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  • I Will Teach You To Be Rich – Bookish Talks Book Review

    I Will Teach You To Be Rich – Bookish Talks Book Review

    book cover 'I Will Teach You To Be Rich' by Ramit Sethi

    ‘I Will Teach You To Be Rich‘ by Ramit Sethi is a book that teaches the tricks for navigating the financial landscape in the 21st century. I have just finished reading it, and I am excited to write a review blog on the book.

    First of all, if I distribute the personal finance books into tiers for beginner, middle, and advanced levels, this book by Ramit Sethi will definitely fall into the category of advanced-level books. Because it won’t make sense to the beginners of the readers of personal finance.

    The technical terms being discussed in the book i.e what all are the charges that bank deduct for debit card and credit cards, what are the types of loans and interests on the loans, what type of loans are the ones that are needed to be paid immediately and what can be delayed and paid in elongated periods of time, these are all the issues that are faced by the people who have to manage their money well, and not for the people who do not have money at all.

    So technically, the title of the book should have been ‘I Will Teach You to Remain Rich‘ instead of ‘I Will Teach You To Be Rich’ because Ramit Sethi has talked very little about how we can make more money. A bigger part of the book is dedicated to navigating and negotiating with banks to make optimum use of the money.

    I found the book very helpful in understanding the navigation skills with banks. It also taught me to get into the details of charges and deductions that are imposed on us by banks, and we often overlook those as less important aspects.

    Before reading IWT, I had always considered a credit card as a very negative thing. I had been of the view that one should only spend out of the amount that he owns, i.e., debit account, and not the amount borrowed from the bank, i.e., credit account.

    But, I Will Teach You To Be Rich taught me the benefits of credit cards in terms of credit score, as well as offers and discounts that are a result of a good credit score. Benefits like this can never be accrued out of a debit account.

    The book would also clear the doubts of the readers that we do not need to be the masters of charts and analysis to start our investment. Starting the investment should be easy. Lack of information must not stop anyone from beginning with the investment. Not investing is causing you more loss than the possible loss that you might accrue by not making a good investment decision.

    In a nutshell, the book can be termed as an advanced category personal finance book, which teaches valuable lessons regarding money management.

    This review from Bookish Talks by Faizan Khan is not sponsored, and I do not profit in any way whether you make the purchase of the book or not.

    If you are someone who loves to read personal finance and self-help books, i have a strong recommendation for you. Must read ‘The Diary of A CEO’ by Steven Bartlett. Clicking on the title, you will be able to read 5 significant lessons from the book that I learned from it.

  • BOOK SUMMARY – READ PEOPLE LIKE A BOOK

    BOOK SUMMARY – READ PEOPLE LIKE A BOOK

    Think for a moment and answer me with honesty. Have you ever had a conversation with someone, after some event or activity, where a person goes like ‘once you said this, or that, she did not like that at all’. And you be like, ‘That is not the case! She was totally okay, you are wrong at your assessment.’

    This is very common. Two people, trying to uncover someone’s feelings through facial expressions, through gestures, through pitch and voice.

    I am saying this without any exaggeration. After having read this book, titled ‘READ PEOPLE LIKE A BOOK’, you will never ever look at communications the way you have been. It will equip you with the tools, that every time you interact with someone, the person will feel robbed and powerless against your aura. This is what a great book does. You do not remain the same person after having finished a great book.

    What makes this book so great? I will try to uncover that to you to the best of my abilities.

    Beginning with the title of the book, let me clear the confusion that most people might have because of the title.

    This book is not about understanding people’s personalities and mindsets to learn their intentions,

    Rather, this book is focused towards physical appearances, facial gestures, and body language to understand people’s behavior.

    Patrick King, in this book, has tried to explain various gestures and their meaning in different cultures so that people do not consider any single gesture to have only one meaning. Like in America, eye contact is a symbol of confidence, while in Japan, the same eye contact is a symbol of disrespect, so understanding people becomes a tricky affair when more than one culture is involved.

    One might question why we need to read people’s behaviors and expressions. I have got 2 reasons for that. No 1, it will be revealed to you why somebody did what they did. No 1, if you are smart enough, you will be able to predict their next move. This is the power that will raise you to levels of success that you could never have imagined.

    Perhaps the most powerful sentence from the book is on page 42, which says, ‘You can’t defend yourself and listen at the same time’. For the ego-driven person, the argument is not an exchange of facts, logic, and ideas. It is a struggle to prove you are right. Once you do that, no matter how strong the opponent’s logic is, you are never going to listen, because listening was never your aim. Your only aim was to defend yourself and that shuts down every other thing, including listening.

    Let’s discuss the core principle of the book. It says that no matter how good you are at conversations. There are certain expressions that your body and face gives at the times of conversations that are beyond your control to hide. You might smile through your lips, but that smile would be devoid of an actual and natural smile that lifts not only the corners of your mouth, it also lifts your complete face, it gives a glow and shine to your eyes. Similarly, every part of your face, as well as gestures are consistently radiates the signals that, if someone could read, will have an unfair advantage over the other.

    This book helped me best understand the difference between extroverts and introverts.

    Up until now, I only thought of one difference, extroverts are social, and introverts are nonsocial.

    Patrick King says that extroverted people are action-oriented in comparison to introverted people, who are more thought-oriented. Introverts are not lazy people; they have a different way of doing things. For an assignment given to complete in class, a group of extroverts will do it together.

    An introvert would prefer giving a deep thought to it, and going alone in the project. They do not want group discussions and steal their ability to think and ponder. What a lovely way of explanation from Patrick king.

    As you proceed in the book, you will realize that while first portion of the book explains to you the expressions and behaviors. 2nd portion of the book will explain to you how to use those tools.

    For example, if you know someone is lying to you and you have got some sort of evidence for that, do not reveal that evident outwardly. Let the other person talk out his made up story. He is going through a hard time trying to convince you of something that is not real.

    A few random questions from and a few counter questions would reveal it all to you. For most part of that conversation, you have to talk as little as possible, and let the other person entangled in his self-created traps.

    If you are interested in books like this one, i will highly recommend you to read my review on the book, ‘The Diary of a CEO’ by Steven Bartlett’

    Books like ‘Read People Like a Book’ have the potential to drastically change someone’s life. Highly recommended to be read and shared.

  • 5 Game-Changing Laws from Steven Bartlett’s “The Diary of a CEO”

    5 Game-Changing Laws from Steven Bartlett’s “The Diary of a CEO”

    book cover THE DIARY OF A CEO by STEVEN BARTLETT

    On Bookish Talks, my sole purpose is to introduce you to the books that are worth your time and energy. Today’s book on the agenda is the one that I am super excited to write about.

    I recently finished reading a book that should be on every personal development enthusiast’s reading list: The Diary of a CEO: 33 Laws of Business and Life by Steven Bartlett. For those unfamiliar with Steven Bartlett, he’s one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs and the host of the second most popular podcast globally, The Diary of a CEO.

    After interviewing hundreds of the world’s most successful people, Bartlett has distilled their collective wisdom into this transformative book. While I wouldn’t say these laws are as intense as Robert Greene’s 48 Laws of Power, they’ve certainly made a lasting impression on me. Today, I’m sharing five laws from the book that have fundamentally shifted my perspective.

    Law 1: The Power of Negative Manifestation

    The self-help industry has long championed positive manifestation, but Bartlett offers a refreshingly contrarian approach: negative manifestation.

    Steven Bartlett has emphasizes that before implementing any new idea, conduct a “premortem.” Ask yourself, your team, or your colleagues a simple yet powerful question:

    “If this idea were guaranteed to fail, what would be the possible reasons?”

    This single question transforms the conversation. Even the most optimistic team members will begin honestly identifying potential pitfalls. If the risks are convincing enough, you can save yourself from a costly mistake. If you decide to proceed, you’ll have a roadmap to avoid failure.

    This isn’t pessimism—it’s preparation. By visualizing failure first, you ensure it doesn’t catch you by surprise.

    Law 2: Let Them Try and They’ll Buy

    This law is a masterclass in psychology. When selling a product or idea, stop telling people why it’s good. Instead, lower the friction and give them a simple trial or low-stakes way to experience what you offer.

    The psychological principle at play here is called the involvement effect. When someone tries something, they develop a sense of ownership. They transition from being a customer to feeling like an owner.

    The takeaway: Stop pitching. Start letting people experience the value for themselves.

    Law 3: You Must Piss Off People

    This sounds controversial, but it’s essential in a world drowning in noise. According to Bartlett, the greatest threat to your success isn’t hatred—it’s indifference.

    If you try to please everyone, you become background noise—a person or brand that people walk past without noticing. To build something that truly matters, you must be willing to alienate people who aren’t your tribe.

    Consider the most influential figures in the world: Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and countless others. They’re all deeply polarizing. Why? Because a strong opinion is a magnet. It pulls the right people in and pushes the wrong people away.

    If you aren’t pissing someone off, you’re playing it too safe to ever be remembered. Stop trying to be liked by everyone and start being valued by the few who actually matter.

    Law 4: You Must Never Disagree

    This law is a game-changer for communication. The moment you say “I disagree,” the other person’s brain enters defensive mode. They stop listening and start preparing their counterattack.

    Instead, Bartlett suggests using addition mode. Acknowledge their point and add your perspective:

    “I see what you mean. And to add to that, here’s my angle…”

    By replacing disagreement with addition, you keep the conversation open and can actually influence someone’s opinion without triggering conflict.

    Law 5: The Friction Theory

    Success doesn’t come from superhuman willpower—it comes from the discipline equation.

    If you want to read more books, don’t just try harder. Instead, remove the friction. Put the book on your pillow so it’s waiting for you when you go to bed. By eliminating small hurdles, you make success the path of least resistance.

    Stop trying to be a superhero. Start making your goals easier to reach.

    Having discussed in details about book ‘The Diary of a CEO’, lets answer certain questions about the book that people often as about it.

    What is The Diary of a CEO’ Book About?

    The Diary of a CEO book can fall into the category of self-help, as well as business. Steven Barteltt has beautifully carved out 33 strategies for business and life that he learned the has famous podcast ‘The Diary of a CEO’

    The Diary of a CEO book free PDF?

    If you are interested in spending any money for the book and are looking for free pdf online, you effort might be futile. I have skimmed through a lot of internet in search of any free copy of this book but could not find any. Ultimately I has to purchase it. So, no free pdf available. The cheapest option available is looking for pirated copies.

    The Diary of a CEO book price in India?

    India is full of pirated copies sellers. If you are looking for that sort of copy, you will get it in $1 or so. Better is to buy on Amazon, so that you cherish the love of the book for times to come. Pirated books do not give that kind of feeling that I can assure you.

    Is The Diary of a CEO worth reading?

    I would say it is, the 33 Strategies of Business and Life that Steven Bartlett discusses in the book, few of those are going to change the perspective on your life and business. Definitely go for it.

