What book are you reading? Right now. Post up!

[Kevin88660]

I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

What areas outside of business and self help interest you? Any topics you want to learn more about? Explore there.

Not necessarily books for me.

Youtube channel Caspian report is a good one on geopolitics.

Geopolitics is just a more professional approach of strategizing that is applicable for personal development and interpersonal relationships or even business.

 

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[DMass]

I'm constantly rereading Unscripted almost daily.

At the moment Im focusing on Marketing so I'm reading Seth Godins Purple Cow and after that I'll be reading the 22 Laws of Marketing

 

[charlemagne]

I've got a stack of books by my bed that I'm working through:

Awaken the Giant Within - Tony Robbins (read it before, but recently started reading it again).

An Introduction to Psychology (can't remember by whom, but its the university type handbooks, so it often succeeds in putting me asleep - the theory bits that is).

How life imitates chess - Gary Kasparov (I'm about halfway through this one - was wondering how to become great in chess/life, and this book seemed like a fit).

Successfull Interpersonal Communication - Another handbook (still to start reading it).

How to have kick-a$$ ideas - Chris Barez-Brown. (I'm about 75% through this book, and so far I think it is a great book. It has great exercises, lots of pictures/drawing that makes it an easy read, and is immensely useful in coming up with creative ideas to make the most of your opportunities (a rephrase from 'problems' ).

Your idea can make you rich - Its from the guys who run the Dragon's Den. So far I'm not really impressed as it feels like the 'same-old' entrepreneur advice in a million other books, but I'm not done reading it completely yet, so I might still change my opinion.

The Complete Guide to Flipping Properties - Steve Burgess (I'm still to start reading this one though - I bought it thinking it would be specific to the UK market, but it isnt, so I'll read it further into the future).

Thats it for my currently reading/unread stack next to my bed.

What are you reading?

A farewell to arms - Ernest Hemingway.

Sometimes I need a little break from demolishing biz books/self improvement stuff.

 

[eliquid]

Right now, none.

As much as I love books and reading, I switched over to digesting my information via YouTube. I look at it as gobbling up "chapters" instead of whole books when I learn on YouTube. Plus I can play at faster speed or skip sections in the video as needed to get to the parts I want to know about.

 

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[ZF Lee]

Get Sh*t Done by Jeffrey Gitomer.

(he also wrote The Little Red Book of Selling, another hit)

Probably the first book in a LONG time I managed to read entirely cover-to-cover.

While it's real weird that I am reading another productivity book, instead of something else MORE technical, I picked it up because I was in a very bad funk. I was sick like a dog, family and sibling problems sucking my mojo...and basically whatever work I had left on my plate felt SO burdensome that I procrastinated a lot.

Jeffrey's book is not as elegant as Atomic Habits or many other habits/productivity book, but it surprisingly gave me some gems. I started working on them immediately:

'Switch from a NIGHT person to a MORNING person. and, assuming you go to bed sober, your productivity will double'

I realised I was either revenge-procrastinating (i.e. using late nights for my leisure after busy days) or doing too much of my work at night, till as late as 3-4am! Then I would wonder WTF happened when I woke up on late mornings and still feel like shit...or even got little done.

So last week I started sticking to a regular bedtime. By 11pm-12am, I am to be in bed.

While I didn't become super-productive just like that, I noticed I could wake up by 7-8am without an alarm clock! I could also find myself doing morning Bible study or starting up more writing work. And suddenly it felt as if I had 'more' time to get things done. Sure I still have a lot of stuff on my plate...but for once, they felt more doable.

I'm not sure how to manage Western clients, who have calls at late night.
Perhaps I could just keep their meetings to just a few mins on a few particular nights, then just go back to bed and finish up the work in the day.


'If you LOVE doing it, you will procrastinate less'
For this, I felt a bit troubled, considering how I couldn't exactly find joy in doing a lot of things, especially house chores and cooking home-cooked meals. In fact, hatred of the latter was having me order delivery too many times, till my tummy started growing fat...

Then I reflected and realised I could LOVE the results of the effort. The new person or new state of living that would turn out, once I took action.

In the case of house chores, didn't I love a fresh place?
Or if I had visitors or the parents came by, wouldn't I love it for them to be impressed?

Yesterday I started cooking pork soup, and it tasted GREAT. It was my first time cooking a full meal in months. It did me good to know the food I made also wasn't going to make me fat or unhealthy, since I picked my own ingredients and vege for it.

It was a simple resumption of some positive habits, but for me, it felt like everything.

I started thinking 'What else can I cook tomorrow'!


