motivational

This website is about motivational letters, and also contains resources about motivational movies , motivational sales , and motivational practice .

Title : Goals! How to Get Everything You Want - Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible
Author : Brian Tracy
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : A recommended goal guide

If you are serious about setting and achieveing your goals then this book is a must read for you. I read this book at the beginning of 2004 and if not for anything else it has motivated me to consistently set daily goals. Brian Tracy delivers this book in his characteristic simple, clear and easy to understand style which makes reading very enjoyable. It breaks down the rocket science of setting goals into something readily achieveable. I would also recommend this book as a personal development resource for companies to give their employees.

Title : The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness
Author : Stephen R. Covey
Rating : 3 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Valuable Synthesis Presented Abstractly and Ponderously

If you haven't read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, I suggest you read that one before this book.

Dr. Covey obviously pulled out all of the stops in trying to make this book as helpful as possible to his readers. The book contains summaries of the material in his other books, repeats many stories from those books, reconciles the material with most of the business book best sellers in recent years, contains a DVD full of inspiring videos, provides references to many free materials on his web site, has extensive appendices and contains many thoughtful sections on questions and answers. As a result, the book comes across like an encyclopedia of his teachings . . . rather than as the simple communication that is so delightful in his other books. I suspect that Dr. Covey changed ghostwriters for this one (at least I assume that the other books were ghostwritten because they avoid the ponderous communications style that Dr. Covey uses in person).

So what is the 8th habit? Allow me to paraphrase. It'll be quicker that way. You act with integrity as an individual and help others to do the same.

In Covey-speak, it's the overlap of personal greatness (applying the 7 habits in the forms of vision, discipline, passion and conscience), leadership greatness (applying the 4 roles of leadership (modeling the 7 habits, path finding, aligning and Empowering), and organizational greatness (turned into a vision, mission and values that bring clarity, commitment, translation, synergy, enabling and accountability). See Figure 14.3 on page 280 for the simplest expression of the 8th habit in Covey-speak.

Can you make a book out of that point? Well, if you put in lots of examples, you can . . . which Dr. Covey did. But the basic point is about a magazine article's worth. Most people will come to that realization when they see the entire book's concepts summarized in chapters 14 and 15. If you want to check this book out, read those two chapters and see if you need more at that point.

Why do millions of people read his books? Well, the earlier ones were beautifully written. This one isn't. All of his books show unadulterated respect for the reader and a belief in the reader's unlimited potential to improve. So it's inspiring to read someone's high opinion of you. Dr. Covey obviously cares that we live moral and positive lives. He's a sort of secular priest expressing moral values that most will agree with. Would we all like to work for Dr. Covey? Sure!

How well will this book translate in the workplace? It'll be a tough row. You can have a company that's good at the 8th habit, but doesn't build the necessary skills to succeed with using the 8th habit. That's because this book is heavy on concepts . . . and light on the practical details. Dr. Covey starts up at about 100,000 feet in the air with his abstract thinking and discussions, and rarely gets any closer. So think of the 8th habit book as helpful . . . but not sufficient in and of itself . . . for creating superior performance. Perhaps it will work better if you employ Dr. Covey's firm to help you (which is abundantly pitched in the book).

Dr. Covey humbly points out that his conclusions are aimed at dealing with the problems of poor communication, lousy alignment, misunderstandings about what to do next, lacks of tools and training, and dumbed-down workplaces . . . but is not supported by research (other than anecdotes from his clients) to support that this actually works better. But you'll agree, I'm sure, that even failure would feel a lot better in such an organization. So it's very humanistic, which is a good thing.

Few will disagree with the point of this book, and most wonder what this adds to Dr. Covey's work on Principle-Centered Leadership. "Not very much" is my impression.

I suspect that this book would have worked a lot better if the material had been simplified and added to the 7 habits book . . . and renamed as "The 8 Habits of Highly Effective People."

May God bless you, Dr. Covey! Keep inspiring us to be our best!

Title : The Life You Were Born to Live: Finding Your Life Purpose
Author : Dan Millman
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : No denying the accuracy

I learnt the basics of numerology some years ago and whilst not understanding why it worked have used it as a tool of insight. When I picked up this book and bought it I had no idea until I got it home that there was any association with birhtdates at all. This book has served to instil even more faith in the significance of birthdates in life lessons. Those who cannot accept what they read may find that the issue is something they've either moved past through growth or are yet to accept about themselves. The book is a tool I will continue to use. Claire - 34/7

Title : Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-free Play
Author : Neil A. Fiore
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Balancing between Work and Play is the key

The Now Habit is the best book on procrastination. It gives tools to attack the procrastination habit; more important, it asks you to schedule time for play (not just work) in your calendar. This, the author says, is very important. And then you are asked to stick to the schedule of play. Having this guilt free time for play frees up our mind to give quality time to 'work' part of our life. I have found the advice on the mark and very helpful. There are many more important nuggets of information like Reverse Calendar, 3D view of work, etc. which are also very helpful. One of the must read books definitely.

Title : Think and Grow Rich!: The Original Version, Restored and Revised
Author : Napoleon Hill
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : My "desert island" personal development book

I can't remember how long ago I first read this - probably in the early 1980s. This is the book I would keep/take to a desert island if I could only have one.

It's as relevant now as it was when it was first written and my copy is battered, water-damaged, highlighted and anotated and . . . I wouldn't part with it for anything.

"Classic" is an over-used word but it genuinely does apply to this book. Truly wonderful, inspiring and mind-stretching. I come back to this again and again. Get it in any version - I have the book and the audio programme - and use it. I hope you get as much from it at each reading as I do.