out to an expert for help to fix her once successful, now problematic venture. The whole book details out the ‘E-Myth’ way of thinking about running your own small business.
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