The book contains 10 chapters, with the first four about attitude.  Chapters 5 through nine contain the big five attitude obstacles.  These include discouragement, change, problems, fear, and failure.  Chapter 10 is about how this book can help you make a difference in the lives of others.

What I like about this book is its small size.  It is easy to take with you in the car or on a plane.  The wisdom contained in this book is easy to follow with stories and examples along the way.  Since the book is small, It’s easy to make notes of the points in this book using a pocket highlighter.  The book will teach you to…

1.  Win over discouragement by getting the right perspective
2.  Embrace change by determining that without change improvement won’t come
3.  Overcome problems by defining, anticipating, evaluating, and embracing the problem as a potential opportunity
4.  Defeat fear by admitting to fear; realizing fears limiting power; and converting fear into desire.
5.  Move beyond failure by holding on to your sense of humor.

You can use this book as your personal coach.  Its small size lets you keep it in your desk drawer or in your car for quick reference.  Overall I enjoyed this book and recommend it highly.

The only real problem I have with the format is making notes while listening. If I’m driving, or out walking it’s hard to write down notes. Since I usually don’t have a written copy for reference it’s hard to go back and find an exact section to capture notes at a later date. This also makes it harder to review the book since I don’t have access to the written copy for pullouts and quotes.

With over 30 great books to review, I’ve struggled to find a way to bring them to you in a review format. I’ve resorted to buying the hard copy in some instances or relying on an author’s website for additional information. In preparing for a seminar that I’m doing this week on podcasting, I’ve run into a little device that may really help to capture notes along the way.

The device is called the I-talk Pro from Griffen technologies. It’s a small microphone that plugs into the bottom of newer iPods and allows you to record hi quality stereo audio to your iPod in Wav format. When you sync your iPod with your computer, this audio is automatically moved from your iPod to your computer and the disk space is reclaimed.

I ordered one of these from Amazon last week and have been amazed how well it works. You plug the device into your sync port at the bottom of the iPod and it automatically pulls up a recording screen. It gives you a choice of high quality (stereo) or low quality (mono) audio recording and has a recording button. It’s as simple as that.

I usually choose high quality on my video iPod since I have a lot of disk space. The recording quality of this unit is superb. When I want to make notes about an audio book I’m listening to, I just plug it in and record. It’s really as simple as that. To go back to listening to my Audio book, I just remove the unit. It’s fast and simple.

This is an ideal unit for recording podcasts. It is especially useful for recording group conversations as it can be placed on a desk or table where everyone can talk into it. The pickup range is good and the stereo separation really adds a spacial effect.

After recording some podcast material I have realized how useful this will be for Audio book reviews. When I’m done listening to an Audio book, I can listen to my notes at home and put together an informative outline. Then it is just a matter of putting together a book review podcast. This unit makes it fast and easy to record the podcast almost anywhere, with great sound.

I plan to use this unit to create reviews of many of the great books I have listened to over the past year and bring them to you with a written outline, three major points, and a podcast that you can subscribe to. I hope to be able to make this site a resource for audio book reviews that you can take with you.

Technorati Tags: ipod, italk, audio book

I have recently found a book that should be a precursor to GTD. A book that should be read before undertaking any time management or personal productivity program. A simple but profound read that can make all the difference in your personal development success.

Entitled, “It’s All Too Much,” by Peter Walsh, this book will give you the understanding to overcome a major problem that our modern world has thrust upon us… clutter. Peter is the organizational guru from TLC’s hit show Clean Sweep. He understands how easy it is for clutter to creep into your life and how hard it is to get rid of it.

Peter will help you climb out from that pile of junk mail on your desk, throw away the 200 old magazines that are bowing your bookshelf and finally uncover a workable horizontal surface that you can work on. This book is far from the usual, “buy more storage boxes” solution. Peter gets to the root of the problem by asking a couple of questions.

What do you want your life to look like?

How do you want to organize your house so you can live the life you want?

It’s All Too Much shows you how to reexamine your priorities and let go of the things that are weighing you down. Simply and clearly, Peter gives you the tools you need to go through your home, room by room — even possession by possession — and honestly evaluate what adds to your quality of life and what’s keeping you from living the life of your dreams.

