Book #5: Vote for Next Book Discussion

[MJ DeMarco]

OK, as promised, this month's BOOK DISCUSSION will not take on a strict business topic, but a LIFE mindset, specifically, on dealing with matters of the mind and soul, but in a non-religious fashion.

If we apply the Pareto Principle to life, I believe what you THINK is 80% OF THE BATTLE.

Lets select a book that can help us in this area ... specifically, our INTERNAL DIALOGUES, OUR NARRATIVES, our voice that is our perpetual nagging roommate in the kitchen of our heads.

For myself, I intend to read ALL of these books (already read 2 of them and recommend them both.)

 

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[luniac]

can't wait!

 

[Guest64655]

Hey,

I have only read The Power of Now two years ago and it helped me. But I haven't constantly applied the main ideas, that I have also found on other books about Buddhism, in my life... I probably need it.

The other books seem interesting, so I'm not sure if I can vote, since I haven't read them and would probably benefit to hear about them.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

so I'm not sure if I can vote, since I haven't read them and would probably benefit to hear about them.

That's the point, vote on what you'd like to read and discuss here.

 

[Guest64655]

That's the point, vote on what you'd like to read and discuss here.

Oups... Done.

 

[Jello]

Voted for The Chimp Paradox: Mind Management

 

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[Tommo]

I have read The Power of Now, Mans Search for Meaning and started The Chimp Paradox. Voting for Viktor Frankl as he went through extreme reality in the worst possible place to realize the power of mindset behind surviving and thriving.

 

[Tommo]

On a side note I thought one book was called The Untethered Soul Singer, like Marvin Gaye,Smokey and Aretha, I know but I can't help it,if I didn't say it @G-Man would.

 

[ErinStephens]

That's the point, vote on what you'd like to read and discuss here.

I have read the Unteathered Soul.......good book gotta read it a couple times to get the depth of it.....mind blowing if you let it. I have also read The Power of Now (also New Earth) both also great books. I am really interested in the Mind Management one!

 

[Siddhartha]

I read a good chunk of the power of now, it had some powerful mindfulness techniques for promoting a sense of well-being; but I felt like it could also blunt my aspiration and motiviation to make something of myself.

Holographic universe was also interesting but didn't hold up too well to the fact-checking I did. Biocentrism and Beyond biocentrism were a bit better when it came to a discussion of your existence at odds with physical and quantum reality imo.

 

[Primeperiwinkle]

Did any of the authors survive something horrific besides Frankl? I’m inclined to want to read about the one guy who has been through hell and seen the other side for advice rather than the others..

 

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[Isaac Oh]

Oh wow, you have some awesome books on that list.
Holographic universe is a book I tried to tackle a year or so ago but the concepts were too radical for me at the time. Gonna give it another go in the near future.
It's probably too long for a month's read but Peter Ralston's The Book of Not Knowing is considered the bible of enlightenment.
It's a rollercoaster of a book that shattered my perception of reality. Highly recommended and approx 600 pages long.
If The Power of Now is a gust of wind, The Book of Not Knowing is a tornado; and I loved The Power of Now.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Did any of the authors survive something horrific besides Frankl?

Not really. Tolle had a moment of suicidal thoughts but nothing on the level of Frankl.

 

[Olimac21]

Man´s search for meaning is so good, looking forward to discuss one of my favorites books of all time.

 

[Primeperiwinkle]

Not really. Tolle had a moment of suicidal thoughts but nothing on the level of Frankl.

Thank you, I’m crossing my fingers for this one then!

 

[luniac]

changed my vote for frankl

 

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[Primeperiwinkle]

I agree, I think out of the top three here it's the best one, but I feel that Tolle's would generate a better discussion. Having said that, and looking at the results so far, I've changed my vote to Frankl's just to avoid a discussion on Chimp Paradox.

I'm quite excited about this to be honest - you'll see me quite active on the forum while this is going on.
The thing is, part of the "present moment" shtick that Tolle focuses on works only if you have other larger framework elements in place. Frankl says in The Doctor & The Soul:

"For healthy living is living with an eye to the future. In 'practice' it was often not to difficult to encourage some prisoners by turning their attention towards the future. For example, a conversation with two camp inmates disclosed that both of them were haunted by the feeling that they 'no longer had anything to expect from life'".

Without this directionality towards the future which manifests itself through goals, you lose motivation, and you end up sitting somewhat passively in the present moment, just like Tolle did, on a park bench for ages. You may feel GREAT inside, but this is nothing more than pure hedonism - just like sitting drugged the whole day in your house. Don't get me wrong, focusing on the present moment when engaged in some task, and not daydreaming or aimlessly thinking about the past is a good thing. But it's not enough for peak performance or psychological well-being.

