Posts Tagged 50-book-challenge
The Next Trillion
Posted by David C. Buchan in Self improvement on January 7th, 2010
Reading time: 2 – 3 minutes
There are some interesting ideas in The Next Trillion by Paul Zane Pilzer. I read the Australia and New Zealand Tour Edition which is an abridged version. Let me declare that I own a business which sells products in the wellness industry but have no interest in sales of this book. Here I’m relaying Pilzer’s arguments and encourage you to read the book yourself and make up your own mind.
Quantity demand reflects the consumer’s demand for a larger supply of an existing product; quality demand reflects the appetite for a different or improved kind of product.
Pilzer, Paul Z (2001) “The Next Trillion: Australia and New Zealand Tour Edition”, Video Plus (USA), p.40
I saw my spending patterns reflected in the conversation about quantity and quality demand. I bought my first DVD because I recognised the quality was better than VHS. This is quality demand. Then, happy with the quality I wanted more of it and purchased many more DVDs. This is quantity demand. Then, with the introduction of Bluray as a higher quality format again I’m back on the quality demand cycle. Pilzer contends this will be the same with nutritional and other wellness products. People will want more and of a better quality. My own experience reflects this also.
The bulk of the abridged version details an almost conspiracy argument that the government and food producers are concerned only with profit and more sales. It is US based but I can see the same trends here in Australia and comes about from a chronic lack of understanding about what food we require and why. Mainstream food choices are not good, especially if eaten without understanding what is. As people learn they do change their behaviours. It is unfortunately very difficult to learn and that reason alone is sufficient to read this book to get you started.
Closing my open loops for 2009
Posted by David C. Buchan in Getting Things Done, Self improvement on January 5th, 2010
Reading time: 4 – 6 minutes
An open loop is something which is pulling on your attention. I have a few from 2009 relating to Quantum Gardener which I will close today lest they fester and end up consuming more and more of my time.
50 book challenge (2009)
In 2008 I successfully read 50 personal and self improvement books in a 12 month period and once complete immediately set myself the same task for 2009. Whatever the reasons, and I could create many, my progress this time around has been much slower. As of today I am at 16/50 which leaves 34 between now and April. In terms of open loops I had committed to myself to write up a short overview of each book for you the reader and I’ve managed just 8 of the 16. So, here are they are:
Getting Things Done by David Allen; At least my third reading of my productivity bible. Each time through I learn something new. See my Getting Things Done category of posts for more information.
The Way of the Bow by Paulo Coelho; The most succinct book on goal setting I have ever read. It uses the various aspects of archery as metaphors for goals. The title is available for free online.
“But never hold back from firing the arrow if all that paralyses you is fear of making a mistake. if you have made the right movements, open you hand and release the string. Even if the arrow fails to it the target, you will learn how to improve your aim next time.
Go for No! by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz; A second read in the period and perhaps more interesting the second time around (see my earlier review).
The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz; This is a classic reminder that our thinking is the ultimate limiting factor in the success of our life. This was my second reading and I was grateful to be able to identify those times I’ve thought big and achieved results. It also helped me identify all those times I didn’t think so big and pulled back for no real reason.
“We must be willing to make an intelligent compromise with perfection lest we wait forever before taking action.”
The Manual of the Warrior of the Light by Paulo Coelho; A series of short stories, often in parable form, exposing virtuous characteristics. I often take inspiration from these stories. For those familiar with The Warrior of the Light newsletter, much of the content here will be familiar. The title is available for free online at http://paulocoelhoblog.com/internet-books/
Today Matters by John C. Maxwell; This is the most important book that I read in 2009. So much so that it was read cover to cover twice in a matter of weeks. The basic concept is that what we do each day sets us for the success of tomorrow and we must put daily disciplines into place for that to occur. I’ll write more in a later post.
Practising gratefulness daily
A little while ago I wrote about the benefits of practising gratefulness daily. My well meant intention was to post what I was grateful for each day on Twitter and sadly I haven’t come close to doing that. I am often grateful but may not pick up the habit of a daily post until later this year.
Declaration of closure
And so I declare my 2009 open loops closed with regard to Quantum Gardener. There are still many ideas trying to get out of my head and into this blog. It takes time to organise them all and find space to write clearly. It may be as part of my 2010 self-improvement learning plan that I commit to a weekly blog entry at a minimum yet before doing so I do need to be sure it won’t be at the cost of something else.
The Elephant in the Room
Posted by David C. Buchan in Self improvement on September 25th, 2009
Reading time: < 1 minute
There is not much to say about The Elephant in the Room by Ed Baker. I got what it was trying to say about financial responsibility and yet it seemed very light. A quick 40-minute read which I enjoyed as I read it and then forgot the minute I closed the cover.
Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps
Posted by David C. Buchan in Self improvement on June 20th, 2009
Reading time: < 1 minute
Men and women are different. There, it’s been said by me and was also said a while ago in Why Men Don’t Listen and Women Can’t Read Maps by Allan and Barbara Pease. The point to note is this. Different does not mean unequal. Using a blend of scientific evidence and self effacing humour, the authors describe the differences in the typical male and female brain and thereby provide explanations for so many of the different patterns of behaviour between the sexes.
The distinctions given in the book are practical lead to understanding and then the ability to choose how we behave with one another.
Go for No!