'Study fundamentals'
Jeremy's thoughts on solving problems was there were usually 2-3 simple things that went wrong behind the scenes.

It started me thinking questions like:
'Why am I writing slower? Which point in time or action that gets me slower during my writing?'
'What exactly on that sales call did I say that turned him off? Something I missed talking about? Did it come to haunt me back later in that project?'

Basically I started thinking about the basic ingredients that made up the results or work I wanted to get done.

Many of these questions did not give me answers right away.

But I realised that now SOMETHING can be done. I didn't need to procrastinate and delay out of fear.
SOMETHING can be done.


'It's not about time management, but TIME ALLOCATION'
From what I understood it, it was wrong of me to pathetically think of time as a scarce resource, and that 'I'm so doomed, I can't do many things with the little time I have...'.

That was a scarcity mindset, which begats more scarcity.

Time is not infinite, sure. But the word 'allocate' seemed to spark something in me.
Made me realise 'time' was like soldiers I could deploy out into the battlefield. The same way like money for the Paycheck Pot.

All I needed to do was to point out which activities I could WIN at (those that get me closer to my goals), and just spend the time there.

Honestly, it's shameful that a longtime Fastlaner like me has to sink so low like this.
But it's like what Jeremy said in Takeaway 3...study back the fundamentals to get back up to speed.

 

[starttoday123]

For a while Ive been trying to figure out the difference between books I’m obsessed with and books I can’t stand but I had no idea why, and these two quotes show the difference. This quote by Ryan Holiday whose books I can’t stand is full of elusive jargon aka “must” and “we must” which assumes the reader agrees with him (so cringy) and he just says things that sound smart and yet, he’s not actually saying much at all here and in so much of his books that’s truly original. Versus in this Michelle Obama quote every sentence is full of fascinating insights and she’s very clear with what she means by her use of incredible vocabulary. It’s her view and not anyone else’s in the world. Ryan Holidays is indeciferable because it’s so impersonal.

 

[MitchC]

---

I’ve just finished Corporate Turnaround Artistry by Jeff Sands

Amazing book by someone who has been there done that a bunch of times.

I think it should be required reading for anyone who wants to grow a big business.

It is for people who are needing a turnaround but I think everyone should read it so they are aware of how things can go wrong and try to avoid that situation in the first place.

The dedication is cool

“To all the capitalists who serve humanity. May we have the courage to ensure the capitalism continues to serve humanity.”

Key takeaways: (not specifically things he’s said but things I took away)

It’s mostly applicable to USA but still applies everywhere. Be really careful with wages, personal guarantees and tax bills. You can’t wind the company up and avoid them.

Everyone wants to keep all their suppliers happy and making a good margin but there comes a point where everyone is making money except you.

You need to watch expenses ruthlessly.

Keep stacking your money and keep the business at the size it needs to be. If it needs to become smaller that’s where a turnaround comes in.

Everyone thinks they can’t increase prices but they can. Everything thinks they can’t cut costs but they can.

Average companies are around 10-20% net profit which means the difference between a profitable company, a really profitable one and one that’s losing money is a few % points here and there with wages purchases and pricing.

Here is the last section, I think it’s a good summary.

Spoiler: Summary outro

If this was a book on boxing technique, you would now know exactly what to do when you step in the ring - and almost assuredly you would get beat up when you did. Although I can share the strategy and tactics of the turnaround game, what can't be taught in a book is the subtle artistry of the fight.

When to bob, when to weave, when to just take the hits and when to attack. Boxers train daily and for years to hone their craft, and eventually they do more giving than receiving in the ring. Meanwhile, business owners or executives are more like mugging victims. They are not honed and trained like boxers, they are soft and distracted, dropping a trail of coins as they wander into bad neighborhoods.

And when it's over, most entrepreneurs will take all those lessons and make sure to never go near that neighborhood again. It's what I recommend; be really good at what you do and avoid trouble at all costs. That's a really safe way to steer clear of future turnarounds and all the heartache they cause.

Another option is to assume that the business world is full of bad neighborhoods and that the only security you can ever really have is in developing your street fighting skills. That rakes reps, not reading. It takes getting out of your comfort zone and getting scraped up along the way.

I don't think successful entrepreneurs are the ones who make it out safely with a clean uniform. Instead, the successful entrepreneurs are the ones who thrive in the mayhem, who give as hard as they get, who protect those who need protec-tion, and can welcome the day's tumult with a big smile.

Nothing endures but change.

Heraclitus

His examples are mostly manufacturing businesses and the like. Very cool to read about.

Right up @Kak alley.