    Final Thoughts

    These five laws have genuinely shifted my perspective on personal development and success. Each one offers a practical, actionable framework you can implement immediately.

    Which of these laws resonated most with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

    If you enjoyed this breakdown and want more book insights, check out my review of Secrets of the Millionaire Mind—another transformative read that belongs on your shelf.

    Until next time, keep learning and growing!

  • MY HONEST REVIEW ON BOOK ‘SECRETS OF THE MILLIONAIRE MIND’ BY T. HARV EKER

    MY HONEST REVIEW ON BOOK ‘SECRETS OF THE MILLIONAIRE MIND’ BY T. HARV EKER

    I am a big fan of Dan Martell and read pretty much everything that he recommends. One particular book that he recommended and I absolutely fell in love with is ‘Secrets of The Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker. In this blog, I will try to summarize the book to the best of my ability and with the an honest intent. 

    First things first, the book is definitely not about finance; we need to correct our approach to the book right from the start. Unlike ‘Rich Dad & Poor Dad’ or ‘The Psychology of Money’ this book does not give you hardcore business ideas of financial statistics worries. All it focuses on is getting rid of our mindset that is not suitable to attract wealth. And adopt the approach that works like a magnet to attract massive amount of dollars.

    In this book, I found T Harv Eker giving a lots of emphasis on the perspective of money that we build while growing up. He says that our parents used to teach us very few money-making skills because they themselves had made just enough to survive. But they continuously portray the pursuit of money as an evil job. They emphasize us being good human beings and give importance to the relationships and all that. But, one thing they fail to teach is that one can easily concentrate on both things, as both are totally different.

    I totally loved the example of lottery ticket winners that T. Harv Eker has given in the book. He interestingly explains that there are hundreds of examples of poor people who became millionaires overnight by winning a lottery. However, soon they happened to fall back to the exact same financial condition where they belonged.

    This happens because a lottery can bring millions into someone’s bank account overnight. But until his mind is upgraded to someone who can absorb that much wealth, it will soon divorce its owner, go into the hands of a person who possesses a financially fertile mind.

    Another beautiful aspect that I learned from the book is that of ‘calculated risks’. Rich people are very good at taking calculated risks. A millionaire mindset is not tuned to be too cautious all the time. Millionaires are okay with taking calculated risks. They understand the gravity of a risk, measure the probable reward, and go for it, while people with a poor mindset keep sitting on their ideas forever.

    Moreover, self-promotion is the idea that every poor or average person always feels shy about. He thinks and feels that he should only focus on the abilities and qualities, and the world will seek him. In this book, T.Harv Eker declares that idea as unproductive and a habit of ordinary people only.

    The author believes that the market is too crowded with products, marketing, and capabilities. One could die waiting and not get any opportunity, as compared to the one who is less competent, but he lets everyone around know what he is capable of. The opportunities start following him. Self-promotion, according to the book, is a positive aspect and should not be seen with skepticism.

    Note down another great principle from this book – rich people are not paid for their time, but they are paid for the value they provide. This makes a marked difference in the way of making money. People with a poverty mindset are so afraid of failure that they want to play it safe at all costs. They want a set amount of money to be paid irrespective of the circumstances, that’s why jobs suit them.

    But the people with a millionaire mindset never want to cap their possible earnings. They happily accept stock options, business percentage etc. This increases their chances of out-performing the people who always want to play it safe and want to be paid a set amount.

    I also happened to know from this book why people with a millionaire mindset are not suited to be good employees. How many times do we hear people around us cursing their boss and hating their work environment.

    Why is that so, because people think that they are worth far more than what they are being paid. But they take no practical steps to ensure that. They are not willing to go out to the marketplace and check what their worth is. While the person who hires them has nothing more than taking the risk of actually going to the marketplace to check what his/her worth is.

    Now that I have reached the end of my blog post, I am prepared to answer certain questions about this book that have surfaced online.

    First question, is the book ‘Secrets of the Millionaire Mind’ available in pdf for free? And the answer to that is yes, I was able to find it online and read it for free. It might require some time and effort to search for it, but it’s worth it.

    The second question being frequently asked online is ‘What books explain the psychology behind the millionaire mind and recommended tools for growth?’. Honestly speaking, if you are looking for some tools for growth, then you will find none in this book. However, as far as the first part of the question is concerned i.e phychology behind millionaire mind, then this book is the best pick for that.

    The last question that I want to answer is ‘What are the top personal finance apps that teach millionaire mindset principle’ My take on this is that if you can attend any of the T.Harv Eker sessions or seminars on the subject, that will go a long way with you. This book shoes glimpse of what he is capable of.

    In the end, I must thank you for trusting Bookish Talks and giving your time to the platform. I am Faizan Khan, and here at Bookish Talks, my only mission is to generate fruitful discussions about books that we all love to read.

    If you are an avid reader, and sometimes ponder as to why certain books change lives of people and why the same very book changes nothing in other, I have written a detailed blog on that with the title ‘Why Self-Help Fails Most People: The Secret of the Prepared Mind’. Consider giving it a read, it’s worth it.

  • Why Self-Help Fails Most People: The Secret of the Prepared Mind

    We’ve all seen it happen. Two people sit side-by-side in the same seminar, listening to the same speakers, and absorbing the exact same content. Fast forward five years: one person is in the exact same spot—financially and spiritually—while the other has undergone a radical life transformation.

    How is it possible for the same information to yield such drastically different results?

    After binging on hundreds of self-help books over the years and reflecting on the core principles found in T. Harv Eker’s Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, I’ve realized the uncomfortable truth: Information is the least valuable part of the equation.

    The Great Self-Help Delusion

    The primary mistake people make regarding personality development is believing that a book, a podcast, or a seminar is enough to trigger action. We treat self-help like a battery charger, hoping it will give us the energy to move.

    In reality, external information acts only as a trigger. It is a spark. But a spark only creates a fire if it lands on wood that is already dry and ready to burn.

    As Secrets of the Millionaire Mind explains, your mind must be “wired” to receive and act on information before the information holds any value. If your internal blueprint isn’t set for success, you could read every book in the library and your life would remain stagnant.

    The “Prepared Mind” vs. The “Motivation Junkie”

    Most people rely on what I call “The Motivation Trap.” They look for big leaps and massive results to keep them going. If they don’t see a huge ROI immediately, they quit.

    However, the person who actually transforms their life uses knowledge differently. They don’t seek a book to convince them to change; they use it to strengthen an existing belief that they are ready to lead.

    The Role of Internal Commitment

    When you are internally committed, you use motivation as a conversation with yourself. It serves as a confirmation that you are on the right path. This person doesn’t wait for a “big break.” Instead, they are willing to set “humiliatingly small” targets just to stay on the path. They understand that consistency beats intensity every single time.

    How to Cure the “Information Without Action” Disease

    If you find yourself stuck in a cycle of consuming content without changing your reality, you are likely suffering from “Information Disease.” Here is the three-step framework to break free and actually start seeing results.

    1. Create an Actionable Plan (Measure Actions, Not Results)

    The biggest mistake beginners make is judging themselves by performance metrics too early. When you start a new journey, the results are often non-existent for months. If you measure results, you will feel like a failure and quit.

    The Fix: Measure your progress based on actions taken, not results achieved.

    • Did you write the 500 words you promised?
    • Did you make the 5 sales calls?
    • Did you go to the gym for 15 minutes?

    If the answer is yes, you are winning. Initially, you need a plan where you can check off boxes based on your effort, irrespective of the immediate outcome.

    2. Cultivate a Prepared Mind

    You must have a firm belief in yourself and your idea before you seek external validation. Self-help and personality development should add value to an existing firm belief, not try to manufacture a new one from scratch.

    Ask yourself: Am I looking for this book to save me, or am I looking for this book to give me the tools for the work I’ve already decided to do?

    3. Set “Humiliatingly Small” Goals

    We often fail because our goals are too ego-driven. We want to lose 20 pounds in a month or earn $10k in a week. When we fail, our momentum dies.

    Instead, set goals so small they almost feel embarrassing.

    • Read one page a day.
    • Save five dollars a week.
    • Walk for ten minutes.

    The magic happens when you inevitably exceed these tiny goals. These “small wins” provide a massive psychological boost, giving you the fuel to continue for years rather than weeks.

    Final Thoughts: The Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

    If you want to go deeper into the psychology of how your internal “wiring” dictates your external success, I highly recommend reading Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker. It is a foundational text for anyone looking to understand why their financial or personal growth has hit a ceiling.

    Remember: The book won’t change your life. You will change your life because the book confirmed you were ready to do the work.

    If you are someone who loves to read inspirational thoughts and ideas, i will highly recommed you to read my blog post on book ‘Buy Back Your Time‘ by Dan Martell.

  • THE HARD THING ABOUT HARD THINGS SUMMARY PDF

    The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Summary PDF

    Most self-help books offer “calm and cool” encouragement, but Ben Horowitz takes a different approach. In this summary, we dive into the “hard-core” reality of being a CEO—where stress increases, privileges are outweighed by responsibility, and decision dilemmas never truly leave your mind.+2

    Whether you are an aspiring leader or a business owner, these notes explore why the most important job of a CEO is building a “Communication Architecture” to ensure every fertile mind in the company is utilized. Leadership is an uphill battle, and this guide provides the practical tactics needed to survive the ride.

    Download

  • KAFKAESQUE OR JUST UNCLEAR? MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE TRIAL

    KAFKAESQUE OR JUST UNCLEAR? MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE TRIAL

    book cover The Trial by Franz Kafka

    Had I been someone who just started reading books, I would not have been so worried about failing to understand this one. However, after having read over 300 books, being unable to comprehend The Trial by Franz Kafka is shocking to me. Since the very beginning of my reading journey, I have been very open about popular literary classics that failed to inspire me. The Trial is now an addition to that list—books I believe have been made popular for no reason.

    What is Strange About ‘The Trial’?

    There are two unusual things about The Trial: the story itself and the author’s writing style.

    • The Story: The plot revolves around Joseph K., a 30-year-old man who wakes up one morning to discover he must undergo a trial. What that trial is about or what he has done is never revealed. Instead, he simply appears before a mysterious court multiple times and is executed at the end of a year.
    • The Court: The court is a unique institution in the novel. It is not an ordinary court; its members are unknown, its proceedings are private, and the way it reaches judgments is never made clear.

    Who is Joseph K?

    Joseph K. is the primary sufferer in The Trial. He is a reputable banker and a respected member of society. However, his life takes a strange turn one unfortunate morning when he learns he must undergo a trial. He endures an exhausting year-long process before a mysterious court, eventually being executed. Throughout the novel, he suffers from fear, shame, trauma, and helplessness—a victim of a powerful bureaucracy denied the right to representation.

    What’s Wrong with the Writing Style?

    Putting the plot aside, the thing that frustrated me most was Franz Kafka’s writing style. You will find long, unending paragraphs spanning three to four pages without a single break. Much of your focus remains on not losing your place rather than on the story itself.

