Rating: 4/5 An interesting read. I purchased this book after seeing his YouTube interview with Marie Forleo. Jonah Berger talks about how things that go viral abide by some or all the below STEPPS. He's a fairly young guy, early 30s (32/33), but is doing extremely well. Being a lecturer doesn't hurt either as I assume he got his adoring students to review his book on Amazon thereby achieving over 200 reviews in a very short time-frame. I wish him every success. The STEPPS Social currency: we share things that make us look good Triggers: we share things because a memory has been triggered at an appropriate time Emotion: we share things that make us laugh, feel happy or very concerned Public: things that are built to show are built to grow, e.g. Movember Practical value: we share news that can be used Stories: we share good stories. I totally feel inspired by Jonah Berger's CV (read it and weep!), the guy must be working around the clock!
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Rating: 5/5 I read this book after it was directly recommended to me by Roger Dooley. This was one of three books he recommended to me after I asked him for any book as good as his Brainfluence. The first two books were rather boring but this book completely met with my expectations. It's well researched and gives great insight into human behaviour. Some useful tips included:
OVERALL: BUY. Some of my notes may make sense to you but you'll definitely make sense of all of them once you've read the book.
3.5/5 This book is most relevant for old school sales people who call prospects with a view to seeing them face to face. The book is about 16 hours long so I didn't even bother to take notes. That would have slowed me down severely. I did write two notes though: 1. The world belongs to the asker. Ask and you will receive. 2. If you're afraid of a specific element of the sales process keep doing it and you will become systematically desensitised. The more you do the thing you fear, the less scary it becomes. It was an okay listen but I think it could have been said more succinctly. He went through everything. Get this if you sell to clients in person a lot.. Want to Build a 6-Figure Beauty Business from the comfort of your sofa? Then my course is designed for YOU! "Beauty" includes a WIDE range of products from the not so obvious non-perishable foods and crafts to the more obvious hair, makeup, fashion, health & fitness. Learn more about The Money Spot Program. Free Marketing: 101 Low and No-Cost Ways to Grow Your Business, Online and Off by Jim Cockrum25/11/2012 4/5 A very good book. The only reason it gets a 4/5 is that I knew most of the tips already, however, if you're new to marketing, you'll find it more than useful. A few of my notes:
Have a community page, e.g. on Facebook or on your own website. The effectiveness of that community page depends on:
PHONES
eBAY
There were tonnes of tips, I can't repeat them all but these few should be enough to get you going.
Rating: 5/5 This is another timeless business classic. I have been wanting to read this book for years and I am so glad I eventuality got to it! I mostly listened to this audiobook when I was driving so my notes are sketchy, not nearly as comprehensive as usual. That said, here are some useful takeaways: On fate. "I am the master of my fate, the captain of my soul." I love that line because it puts responsibility on the individual - not your parents, the Government, siblings or friends. As much as a support unit is important, understanding that you can control where your life goes inspires me to work harder. On desire. "Desire is the starting point of all achievement." Who can argue with that. What you visualise in your head, you can execute. No one thinks like you and only you can fulfill your vision or goal. "You don't just need an ordinary desire to succeed and progress but a keen, pulsating, definite desire." On visualisation. "Believe as though your desire is already a reality." This helps you to accomplish it. "Any subconscious thought which is repeatedly passed on to the mind is ultimately accepted by it... Faith is the only known antidote for failure." On making sacrifices. "You and you alone must decide whether the effort required to achieve the reward you desire is worth it." Think about that one. On worry. "Reach a blanket conclusion that nothing which life has to offer is worth the price of worry. With this decision comes poise and peace of mind." This suggestion was very important for me right now because I have been worrying far too much. On troubles. "Don't expect troubles because they have a habit of not disappointing." I love that! I liked Schwab's anti-greed principle. He believed that if you make a product cheap (steel in his case) more uses will be found for it leading to an ever-expanding market. That's profound. A couple of verses I enjoyed:
Rating: 1/2 out of 5 You're wondering why I haven't read a book for over a month aren't you? Well in addition to going on holiday and being ultra busy, I landed myself a very boring book. This is the last time I judge a book by its best seller ranking. It was at the very top of the table so I downloaded it without listening to an extract of the audiobook or reading reviews. A huge waste of my audible credits. What's wrong with the book: 1. The author narrated his own book and he has the most awful monotonous voice. 2. The book is about dealing with anger and emotions and hence managing yourself and others better. I didn't realise this was a major problem. Are there really so many people failing to manage their emotions that they need a how-to manual for this basic function? Overall, don't waste your time. I'll try to read a little more next month...