I did find it a little depressing reading a book about turning a business around rather than scaling or something motivational and sexy, made me feel in that mindset like mine needed one, maybe it does, there’s lots I took that I can apply to my business.

 

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[Isaac Odongo]

Curtain by Agatha Christie.

 

[Isaac Odongo]

A farewell to arms - Ernest Hemingway.

What a novel.

Reading or read Mystery of the Blue Train
The ABC Murders

 

[Vasudev Soni]

Recently finished reading The Lean Startup, great book.

Currently reading Zero to Sold by Arvid Kahl.

 

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[Isaac Odongo]

Recently finished reading The Lean Startup, great book.

Currently reading Zero to Sold by Arvid Kahl.

You might as well read The 7 Day Startup by Dan Norriss.

Today I am reading everything I can get my hands about AI. The journey in the industry is bounding forward.

 

[Vasudev Soni]

You might as well read The 7 Day Startup by Dan Norriss.

Today I am reading everything I can get my hands about AI. The journey in the industry is bounding forward.

All the best for your journey. The innovations in the AI industry are growing exponentially fast. I am also thinking about starting some AI related startup.

 

[Isaac Odongo]

All the best for your journey. The innovations in the AI industry are growing exponentially fast. I am also thinking about starting some AI related startup.

I am just reading to see if there's a gap to filled. A problem to solve.

 

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[MakeItHappen]

I started to read biographies. Finished with a biography of Winston Churchill and now reading a biography of Fidel Castro.

 

[Vasudev Soni]

I started to read biographies. Finished with a biography of Winston Churchill and now reading a biography of Fidel Castro.

I have read the biography of Phil Knight. The book called ‘Shoe Dog’. It was awesome.

 

[ExistingExpert]

UNSCRIPTED by MJ DeMarco. I also got the audiobook of UNSCRIPTED : The Great Rat Race Escape so I will begin listening to that after I finish reading this one.

 

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[Yussef]

All Audible Books That Are Worth Multiple Listens!

10 Pillars of Wealth: Alex Becker
Rich 20 Something : Daniel Dipiazza (good for the young and aspiring)

( Sorry in advance MJ but it would be a gross injustice of me if I didn't mention my absolute favorite and this one is special because of who wrote it and who narrates it. It always gets me back on track when I feel like I am veering off course or get distracted)

The Teachings of Napolean Hill: The Law of Success The Lost Prosperity Secrets of Napolean Hill The Magic Ladder To Success: Narrated by Jim Rohn

This is Jim Rohn narrating and footnoting Napolean Hills' teachings. It's rocket fuel being poured on a Nuclear Reactor in the middle of Death Valley. This thing is straight fire man!

It's psychology, mindset, introspective, forecasting, anecdotal and evergreen.

Don't ban me MJ, you and I go too far back! I had to do it.

 

[Isaac Odongo]

Bigger Leaner Stronger, The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Male Body by Michael Matthews

 

[Shono]

Mistakes were made (but not by me)

 

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[Runum]

Generations, by Dr. Jean M. Twenge. The book has a lot of citations to support her observations. The book compares/contrasts Silents, Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, and Polars. Chapter 8 has predictions about our future as a society, politically, socially, and economically. Would be good read for people creating business, HR people, and marketers.

 

[GoldenGlow]

I'm reading Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

 

[Mr.Aditya@1]

I've got a stack of books by my bed that I'm working through:

Awaken the Giant Within - Tony Robbins (read it before, but recently started reading it again).

An Introduction to Psychology (can't remember by whom, but its the university type handbooks, so it often succeeds in putting me asleep - the theory bits that is).

How life imitates chess - Gary Kasparov (I'm about halfway through this one - was wondering how to become great in chess/life, and this book seemed like a fit).

Successfull Interpersonal Communication - Another handbook (still to start reading it).

How to have kick-a$$ ideas - Chris Barez-Brown. (I'm about 75% through this book, and so far I think it is a great book. It has great exercises, lots of pictures/drawing that makes it an easy read, and is immensely useful in coming up with creative ideas to make the most of your opportunities (a rephrase from 'problems' ).

Your idea can make you rich - Its from the guys who run the Dragon's Den. So far I'm not really impressed as it feels like the 'same-old' entrepreneur advice in a million other books, but I'm not done reading it completely yet, so I might still change my opinion.

The Complete Guide to Flipping Properties - Steve Burgess (I'm still to start reading this one though - I bought it thinking it would be specific to the UK market, but it isnt, so I'll read it further into the future).

Thats it for my currently reading/unread stack next to my bed.

What are you reading?