    The English language is typically structured with breaks because it is the most logical way to produce literature. A reader deserves the pauses and spaces that good literature provides, but Kafka does not seem interested in any of that. Furthermore, characters appear and disappear without clear purpose, linkage, or connection. Keeping the story together is a constant challenge, leaving the reader concerned that they are simply not focused enough to understand the narrative.

    Is the Confusion Purposeful?

    Many “BookTubers” and book bloggers claim that the confusing nature of The Trial is intentional. They argue that Kafka’s style aims to keep the reader feeling as irritated and helpless as Joseph K.

    I don’t buy that logic. Hundreds of thousands of beautiful stories have been communicated in the simplest ways possible. Instead of irritating the reader with unrealistically lengthy paragraphs, a better choice of vocabulary could have achieved the same effect. Writing endless paragraphs without a break is something any writer on earth can do; I don’t see why Franz Kafka should be uniquely appreciated for it.

    What was Joseph K’s Crime?

    If you are searching for what crime Joseph K. committed, you don’t need to search any further: the book does not answer that question. This is one of the mysteries of The Trial that disappeared with the death of the author. Until the moment Joseph K. is executed, the story never reveals his supposed crime.

    Is ‘The Trial’ Overrated?

    I believe so. The Trial may be famous or a bestseller, but it is definitely not worth the hype. In my opinion, it falls into the category of unnecessarily popular books. If you are interested in reading deep, meaningful literature, I would instead recommend “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramahansa Yogananda. That is a book that creates clarity about life, unlike The Trial, which lacks clarity itself.

  • Buy Back Your Time Summary – Bookish Talks

    Buy Back Your Time Summary – Bookish Talks

    Book Cover, Buy Back your Time by Dan Martell

    Introduction

    When it comes to reading, self-help, and personality development has been my area of interest for over a decade. However, it has recently been felt that recent books are merely stolen ideas from previous ones. Book ‘Buy Back Your Time’ by Dan Martell has proved to me yet again that there is still so much left to learn in this genre. This ‘Buy Back Your Time’ summary by Bookish Talks will give all the necessary details from the book.

    About The Author

    Dan Martell has been all over the internet in recent times. His website (https://www.danmartell.com/) introduces him as be Author, entrepreneur, coach, and Humanity’s Biggest Cheerleader. He is much more than that. Once you start listening to him, you will get hooked on his aura. Highly recommended to be listened to. 

    Having the book and the author introduced, it is time to dive deep into the basic teachings of the ‘Buy Back Your Time’ book.

    Dan Martell’s Tough Beginnings – Buy Back Your Time Summary

    Dan Martell had been an annoying Canadian kid from Moncton, New Brunswick. He was so off track in his early life that his mom had to call the police to get him arrested. He had a failed attempt to run away from the police and had to spend six months in adult prison for his violations and crimes. During his confinement in the prison cell, Dan Martell was counseled by policeman Brian. From that point onwards, he was never the same.

    Dan Martell Jumps Into Business at 18 – Buy Back Your Time Summary

    There is a reason why Dan Martell makes sense to all that he says and writes. He has been a business guy since 18 year age of. He first opened a vocational rental site in 1988 at the age of 18. Since then, he has been to various businesses. Apart from a dozen golden nuggets that he shared with the world about his life and experiences, ‘buy back your time’ is the most influential. It has touched the lives of millions and continues to do so.

    Playbook Formula For Growth – Buy Back Your Time Summary

    Dan Martell has introduced a unique concept in this group known as the ‘playbook’ formula. This explains the significance of having a set pattern recorded as to how things work. Through that concept, Dan wants to emphasize that a playbook should be able to define a totally nascent person, certain basic questions about you, and your work. This would be a roadmap for any new member and recruit of the company/business.

    Business Growth Must Not Take Away Your Life – Buy Back Your Time Summary

    It is a very common phenomenon for entrepreneurs. When their businesses grow to the level they always dreamed of, they find themselves stuck in the activities that keep sucking their life and relationships. It becomes very hard for them to step back and let others take on the reins from that point onwards. They consider it wrong to get things done by somebody else. Contrary to that, it is the most logical thing to do. One has to have a team to enable the leader in decision-making, instead of a leader being buried under files and emails all the time.

    80 % Done By Someone Else Is 100 % Freaking Awesome – Buy Back Your Time Summary

    You can’t expect anybody else to do your job the way only you can. That is okay. You must remember that you are trading all of your time in exchange for some drop in performance. It would apparently look like a drop, but the bigger picture of the story would reveal that, owing to your availability to the rest of the bigger tasks, your allocation of some tasks to others will actually be beneficial for businesses. Even if the person performing your job is not performing the way you would have. Remember, 80% done by someone else is 100 % freaking awesome.

    10-80-10 Rule By Dan Martell – Buy Back Your Time Summary

    Here is the trick of buying back your time without harming the results. Dan Martell calls it the 10-80-10 rule. According to this rule, if you are hiring someone under a buy-back strategy, the initial 10 percent of the task should be done by yourself. You should be the one who gives the initial direction to the project. The next 80 % of the task, that is, the meat of the project, should be done by the person you have hired. Lastly, the final 10 percent, i.e, packaging and presentation of the project, should be done by you again. That way, you avoid the time-consuming labor and at the same time produce the desired results.

    Only Do The Tasks That Light You Up, Allocate The Rest – Buy Back Your Time Summary

    As an entrepreneur, you will be good at only a handful of things. The rest of the things will have to be done to support those. For example, a world-class wedding photographer, who enjoys his job, must not be good at keeping accounts and preparing invoices. Anyone who would spend doing that would steal away his wealth and opportunity. He should only be focused on doing the things that light you up. Those are the things that will make you money. Buy back your time for the rest of the menial tasks on the principles as shared by the book.

    Only I Can Do This Right (That Is The Problem) Rest – Buy Back Your Time Summary

    If you are a business owner and you hear some say to you that you are the only one who can do it correctly, that is not a compliment. Being a business owner and entrepreneur, you have around you a team that can clone you. A team that can think like you and make decisions like you. That way, you are not only empowering others but freeing up your own time as well to do the things that are most valuable to you and your business.

    Doctors & Pilots Have Checklists,  So Should You – Buy Back Your Time Summary

    The checklists for anything are as boring as they probably can, but guess what, those get the job done. That is why the doctors and pilots, whose precision matters over life and death, have a certain checklist that they follow strictly. You adopt the same for your business, and you will be amazed to see that you miss out on important things less often.

    What I Learnt From The Book Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell

    This book has taught me two valuable things. One, the importance of proper allocation of time for the entrepreneur. Two, how to hire properly. With these two principles learnt, any entrepreneur and business owner can benefit massively from this book.

    Similar Books To Read

    If you find books like this interesting, you might find BE 2.0 and The Psychology of Money very fascinating and interesting to read.

    Conclusion

    To conclude book ‘Buy Back Your Time’ by Dan Martell is a must-read for every aspiring entrepreneur. It teaches you how to allocate the transferable tasks to your team and do only the essential tasks by yourself. It also teaches you practical steps to take to buy back your time and live a happy life.

  • Are You Addicted to Your Devices? How Digital Minimalism Can Save Your Life

    Are You Addicted to Your Devices? How Digital Minimalism Can Save Your Life

    Introduction

    Cal Newport, with his bestselling book ‘Digital Minimalism’, has yet again proved that his writings resonate with the generations. His ‘Deep Work’ book had already served the lives of millions. However, in the recent dilemma of distractions and social media addiction, ‘Digital Minimalism’ is a book that reveals the ugly truth of how we as a society have become glued to white screens instead of living our lives.

    About The Author

    Cal Newport is a computer science professor at Georgetown University, USA. More for his services towards computer science, the author is loved and admired for his non-fiction self-help books. Arguably, the most famous amongst them was ‘Deep Work’. However, ‘The Digital Minimalism’ from Cal Newport has the potential to change the perspective of society like no book has ever done before.

    Digital Tools – Mix Harm With Benefits

    ‘Digital Minimalism’ beautifully explains why we as a society are unable to deal with the menace of digital distraction. According to the book. The evils of the media are served in a golden, shiny package of a few benefits. This becomes a trigger for society to continue using those tools. Thereby opening the ways for their distractions too.

    Did Steve Jobs Design Phones To Be as Addictive As Those Are Today?

    85 times, that is the number of times an ordinary man checks his phone in a day. This compulsive negative activity that is stealing a lot of our time must never have come to mind of Steve Jobs, the great, once he designed Apple Phones. However, that corporate culture and the audience’s innocence have brought us to the point of this destructive addiction to which we are all victims.

    Auto-Tagging Feature in Photos – An Uninvited but Liked Disturbance

    The social media applications are training their algorithms to recognize faces. When we upload a picture of a group of friends on Meta (formerly Facebook), it asks us whether we want to tag the people in the picture with us. It automatically recognizes the face and links that person’s profile with our post. All that we have to do is click ‘yes’. But the other person who receives the notification falsely assumes that you have been missing him badly. In reality, all that you had to do was click ‘yes’

    Digital Declutter – A Month-Long Divorce To Digital Distractions

    The book ‘Digital Minimalism’ by Cal Newport has given a unique approach to quitting social media in a systematic way. He starts undertaking a one-month ‘Digital Declutter’ exercise. During this exercise, you will be expected to get rid of all social media activities for a complete month. After the end of the month, you would be allowed to start getting back only those applications on your phone that are meant to provide value and service to you, instead of merely social distractions.

    ‘Fear’ Is a Magnet for Social Media

    There is a long tail of fears that forces us to be in front of screens all the time. Fear of missing something interesting, fear of missing a call or message from some loved ones, fear of needing the phone unexpectedly, and fear of being bored. All these self-created fears have made us believe that in today’s society, mobile phone is a thing that is to be kept closer at all the times. Nothing pleases the attention economy more than this.

    Face-to-Face Communication is Richer Than Digital Communication

    One of the most celebrated and promoted benefits of social media is that it removes the compulsion of face-to-face talk. It can be replaced by a voice message, text, or video message. But, it is being totally ignored that there is no match to face-to-face talk when it comes to impact. Visiting your brother with his first child has no match to a comment on an Instagram photo of that baby. The coming generations need to realize this factor.

    Has Social Media Made Communications Better?

    For ages, human relationships have been flourishing. However, in recent times, the same are being questioned. What changed? The very source that some claim to be the cause of connectivity is increasing distances amongst us. Not many people were aware of that or talking about that. Until we read ‘Digital Minimalism’.

    The Desire for Recognition through Dance Instead of Handicraft

    Social media is exploiting the very basic desire of human beings. That is to be recognized and known. In the past, to achieve that recognition, one had to strive hard and achieve something notable. The same is not the case in the era of social media. A person with his phone can go online, do something silly, and gather the likes, comments, and visibility that was available only to famous stars in the past.

    Having undergone the basics of the book, it seems very pertinent to answer certain questions and queries that readers have regarding this book.

    What is Digital Minimalism?

