motivational

This website is about motivational songs, and also contains resources about motivational , motivational interviewing courses , and motivational thought .

Title : Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time
Author : Keith Ferrazzi
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Connect for the Joy of It All!

Never Eat Alone is a rare, detailed glimpse into how those with no special access can connect to those they want to meet. For many people who are good at connecting, this activity becomes a way of life. It's a profession and a hobby. As such, connecting can become all consuming. Many will find that aspect of Mr. Ferrazzi's story to be unattractive. But I found his candor in this regard to be refreshing.

If you step back from his enthusiasm for connecting, the mental attitudes and processes he describes are just what everyone needs to use who wants to be better connected and accomplish more.

All of us know more than any one of us. If you take two equally talented young people in any field, the one who is better at connecting will live a more successful life than one who tries to go at everything as a lone ranger.

I have known dozens of master connectors. They all do some variation of what Mr. Ferrazzi describes in this book. Here is how I would distill those lessons:

1. Decide who you want to meet to further your objective of accomplishing more.
2. Learn more about the person.
3. Find what you can do to help that person in an area where they care.
4. Develop a strategy to meet briefly face to face.
5. Share what you want to do to help when you meet.
6. Stay in touch with more ways to help.
7. Attend events where other master connectors attend and link into fields which are not naturally yours by becoming acquainted with these master connectors.
8. Study those who are very good at this.

If you keep in mind the sheer pleasure of making a difference as you do this, you'll soon be a superb connector. I recommend undertaking this task on behalf of something you are passionate about such as a charity you support.

One of the best parts of this book is that Mr. Ferrazzi is generous in sharing his mistakes. The world doesn't end for you as a connecting queen or king if you offend a poo-bah. You just pick yourself up and do better next time.

I liked his humility about his limitations in other fields. Peter Drucker would have approved of Mr. Ferrazzi's decision to work on what he has a talent and love for, connecting, rather than try to become more competent at things that are difficult and unpleasant for him . . . like quantitative analysis. The story about how he got his start at Deloitte is worth the price of the book.

Another strength of the book can be found in the excellent description of why people find President Clinton to be so compelling in person.

Skip books about networking and relationship building. Read Never Eat Alone instead!

Title : Self-esteem Affirmations: Motivational Affirmations for Building Confidence and Recognizing Self-worth
Author : Louise L. Hay
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Definately a gentle and powerful help

I have used this CD for about a month now and am so glad I bought it. I have suffered from low self esteem for years and I am so glad that I am getting more confident. My husband said there is a difference.

I feel stronger and sometimes used to back down in troubled situations but now I am more assertive and approach things with a much more positive attitude. If, In the beginning, you don't feel anything, don't despair or give up - keep going and really work at it,it will be well worth it and you can always use it again if you need it!

Title : Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
Author : Robert Cialdini
Rating : 3 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Good, but not totally convincing or that useful

I bought this book for two reasons - one to make myself more alert to sales techniques, and two to see if there are any useful insights to glean that could be applied to other areas of life.

On both counts the book delivers. Having recently been pitched to at work by a media tracking agency and nearly taken the bait (didn't in the end) I immediately recognised the use of reciprocity and scarcity to try and harry me into signing up. That alone was worth buying the book for, and I will definitely use that insight in future.

In addition, the chapter on consistency is also very useful. I've been involved in trying (and failing) to get people behind certain campaigns in the past. As such the discussion about getting people to make small commitments to establish a self image which they then feel the need to act consistently with both rang true on a personal level, and seems like something worth trying out in future.

So why only three stars? For one I did not find elements of the book convincing. The section dealing with newspaper coverage of suicides is the bit that really troubles me. Some of the data seems both to be limited and have been interpreted quite loosely. I would need a lot more convincing that the stats are being interpreted reasonably, it looks far too rough and ready. Given that this book is really about behavioural biases surely it should be extra careful about interpretaion of data as this is something we humans tend to be very bad at, always looking for patterns that aren't there and so on. That then leads me to query the hypothesis built on top of the data and to be honest I find myself not buying it. That also makes me query whether other chapters suffer from similar flaws.

Secondly, the book isn't actually that useful once you get your head around the key techniques because, as a previous reviewer says, simply having the knowledge that you have biases doesn't make them go away. To be really useful the book should have spent as much time reinforcing ways to resist the influence of biases as it does explaining what they are.

That said it is very readable, and I got what I wanted from it, but it could have been better.

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 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 : E-myth Mastery: The Seven Essential Disciplines for Building a World Class Company
Author : Michael Gerber
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Zen and the Art of Entrepreneurship

The book is about the 'Self' as businessman/woman. The key is the, periodic, precisely ordered and focused exercises.

These are questions, Michael Gerber, aims at the heart and soul of being/becoming an entrepreneur. And so one is, if one is open to the questioning, able to pinpoint within oneself the barriers to becoming a truly creative person. Then, after self-reflection, one may come from a space, which was previously closed and oppressive, to an open and experiential one.

There is a storyline in the book showing clearly how the entrepreneur becomes so easily a robot and a machine in the current business ethos. So how does one stay alive and renewed in what is essentially a mechanised business world? Well, this book tackles this dilemma - by making one confront oneself and ones susceptibility, and then enabling one to recover integrity and creativity from within oneself. Because, ultimately, it is not the techniques and methods which make for success, but who one is and how well one knows oneself, and continues to discover oneself.

The book has its highest value in enabling self-knowledge as an entrepreneur.

Michael Gerber in the book does, however, always present the avenues and methods for success in the greatest of practical detail (for example on sales he covers internet portal, direct mail etc. etc. etc. etc. - it's all covered - with advantages and disadvantages and practical application). There are downloadable worksheets, all very ordered and practical where one can try out, test and keep records about ones experiments with oneself, the business and the marketplace.

I would have liked to say more on the practical side of the book, because it is hugely practical and applicable. But it is a year since I read a borrowed copy and don't have it in front of me. I am now ordering a copy for myself.

Entrepreneurship, in my view, is a difficult business. It is one of the greatest challenges to oneself. It can be a disheartening and even degrading experience. Thank you, Michael Gerber, for enabling me to know the dangers, and for giving me clarity and understanding at the beginning of my new business.

Finally, this is not a quick fix book, although because of the practical detail it can be used like one. But beware, for the book is about a journey one decides to make/take - and there are many adventures to be had along the way! :)

Title : You Can Heal Your Life
Author : Louise L. Hay
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : brilliant

I read this book some many years ago, and as i was writing reviews i thought i would do one for this. At the time i read this book i thought it was tremendously good. A great value to anyone looking at healing of any nature. Also of value to anyone who needs some inspiration. Well done Louise. A great book.