Just Stop. And Think.
I have worked for myself for almost 20 years now, and the general (b)rule has been to work, work, work because it’s all about the hustle. And if you’re not hustling you’re not doing it right. Before that, I always kept myself busy: I had my day job and then my hobbies – like dancing – and other pursuits such as running role-playing clubs, or a side gig such as web design (which actually became my first solo business). I fill moments between activities with audiobooks nowadays, time I used to fill with music. It’s become more intense and I have succumbed to workaholism and the (b)rule of being always…
How to Become Extraordinary by Design
I seem to be immersed in the Mindvalley approach to living at the moment. I am studying an old Extraordinary by Design course which, I think, was supplemental material from when I bought the Code of the Extraordinary Mind when it was first released. It has taken me some time to get around to it! The course is broken into 12 modules, each reflecting the 12 areas of life we should all seek to improve ourselves in, set goals in, and seek balance in. To live a fulfilling life we should seek to balance the 12 areas and, by doing so, often find more opportunities arise and more abundance manifests…
The Code of the Extraordinary Mind: 10 Unconventional Laws
I first read The Code of the Extraordinary Mind when it was released in 2016 and have both the Kindle and Audible versions. One for reading on the go, and the other for more detailed study. After reading The Buddha and the Badass, I thought it was time to revisit the work and get to grips with the concepts in a more internalised way. One of the excellent ideas behind this book is the inclusion of an online experience which is much greater than your traditional book bonuses which many books now provide links to. Vishen and his Mindvalley team created an online set of materials at Mindvalley that support…
The Buddha and the Badass: The Secret Spiritual Art of Succeeding at Work
The Buddha and The Badass Audiobook Review Ken Wilber popularized the importance of worldviews in his work on integral theory. You can simplify his work and determine that most people will fall in one of the four following worldview categories. Depending on your worldviews certain aspects of this book will appeal to you and others might affront you. You could be a rationalist. In which case you’ll love the business ideas in this book but scoff when I speak of the magic of the mind, intuition, or listening to your soul. You could be a traditionalist. In which case you’ll love anything that reminds you of your spiritual beliefs but…
What It Takes to Be Free
The book popped up as a recommendation and I had not come across Darius before taking a chance on this book. What I discovered was a succinct journey into yourself to help you achieve your own personal freedom, however you may define it. The book is in three parts: Awareness, The Price, and The Plan. The third part is the magic ingredient in this book. Awareness The first part talks about what happiness is and what it takes of ourselves to be able to set out on the road to personal freedom. Each chapter is short and to the point. The first question is simply “What is freedom?” and the…
The Motivation Manifesto: 9 Declarations to Claim Your Personal Power
Narrated by Brendon, this audiobook is akin to having a pep-talk from the author himself. He encourages you to rise above mediocrity and reclaim your personal power and strive to make a difference in the world, at whatever level this means for you. He covers similar ground to other books of this ilk, so you will find some of it familiar territory if you read in this genre, but his choice of language and delivery in the audiobook is inspiring and a very deliberate ‘manifesto’ in the real sense that you can use as the template for your amazing life. Having listened to it twice now (and I will again…
Life’s Golden Ticket – A Story About Second Chances
I have followed the work of Brendon Burchard since the beginning of 2019 when I joined his transformation week and started learning more about myself and his high-performance methodology. I have taken a few of his courses and watched his YouTube videos, read his High-Performance Habits book and bought the planner of the same name. But none of it really stuck until I stumbled upon this parable – a fictionalized account of one man’s journey through a “theme park of life” after being implored by his dying fiancée to go and discover it for himself. So why was this book so different? It’s a story, and I like stories. I…
Think & Grow Rich
In this video summary from the 2000 Books channel on YouTube, Mani Vaya presents a great overview and distillation of the book. The main points are presented succinctly and with enough depth to understand the key elements that yield success – and this is not just financial, but also personal. Think & Grow Rich is one of the foundation books in this genre that has been recommended over and over again, and much of what is presented today by the many modern coaches, speakers and trainers are essentially different versions of the contents of this book with their own angles and nuances. This video summary talks about how we can…
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams and Reaching Your Destiny
Another excellent book. The more I read books designed to help us lead a better, more fulfilled and thus successful life, the more I see the same patterns emerging. The patterns (or tenets) are at the core of 99% of all the personal development courses and underly everything that the majority of high profile (et al) trainers deliver. However, if you’re like me, you won’t get it all from a single book. You might not get it from 100 books. But, if you’re like me, reading different perspectives on the same fundamental principles helps cement the truth of those core building blocks. Each of the stories in this book (and…
Living the Full Life
In business and in life, a passion for fitness plays a huge role in the life of Yash Birla, the 44-year-old chairman of the Yash Birla Group. The business magnate boasts a physique that most captains of industry can’t, and with his latest venture — a fitness DVD called 100% Living — he’s hoping to share his philosophy of wellness with others. Yash tells us that for him, 100 per cent living isn’t just a business concept, it’s a way of life. “100 per cent living is something you follow every single day: You do something to have a healthy body (exercise), something to have a healthy mind (contemplation or…
Transformational Life & Business Coaching by Edward Terry