    Digital Minimalism is a recently evolved concept of reducing our digital footprint for the overall betterment of mental state and social relationships.

    How To Minimize Digital Footprint?

    ‘Digital Declutter’ is a recent idea introduced by Cal Newport for reducing our Digital Footprint. According to this principle, we have to unplug all our digital tools for a month. After the passage of one month, we are allowed to reintroduce the digital platforms to our lives step by step. That return to digital tools will be planned according to our needs and requirements, not on the basis of the addictions we have developed over time. To stick to the habit of staying away from social media, you must read James Clear’s book Atomic Habits.

    How Can I Get Digital Minimalism?

    The first step to achieve Digital Minimalism is to get hold of the book titled the same. In order to achieve Digital Minimalism, it is very important to understand the philosophy behind how the distracted digital world works. Having gone through that, the desired step needed to be taken can be made easier to take.

    Conclusion

    To conclude, the Digital Minimalism book by Cal Newport is full of in-depth analysis of how we have reached where we are in terms of digital slavery. Having established the foundation of this trap, Cal Newport gives us step-by-step practical measures to get out of this menace. Highly recommended to be read. If you are considering some high-quality fiction of high quality, you must consider reading ‘Housemaid’ by Freida McFadden.

  • Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport – Honest Book Review & Key Lessons

    Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport – Honest Book Review & Key Lessons

    Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport – Honest Book Review & Key Lessons

    Introduction

    We are living in a distracted and cluttered world. The society is in dire need of literature that can bring us back to focus and attention. It was this focused approach that helped humanity survive the test of the times. However, today’s world seems to be glued to the white screen with a lost focus. Books like ‘Digital Minimalism’ come right in time to rescue us from our uncontrolled addiction to our devices. In the paragraphs that follow, an effort has been made to present you with an unbiased review of the book ‘Digital Minimalism’

    Who is Cal Newport? What qualifies him to write this book?

    Cal Newport is an American author who primarily focuses on the genre of self-help and personal development. His most appreciated works are books like ‘So Good They Can’t Ignore You’ and ‘Deep Work’. I believe the author of the book, Cal Newport, is more known for his book titled ‘Deep Work’. However, the ‘Digital Minimalism’ book, according to me, deserves far greater applause because its content is unique and scarce.

    Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World: The Subtitle of the book says it all

    If you ask me to grade the subtitle of the book ‘Digital Minimalism,’ I believe I would have to rank it among the top few books I have read so far. Cal Newport has done a tremendous job in presenting his book in the best possible title, subtitle, as well as beautiful cover.

    Why the Digital Minimalism Book Is Worth Reading

    The Digital Minimalism book provides a straightforward analysis of how social media is impacting our lives. It brings its readers out of the fake perception that they can use social media only to their best interest, and get out of that once our purpose is achieved. This is not the way social media applications are designed. These are designed to keep their users stuck to their apps for as much of the time as possible. The battle is between high-paid attention engineers of these companies vs common users, which the later are sure to lose.

    Should I read Deep Work first, or start with Digital Minimalism?

    Start with Deep Work first. Because that book makes us feel the importance of undistracted attention given to any task. Once that has been achieved, then we go on to battle our biggest attention-stealer, i.e, Gadgets. To counter that, the book ‘Digital Minimalism’ comes to our rescue.

    How long does the 30-day declutter take, and what happens during it?

    The 30-day declutter is an approach from the Digital Minimalism book by Cal Newport that helps in getting rid of the addiction to gadget use. Those participating in this campaign uninstall all social media apps from their devices for 30 days. After a period of 30 days, the users are gradually allowed to reinstall only those apps that are essential for their day-to-day business.

    How is Digital Minimalism different from similar books (e.g., Deep Work, Essentialism, etc.)?

    Cal Newport has taken a similar approach but a different style in the book. Digital Minimalism is different from the rest of the author’s creations in a way that it is more practical in nature than theoretical. To get the best out of this book, you will have to be willing to take the practical steps, as merely theoretical knowledge is not enough.

    What is “high-quality leisure” according to Newport, and how do you find or build it?

    Cal Newport in his book Digital Minimalism, portrays that it is not sensible to get rid of social media without getting it replaced with anything that you really enjoy doing. Those high-quality leisure activities are a must in order to succeed in this game for longer run. If the time that has been stolen from Social Media is not allocated to some other fruitful activity, then it only becomes a matter of time before we fall back into the same trap again.

    Is the Digital Minimalism Book Easy To Read?

    Yes, Cal Newport is known for his simple style of writing. He repeated the same in this book. Though the ‘Digital Minimalism’ book deals with a very complicated topic but the way it has been explained by Cal Newport in the book, it appears that the ideas shared in the book are not too tough to digest.

    How the Digital Minimalism Book Addresses FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)

    The Fear of missing out is a natural phenomenon that occurs when we stop using social media platforms the way the rest of the world does. The book addresses the issue in two ways. One, it gives practical steps to use social media only for the sake and purpose it was initially made for, i.e., connecting with friends and colleagues. Two, it brings the overall system of excessive connectivity into question. Cal Newport establishes a concept that the human mind is not designed to manage so many connections that we maintain through social media.

    From Mindless Scrolling to Meaningful Living

    ‘Digital Minimalism’ is a book that questions the use of social media the way we are doing now. The endless stream of posts and reels that social media apps show us is in no way fruitful for our mental health. However, if someone wants to get rid of the harmful effects of these tools but at the same time benefit from all the positive things it offers, the Digital Minimalism book by Cal Newport is a perfect book to start with.

    How Mobile Phones Turned Into Mini Billboards

    The social media applications have brilliantly used the addiction of public to their advantage. With the unending stream of advertisements that are being shown on social media apps, it makes sense for these companies to keep the user on their platforms for as long a duration as possible. Book Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport gives a deep insight into the methods of these social media applications and helps its readers to understand the game in a true sense and save themselves from this trap.

    Conclusion

    To conclude, the world needs to hear where we stand with all the buzz and noise of social media. We need more people around to question the status quo of our social structures and help us get out of it. In this regard, a beautiful book like Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport is a ray of hope. It gives hope that we are not at the mercy of those social media companies with our lives, and we have people around who can question the unquestionable. Overall, a wonderful book to read.

  • WHY WILL I NEVER STOP RECOMMENDING ‘DEEP WORK’ BY CAL NEWPORT

    WHY WILL I NEVER STOP RECOMMENDING ‘DEEP WORK’ BY CAL NEWPORT

    Book Cover Deep Work by Cal Newport

    Have you ever had a friend or classmate for whom remembering something was a very easy task? This is a student in each class who studies very little and earns far more marks than the rest of the class. Whether that boy knows it or not, he achieves that by implementing the principles of deep work. This is so powerful that anybody’s life can be transformed by learning and understanding it.

                Before I proceed to explain what this book is all about, I feel it is necessary to explain why the topic of the book is very significant for our society. In existing times, if someone has around 2000 followers on TikTok, the person is inclined to believe that 2000 people have subscribed to know about their life. This gives the person a sense of feeling important.

                In a real society, however, not that many people are interested in someone unless he/she is celebrity or famous for something. People like to be appreciated and talked about. People like to be praised for their new dress, their nice cars, and their new watch, and so on. As a replacement for that much attention not being provided by society, people are quenching their thirst on social media, where it is very normal to have 200 praising comments, if you have got some 2000 followers or subscribers.

                Now, here is the task at which design engineers of various social media platforms get rewarded. Social media platforms want you to get glued to their applications so that they can show you as many advertisements. And the task of design engineers is to make that application as addictive as humanly possible. The design engineers have, over the periods of time, made these social media applications so attractive that life without them is becoming hard to imagine.

                Resultantly, society is choosing social media over socializing. Now, in situations like this, comes the role of books like ‘Deep Work’ by Cal Newport.

                Cal Newport, through his masterpiece ‘Deep Work’ has revealed the mystery of hard work vs smart work. In the vocabulary of Cal Newport, smart work, is a very vague term; it is actually deep work, which has a defined explanation. Cal Newport says that the difference between the person doing average work and that of an outstanding performer is neither the hard work nor the amount of time. It is the act of concentrating on one task at a time with no distractions whatsoever.

                Cal Newport has credited the outstanding artistic productivity of Woody Allen to Deep Work. Woody Allen could write and direct 44 films, of which 23 got nominated for Academy Awards. This achievement from Woody Allen was done in between 1969 to 2013. In spite of this being the era of Digital transition, Woody Allen used to write on a manual typewriter instead. A similar approach was that of Peter Higgs. He was so committed to his work that when the Nobel Prize was announced for him, reporters couldn’t find him for the interview. Regarding Mark Twain, it is famous that his family used to blow horns for meals to get his attention. One might wonder what these genius minds are getting out of isolation and focus, the answer to that is ‘deep work’.

                The book suggests that although deep work is the only solution to achieving something extraordinary. However, achieving the deep work state requires commitment. One needs a system to get into that state of deep work. There needs to be a particular window of time in which a person can only allow himself to do the stuff for which he is most desirous of results. In that window of time, one must not succumb to any distractions or notifications. It will however be better if that window of time is announced so that people around know and respect your privacy in that period of time.

                Now, one thing is for sure: the state of deep work cannot be achieved if you do not make yourself inaccessible. Doing so would cost you some anger from seniors, your boss, and colleagues as well. However, if you are in it for a longer time, people over time will be accustomed to your routine and behavior. You need to have courage to remain committed to your mission even if it costs you getting thrown out of some groups. In a long run, you will get the status and title you desire.

                Now, as far as consistency in deep work is concerned, Cal Newport has quoted the example of famous Comic actor Seinfeld. Someone asked Seinfeld how he could manage to produce fresh comic art consecutively over so long. In response to the question, he revealed his calendar strategy. He said that he had hung a calendar on his wall, where he would cross out the day on which he had written a fresh joke. Over a while, there appeared to be chain of crosses, which he never wanted to break.

                One thing over which we all need to agree is that creativity and distraction can not go hand-in-hand. A perfect example of producing a highly demanding task by avoiding distraction is that of author Shankman. One day he happened to realize that he had signed a contract to produce a book within two weeks. Accomplishing that was not possible in a routine. What he did was something unusual. He booked a two-way business class ticket from America to Japan and back.

                Shankman kept writing for those 30 hours of flight, and once he landed back at the airport, he had the first draft of the book in his hand. The trip cost him $4000, but he managed to earn far more than that out of the work he produced. That is the power of deep work without distraction.

                Now, here is the hurdle that we all have to overcome to achieve the state of deep work. It is that of combating the highly paid design engineers at companies, who are making the products addictive to a killing level. We will have to confront these people every day to steal what we desire out of a productive day, deep work.

                The Deep Work by Cal Newport is amongst the category of books in which ‘Think & Grow Rich’ or ‘Atomic Habits’ fall.  

                To conclude, Deep Work by Cal Newport is a very effective and life-transforming book. If you are interested in giving this book a read, here is the Amazon link to buy the book online: https://amzn.to/4kwLKMd

  • WHY BOOK ATOMIC HABITS IS GRADED SO HIGH?

