Archive for the 'Books' Category

Library to Success

Published on June 25, 2009 in Books and Pursuit for Happyness. 3 Comments Tags: , , .

As a follow up to my last post, I really don’t know what the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies read. The only way to really know what each of them reads is to go visit their homes and look into their, and this is the key folks, library (so says Ron White in a Success Magazine audio clip). It’s not the act of reading that is important (from what I understand of Steven Levitt’s Freakonomics), it’s the importance placed on it. You can get someone to carry a book and you may even be able to get them to read it (schools have been doing this for ages) but you cannot get someone to seek out the knowledge if they don’t want to. Now, if someone has a library of books that they read (not just a library for looks) than it’s a pretty safe assumption that they value learning.
I can only assume that the books these CEOs are reading are directly related to their field and to what they want. I’m sure Steve Jobs and Bill Gates read a lot of tech and business books. I’m sure Trump and Buffett read a lot of investment and business books. There is no easy answer to success, however, I’m sure if you read about their lives you’ll discover what books have influenced their lives.

However, if you’re still looking for books to read than here’s a list of 25 books recommended by the April/May 2008 issue of Success Magazine and many, many, many others:

- Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill (the guy really thought unusually, and I guess that’s why he gained an unusual amount of wealth)
- How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (you need to read this and stop being such an @$$)
- The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason (a very easy to read book that is “the most inspiring book on wealth ever written!” how can you not want to read it?)
- The 9 Steps to Financial Freedom by Suze Orman (good book, though I don’t agree with it all)
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (’cuz what you got is a result of who you are)
- Who Moved My Cheese by Dr. Spencer Johnson (’cuz change happens, don’t get stuck when it does)
- The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale
- The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
- The Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives by Dan Millman (does watching the movie count)
- See You at the Top by Zig Ziglar
- Acres of Diamonds by Russell H. Conwell
- Maximum Achievement by Brian Tracy
- As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
- The Laws of Success by Napoleon Hill
- The Seasons of Life by Jim Rohn & Ronald Reynolds
- The One Minute Manager by Kenneth Blanchard
- The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach
- The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino
- The Sales Bible by Jeffrey Gitomer
- Chicken Soup for the Soul series by Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen, with other contributors
- Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude by Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone
- Developing the Leader Within You by John C. Maxwell
- Good to Great: Why some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t by Jim Collins
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki (changed the way I think about work and my career)
- Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins

Whew, it’s tiring just reading the titles, but if you intend to keep up with multi-million dollar CEOs it should take you only 5 to 6 months to finish them all. What? Already read them all? Wow, aren’t you quite the over achiever. Lucky for you Success Magazine also suggested 4 others in their article:

- The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson
- The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (the mind is a very powerful thing)
- Become a Better You by Joel Osteen
- Why Not You?: 28 Days to Authentic Confidence by Valorie Burton

And a little more scouring of the pages provided a few more books:

- Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins
- The Courage to Be Rich by Suze Orman

Still not satisfied? Here’s what my paltry library adds:

- Leading an Inspired Life by Jim Rohn
- The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (if you’re gonna be in charge of anything, better learn how to do it well)
- The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (not as easy as he makes it sound)
- The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader (believe me, you ain’t got them)
- The 5 People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
- Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom (face it, we’ll all die. but only some of us will every make an impact)
- The Game by Neil Strauss (I’m a male psychology student, I couldn’t resist)
- Dragonlance Chronicles & other related books (I like stories about dragons and elves. What? Everyone has to relax)
- Equity Happens by Robert Helms & Russell Gray
- How to Invest in Gold & Silver by Mike Maloney
- Cashflow Quadrants by Robert Kiyosaki
- Why We Want You to Be Rich by Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump
- The Zahir by Paulo Coelho
- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Well, that’s it. Anyone else got books they wanna share?