Posted by David C. Buchan in Networking, Self improvement on May 26th, 2009
Reading time: 1 – 2 minutes
It turns out that you can judge a book by its cover. In this case, Go for No! in which the premise of the book is summarised in the title. If you want success, don’t chase the yes — chase the no. It’s only from chasing no that you will get sufficient learning to enable the yes’s to occur.
We can often fall into the trap of failing to ask for something because we’re afraid of a negative response. This bold assessment that we know what the other person will say (how often do you know what you’ll say) stops us from creating the opportunity for them to say either ‘no’ or ‘yes’. How dangerous is it to hold back on a question because we can’t afford to hear no, yet by doing so we don’t allow the very yes we so desperately need.
This book describes why setting a target to achieve a certain number of no responses will automatically generate the required number of yes responses.
Tribes
Posted by David C. Buchan in Inspiration and motivation, Self improvement on May 26th, 2009
Reading time: 1 – 2 minutes
What tribe do you lead is the fundamental question in Seth Godin’s book, Tribes: We need you to lead us. It got me thinking about the various tribes I’m a tribe member of and the leadership present or available in each.
Make no mistake, this is a book that challenges the status-quo. In fact, it may be better to say it challenges the status-quo about the status-quo. Within there is a challenge to lead which is so compelling you may find you’ve made the decision not to lead and didn’t realise it. This is quite different from the traditional view that leadership is a choice. Tribes shows us there is almost no way not to lead a tribe.
Audible.com has a free download of the unabridged audio version of Tribes.
The Anatomy of Peace
Posted by David C. Buchan in Coaching others, Inspiration and motivation, Self improvement on May 19th, 2009
Reading time: 1 – 2 minutes
The Anatomy of Peace is the Arbinger Institute’s followup to the groundbreaking book Leadership and Self Deception which I reviewed earlier. It is written in a similar narrative style and follows Lou Herbert from the first book, and a number of other parents across two days of learning about themselves and their relationships with their children. Left craving for deeper understanding and practical methods I found The Anatomy of Peace one of those rare things in today’s world — a sequel that delivers.
The book does stand on its own and yet is much stronger when approached with the ideas from Leadership and Self Deception. I thoroughly recommend them both to all.
The Fine Art of Small Talk
Posted by David C. Buchan in Inspiration and motivation, Networking, Self improvement on May 19th, 2009
Reading time: 2 – 2 minutes
Initiating a conversation with other people can be difficult as most of us are so worried about what the other person will think of us that we decide it’s better to say nothing than to expose our flaws. This topic is just one covered in The Fine Art of Small Talk by Debra Fine. For me this book differs from the many other ‘How to speak to people’ books out there because it entwines real stories with some ideas that go beyond have courage, smile and be pleasant.
Take for example Debra’s ideas on how to approach acquaintances about their work or family life. Instead of asking “How’s work?” and walking into a minefield because they were made redundant last week and didn’t know it, ask “How has your year been?” or “What’s been going on with work since I last saw you?”. This provides both parties a graceful way to explore or avoid the situation. Similarly don’t use “How’s your wife/husband/partner” but instead use “Bring me up to date on your family”.
One of my personal pet-hate questions, though not listed in the book, is “Are you having children?”. This question causes extreme pain to all those couples who are striving to have children but can’t for whatever reason. I know; I’ve been there. It presumes so much.
Another suggestion I’ve picked up on the way is to ask people, “So, do you work locally?” instead of “Where do you work?”. Similar to the suggestions above it allows the other party to gracefully handle the loss of a job, working from home, etc.
Yet I digress. The Fine Art of Small Talk is an easy read on what should be an easy subject. It carries with it useful information and a shot of confidence.
Leadership and Self Deception
Posted by David C. Buchan in Coaching others, Inspiration and motivation, Self improvement on May 19th, 2009
Reading time: < 1 minute
I have already listened to the audiobook of Leadership and Self Deception twice so far this year. I found the content of this book extremely humbling each time and whereas the first exposure to the material was a challenge, the second time it was challenging of me.
Unable to source a paperback copy quickly I purchased the audio version from iTunes. The ideas of self-deception, self-betrayal and how they affect our daily lives unfold as a conversation between Tom and his employers so the acting of the audio added immensely to the feeling of the book and set a nice pace.
Leadership and Self-Deception adds a level of understanding to workplace interactions which is deep yet clear and sensible.
The Power of Positive Thinking
Posted by David C. Buchan in Inspiration and motivation, Self improvement on May 14th, 2009
Reading time: 1 – 2 minutes
There are a few books which seem to have been around forever. The Power of Positive Thinking by Normal Vincent Peale is one of them. I picked up a second-hand copy in a local bookstore a few weeks ago and was soon enthralled by the classic timelessness of the book.
Peale’s ideas are deeply rooted in his religious beliefs which differ from my own and it took me some effort to read past that to the fundamental principles of how our mind works in dealing with ourselves and others. That was worth it and even has me questioning some things. Notwithstanding, there are some very powerful ideas and practices in the book and I recommend it to all.
One of the practices I put to immediate use was the building up of myself in the morning before rising from bed. I found that a focus on having a good day does lead to having a good day and in a way that is much of what the book is about as you could guess from the title. Positive focus provides positive results or at the very least a positive way of dealing with things.
This is book 2/50 in my 50 book challenge (2009).
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Charter for Compassion