    WHY BOOK ATOMIC HABITS IS GRADED SO HIGH?

    book cover atomic habits by james clear

    The Atomic Habits book by James Clear is considered one of the top-notch books in the self-help genre. In this blog, I will be discussing why this book gets ranked so high in the genre of self-help. I will also reveal certain key principles on habit forming from the book.

    I always believe that the real purpose of a book is to bring change. And why won’t we grade that book so high if there are thousands of people to acknowledge that the book revolutionized their lives? ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear is one such book. This blog is particularly important for people who love books, but can’t spare much time out of their busy lives to sit with a book in their lap.

    ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear is one such book that has the power to bring instant change in day-to-day life. In the field of self-help or personality development, this is among the few such books which does not merely throw philosophies onto the face of readers. It guides the reader through practical steps towards better habit forming.

    The book Atomic Habits can be termed as recent compared to other competitor books of the genre like ‘Think & Grow Rich’ and ‘How to Win Friends & Influence People’. The book was published in 2018. Astonishingly, it is a very small-sized book. It consists of only 306 pages, and if we exclude ‘Notes Section’ from the book, the book gets reduced to merely 207 pages. How would someone justify not reading a book that is only 207 pages, and can change their life significantly?

    Having given the intro to the book ‘Atomic Habits’, now I will be sharing the things that impressed me most from the book.

    The center of gravity of the book is ‘habit-forming’. The book relieves us from the pressure of believing that it takes lots of effort to develop a good habit. However, developing a good habit only requires a little understanding of how a habit is formed. For example, making your bed. Now this seems to be an insignificant work to be done at the morning. But once we consider that as the first achievement of the day, it would give a new angle of looking at the rest of the day. It would boost our confidence to follow the rest of the day in a disciplined way.

    This one task done well would lead to reading a chapter of the book, or spending half an hour exercising. Thus an apparently insignificant task can be transformed into a catalyst to push the day to a disciplined routine.

    As Warren Buffet had said that habit-forming works just like compounding. One habit builds on the next, and each good habit keeps assisting the next one. Moreover, the results are never linear in pattern. These work in a hockey-style pattern. At the start, results appear exciting due to high energy. With time, boredom starts taking over, and the results start declining. It is this phase of habit-forming that is very difficult to survive. If someone can get through this, then there appears to be a vertical upward trend in the path to progress.

    Another aspect of good-habit forming, which has been projected by ‘Atomic Habits’ is that progress on the path of habit forming will not always be observable to the person changing. It is similar to going to the gym. In that, for initial weeks, months, or even years, there appear to be no visible changes. However, after considerable time has been spent doing that, people start observing the change in your physique. Similar is the case with reading books. One can’t become Aristotle after having read a couple of books. It takes time for the results to appear.

    Another myth cleared by the Atomic Habits book is that of setting high aims. Since childhood, we have been hearing about having big, bold aims. James Clear suggests that having big goals is not significant. Thousands of people set big goals but can’t achieve anything significant. Instead of having tall goals, it is important to have better systems. The systems are the keys to achieving bigger targets, and merely big goals can’t achieve anything.

    According to James Clear, habit forming needs a particular path. Without having created that path, the progress to that habit can’t be measured. Just, for example, you decide to eat healthy food from now on. The moment you decide that out of motivation, you need to sketch out the eating plan on a piece of paper. Having prepared that plan, you need to be assured that you follow that path. Without having a measured way of approaching the goals, progress is not be possible.

    A brilliant trick that I learn from this book is regarding attaching our new habits to the existing habits. James Clear says that it would become far easier to develop a habit if we attach that habit to the thing that we are already doing. For example, we can do 20 push-ups before brushing our teeth. Now every time we would go for a toothbrush (which we often do effortlessly), we would be reminded of doing push-ups, and we are least likely to miss out on doing that. Over time, our new habit would also be as effortless as our former habit had been.

    The Atomic Habits book gives so much importance to measured progress. James Clear suggests that measuring progress not only sets the parameters for accountability. But it also gives a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Nothing can be more relaxing than having the ability to measure the progress made on the path to success.

    Moreover, another key aspect that no one escapes is that of boredom. The path towards progress is very slow and takes lots of courage to face continuous boredom with no apparent results in front of us. However, if one can cope with the boredom of forming good habits, the results of that habit will shock the rest of the world.

    If you are someone who is into the field of reading self-help books. I highly recommend you read the book that I just finished. It was Jonathan Eig’s Ali: A Life. You will love the journey of Mohammad Ali’s life, and how he overcame the hurdles of life.

    To conclude, Atomic Habits by James Clear is a powerful book on defining the science behind habit forming in the simplest and logical way. It empowers the reader to master the art of habit formation. If you are interested in reading this book, here is the Amazon link to order the book online: https://amzn.to/4kPxTQK  

  • Why This Is The Best Biography Ever Written on Muhammad Ali?

    Why This Is The Best Biography Ever Written on Muhammad Ali?

    ‘Ali : A Life’ is the best biography I have ever read on the life of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali. In this blog I dive deep into my reason in believing that Jonathan Eig has produced the best work on the life of GOAT Muhammad Ali.

    Muhammad Ali — whose name before embracing Islam was Cassius Clay — is a personality who stands apart in world history. We are often told by parents and teachers to be humble and modest. But Muhammad Ali grew up shouting and howling “I am the greatest of all time.”

    At just 12, he had already declared that he would become a famous man. However, due to poverty, he did not have access to a good education — nor was he particularly fond of studying. So he chose a path where education wasn’t necessary: boxing.

    While still in school, he would give autographs to his friends. And what did he write in those autographs?

    Cassius Clay, World Heavyweight Champion.

    He won 31 consecutive professional fights and brought a unique style to boxing.
    Instead of just beating his opponent, he would tire his opponents out.  He was so great at analyzing his opponents that he could predict the exact round in which he would be able to knock them out.

    He became World Heavyweight Champion three times, and his passion and preparation were unmatched. Even when facing top fighters of the world, whenever journalists asked him about his match preparation, he would say: “This match is nothing more than a warm-up for me. Right now, there’s no boxer in the world at my level who can compete with me.”

    But if you only recognize Muhammad Ali as a boxer, it would be unfair to his life story. He was a complete personality. If you’re a teacher and read about Ali’s life, your teaching will improve. If you’re a doctor, you’ll become a better doctor.

    Because many boxers came and went. But the world remembers Muhammad Ali because of his principles. At a time when Black Americans would accept whatever the government said to please them, Muhammad Ali had the courage to call wrong wrong, and right right. The entire American government stood united in trying to send him to fight in the Vietnam War. But when Ali took a stand and said the war was unjust, even if it meant going to jail or losing his title, no one could make him bow down.

    Yes, this book is quite lengthy. And usually, I tend to stay away from long books — because you can’t always match your pace of progress. For example, if you set a goal to finish a book in one week but end up taking 20 days, if the book is good, you still feel a sense of accomplishment. But if it’s not as good as expected, it can leave you disappointed. Just like I’m currently stuck in a book — more on that in another review. But this book is not one of those. In fact, it’s one of those rare books that as you approach the ending, you wish it were even longer.

    This book was published in 2017, authored by Jonathan Eig. It has 623 pages and is divided into three parts:

    Part 1: Covers Muhammad Ali’s early life — his childhood, family background, and upbringing.

    Part 2: Covers the peak of his boxing career, as well as his political and religious activities. This section also includes a detailed account of Muhammad Ali’s famous fight with Joe Frazier. And I say this with full confidence.  I have seen the footage of that fight (it’s available on YouTube), but the way Jonathan Eig has described that fight in the book — you’ll truly enjoy reading it.

    Part 3: Covers the later part of his life. Most notably, it includes the Rumble in the Jungle — the fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman that was followed by people all over the world.

    The most beautiful thing about this book is that it doesn’t portray Muhammad Ali as a flawless hero. It presents a realistic picture of his life. If he liked money — the author tells you so, plainly and honestly.

    After reading this book, you’ll get to know the strengths and weaknesses of Muhammad Ali realistically, and you’ll be convinced that he was truly a great man.

    There’s another similarly inspirational book titled Man’s Search for Meaning,
    written by a psychologist who spent time in Hitler’s prisoner camps. I’ll be sharing a brief review of that book too — be sure to check it out.

    If you are interested in purchasing out this book, here is the Amazon link : https://amzn.to/4kpPHlM

  • Breaking Free from Social Anxiety with The Power of Now – Focus24 Book Club

    Breaking Free from Social Anxiety with The Power of Now – Focus24 Book Club

    book cover the power of now, focus24 book club

    Social anxiety is becoming a dominant issue in modern society, but it can be tackled effectively with the insights from The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Let me explain how.

    The Root Cause of Social Anxiety

    Before diving into how this book can help, let’s first understand the root cause of rising social anxiety.

    Did you know that, according to the Global Overview Report 2024, the average American spends 7 hours and 3 minutes every day on internet-connected screens? That’s a staggering amount of time! But why have we reached this point? Let’s explore the answer through The Power of Now.

    Escaping the Present Moment

    One of the key reasons for excessive screen time is our inability to sit with our own thoughts. People seek distractions to escape their minds, avoiding self-reflection at all costs.

    Social media provides the perfect escape. It creates a win-win situation for advertisers and users—users find a distraction from their thoughts, while advertisers profit from increased engagement.

    However, let’s not be fooled—social media companies do not design their algorithms for our well-being. Their goal is to keep us hooked by feeding content we like, ultimately exploiting our addictive tendencies.

    The Loss of the Present Moment

    Eckhart Tolle argues that modern society has lost connection with the present moment. We are constantly bombarded with notifications and digital distractions, preventing our minds from achieving peace and clarity.

    This leads to chronic anxiety, as our thoughts are either stuck in past regrets or future worries. As Tolle says in his book:

    “If you cannot be at ease with yourself when you are alone, you will seek a relationship to cover up your unease.”

    Social Media and Its Hidden Impact

    Our biggest problem today is that we do not spend time with ourselves. Boredom, which should lead to deep introspection, has been hijacked by social media notifications.

    Now, I’m not against social media. It has revolutionized communication. However, we need to acknowledge who benefits from these addictive algorithms. It’s not you or me—it’s the tech giants profiting from bombarding us with ads, making us feel incomplete until we buy their products.

    The Power of Now: A Solution to Overthinking

    Tolle’s book is a masterpiece when it comes to taking control of your thoughts. It prevents your mind from wandering aimlessly and teaches you to focus on the present moment.

    One of my favorite illustrations in the book explains why people enjoy extreme sports like skydiving and free-climbing. According to Tolle, the pleasure in these activities comes from their ability to force complete focus on the present—freeing the mind from regrets and anxieties.

    Understanding Your Thought Patterns

    Tolle encourages readers to observe their own thinking patterns. How often do we check what our minds are dwelling on? He explains that the human mind naturally fluctuates between the past and the future because it survives on time—while the present moment is timeless.

