My Reading Corner

I strongly believe that who you will become and where you’ll end up depend on two things:

1. What you read..
2. Who you spend time with.

Below I catalog books I am currently reading and many I have read and found extremely useful and life changing. I hope my postings and comments will entice you to read them (if you haven’t already) enjoy.

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Books I am currently reading..

	Leadership Gold by John C. Maxwell This book was recommended by Graeme as part of a training package for the organization. It has twenty six chapters each with detailed application exercises designed to be a 6 month mentorship program. I am currently going through the book myself before rolling out a program to the team.
	Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus: The Classic Guide to Understanding the Opposite Sex by John Gray Picked this up and the first few chapters reveal some extremely useful tips and great insights. I can recommend this book already.

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Books I’ve finished reading..

	Sequoia-Size Success by Paul E. Tsika This book’s subtitle is “Unlocking your potential for greatness” and is written by World Wide’s spiritual leader. The book is filled with biblical references and passages. Paul relates key characteristics of the giant Sequoia trees with our human success principles. For those with a spiritual bent or Christian background this is a great success principle book. One passage I enjoyed was “Someone remarked that the pursuit of excellence is gratifying and healthy. The pursuit of perfection is frustrating, neurotic, and a terrible waste of time.” 3 Stars!
	The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson This is an absolutely must have/read/share. The book is all about the smallest but daily decisions that transform into a direction. It’s about committing to a life of growth and learning. Jeff talks about how the slight edge is the difference maker. Someone who is committed to a life of growth will make the smallest of decisions everyday to improve, and over time those small things form an undeniable direction. It’s about attitude, its also about being C.O.R.E, a must read for all. 10 Stars!
	As A Man Thinketh by James Allen This book is a small but profound read. It talks about how all things are created in the mind, and how our consistent thoughts plant seeds which create our results. It was not an fast read because much of it is written in old English, however I rate it a must read. One excerpt I like is “A man only begins to be a man when he ceases to whine and revile, and commences to search for the hidden justice which regulates his life.” It speaks to responsibility for your world. 4 Stars!
	The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson This is one of my favorite books to lend out. It’s the story of a man named “Ordinary” who lives in the land of “Familiar” who sets out to chase his big dream. It’s a book of hope, inspiration and a reminder to be more than ordinary, and risk being uncomfortable. The book references Ordinary fighting giants such as Fear, Rejection, Moneyless… It’s a fantastic book to inspire someone and cheer them on. I feel this is a must read/share book. 5 Stars!
	The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman This is a wonderful book to read with your spouse or significant other. The book goes through five different ways that people tend to express love and although all of them are great we each tend to have one “love language” that is our primary. Going through this book, reading each of the five languages with your special someone, talking about them, finding your mates primary language is just a wonderful and helpful investment. 4 Stars!
	Overcoming Time Poverty by Bill Quain Haha, what a great book! I bought this book because I found myself always saying “I don’t have time”. In the first chapter, in the first paragraph it says: You probably bought this book because you find you never have time and you are hoping this book can show you ways to be more efficient and get more accomplished. If that is the case take it back and get a refund. !! Wow! I thought uh oh that’s me. However the book focuses on not getting more efficient at doing things, but rather doing the right things. The more I get involved in my projects and the busier things get the more I understand this wisdom. Bill states on the reverse side of the book that most people work for money, and because they want more money they throw more time at it. Instead of investing time in getting money, invest time in getting equity. A must read for anyone who wants to be free financially and time wise. 5 Stars!
	Awaken The Giant Within by Anthony Robbins In this book Robbins has really simplified the techniques to some simple concepts. This book is a much simpler read and is more to the point although lacking in detail (for those of us that like details and strategy ). This book will give you a high level why you do what you do, focusing on values, beliefs questions and identity. It allows you to start asking the questions about how you are put together in a straight forward and easy to understand way. I really like when Robbins boils it all down to a simple statement. “If you’re not succeeding it’s because of the story you tell yourself.” I find this such a simple yet profound statement. It’s fascinating when you really analyze it.
	Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins Robbins has been a HUGE influence in my life. I was introduced to him through a set of tapes lent to me by a friend. I have since ordered many of his tape programs, been to many workshops and have plans to attend Mastery University. Unlimited Power is a great book to teach techniques for internal and external success in communication. I say communication because it’s really your internal communication that drives your behavior. This book gets really detailed about technique and strategy. I highly recommend reading and studying this book as a background for many other things. 4 Stars!
	The Structure of Magic: A Book About Language and Therapy by Richard Bandler and John Grinder This is a book is a MUST have! The book explains a language dissecting technique which has been the most useful of any communications tool I have ever used. The Meta-Model allows you to work with language that others offer you (or even more exciting, your own language) and in minutes allows you to find patterns and shortcomings (gaps in language which ultimately expose gaps in thinking). Through “repairing” or asking for the language gaps to be filled, the thought gap is also affected immediately. Anyone who would like better understand people instantly; enjoys helping people, values improved communication or just likes to be fascinated by how people think and behave should study this book. And yes it’s a studier, it’s written clinical readers almost like a text book. This book has given me an unlimited fascination with words. 5 Stars!!
	Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman This is the follow-up to the previous book; it goes further into concepts of energy, higher self and faith. It’s a natural next read. Though not quite as life altering as the first book I would still recommend it as a chaser. 3 Stars!
	Way of the Peaceful Warrior: A Book That Changes Lives by Dan Millman A book that changes lives, boy that is an understatement. This was the first “personal development” book ever given to me. It was lent to me by my martial arts teacher Bryan. This book is a wonderful book that really will change your life. Its written as a story so its very easy and fun to read. The messages are delivered as part of the story. This book will give you a perspective on life which is “in the moment” where there is no mind only action. Through being in the moment life takes on a whole world of new sounds, colors, joy and yes… a peace. Highly recommended this one I give 5 stars!