The Most Interesting Book: Xanga, LJ, Blogspot

Published on October 12, 2008 in Books and Friends. 1 Comment

I’ve been reading a lot lately. A couple of Paulo Coelho books went by quick. A book on investing in gold and silver came and went. I have also started an ebook on creative mortgage financing, a book on commercial real estate, and a sci-fi fantasy novel in my beloved Dragonlance series. (I have not read a Dragonlance book in a while and I have been wanting to read the Kinslayer Wars for years. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to get all 3 books in the trilogy so I started the Elven Exiles trilogy instead). All the while reading a friend’s old xanga entries, which, has got to be the strangest yet most interesting book I have ever read.

We create these blogs for many different reasons. We write these online journals to either express our thoughts, fill friends in on what’s been going on in our lives, or to even commentate on different things occurring around the world. I don’t think many of us ever think that they’ll be read like an old book. It is a very interesting to do so. Reading what has happened in my friend’s life in the past 5 years is crazy. Who would ever think that we could some day read the stories of our friends’ lives! (It’s strange in that it feels a bit stalker-ish but I won’t get into that.) It’s very interesting because it feels like I’m reading an autobiography! It’s different than reading my friends’ blogs as they were being posted. That feels like reading the daily news. Reading an old blog of a new friend is like reading their history. Quite interesting indeed.

Gold, Silver, and the falling sky.

Published on September 27, 2008 in Books and Investing. 1 Comment


Just finished Michael Maloney’s book on investing in gold and silver. If you scare easy do not read this book. It will seriously make you start to think that the sky will fall soon. However, if you’d like to know how the world might implode it’s a good book to read. Also, if you ever thought about investing in precious metals it’s definitely a must read.

Nothing But Choice: The Zahir

Published on September 26, 2008 in Books and Rambling. 0 Comments

Ok, so I really enjoyed reading Paulo Coelho’s The Zahir and it continues to inspire me to write about random thoughts I have when I can’t sleep. There’s one line of text that really hits me like a “slug to the” left hemisphere of my brain (thanks Mr. Shakur):

“When I had nothing more to lose, I was given everything.  When I ceased to be who I am, I found myself.  When I experienced humiliation and yet kept on walking, I understood that I was free to choose my destiny.”

The Zahir captures us but it is ultimately our journey that decides what we become. It’s like the saying, “What you get from squeezing oranges is orange juice.  Great pressure exposes ones true self.”

I know. Very inspiring. It’s like the great sages of the old world manifested themselves into my mind and refuse to let me SLEEP! 

Final Thought: Many walk the path their world sets for them without giving it much thought. Few choose the destiny The World sets for them. Many sleep at this time of day. I am apparently destined to go crazy due to lack of sleep.

Paulo Coelho: The Alchemist

Published on September 17, 2008 in Books and Pursuit for Happyness. 1 Comment

Amazing how much reading gets done when one starts displaying insominatic tendencies.
In any case, if you’re looking for a review of Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist you have come to the wrong place. Go read the book yourself and be your own reviewer. Some like it, some do not, and some love it.

For myself, the book presents itself like an omen. Which, I find humorous because the book is about omens and seeking out ones destiny. I have had the book for quite some time but I only read it now. I see it as an omen because there are a lot of things going on in my life right now that make it difficult for me to pursue what I want in life, nae, what I need in life. Yet, in the midst of the chaos that is life, a simple book presents itself and reminds me that life is more than existing.

Whatever the heck that means.

Anyway, I believe in listening to my heart and in doing so it has lead me to where I am today. Despite the challenges and the obstacles that I have encountered I feel very fortunate to be where I am. Looking back it is possible to see how the world has “conspired” to get me here and how it will continue to do so in order for me to live out my dreams. Not only do my parents, siblings, friends, teachers, and acquaintances shape what I learn, read, and experience, they also shape when I learn, read, and experience. A simple book read at a different time in ones life may not have the same impact.

Then again, maybe I’m just a babblin’ buffoon who needs some more sleep after having the smack laid down on him time and time again over the last year. Oh well, at least I have lived most of my twenty odd years of life and will continue doing so thanks to The Alchemist.