Rating 5*/5 This is not just a 5/5, I also had to give it a star. I've seen this book on the business bestsellers list for weeks and I randomly decided to give it a go. Boy do I not regret it! If you're planning on doing an MBA save your money: get this book and you'll learn most of what you need to start your business on the right foot. What I liked the most about this book is that it affirms a standing belief of mine: don't leave enjoyment until retirement, earn now and enjoy it as you go. The New Rich, want money and time and in this world of technology you can absolutely have your cake and eat it too! The Old Rich had tonnes of dosh and very little to time to enjoy it, not spend it, enjoy it. I already use some of the tools mentioned for automating a business, getting things done faster and delegating but I learnt SOOO much more e.g. I had never heard of fulfilment houses and this knowledge will come in very useful when I go into manufacturing. The book is so good that I have just purchased the paperback after listening to the audiobook; I have to re-read it - I will pore over every page diligently to make sure I've got it all. Normally, I write out the best takeaways but on this occasion I cannot - every other line is gold dust. There was a chapter on email management that I didn't find useful but that came very early on and it was relatively short. There are plenty of tips on how to start a business whilst you're still in employment and how to convince your boss to allow you to work remotely. On time management I have already implemented one suggestion: I am checking my email in batches and I can feel the efficiency benefits already. I was a prolific email checker because my previous job required it but carrying that into my life as an entrepreneur meant I wasn't getting as much done as is possible. Want to increase your email efficiency too? This is what I have done:
As soon as I read the bit on virtual assistants, I got one and I am loving this new time saver. My assistant has helped me to effectively 'double' myself so I can focus on tasks that add more value to the business. She's much more efficient than I am at admin. Some people don't get Tim Ferris, he is slightly arrogant which I personally found funny but it can turn others off. He chooses to spend all his time traveling and seeing the world and some people seem to take it as though he is telling them to do the same, he isn't saying that. His objective is to give you the tools needed to build a very profitable business and release your labour time at the same time so that you can pursue your own non-monetary interests e.g. charity work, spending time with your kids or indeed travel as he has chosen to do. For the first time ever, I commented on a 1* comment on Amazon: If you want to start a business or improve your business but have plenty of free time as well, read this book now!
Rating: 5/5 I couldn’t have landed upon a better read. This book is awesome. Described simply, it’s about understanding the psychology of other people and therefore learning to treat them better with the intention of getting the best out of them. The book is so good that I had to add it to the recommended reading list in my newly published book, To Become an Investment Banker. The principles in this book can be applied to raising children, developing employees in one’s company, selling and any other interpersonal interactions. As usual, I will share some of the useful insights that were relayed. The book was also full of interesting examples and anecdotes but if you want these you will need to purchase it.
I believe in the wisdom of older people regardless of wealth or educational background. (Most) old people are precious, you can't buy their life experiences, you can only hope to share in some of them. In this book, John D. Spooner shares a series of letters that he has written to his grandchildren to prepare them for "life" Both my grandfathers died before I was even two so I took to thinking of JD Spooner as a sort of surrogate grandfather, or papa as his grandchildren refer to him, as I read this book. I won't go into detail regarding all the examples he gave, however, I would like to share the following lessons I got from the book in the hopes that one or two might touch you. These are not exact quotes, they are just notes I took as I listened to the audiobook.
This book is a bible for the ups and downs of modern day life and it doesn't take long to read! The audio version is only five hours. If you don't get any of the above, get the book, it will be one of the best "investments" you make all year. Some of my thoughts: I disagreed with his property investing strategy. He paid all cash when, I think, the genius of property investing in the developed world lies in leverage, using other people's money - but that's another blog on its own. When he covered bonds, JD Spooner didn't cover index-linked bonds, linkers. He simply said that it is equities that keep up with the cost of living, however, Linkers also keep up with inflation. Perhaps this was taking a step too far into high finance. In the section on staying in touch with his past, JD Spooner talked about a friend of his from high school that was a plumber in a town that he moved to. He called the guy to help him out with his plumbing. I wondered, how does he feel when he's in touch with people from his past that haven't achieved nearly as much as he has: he's a multimillionaire investment advisor and author of several bestsellers. In this book, "papa" talks about owning several million dollars of Citigroup stock before it tanked and that would only be one stock in an extensive portfolio, I expect. His friends must revere him, how does he relay to them that he's still the same old guy? This is the only query that remained outstanding by the time I finished the book.
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By Heather Katsonga-WoodwardTime allowing, I love to read. If I read anything interesting, I will blog about it here. Categories
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November 2015
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