Thursday, December 10, 2015
Audiobook Review: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
I have completed listening to The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change (2004) by Stephen R. Covey. The 20 minute Forward by the author had me enthused that this book was going to be right in my wheelhouse. The book is great but not at all what I expected. This book is almost evangelical with powerful words and intent. The author promised a journey of self-development and personal growth that could result in me being a better spouse, parent, friend, co-worker ..... and he delivered! The book is intriguing, challenging and somewhat intimidating. Live your life with integrity. Integrity is the most fundamental source of personal worth. Personal peace comes when your life is in harmony with true principles and values. What are your personal values, mission and vision? Take ownership. Don't let emotions, impulses and pleasure-seeking subordinate your values. Apply principle-based actions. Be proactive. Make and keep promises. The chapter on your Emotional Bank Account might be the most meaningful and important thing that I have read this year. Habit 5: Seek First To Understand and Then to Be Understood is a crucial life skill which I needed to be reminded of. I need to practice and improve my empathic listening skills. Focus on your circle of influence, the things you can control. Build a better you! Don't blame others or circumstances. You have the freedom to choose how you act and respond. How do you want to be remembered when you have left this planet? Thank you Stephen R. Covey! I highly recommend this book. I wish that I had read it many years ago.
Friday, December 4, 2015
Audiobook Review: The Success Principles - 10th Anniversary Edition CD
I have completed listening to The Success Principles - 10th Anniversary Edition CD: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Jack Canfield and am now beginning to put much of my learning into practice. PMPs note: I claimed and was granted 21.5 PDUs by PMI for listening to this book. Canfield became successful beyond all imagination with the Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books and being profiled in The Secret. Canfield weaves practical, pragmatic and proven business and success advice with a heavy serving of Law of Attraction belief and methodology. The book is rich with interesting anecdotal stories of individual success and constantly refers to seemingly every popular Law of Attraction, self-help, motivational, personal finance and how-to business management book ever published. The Success Principles is entertaining and packed with life-lessons, applicable guidance and life-skills rules. I particularly like Canfield's explicit emphasis on the need to learn skills, take action and persevere in addition to having positive and affirmative thoughts. The narration is engaging. The leadership and management principles revisit touchstones of dozens of best-selling books. The review and reminders of best practices are affirming and this book pushes my buttons in a good way. I am thoroughly enjoying the motivational stories and legitimate life-lessons. I highly recommend this audio version of The Success Principles to everyone and particularly to aspiring leaders and youth. The audiobook is a 22 hour journey. I suggest listening to it in 15-minute to 30-minute bites.
Audiobook Review: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
Finished listening to abridged audiobook: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen (2002). Straight forward and to the point. Get your to-do's organized and update daily. Systematically control and close all open loops and free your mind. Focus on outcomes and ask always what is the next required step. There are many more wise words (3 hours-worth in the abridged version). Fortunately for me, the YMCA sent me to a time-management workshop early in my career and I learned the TimeText system which is similar to Dave Allen's framework only it was pre-computer era and entirely paper-based. This book is valuable learning and reinforcement. Warning: The book will appeal to left-brain individuals and make right-brain people want to tear their hair out :) Next on my list of listening pleasures is: The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be (2006) by Jack Canfield.
Audiobook Review: Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work
Finished listening to audiobook: Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip Heath and Dan Heath (2013). The WRAP model presented is a simple and workable framework that will help me make better decisions. At 8.7 hours, the audio book was too slow for me to recommend. I wish that I had skimmed a hard copy. Next on my list is Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen (2002).
Labels:
Healthcare,
Personal Development,
Project Management
Audiobook Review: How to Make Friends and Influence People
Just finished listening to audiobook: How to Make Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (1936). It's not perfect but there are some real nuggets here and I wish that I had read the book 30 years ago. Now listening to audiobook: Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work by Chip Heath and Dan Heath (2013).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)