Tolle also glosses over some of the metaphysical aspects of time. For example, it is true that the future & the past exist only in the present moment, but they do exist nevertheless. There is some element of necessity that the past brings about - you cannot retroactively change your past. And that necessity is very real in this present moment, which subsumes under it both past & future.

So while you may, for example by some accident, forget your entire past, you cannot escape its necessity - it still remains your past, whether you psychologically remember it or not, and its consequences remain with you in this present moment. Take the example of a slave from say Roman times. If he gets in an accident and he loses part of his memory, he may no longer remember his past as a slave, but his present is still restricted by the necessity of his past.

I personally find that the existentialists (and I count Frankl amongst them), really did get the core of the human condition right. Man is rooted in his past, but may nevertheless authentically project a different future for himself through his creativity & ingenuity. And in some sense, the future itself is more real than the present, because it is that which directs the present moment, and gives it something to aim at. This orientation towards the future, or what someone like Heidegger would call being-towards-death, is part of what makes the present moment invaluable, and different than the present of a vegetable.

Thank you for this extremely well put explanation. Interestingly enough ever since attempting that Jordan Peterson writing thing.. ugh.. I realize I totally suck at planning for future stuff..

My point is that this book could be a real challenge to my perceptions. Hopefully we’ll get to discuss it!

 

[Olimac21]

For the next book discussion, please lets consider Poor Charlie Almanack, I am reading it at the moment and there is so much to be discussed.

 

[A_Random_Guy]

Could you consider reading Dan Lok's F.U. Money and giving your review on the book?

F.U. Money: Make As Much Money As You Damn Well Want And Live Your LIfe As YOu Damn Well Please!: Lok, Dan: 9781599325743: Amazon.com: Books

F.U. Money: Make As Much Money As You Damn Well Want And Live Your LIfe As YOu Damn Well Please! [Lok, Dan] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. F.U. Money: Make As Much Money As You Damn Well Want And Live Your LIfe As YOu Damn Well Please!

www.amazon.com

It was the first business book that I read. It implies the ideology of thinking rich and having a rich mindset.
He wasn't very specific about job/entrepreneurship nor did he detail his explanations like The Millionaire Fastlane did but I still find both to be similar. Could you please consider reviewing it @MJ

Note: This is a small summary of the book:
1. He introduced the concept of Magic Numbers: Evaluate the worth of your time. Increase your worth $/per hour rate continuously. I am taking an example from YouTube to explain this:
Suppose you want to make $1,000,000 in 3 years.
Suppose you can work for 8hours a day.
Total number of hours worked = 8760
Rate per hour = $1,000,000/8760 = $114
Your Magic number will be $114*3 = $342 because your 8 hours won't be equally efficient and you will only spend 1/3rd of your time working efficiently.
Now, why would you spend an hour mowing the lawn or working at WalMart for much lesser pay?
2. Keep daily income goals (DIG) instead of Monthly/Yearly goals.
3. Try to live a rich lifestyle to get used to it. Move-in rented limousines and book luxurious hotel rooms. Get used to the life of the rich. You can become comfortable and then your mind will be conditioned with the lifestyle of the rich which will bring you closer to your goal.
4. Most of your customers SUCK. 80% of your income comes from 20% of your client. Don't waste your precious time on stupid clients who are replaceable.
5. People don't buy logic. They buy ideas. If you sell a suit for 700$, no matter how many details and features you mention, your customer will be reluctant to buy.
He quotes an incident where he went to a shop and the manager asked him a favor to try a suit. He agreed and tried it. The manager then described how it was the exact suit which Sherlock Holmes wore in a scene in the latest movie. This made him picture himself as Sherlock and he bought the suit immediately. People buy stories.
6. Don't give excuses that money doesn't matter. It does. The rich can choose their lifestyle and how they live while the poor have to struggle to pass days while believing that only by staying poor will they remain happy. "Money doesn't buy happiness is B.S" It does.

For me, his best advice for me was "Don't be a jack of all trades"
Don't have several plans for making your F.U money. The moment you make Plan C, Plan D and so on, you are accepting that your Plan A will fail for sure. You divide your time invested on Plan A and that way you waste your time on pursuing other plans while your competition is solely focused in their game. They will beat you any day.

 

[Hijena1]

Man's search for the meaning - definitely! Such an amazing book, I was blown away with it.

 

[NAVEN23]

Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl is a recommended read.
It subtly teaches one to man up and understand that pain is inevitable.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Poll winner: Man's Search for Meaning by Frankl is the winner.

Will post the BOOK Review thread today. From what I hear, this book can be a bit heavy and rightfully so. I will read it, but I can't say I'm looking forward to it. Holocaust stories always tear me a part.

Chimp Paradox is a close second, that might be worth a read as well.

 

[JunkBoxJoey_JBJ]

I won’t go too far, but you’ll be surprised how he handles your concern. Look forward to it.

 

[MythOfSisyphus]

Been wanting to read man's search for meaning for a while now so I'll join in.