This book has given me new insights into clutter control and some great tips for overcoming all the “stuff” that seems to find its way into my life. I used to think that clutter was just my problem, but I now realize that we all suffer from “Stuff” overload.

From junk mail, endless magazine subscriptions, to the latest kitchen gadget, this stuff accumulates and causes stress. Soon we just throw our hands in the air and say… It’s all Too Much!

The bottom line… read this book, de-clutter your life, and then pick up David Allen’s, Getting Things Done

Technorati Tags: GTD, organization

This book takes on a very controversial subject to many managers, the question of friendships at work. With so many corporate policies prohibiting interaction between employees off the job or managers having any interactions with subordinates this book will certainly stir the pot. With Tom’s easy listening voice, he draws you in to each story and paints a very convincing story that we should all have friends at work.

And his team’s landmark discovery — that people who have a “best friend at work” are seven times as likely to be engaged in their job — is sure to rattle the structure of organizations around the world.

Drawing on more than five million interviews conducted by The Gallup Organization, some of the true research highlights of the book include…

• People with at least three close friends at work were 46% more likely to be extremely satisfied with their job and 88% more likely to be satisfied with their life.
• Friendship is the silver lining in a marriage, accounting for approximately 70% of overall marital satisfaction, and was found to be more than 5 times as many people ranking it as more important than sex or “intimate relations.”
• Friendships may affect your waistline. If your best friend has a very healthy diet, you are more than five times as likely to have a very healthy diet yourself.

This book made a lot of sense and from personal experience, most of the things listed in this book are true in my life. Some quick points that came to light through the chapters…

• We need a friend who “Expects us to be somebody”
• We all need friends to add meaning to our lives
• We eventually become like our best friends
• We have different friends for different needs in our lives
• The best friendships are not well-rounded  

Successful friendships are the ones in which friends play a specific role in your life. Tom Rath clearly illustrates the “Eight Vital Roles” that friends play: Builder, Champion, Collaborator, Companion, Connector, Energizer, Mind Opener and Navigator. The fatal mistake in friendships is forcing one person to fill every role.

The book comes with a personal code that allows you to access the Vital Friends website. Here you can discover and track your own personal friends and the roles that they have in your life.

This book ranks in my top 10 audio books for 2006. It will open your eyes and help you see the vital role that friendship plays in all of our lives. Make sure to add this to your Personal MBA reading list.

Technorati Tags: Audio books, friendship, MBA

The crowd grows silent as the limousine pulls up outside. Suddenly everyone crowds the door and forms two distinct lines. “It’s the Donald,” someone yells out from the crowd.

In walks Donald Trump and his entourage, giving hi fives to the lines of admiring fans just like football players coming on to the field for introductions.

In a word… who cares??

The first third of this audio book was a blatant promotion of Donald Trump & Robert Kiyosaki. In fact the promotion was played over and over. I found myself wanting my money back. I wanted to hear about their ideas, not limousine rides and high dollar conventions. Just when I started to push the off button, Robert started in on one of his great stories. Soon I was hooked back in.

This audio book quickly redeemed itself and presented a fascinating contrast between two very powerful and wealthy men. Point after point the book became more interesting. The book is presented in an different way than most collaborative books. Each chapter is about a specific subject and the two authors take turns expounding on each one.

It’s like listening to two separate books combined into one. The authors talk about each other but do not actually engage in conversation. They have read each others ideas and they respond with their own ideas on the subject and then to the other person’s thought. The contrast is sometimes striking yet they always seem to agree on the basic principles.

The book presents financial ideas and concepts but no specific investing advice. With the world changing ever so quickly this is actually a timely and valuable read.

Just skip the first third of the book.

I would give this book 3 out of 5 stars… some great concepts hidden among blatant self promotion and hype.

Technorati Tags: Audio book, Trump, Kiyosaki, Rich

Enter Idea-engineer, Patrick Hanlon and his new book, Primal Branding. Patrick has asked these questions and many others and distilled the results into seven pieces of “primal” code which he believes is the key to brand identity.

