After the month of April I will be going on a book diet. I'll talk more about what that entails later. Here are the books I've read for the month of April in the meantime.
Books:
How to Be Black - By Baratunde Thurston
This book is very funny and I relate to it so much because a lot of my experiences mirror Baratunde's for the most part. If you've ever wondered if you're "Black enough" or have enough black friends - this is the book for you.
Google+ for Dummies - By Jesse Stay
I could not remain focused while reading this book. It was likely due to my low interest in the topic but I only made it through about two chapters before I made the decision to return it. A friend suggested I read Guy Kawasaki's book on the topic - What the Plus. I may do that later.
Audio Books:
Clutch - Excel Under Pressure -By Paul Sullivan
I really enjoyed this book. It talked a lot about why people who are at the top of their game don't crumble under a mountain of pressure. The author gives examples from both sports and business that makes this book very valuable for those looking to excel.
50 Psychology Classics - by Tom Butler-Bowdon
This book is just like it sounds. The author reads off a psychology classic. Adds an excerpt from the book. Talks about the underlying themes in the book. Then finally talks a little bit about the author(s) of the said book and how it affected the result.
Although this may sound boring to some it was fascinating to me to hear about Freud, Jung, Jung's daughter and other psychologists that I've never heard of. The book of course includes my personal favorite psychologist - Nathaniel Branden's Psychology of Self-Esteem.
My Book Diet moving forward.
While listening to the Entrepreneur on Fire podcast I became familiar with Internet Marketer Chris Brogan and his work. He is one of the gurus of Internet marketing (in a good way). During his interview on this podcast he mentions the fact that he has gone on a "book diet" for the year.
The idea is that some of us bibliophiles read so many books and get so many great ideas that we become a little overwhelmed when we a approach a problem or a goal because we have a wealth of strategies and techniques that we solve the problem or accomplish the goal. Then just as we've developed a strategy we read something remarkable and new that stops us in our tracks and inadvertently wastes any progress we made using strategy #1.
So as a test, I'm going to attempt to do something I haven't done in years:
To only read 3 books over several months*.
My 3 books are:
1 The Power of Your Subconscious Mind - By Dr. Joseph Murphy:
This book introduced me to how to give yourself auto-suggestions (mantras) in order to help change your mindset while you sleep. The first autosuggestion I ever tried was:
"I am growing more confident and competent at all I do and all I do is for You"
(pointing to the heavens - yes I'm a believer...deal with it)
By repeating that saying over and over on my way to work and back from work I started feeling a lot better about myself during a low point a few years back.
2 Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind - By Shunryu Suzuki:
My belief system is ever-evolving, but every Saturday that I can, I go to meditate at a local Zen meditation group. After the meditation one of the groups leaders always reads something - typically something from this book- and my mind always seems a little clearer after listening to excerpts.
So last week, I finally went out and bought this book. I intend to read for the next three months to see if I can sharpen my thoughts even more.
3 Think & Grow Rich - By Napoleon Hill:
I'm on a mission to get to a certain point financially by the end of this year and if this book can't help at least a little I should really stop reading altogether. Napoleon Hill interviewed hundreds of successful entrepreneurs of his day in order to find out why they were successful. When he finished he published one of the greatest business/self-help books ever.
In fact I just finished the 2nd meeting of a Mastermind groups today that went incredibly well and the fact that there are Mastermind group in the world has a ton to do with Mr. Hill's influence.
*I plan to read only these books over the next 3 months. So come August 1. I will be free to start a new reading list.
**One additional note - I'm finishing "Elements of Style" by William Strunk this week because I believe my grammar may need some adjustments.
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