Julian Assange: The 2011 60 Minutes Interview
Julian Assange: The 2011 60 Minutes Interview
Steve Kroft interviews the controversial founder of WikiLeaks.
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18 Minutes by Peter Bregman
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
Lip Service by Hal Becker
Lip Service by Hal Becker is a very bold attempt by the author. It is way out of the common books you read, and the uncommon always have a point between being greatly appreciated or getting discarded by the audience. You can almost feel Hals attorney or editor cancelled out a lot of words and pages from the book.
Background
Hal Becker, an award-winning salesperson, a sales trainer and eventually a business owner took a minute out to look at all the services and the mess ups the big companies and their small-time employees make. He collected information about them and knew the right way around. He knows exactly where the employee messed up.
The 50 Stories
Lip Service has 50 unique stories about the worst customer service examples in America. Each story has a different character where Hal is an everyday person, an impatient New Yorker and sometimes someone who seemed to play along with the staff.
This puts the reader in the shoes of everyone and tells you what you could have done in a situation like that and it makes you laugh uncontrollably. Some references though not supposed to, make the company obvious because you have gone through it too! Otherwise, they are hard to crack. The different way a salesperson looks at the other, is what makes you go on reading.
10 Interviews
At the end of the book, there are 10 interviews with some big giants. In these interviews, Hal shows the reason why they are earning big and what differences they have in their customer services as compared to the stories you’ve read so far.
He tells that customer service is not what the lips say, its about what the company provides. What a company does is customer service, what it says, is Lip Service.
Conclusion
The unique point of Lip Service is that it almost holds an idea you can imply next time you have some problem with the customer services. It gives you your way around the normal approach. It is a really fast read and though it lacks the comedy punch, it could really be a good laugh if you can relate.
Lip Service by Hal Becker
book review by Pervaiz “P.K.” Karim
CalcuttaKid.com
The Power of Who by Bob Beaudine
100/40 Strategy
The book tells the reader to create a list of 100 people that are close to them. Not the influential people they have just met or could seek favors from, Networking as we know is crap, say Beaudine. But, people who have been with them and are their well-wishers. Next, he tells the reader to create a list of 40 things they want from life, their 40 goals.
It is impossible to get every 40 of those without seeking any help. These 100 people are the ones that are going to help you on your way up. They are going to make it possible for you. Know the power of who is going to be with you and who is here for fun.
The Life Events
The author has shared his life events to show his ways work, but more than that, it is just adorable to see the way he walks his talk. He shares an incident from his life about a basketball match and that chapter alone is the crux of the book. There are a lot of other events backing up every sentence in the book.
Reading it!
Each chapter has nearly same bite size length and the book being fairly small, yet it feels like a long read. There is a lot of repetition of the message and after a while the life events, which are funny and at times witty, seem to be the only difference in chapters. The advice is nothing the reader will have heard before, but the way you realize it, is different.
Conclusion
Beaudine says, that you’ll meet thousands of people over the ages, there are going to be hog callers, dream killers and people who want to see you succeed. Its you who decides, where you want to be. There are parts and events in the book that make The Power of Who, a book you’ll turn to, when you seek advice.
The Power of Who by Bob Beaudine
Book review by Pervaiz “P.K.” Karim
CalcuttaKid.com
Emotional Intelligence by Dr. David Walton
Emotional Intelligence by Dr. David Walton is a book that shows the importance of EQ in our lives. The book mainly focuses on describing what is EQ and its necessity in our lives.
What is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional Intelligence or Emotional Quotient is a measure of ones emotional understanding and stability. The term just like IQ is relative, however, there is no way to measure it.
The Process of Thoughts
Our days productivity depends on the thoughts running in our mind. On the cycle of thoughts that plan our next act. We could be doing great until there is a heated argument with someone, when someone doesnt fulfil their duty and it delays your work. It could also be something as trivial as missing a bus.
In situations like these, it is important to understand the reason why the other did what they did. It is important to hold yourself together and not let the situation affect you.
It’s not the IQ
Though, we are firm believers that IQ is the measures of ones success, but that is not always the case. IQ could get you a nice job, but your success at job, depends on EQ. Dr. Walton shows exactly how, one can emotionally manipulate situations in their favor.
Though most big business owner we look up on seem to have high IQ, but they also have high EQ and we are unaware of it. Most small business, run on strong conversations which comes from high EQ.
The Content
The whole idea of Emotional Intelligence runs deep, and it is hard to capture it entirely. The author instead produced a Read Me First book which gives a brief overlook on the subject. David has shared some few tips and tricks we can use in our daily lives to turn things around for ourselves.
Conclusion
Who should read the book, Everyone! Though the brief content, there is a lot of information one can pick up from the book. The unusual way of presenting a psychological fact in a non-scientific manner is what makes the book stand apart.
Emotional Intelligence by Dr. David Walton
book review by Pervaiz “P.K.” Karim
CalcuttaKid.com
Sometimes You Win Sometimes You Learn, by John C. Maxwell
Sometimes You Win Sometimes You Learn, by John C. Maxwell is not a book that will quote the same idioms that we have heard a million times. Never give up, Failure is not final and all the others you are tired of listening to. Its not a book that will tell you how to be a winner, it is more of turning not wins, into wins.
Maxwell, very briefly, but very often quote that the best teacher is not experience, it is the evaluated experience. He sets out a loose foundation, a framework to turn losses into gains.
The Traps or The Paths
The eleven elements could be called the traps that people tend to fall into, when they are struck by failure, or when they see things not going their way, or they could be called the path that the fallen take to build up back to where they were and where they want to be.
The eleven elements are general, and they are not a very strong piece of advice, its nothing you wouldn’t have heard of in a different book. However, how you learn the way to them, is what makes the book different.
Stand Apart
In Sometimes You Win Sometimes You Learn, unlike most authors, Maxwell explains terms with his personal experience. He shares his mishaps, failures and mistakes. It makes it easier for the reader to connect with Maxwell, owing to the relatable content and what does he mean when he takes an action.
His sensible insight and his way of looking back at things, while most say, never look back, is what keeps the reader bound to the text. The clear framing of all the topics over 13 distinct chapters with no repeated content, makes the read un-boring or rather, a pleasure.
Conclusion
Maxwell doesnt guide you to the mark of the victory, he just tells you that not winning: is inevitable and we shall learn from it to winning. And I say, not winning because according to him, failure is off the table. Since those who learn from their mistakes, win, well eventually.
Sometimes You Win Sometimes You Learn, by John C. Maxwell
book review by Pervaiz “P.K.” Karim
CalcuttaKid.com