The seven pieces of primal code are: the creation story, creed, icons, ritual, sacred words, nonbelievers, and leader.

The creation story aspect is fascinating. It’s the interesting part of the company identity. How did this company come to exist? We all know about the two guys in a garage that started Apple computer, the college students that started Google and the guy who started Ebay in his back bedroom. Creation stories draw us in and give us an attachment to the product. We feel more a part of the company if we know the struggles and passion that it took to get it started.

The creed is the mission statement. All companies have a declaration that tells us what they are all about. It may be honesty or passion or going one step better than the rest. It uniquely identifies the direction and vision of the company or brand. If we can relate to the creed the company may have a customer for life.

The icons may be the actual graphic or logo of the business. It may be the taste of the food or the smell of the gourmet coffee. Icons differentiate the brand and give us instant recognition. We all know the Nike swoosh, the Starbuck’s mermaid, and the startup sound of a windows computer. Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods are very recognizable icons for Nike.

Almost every shopping experience involves ritual. In Starbucks you order, pickup, add sugar and creme, and then find a seat. The Amazon experience involves viewing the product, adding it to your cart, checking out, and then enjoying the fun of opening the brown box with the large smile on it that the UPS man just delivered. Different businesses, different rituals. Humans are creatures of habit and if a company can turn their ritual into one of your habits they will have a steady customer.

Sacred words are the language of the enlightened. People that know the sophisticated vocabulary of a business develop a close affinity for the product or service. Think about the vocabulary of Starbucks… tall, grande, vente, all provided by a barista behind a bar. Once you learn the language you have a feeling of belonging. You’re a part of the team, someone in the know.

The unbelievers are anyone who doesn’t believe in your product. With Starbuck’s it’s the people at home sipping instant coffee, with Coke it’s the Pepsi drinkers, with Democrats it’s the Republicans. Unbelievers offer contrast and a way to differentiate products and services. This contrast gives people a reason to use your product.

And finally there is the leader. It may be the CEO, the founder, or even a TV personality. Someone who you can relate to. Someone that gives you confidence in the product, that if something were to go wrong, would be there to fix it. If this person can gain your trust, they may have you as a customer for life. Personal connections are powerful.

Creating a brand that people believe in, means they want to be your customer and no one else’s. They prefer you above all other choices… even when the competition beats you with innovation, price, or other advantages.

Primal Branding is an amazing read. Patrick Hanlon is the founder of Thinktopia an idea task force whose slogan is, “Better Thoughts Through Thinking. He has served as the Creative Director at various advertising agencies

The book lists three “hats” the budding entrepreneur must wear. They are…

1. Technician
2. Manager
3. Entrepreneur

Author Michael Gerber says that the majority of new business startups are done by “technicians”, people that are good at a certain task such as a mechanic. The technician is the laborer, the one who produces the products or service. The manager ensures that processes and finances run smoothly and regularly. The entrepreneur develops the goals, and steers the company in the direction needed to attain those goals. Of these three dispositions, the entrepreneur is key… without it, the technician will end up overworked and underpaid. As the company grows, the business owner will want to draw away from the technician and manager work and delegate these jobs to others.

As someone who has been a “Technician” all of his life, this insight into the other necessary qualities of business planning has been very eye opening. The book gives many examples of business run from the “technician” perspective. In the past when I used to sell to auto repair shops I was always amazed at the mechanic who would start up a new shop and try to do all of the work himself. He usually had a phone in one hand and a wrench in the other. The difficulty of trying to do everything himself would soon lead to burnout and a quick return from businessman to employee.

In the coming months as we look at putting together a workable business plan the resources provided by this book and the comprehensive e-myth website will prove to be useful tools. For management resources we’ll look no further than our favorite management guru, Rosa Say, and her very informative blog, Talking Story. In the technician area, blogs such as lifehacker and lifehack.org will provide some useful tricks and tips, while fellow blogger Dwayne Melancon always provides real world business experience on his Genuine Curiosity Blog.

If a business startup is in your future be sure to pick up this book or get the audio version