motivational

This website is about motivational, and also contains resources about motivational therapy , motivational phrases , and motivational song .

Title : The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
Author : Stephen R. Covey
Rating : 2 Stars out of 5.
Summary : A number of years

I read this book a number of years ago as part of a semester long class with it as the main teaching tool. From what I remember it provides good insights into time management, prioritizing tasks and breaking down a goal into bite size pieces so that a person isn't overwhelmed by the size of what needs to be done.

Title : Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons in Life (Quick Reads)
Author : Sir Richard Branson
Rating : 2 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Quick read, shallow story ....

I'm reviewing this book, not the man. The book is so concise (big print, designed for emergent readers) that even though you get through it cover to cover in just two hours there is very little satisfaction to be had.

It's a collection of snippets. Those who composed it do not even do us the service of keeping it to a decent chronological flow. It leaps back and forth chapter by chapter.

In compressing so many deeds into so few pages, I was left with the perception that Richard Branson was very smug; I did this good deed, then I had this great adventure, then I set up and sold a big business for a large profit, then I brokered a hostage-saving deal with Saddam Hussein, then I persuaded Elton John to sing at Princess Diana's funeral. I am sure that he is not the smug man that this book might lead you to believe. I would guess that you'd be better served (and learn more) by reading a fuller story.

PS I had to laugh at the Scottish reviewer of this book who worked out that he'd gotten just two words to the penny! Laugh out Loud!!

Title : S.U.M.O. (Shut Up, Move On): The Straight-Talking Guide to Creating and Enjoying a Brilliant Life
Author : Paul McGee
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Great Book with Practical Advice

I just wanted to congratulate you on your SUMO book. It was a great read and by far and away the best in the self help category that I have read recently.
I coach people for a living and read a lot of these types of books and believe that many fail because they are too abstract or too difficult to put into practice. Your book, however, is full of practical things you can do straight away to start to make a difference.
I particularly liked the 'Ditch Doris Day' chapter.

Title : E-myth Mastery: The Seven Essential Disciplines for Building a World Class Company
Author : Michael Gerber
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : In business?Buy this now.

Having started my own business this book, and the whole Gerber approach, has revolutionised the way we work. We already knew we wanted to change some of the things we were doing but not sure exactly what or how. This book crystallised our thinking and has made us a better outfit because of it. I have no hesitation in recommending this to anyone in a business or thinking of going into business. It is not a quick fix, it's not a load of guru speak. It is a very real set of ideas that have worked for this humble photographer.

Title : Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
Author : Robert Cialdini
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Brilliant Book! A book you will keep going back to again and again. Worth more than 5 Stars.


I've just finished this book. Wow it was mind blowing!

I'm not going to reiterate all the brilliant reviews made about this book, suffice to say it is a useful guide for going into negotiations and other situations were undue and unfair influence might occur. For example, how to deal with dirty influence tricks or even just pushy salesmen, estate agents or recruitment consultants - you can see the tatics that are being used and side step them or use their tricks against them for your own advantage.

An amazing book. Read it for your own sake.

Title : The Richest Man in Babylon
Author : George S. Clason
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Timeless good advice

This is altogether an excellent book on long-term wealth creation. If you would like a way of operating your finances so that you can build up a lump sum for the future, whilst enjoying your life, then this old classic holds the key. I have just given my copy to an old friend who is up to his neck in debt. Amongst his many justifications for his current predicament are 'I don't earn enough to save/invest' and 'my family uses all my disposable income'. As a friend I hope he reads and applies the timeless principles contained within this book and, as a result, his money worries should become a thing of the past.

With bankruptcy levels within the UK at an all time high 'The Richest Man in Babylon' has never been so necessary. Read this book, but more importantly, use it!

Title : Unleash the Warrior Within: Develop the Focus, Discipline, Confidence and Courage You Need to Achieve Unlimited Goals
Author : Richard Machowicz
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Some good ideas here, worth a read

It's not that easy to evaluate and review `self-help' books, as what I find useful is probably not at all useful to someone else. I guess it depends on what your perceived `problem' is, or more positively, what is `your area of desired improvement'.
I liked this book, I found it very helpful. This book deals with fears that are preventing you from becoming the person you wish or be or attaining a target that you are aiming for in your life.
The approach is very aggressive as you would expect from the title and front cover. Machowicz encourages you to `live life aggressively'. Machowicz draws on his experience as a Navy SEAL, and tells us about how he went through some very extreme situations that inevitably lead to fear and how he developed mechanisms to cope with and conquer that fear. It is a macho approach and in some places reads very much like the true to life novel by Andy McNab, `Bravo Two Zero'. However, I don't think that should put readers off, there is some very useful insights here. Take the CARVER matrix for example. This is a target evaluation method of military origin. Machowicz applies it to everyday life. If you enter `Waging Project Management Warfare' into a search engine you will find an article where an attendee of one of Machowicz classes applies the principle to software development!
There is definitely as much value in reading this as in relying solely on the works of desk bound psychologists.
I also liked the fact that it was written relatively recently, 2002. The context is relevant. I have read seminal works that were written nearer the turn of the last century, and although the content of these is beyond reproach they are very dated and increasingly hard to relate to the present and the type of problems encountered in today's world.
Some of the author's quotes come from such diverse works as Dune, by Frank Herbert. He refers to the training of Paul Atreides where he is taught that `fear is the mindkiller'. As a part-time Sci-Fi fan, I am encouraged to read a self-help book that values some of my favourite literature.
Throughout the book Machowicz refers to his self-defence style called Bukido. This comes across as a bit of a blatant sales pitch, but does nonetheless encourage the curious to enter `Bukido' into a search engine to see what it is all about. You might want to do that before you buy the book! Machowicz seems to be aggressively following his own advice, and is also now a TV star I believe hosting `Future Weapons' on the Discovery channel. Maybe that in itself should suggest that there is something of value in this book. However, reading the output of famous people telling us `how to become successful' does not always work. I'm thinking of the book by Noel Edmunds, `Positively Happy'. It is also very hard to determine if you should take the cynical, and possibly accurate viewpoint, that the author is more interested in selling his product, in this case his book and his training courses, than he is in the altruistic intent of making you a better person.
The author's intentions and motivations aside, I picked some ideas from this book that I liked and am actively making use of them. Although I have completed the book I still want to review some of the sections at a later date. So for me there was some useful ideas here and so I give it a four star rating.