    Bringing our attention back to the present requires effort, but doing so frees us from unnecessary stress and worry.

    The Impact of The Power of Now

    This book has made a monumental impact in the self-help field. It sheds light on the dangers of social media and explains how we use it as an escape from the now moment—which is the exact opposite of what we need for happiness.

    Many of us spend most of our lives dwelling on past mistakes or worrying about uncertain futures. However, history shows that many of these worries never come true, yet we waste countless hours stressing over them.

    The Law of Attraction and Thought Patterns

    Our minds have the power to shape reality. If we constantly adopt negative thought patterns, we will unknowingly create negative experiences. Preparing for the worst may seem like a smart strategy, but it ignores the law of attraction—which states that what we focus on expands.

    Conclusion

    Social anxiety is a growing problem, and social media companies won’t help solve it—because it doesn’t serve their business model. However, books like The Power of Now provide the tools to break free from anxiety and reclaim control over our thoughts.

    If you’re ready to embrace the present moment and transform your mindset, this book is a must-read!

    ➡️ Get your copy of The Power of Now today!

  • THE HOUSEMAID BOOK SUMMARY – FOCUS24 BOOK CLUB

    THE HOUSEMAID BOOK SUMMARY – FOCUS24 BOOK CLUB

    THE HOUSEMAID BOOK SUMMARY - FOCUS24 BOOK CLUB

    Book Summary

    Thriller, Suspense, Romance, and Murder. You name it, this has it. An incredible Story ‘The Housemaid’ from Fredia McFadden.

    The story is of a psychopathic millionaire Mr Andrew Winchester. A young, handsome, and successful businessman. He tricks one of his employees, Nina to marry him. Nina is a single mother with a baby girl named Cecelia.

    Long after being accepted as Mr Winchester’s wife, Nina discovers how insanely psychopathic her husband was. He punishes her like an insane prisoners by locking her in attic.

    He locks her in the attic over small mistakes. He tortures her by giving commands from outside the room. He monitors her through the camera. Nina gets tortured by being orders to pluck her hair, spray pepper into her eyes and things like that.

    Due to his influence and wealth, Mr Andrew Winchester succeeds in getting his wife declared as mentally sick. He portrays to the world that it was she herself who does this to her.

    Nina can’t get out of this marriage easily. Mr Winchester threatens to take away her daughter from her if she tried to do so.

    Nina gets an idea to get out of this miserable life. She hires a beautiful young maid with a criminal background

    Lilly is convicted of a murder and on parole from the jail. Nina hires Lilly on purpose. She wants her husband to get attracted to her, so that she could get a safe exit.

    Nina succeeds in her plan. Andrew gets attracted to Lilly. Lilly does not resist, as she had been intentionally treated badly by Nina. Lily feels no pity for cheating on Nina’s husband because Nina has been abusive to her.

    Andrew threw Nina out of his house. She acts to be upset about it. But deep inside, it was her own plan.

    In the execution of all this, Nina is helped by her gardener of the house, an Italian guy named Enzo. Nina later on even sleeps with Enzo in his house.

    It does not take long for Lilly to realize that her former boss and now husband was insane psychopath. She is punished by him the same way Nina was being done. However, Lilly was not the one to suffer and without resistance.

    Lilly gets locked in the attic for torture over a small mistake she commits. This time, once Lilly comes out of the locked attic, she traps Andrew into the same place, and tortures him the way he had done to her and Nina.

    The torture goes to extremes and Andres dies during that.

    Nina visits the house to see her husband dead. But she was happy to be relieved of this evil guy.

    However, she does not want Lilly to suffer for that. Feeling pity for Lily to be punished for the murder, asks Lily to Leave. Nina convinces herself to accept the responsibility of the murder and calls the police.

    When police arrive. The head of the team appears to be the father of Mr Andrew’s former fiancé. He knew that his daughter was tortured by this insane psychopath lying dead.

    He understands the possible reason behind all this. He helps Nina in getting this murder declared an accident.

    My experience of reading ‘The Housemaid’

    The way the story has been told is very, very interesting. The communicators of the story are Nina and Lilly. The reader gets an extremely thrilling experience reading the story from start to end.

    The story is full of twits and surprises.

    Honestly speaking, unto half of the book, I wanted this to end as soon as possible. But for the remaining half I never wanted it to end.

    What is the book housemaid about?

    The book Housemaid is a thriller story of a maid who gets hired by a rich woman to get her psychopath husband murdered. Before murdering, Andrew falls in love with maid Lilly and the story takes an interesting turn.

    Is The Housemaid scary to read?

    No, the book cover as well as the title of the book has given it the shape of a scary book. The Housemaid is not a scary novel. It falls in the category of thrill, suspense, love, and crime.

    Is The Housemaid based on a true story?

    No, the Housemaid is not based on true story. The author Fredia McFadden has never mentioned it to be true story. From story point of view as well, the Novel appears too taboo to be true.

    Did Nina and Enzo sleep together?

    Yes they did. Nina, the wife of Andrew Winchester did sleep with her gardener Enzo in the story.

    Does The Housemaid have romance?

    The housemaid story is not primarily based on romance, but it does have a little bit of that. Romance between Nina and Andrew, between Nina and Enzo, and between Andrew and Lilly are few to mention.

    Who is the bad guy in The Housemaid?

    Mr Andrew Winchester is the bad guy in the housemaid. He is a psychopath who tortures his wife like a criminal. He does that over small mistakes of hers. He ends up being killed by his maid after he tortures her too.

    Is The Housemaid an easy read?

    Yes, The Housemaid is pretty easy to read. The story goes smoothly as we proceed in the book. The story is narrated by the characters of the story – Nina and Lilly.

    Does Enzo speak English in The Housemaid?

    Yes, Enzo does speak English in the housemaid. Initially, he appears to be an Italian guy who barely even understands English. But at the later part of the story it is revealed that he can speak English fluently.

    He, being too attractive to be a gardener, disguises himself as a person who does not understand English at all. His purpose behind this is to avoid those wives in the colony who wanted to be seduced by him.

    Who is the main character in the Housemaid book?

    The story is equally distributed between Nina and Milly. However, Nina has a far more significant role in the story than Lilly. She is the one who plans the murder of her psychopathic husband, Andrew Winchester.

    Conclusion

    The Housemaid is a story full of thriller, suspense, romance, and surprises. It is the story of a lady who gets trapped into becoming the wife of psychopathic millionaire.

    She gets tortured and punished by him like a criminal.

    As a means of getting rid of that life, she hires a beautiful maid with a criminal record. She sets the stage in such a way that the maid ends up murdering her husband.

    Highly recommended the Focus24 Book Club. Here is the link https://amzn.to/3Fxbj01 . Grab your copy of the book.

    If you are interested in Romantic novels like this, ‘It Ends With Us‘ should be your next pick. Here is the review of the novel.

  • HOW TO DOWNLOAD KINDLE BOOKS TO PDF (STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE)

    HOW TO DOWNLOAD KINDLE BOOKS TO PDF (STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE)

    PDF is one of the most widely used formats for reading. Readers often ask, “How can I download Kindle books as a PDF?”. Here is a step-by-step guide that will enable you to download any Kindle book to PDF for free.

    STEP 1 – Download and Install Kindle for PC

    The first thing you need is to download and install Kindle for PC on your computer. You can do that by typing ‘Kindle for PC’ in your internet browser.

    Or, you can also find the same by typing ‘Kindle Download’ in the Amazon Search bar. You will have to click the topmost result of the search, as shown in the image down below.

    DOWNLOAD KINDLE BOOKS TO PDF - FOCUS24 BOOK CLUB

    After clicking on ‘Download Now’ you will have another screen pop up in front you. Click on ‘Download for PC and Mac’ as shown with the arrow. After you click on that, a file will start downloading.

    DOWNLOAD KINDLE BOOKS TO PDF - FOCUS24 BOOK CLUB

    Once the download has completed, you will have a setup icon shown in the downloaded files. 

    Now you need to install the ‘Kindle for PC’ from that setup file. By clicking on that and clicking on ‘agree’ to the terms and conditions, your installation process will have begun.

    By the completion of the installation process, there should have appeared a ‘Kindle Icon’ on the desktop of your PC.

    KINDLE ICON ON DEKSTOP - DOWNLOAD KINDLE BOOKS TO PDF - FOCUS24 BOOK CLUB

    STEP 2 – Download Kindle Book from Amazon

    Now, once the Kindle software has been installed into the PC. You need a Kindle book to convert into PDF. If you did not have Kindle before, there must be no books in the library of your kindle.

    As a first step, we need to get the book we want to convert to be shown in our Kindle library. For that, you need to visit Amazon again.

    Type ‘Free Kindle Books’ in the search bar of Amazon.com, as shown below.

    DOWNLOAD KINDLE BOOKS TO PDF - FOCUS24 BOOK CLUB

    You will have to select the book of your choice. As we are just going through the ‘free books’ only, the range of choice might not be very diverse.

    Click on the book that you are interested in converting into PDF. Select ‘By Now’ and ‘Deliver Other Device’. If you have logged into your account, this will deliver the selected book into your Kindle library.

    Now, the book you selected must have been delivered in your Kindle app. You can open your Kindle app and locate the book that you just downloaded.

    You need to have a quick scan of the file to ensure that you have downloaded the correct book and not some book summary or synopsis.  

    Step 3 – Download ‘Atomi System’ Software Into Your PC

    After you have got your required book in Kindle. Now, you need software to convert the Kindle format into video first. Software like Atomi System are used to carry out the screen recordings.  

    You can also use other similar software to record the screen by opening the book at ‘full-screen’ and clicking on the next page one by one after a second gap.

    It is important to skip to the next page of the book after a set interval of time i.e 1 second, because this will help us in getting automatic screenshots of the video. That will be discussed in next step.

    Having completed the book from start to end, stop the recording. Download the video from the software onto your PC.

    By now, you must have a screen recording of the book, having displayed each of the pages for one second or so.

    Step 4 – Convert Video / Images Into PDF

    Now, first we need to convert video into jpg images first, and then convert those images will be converted into PDF. For both these tasks, you need separate software for each of the tasks. Both the software can be downloaded from ‘https://heyletslearnsomething.com/‘

    DOWNLOAD KINDLE BOOKS TO PDF - FOCUS24 BOOK CLUB

    Download and Install both the software.

    First, you need to convert the video into JPG by using ‘videos to jpg converter’. This software will allow you to get automatic screenshots of the video at the set interval of time.

    As your time for clicking the ‘next page’ of the book while recording the video was 1 second, you will select the same here. Through this software, you can acquire JPG images of all the pages of the book in 1 click.

    You will not need to click each of the screenshots manually. The software will automatically click the images from the video after each 1-second interval.

    Now, you can download all the images from the video into a folder. Give a quick overview to all images to see if there are duplicate images i.e, more than one image of 1 page, you should delete the duplicate images.

