18 Minutes by Peter Bregman

by admini | Mar 19, 2018 | Biryani, Educational, Favorites, Great Books, Inspiring, Personal Development, Relax, Relaxer, Self-Improvement, Sticky, Wisdom

When I read the word length of Peter Bergman’s 18 minutes, it sounded a bit too long for a self-help novel, but the bite-size chapters, make it a really fast read.

The book focuses on elimination of distraction, time management and finding your focus. It does not overwhelm you with heavy words or phrases like most books, but instead in a very light-hearted way tells you about the choices that make difference.

18 Minutes by Peter Bregman has 3 core parts to it.

Distractions
18 minute tells you to take a Pause and look at your goal and the things you are doing daily, are you really working towards your goal, and if you are, are you doing it right, Sometimes we get so involved in things that we lose track, but when you take a pause you can look at where you are headed and work on a plan.

Finish working before even before you have your lunch, so you have the entire day for yourself instead of working late and sleeping less when the deadline is closing.

The Goal
Most of the time we are overwhelmed with things at hand. It gets really difficult to know what you need to do. Everything we do has an impact on us daily and in the long run. Things that we want to do, people that we want to be and task that will help us get there in the long run should be our first priority.
In that way, we can prioritize what you want and organize your to-do list.

Daily Run
Getting distracted is very easy. So, to avoid distraction Bergman tells you to create distractions, proactive distraction, so when you get distracted you fall into doing something useful instead of wasting your time.

Suppose your long run goal is being a photographer, keep your camera near your desk, so you end up looking through the lens instead of starting to scroll down a screen.

The bits of advice mentioned in the book are not the one’s a reader must not have read or heard earlier, but the first person perspective accompanied with different case studies and a lot of mild humor is the one thing that sets the book apart.

18 Minutes by Peter Bregman
book review by Pervaiz “P.K.” Karim
CalcuttaKid.com

2 Chairs by Bob Beaudine

by admini | Feb 19, 2018 | Biryani, Educational, Favorites, Great Books, Inspiring, Kolkata Food, Relax, Relaxer, Sticky, TUTORIALS, Wisdom

2 chairs, by Bob Beaudine is not exactly a self-help book that Bob is famous for, it is a book about spirituality and belief. In 2 Chairs, Bob tells the reader to connect with God, and find the answers to their questions.

2 Chairs
Bobs mother once told him to set up two chairs every morning, one for himself and one for God. She told him to try connecting with God and find his answers. So, each day he does that, and hopes that God will show up.
He encourages the reader to do the same, saying that though the chances are low, He might show up.

3 Questions
Through the book Bob gives out three questions and tells the reader to ask God, when He shows up:

Does He know your situation?
Is it too hard for Him to handle?,
Does He have a good plan for you?

He has tried to indirectly answer the questions with his stories and tells the reader to have faith. He says that when God will show up, He will not only answer all your questions, but He will make changes in your life. He will fix everything and show you the fatherly love He has for His children.

The Content
The length of the book is 200 pages and the content runs 170 pages. The book is not long but feels like a long read, since there is little content, and a lot of fluff words to meet the word count. The content of the read is good, there are no second thoughts about it, but the same content is repeated or the chapter has random irrelevant stories, forced to sound relevant.

Conclusion
2 Chairs is a book meant for the believers and those who seek help. Though it is a book about God, one could read it as a guide to life, things you need to know about yourself, and the things the universe has planned for you. The pace of the read is, however, slow and could be a turn off for a lot of readers.

2 Chairs by Bob Beaudine
book review by Pervaiz “P.K.” Karim
CalcuttaKid.com

Making Your Dreams Come True by Marcia Wieder

by admini | Oct 20, 2017 | Biryani, Educational, Great Books, Inspiring, Kolkata Food, Relax, Relaxer, Sticky, Susan Karim, TUTORIALS, Wisdom

Making Your Dreams come True by Marcia Wieder is a book that seeks to pull you out of your comfort zone. Written by someone who left a dream job and set out to San Francisco to chase her dream and fulfill her long lost missions. The book could be broken into 3 simple parts.

Decide What You Want
Most of our lives we are lost in the chase. We are after what everyone else wants, we are studying in grand universities and chasing a dream job. Wieder asks you to question yourself about what you really want. With tricks and tips, she tells you to determine what you, the inner you, wants. Finding out, probably, a long-lost passion.

Remove Self Obstacles
Wieder says that the only thing probably stopping you from getting to your goals is yourself. If you remove your self-doubt and have a little more belief in yourself, you will get where you want to be. All the materialistic and worldly problems are inefficient to stop you, if you think you can beat them.

Take Simple Steps Towards IT
Once you’ve decided what you want, there’s nothing that could stop a person chasing their passion, says Wieder, but wait! Don’t run, don’t jump onto something. Nothing is done in a day. It takes years to build something from scratch, that’s what you are out for. Take it slow, one step at a time, you have your goal ahead of you not break it down into easy steps and work towards it.

You’ll reach there, slowly, eventually, but when you’ll be there there’s nothing you’ve felt like it.

Verdict
Though a good read, there are books that explore each area of the book more deeply and In a much better way. Its the appearance of Wieder on TV that attracts in curious readers and thinker who want inspiration from someone already on the peak of the mountain.

Making Your Dreams Come True by Marcia Wieder
Book review by Pervaiz “P.K.” Karim
CalcuttaKid.com

Discipline Equals Freedom by Jocko Willink

by admini | Aug 10, 2017 | Biryani, Educational, Favorites, Great Books, Kolkata Food, Personal Development, Relax, Relaxer, Self-Improvement, Sticky, Stress Soother, Susan Karim, TUTORIALS, Wisdom

Discipline Equals Freedom by Jocko Willink is book with no sugar coating. Jocko an ex-Navy SEAL has kept his point direct and concise.

According to Jockos writing, discipline is a two-staged concept, the thought and the action.

The Thought
The book is divided neatly, Jocko first explains the process of his thought. The way you should look at your target and break into points of action. The thought should be under your control, and there should be only one target. Next, he tells to convert the plan into action.

Me Versus Me
The biggest problem between you and your goals is yourself. There is no way you can achieve something without overcoming yourself and the excuses you make to avoid things. Jocko says,
You are tired, Get to work.
You are sick, Get to work.
You are depressed, Get to work.
Its your friends birthday, Get to work.

There are no breaks in the life of a Navy SEAL and there shouldn’t be any in yours if you want to get somewhere. There is no reason why you should walk away from something you want, or only because it is easy to get.

The Content
The formatting of the book and the content is nothing like a self-help book writer will want to have. The font is huge and not standard Times, moreover it is printed in white on black paper. The book is a really fast read owing to the little text it has. The little text does not kill the feel, in fact, it emphasizes it – to the point, concise and harsh. There’s nothing like motivation. Its all about what you got to do and you have to do it.

Conclusion
The overall book is a great read. A quick, to the point with no sugar coating. Jocko takes your goal, makes a plan and tells you, You got to do this. There is no shortcut, no hack, nothing works. There is no procrastination, just get to work.

Discipline Equals Freedom by Jocko Willink
book review by Pervaiz “P.K.” Karim
CalcuttaKid.com