I am currently reading personal MBA

 

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[siema2008]

I'm currently reading Personality Isn't Permanent by Benjamin Hardy, really interesting so far.
I also recently finished reading One Plus One Equals Three by Dave Trott, a set of short stories containing simple lessons about creative thinking, and Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, a very brief story about adapting to change.

 

[Epynok]

Deep Work by Cal Newport -
It explores the world renowned productivity concept of "Deep Work". This will help me in my journey as an entrepreneur!
Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey -
I got the book to help me in my studies and defeat Instant Gratification.
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy -
It has got 1000+ pages. 1000+. It is a book on the effects of war on Russian Societies.
There are many more I could write about but those were the books I am reading right now.

 

[nopalmer]

Generations, by Dr. Jean M. Twenge. The book has a lot of citations to support her observations. The book compares/contrasts Silents, Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, and Polars. Chapter 8 has predictions about our future as a society, politically, socially, and economically. Would be good read for people creating business, HR people, and marketers.

This is something I must read, thanks for sharing!

 

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[Superfinch]

I'm constantly rereading Unscripted almost daily.

At the moment Im focusing on Marketing so I'm reading Seth Godins Purple Cow and after that I'll be reading the 22 Laws of Marketing

I also found myself after reading Unscripted , referring to it very frequently, sort of like a handbook for fastlane entrepreneurship. At the moment I'm also reading See, Solve, Scale by Danny Warshay.

 

[Amir Papi]

I've got a stack of books by my bed that I'm working through:

Awaken the Giant Within - Tony Robbins (read it before, but recently started reading it again).

An Introduction to Psychology (can't remember by whom, but its the university type handbooks, so it often succeeds in putting me asleep - the theory bits that is).

How life imitates chess - Gary Kasparov (I'm about halfway through this one - was wondering how to become great in chess/life, and this book seemed like a fit).

Successfull Interpersonal Communication - Another handbook (still to start reading it).

How to have kick-a$$ ideas - Chris Barez-Brown. (I'm about 75% through this book, and so far I think it is a great book. It has great exercises, lots of pictures/drawing that makes it an easy read, and is immensely useful in coming up with creative ideas to make the most of your opportunities (a rephrase from 'problems' ).

Your idea can make you rich - Its from the guys who run the Dragon's Den. So far I'm not really impressed as it feels like the 'same-old' entrepreneur advice in a million other books, but I'm not done reading it completely yet, so I might still change my opinion.

The Complete Guide to Flipping Properties - Steve Burgess (I'm still to start reading this one though - I bought it thinking it would be specific to the UK market, but it isnt, so I'll read it further into the future).

Thats it for my currently reading/unread stack next to my bed.

What are you reading?

Currently reading The Millionaire Fastlane and that's how I found this website. After I finish this one I plan to read other MJ books. if anyone knows related books let me know here. Thanks a lot

 

[Chrisrod2597]

I've got a stack of books by my bed that I'm working through:

Awaken the Giant Within - Tony Robbins (read it before, but recently started reading it again).

An Introduction to Psychology (can't remember by whom, but its the university type handbooks, so it often succeeds in putting me asleep - the theory bits that is).

How life imitates chess - Gary Kasparov (I'm about halfway through this one - was wondering how to become great in chess/life, and this book seemed like a fit).

Successfull Interpersonal Communication - Another handbook (still to start reading it).

How to have kick-a$$ ideas - Chris Barez-Brown. (I'm about 75% through this book, and so far I think it is a great book. It has great exercises, lots of pictures/drawing that makes it an easy read, and is immensely useful in coming up with creative ideas to make the most of your opportunities (a rephrase from 'problems' ).

Your idea can make you rich - Its from the guys who run the Dragon's Den. So far I'm not really impressed as it feels like the 'same-old' entrepreneur advice in a million other books, but I'm not done reading it completely yet, so I might still change my opinion.

The Complete Guide to Flipping Properties - Steve Burgess (I'm still to start reading this one though - I bought it thinking it would be specific to the UK market, but it isnt, so I'll read it further into the future).

Thats it for my currently reading/unread stack next to my bed.

What are you reading?

The 48 laws of power by Robert Greene

 

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[AllenCrawley]

Currently reading:
Unreasonable Hospitality

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593418573/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

Two previous books which I've devoured, dissected for the past year:
Play Bigger:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062407619/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

Nich Down:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692156798/?tag=tff-amazonparser-20

 

[Isaac Odongo]

The foolishness of thinking that you're a part of the small minority of those who actually will make it past three years and defy the odds is part of what makes entrepreneurs who they are, driven by passion and completely irrational.

~From Start With Why