    Now open ‘JPG to PDF’ software. Drag all the images of the book into the software. And you will be able to download the pdf file from the software.

    That is how we can download Kindle books to pdf.

  • IT ENDS WITH US – STORY OF ROMANCE & ABUSE

    IT ENDS WITH US – STORY OF ROMANCE & ABUSE

    It Ends with us - Focus24 Book Club

    It Ends With Us Story – Summary

    Lily is a 14-year-old cute girl who saves her school friend from dying in an abandoned house. She finds him living in that building because his parents threw him out of the house. She decides to secretly help Atlas.  She allows him to visit her house when parents are away, gives him food and clothing.

    Lily helps Atlas survive cold, hunger, and helplessness. After some time, Atlas had to depart from Maine to Boston, and later on, plans to join the military. He promises Lily to return to her once he is stable in his life. On the night of Atlas’s departure, both get caught by Lily’s father in her room. Atlas get beaten so badly.

    Lily’s father is very abusive to her mother. She beats and abuses her regularly, which is hard for Lily to witness. She hated her mother for staying with such a guy. But her mother doesn’t dare to part ways with her husband because she is concerned about Lily’s future.

    Finally, after years of abuse and beatings, Lily’s mother divorces her husband. Having seen her mother’s miserable life, Lily promises herself never to have anyone in her life who would treat her like her mother had been treated.

    Unfortunate for Lily, a guy named Ryle comes into her life. Ryle seems to be a sober and successful neurosurgeon. Having a couple of dates with him, she decides to marry him. When the day of her marriage is near, her childhood love Atlas returns to her life, after over 8 years.

    However, realizing that Lily was happy with her to-be-husband, he does not tell her the truth. He hides from her that he had been waiting for the past 8 years.

    Atlas has become a very successful chef and restaurant owner in Bostson. Though Atlas was single up to that point with the expectation of getting Lily back into his life sometimes. But, he doesn’t tell the same to Lily as he does not want to spoil her marriage plans.

    Lily marries Ryle, and she does not take much time to know that he is just as abusive as her father was. Ryle leaves no chance of beating Lily, and she even had to have stitches in her head from the beatings of her husband.

    Lily gets pregnant with a baby girl. There comes a critical time in her life where she had to decide either to continue forgiving her husband and face the abusiveness like her mother had to – or part ways for her daughter’s future sake.  

    Lily, thinking of her newborn baby, remembers all the horrors she had to go through seeing her mother handling an abusive husband. She does not want her daughter to go through all that she had to go through.

    Atlas tells Lily that his doors would always remain open to welcome her. Lily gathers the courage to divorce her husband so that her daughter does not have to suffer the way she had to. She says to her daughter at that moment ‘IT ENDS WITH US’.

    About The Book

    “In the past, I’ve always said I write for entertainment purposes only. I don’t write to educate, persuade or inform. This book is different.” Author Colleen Hoover

    According to Colleen Hoover, unlike the rest of the novels, this novel resonates with her actual life more than any other. She reveals that ‘Lily’ character was inspired by her mother. The author’s mother had an abusive husband, and the family had to suffer a lot together. Until her mother gathered the courage to leave her husband for a better person.

    ‘It Ends With Us’ answers all of our questions as to why women are unable to get out of abusive relationships. Being the eye-witness of the thoughts and excuses of women, the author has portrayed the characters in a very beautiful way.

    It Ends With Us Movie

    A movie is too short to cover an entire novel, and it sometimes feels bad to have missed our your favorite part of the novel in the movie. However, it is treat to eyes to have read novel ‘it ends with us’ and watching the movie after that.

    What Is It Ends With Us About?

    It Ends with us is an emotional/romantic story of a woman who falls in love with an abusive man. Although Ryle abuses Lily, but out of love and affection, she is not in a position to end the relationship. She marries him.

    Abuse continues. Lily keeps reminding herself to gather the courage to end it all. But she does not become able to do so until she gives birth to her first daughter. She does not want to give the same atmosphere to her daughter that she had to face – having grown up under an abusive father. She divorces her abusive husband saying to her daughter – it ends with us

    Why Women Spend Life With People Who Abuse Them?

    Because they love them. A woman falls in love with a guy judging him by how he carries himself initially. His real self gets revealed much later. When a woman finds out that the guy she is married to is abusive, it is already too late for her to end it all.

    She tries to save the relationship for the sake of her children. She considers the pain of leaving, greater than that of living in an abusive relationship.

    ‘It ends with us’ is a beautiful story for getting into the heart and feelings of a woman who undergoes situations like this.

    Shortcomings In The Story – It Ends With Us

    The author has been successful in conveying the lessons she wanted to convey. But there are some incidents in the story that are too unrealistic to be true. Like Lily accidentally meeting her school-age love after 8 years, on the exact date when she has been proposed by someone to marry.

    I believe the world is too big to have such incidents happen.

    Another incident is of a woman walking into Lily’s store and getting employed, happening to be the sister of Ryle, whom Lily had made some times back and had a crush on.

    These and a few other twists in the story make us feel that the writer has tried to make up those incidents

    Conclusion

    The Story ‘It Ends With Us’ is a romantic story about women who are trapped in abusive relationships. The story helps us understand the circumstances and thoughts that prevent women from breaking out of those painful relationships. Highly recommended to be read. Grab your copy of ‘IT ENDS WITH US’

  • Ikigai Book Summary – focus24 Book Club

    Ikigai Book Summary – focus24 Book Club

    Ikigai: the Japanese secret to a long and happy life

    Ikigai book cover - Focus24 Book club

    Ikigai book by Sebastian Marshall is a self-help book on the topic of ‘finding the purpose of your being’ & ‘living life according to the purpose’. The Ikigai book breaks several myths of our routine self-help lessons, like the ‘necessity of going into the details’ and ‘slow and steady wins the race’ in an interesting way.

    Ikigai book broke the myth propagated by motivational speakers

    For years, I have been hearing from motivational speakers that I can be whatever I want to be. But talking in terms of reality, that’s not possible. A person cannot be a professional golfer as well as a recognized musician at the same time. There is so much competition in the world that if our attention is diluted amongst more than one task, our chances of becoming best at it are very minimal. One needs to approach the mission with a laser focus.

    BATNA (Best Alternative to Negotiated Agreement)— Concept from Ikigai

    BATNA is a genius strategy in negotiations. It teaches us to keep all the alternatives in mind, ready to be pushed forward if our proposal is not finding the ground. We must not be caught off guard and leave the negotiator with only yes/no option. Map out your proposal three to four steps ahead, before you are in front of your client, boss, or employee.

    ”The ugliest win in the world is superior to the prettiest defeat. You usually don’t want risk losing in order to win a little prettier.”

    Why don’t we pursue our dreams? Ikigai book’s answer on the issue

    According to the author of the book ‘Ikigai: the Japanese secret to a long and happy life’, we don’t pursue our dreams because we know that we won’t be understood. The urge to be liked and to be understood by all around us keeps most of people stuck to their present position.

    It takes courage to make oneself realize that life is too short to seek other people’s acceptance. There is a separate book written on the topic with the title ‘The Courage To Be Disliked’.

    Action first, then Details : Ikigai Book Concept

    Ikigai book by Sebastian Marshall contradicts a lot of trending thoughts on self-help. One of those is about going into the details. We have often heard people saying ‘devil lays in details’, therefore we need focus on each detail before getting started. Ikigai concept says that you must not let details come in the way of taking actions. When the necessity of going into the details comes in the way of action, then skip that part, take the action, and improve along the way.

    Complacency as a bigger threat than failure – Ikigai Book Concept

    Sebastian Marshall believes that the complacency of having achieved the dream is a dangerous killer of ambition than the failure itself. Because having failed at something, there remains a drive within us to get up and try again. Getting satisfied and complacent is a ‘full stop’ to progress.

    Sebastian Marshall gives a simple trick to avoid complacency. He asks to start comparing yourself with the group more competent than you. If your dream was to be the best at the company, and you have achieved that. Now, start looking at the complete industry and set your goals accordingly. Having done that, your existing sense of accomplishment will disappear, and you will begin climbing the new ladder of bigger targets.

    Ikigai book proves through history that pain is inevitable.

    Ikigai book dives deep into the lives of the most influential people in the world. Sebastian Marshall proves that great leadership is the outcome of hindrances that the society raises against you. Greatness is not wrapped up and handed over to you as a gift. It is earned.

    Ikigai Book teaches the value of time

    You might have read in a lot of self-help books, and majority of those do mention the significance of time, but Ikigai book talks about time in the most convincing way. You would learn from the book how to take care of your own as well as other people’s time.

    The ‘luck factor’ according to the book Ikigai

    Sebastian Marshall does not much believe in luck. The author says that if you are prepared for your goal, luck has a strange habit of meeting you halfway. People often deprive somebody’s success by labelling them as a lucky chap. However, we often forget that if the person was not prepared to receive what the luck had to offer, he could not have become successful. The more you walk towards your goal, the luckier you get.

    ‘Want to write a great book? Free yourself to write a bad book first’ – Ikigai book concept

    Author Sebastian Marashall has brilliantly explained the ‘perfectionism’ as a barrier to progress. We want our first product/idea to be the best of all. That is opposite of what the graph to success tells. You have to be imperfect at the beginning to improve the way down. Using the tag of ‘perfectionism’ is a dangerous form of procrastination.

    Major part of your journey towards success will remain unrecognized

    Ikigai book explains that on your way to success, most of the journey would be lonely. People around you are neither aware of your ambitions and nor sure whether you would be able to reach them or not. Once the results start showing up, companionship, assistance, and appreciation also start knocking on your door.

    Is Ikigai a self-help book?

    Yes, Ikigai is a famous self-help book on the Japanese philosophy of finding true happiness. The book helps in understanding the true purpose of life. The author, Sebastian Marshall introduces the readers to the various means of living a happy and purposeful life.

    Is Ikigai a good book?

    Yes, Ikigai is one of the most demanded books in the field of self-help. It helps in clearing the clutter of doubts around us and shows us the path of living a happy and purposeful life.

    Conclusion

    To conclude, Ikigai book by Sebastian Marshall is a highly recommended self-help book. The book teaches a lots of monumental concepts about living a purposeful life. It also washes away various myths about productivity and reveals to the readers the Japanese secrets of living a long and happy life.

  • Good Books To Read : 3 Book Recommendations from 15 Years Of Reading – Focus24 Book Club

    Good Books To Read : 3 Book Recommendations from 15 Years Of Reading – Focus24 Book Club

    Good Books To Read - Focus24 Book Club

    Introduction

    I remember the year 2010 exactly, when winning a speech competition in my school helped me get hooked on books. I was awarded a pack of 7 books as a prize for 1st position in the competition. I don’t remember the titles of all those seven books, but about two I am pretty sure.

    One was ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’ by Stephen R.Covery, and the other one was ‘How To Win Friends & Influence People’ by Dale Carnegie. These two books are the main culprits for making me a book-addicted, hard-to-reach person.

    Not Every Book Is Worth Reading

    I don’t know about rest of the readers, but my gut keeps telling me all the time to write a book. The same happens to many of my friends that have read a couple of dozen books in their lives. Assuming that every reader feels like the same, and some of them do write and publish books. Even then there is a hell lot of traffic of books being published and it is very important for readers to decide what books to read and what not.

    3 x Books Which I Can’t Stop Recommending

    I have been reading on average 20 books a year since 2010 (sometimes more). One of the best favors which I did to myself quite early was keeping the record of the books which I read.

    Over the passage of the time I have developed a huge list of books which not only have I read, but have also written my remarks about.

    It is not very easy to pick and choose from those, but there are three books on the list that I cannot stop recommending at all. Here are these

    How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie

    book cover how to win friends and influence people - Focus24 book club

    I have read this book at least 5 times since I read it first back in 2010. Initially, it was shocking for me to realize that someone could write such a book, which can literally change someone’s life.

     As human being, we tend to resist the ideas that are not in line with our thought. It takes a lot of effort even from our parents and friends to make us realize that we are wrong at certain things.

    However, this book made me realize about a dozen of things that I had been doing wrong. Dale Carnegie has given so many examples in the book from history that one can’t get ahead with the book without having his strong ideas shaken from the roots.

    The book is so much of value that it is worth reading over and over again. We often forget how we have to behave around others, and sometimes forget implementing the lessons from ‘How To Win Friends & Influence People’. Therefore, it is very important to keep reading the book over and over again as time passes by.

    The Richest Man In The Babylon by George Samuel Clason

    book cover 'The richest man in Babylon' focus24 book club

    If you had to ask me the simplest, yet the most effective book on finances, I will surely put forward this book.

    The book is so small that you can finish it cover to cover in one sitting, yet the lessons you will get out of it will remain with you forever.

    Richest Man In The Babylon is over a century old book, but the principles it preaches are as relevant as those were back then. The book is in a story form about a person who teaches people in the Babylon City about finances. He shows them the principles that made him rich over the period of time.

    Klara & The Sun Novel by Kazuo Ishiguro

    book cover 'Klara and the sun' - focus24 book club

    I am completely a non-fiction guy. My complete reading history has revolved around reading non-fiction. I happened to read this book because the author of the book had been awarded ‘Nobel Prize in Literature’.

    However, having read this Novel, I have changed my flavor of reading a lot. More often than not, I pick up novels and other fiction.

    However, having read this Novel, I have changed my flavor of reading a lot. More often than not, I pick up novels and other fiction.

    The point I wanted to convey was that the book was worth reading.

    Klara & The Sun Novel is about a robot named Klara that has feelings just like humans. Klara’s life sees a drastic end as she sacrifices her entire existence for a family that owns her, but later, she gets abandoned to be dismantled.

    Having read Klara & The Sun Novel, we come to realize that even good-hearted people can not reach the level of goodness from robots, if they had feelings.

    Which Book Is A Must-Read

    I would say ‘How To Win Friends & Influence People’ by Dale Carnegie.

    Keeping in view the impact which this book had in my life and the potential it has to impact other lives – I would give this book top position in list of my book recommendations.

    Though ‘Klara & The Sun’ Novel is also good, but for me, it does not reach the level of ‘How To Win Friends & Influence People’ by Dale Carnegie.

    Which Book Will Change My Life

    I will come up with 2 book recommendations to answer this question. The first one would be ‘HOW TO WIN FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE’ by Dale Carngie and the second one would be ‘ATOMIC HABITS’ by James Clear.

    The former book will change your relationships with people around you, and the latter one will take care of your habit-forming issues – both good and bad.

    Having tackled these two issues, you will be a completely transformed person.

    How Can I Choose The Right Book

    Before learning what book is right for you, it is very important to understand the jargon of books you want to read. Two main divisions are fiction and non-fiction. Within these main sections, there are so many sections in which you can find thousands of the books.

    Having chosen the category of the books, it becomes easier to pick the books that are highly recommended by book-bloggers and other active readers.

    Conclusion

    Having read at least 20 books a year over the past 15 years, I believe I am in a position to recommend ‘Good Book To Read’. Here is the priority-wise list of the books that I highly recommend to all book lovers.

    1. How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegies
    2. The Richest Man In The Babylon by George Samuel Clason
    3. Klara & The Sun Novel by Kazuo Ishiguro

  • The Mountain Is You Book Review – Focus24 Book Club

    The Mountain Is You Book Review – Focus24 Book Club

    Book 'The Mountain is You' by Brianna Wiest

    Introduction: The Mountain is you by Brianna Wiest

    Everybody in the world has issues to deal with, and nobody thinks of what I am doing with my life as much as I do. This is the simplest message of Brianna Wiest’s book The Mountain is You. The book falls into the category of self-help books and has the potential to spread the message of living a worry-free life.

    What Is The Book ‘The Mountain Is You’ About

    The book ‘The Mountain is You’ by Brianna Wiest discusses inner conversations that keep most people stuck. It explains the theory behind why we remain blocked at certain points in life by thinking about other people’s opinions about us. We falsely assume that the world around us is thinking and pondering about us all the time. ‘The Mountain is You’ by Brianna Wiest explains that everybody in the world is so concerned about their own issues of life that they seldom think about us.

    For What Type of Readers is the Book ‘The Mountain is You’ by Brianna Wiest about?

    The book ‘The Mountain is You’ by Brianna Wiest is primarily a self-help productivity book. The book is highly recommended for a person who is strongly willing to change his/her current job, status, or place. The book gives a deep insight into the reasons of not being able to take the decisions because of assumed perception of the people around us. The book convinces the readers that other people’s opinions should be the least cause of worry to you. The way we do not spare a separate bracket of time from our routine to think about others, similarly, nobody has put us on their priority of thought.

    What Does The Title Of The Book ‘The Mountain is You’ by Brianna Wiest Mean

    The author Brianna Wiest believes that the mountain is formed because of two pieces of land applying pressure against each other. Eventually, the mountain emerges from the ground. Here is what the author says ”Just as a mountain is formed when two sections of the ground are forced against one another, your mountain will arise out of coexisting but conflicting needs”

    Your Previous Self Is Not Able To Carry You Forward From This Point Onwards

    The author of the book ‘The Mountain is You’ believes that it is okay to get rid of your former self, which has brought you up to this point. From this point onwards, you should be committed to becoming the person which you never thought you could become.

    Criticism Comes From Anything Created For Public

    The book ‘The Mountain is You’ explains that the criticism is the outcome of anything that has been created for the public. It portrays that no criticism can be attracted by any dream and idea that has been kept in heart and not shared. So the attracting of criticism is very natural for productive worker. That’s why, the criticism should not be the cause for you not doing anything that you know deep inside is right for you.

    ‘The Mountain is You’ by Brianna Wiest Supports ‘Let Them Go’ Approach

    ‘The Mountain is You’ helps us to understand that not everybody around you needs to understand what you are up to. If you are committed to something, and those around you are who are important to you, are not convinced by your plans and intentions, you will find them on the other side of the success. Not everyone around you needs to assimilate what you are up to.

    ‘The Mountain is You’ Emphasizes on Execution Today, Then The Plans For Tomorrow

    ‘The Mountain is You’ from Brianna Wiest makes us understand how ambitious plans with no emphasis on execution lead us to failure. The author believes that instead of flowery plans and ambitious ideas, what is more important is the progress achieved on that track this very day. Planning and strategy is though important, but beginning of the execution is the ultimate key to getting anything done.

    Intentional Disorganization As an Excuse To Delay Priority Task

    Brianna Wiest has introduced a strange concept in the book, which I did not see in any other self-help book. The author claims that we use disorganized surroundings as a means of procrastinating on important things. Having the atmosphere in a messy shape, our mind gives us every excuse of not being productive because of an un-productive atmosphere. Our mind also tells us that even if at all there is any time left to do something, it should be spent on organizing the surroundings. Resultantly, the actual priority task always remains backstage and never gets priority.

    Seeking Fake ‘Protection’ By Remaining Busy- ‘The Mountain is You’

    This had been a big mystery in my life, which has been cleared by Brianna Wiest. We must have seen some people around who keep themselves busy for no reason. Even if the task has been completed, they would generate a new task out of it but they can’t remain free of work. The author explains this as a way of ‘protection’ from facing society, or sometimes facing our real self. To keep ourselves engaged, we do not let our mind to wander on any of the things which we do not want it to wander on.

    The Behavior of Dopamine Explained

    Brianna Wiest has revealed a strange behavior of dopamine. For a long time, I happened to believe that dopamine gives the pleasure after something is accomplished. In reality, it is the opposite of what happens. The dopamine disappears when you have achieved the thing you wanted. Hence, the function of dopamine is to give you the pleasure of wanting more. It is precisely that very reason that after having accomplished one thing, we begin our race towards the next thing, because we need a continuous rush of dopamine.

    Why People With Extremely High IQ Do Not Fit Into The Society

    Brianna Wiest explains in book ‘The Mountain Is You’ that people with very high IQ do not usually get along with society. Since history, the genius people have been noted to have faced the consequence of the society, while the average people lived their life happily. It is because the genius people look at the life and society with a dimension that average people are not capable of. This offends the people around, and particularly those in power and authority.

    The World Expects You To Carry On No Matter What

    The weirdest thing about the society is that it expects you to carry on with your life no matter how grieved you are. If you lose someone extremely close to you. Giving a few days off and some words of sorrow is all that the world has to offer you. After that, it would be considered abnormal or awkward of you not to get back to the routine. If this is the level of significance which the society has to offer, why do we mold our complete life to please this society!

    If Its Your Genuine Path, The Future Won’t Be Clear

    Book ‘The Mountain Is You’ makes it clear that if the path on which you are on is genuinely your own path, then the destination won’t be clear to you. As you are following a path which has been pawed by your heart and you are not on a path directed by others, it is okay to have an ambiguity about the future. Let yourself be surprised to reach at the destination which you never thought was possible.

    Is ‘The Mountain Is You’ a Christian Book

    One of the repeatedly asked question about book ‘The Mountain Is You’ is a query that whether it is a Christian book. The answer to that is that book ‘The Mountain Is You’ is not associated to any particular religion, color and ethnicity. It is a universal book on self-help.

    Book Summary : The Mountain Is You

    The book is authored by Brianna Wiest and is on the subject of self-help. The book emphasizes on the importance of realization that we are not the sun around whom the world revolves. We unnecessarily stop ourselves from doing the things which we feel are good for us but are unable to do because of possible opinion of the world. The book says that everybody around has their own issues to face, and it is totally unwise to ruin our life because of fear of society’s reactions and remarks.

    Conclusion

    In a nutshell, book ‘The Mountain Is You’ by Brianna Wiest does fall in the category of topline self-help books. Grab your copy of the book by clicking here.