
Title : Zero Limits: The Secret Hawaiian System for Wealth, Health, Peace, and More
Author : Joe Vitale
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : A total mind shift! Total accountability! Freedom
Dr Joe Vitale intriguingly documents his own journey of mental and emotional transformation and how he came to understand the Hawaian method of attracting health, wealth and happiness. As you read he masterfully takes you through his memories as if you were there experiencing each it with him. You find yourself asking the same questions, having the same feelings and having the same revelations that he had as your perspective is dramatically changed. An insightful read that is well worth every moment! I couldn't put it down.

Title : A Lifetime of Secrets: A Postsecret Book
Author : Frank Warren
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Tell me a secret!
Until I read this book, I only knew PostSecret from Frank Warren's blog which is on my weekly must-read list. I had resisted buying the previous books in the series because so often what's intriguing a few at a time becomes cloying when presented in a book.
This was not the case with A LIFETIME OF SECRETS: A POSTSECRET BOOK. I couldn't put it down until I'd read it through, and it left me feeling introspective and deeply connected.
For those not familiar with PostSecret, it began as a community art project in which Frank Warren ("America's most trusted stranger") invited people to send in secrets on decorated postcards. Every week he posts twenty of these anonymous postcards on his blog, PostSecret.com; a collection has traveled internationally as an art exhibit; and this is the fourth book of collected secrets.
So many heart-rending postcards! People share their alienation, anger, fear, desire, and even pride. Why do they send their secrets to Frank? Would you? Have you? I haven't (and won't), but something about the secrets has huge sympathetic appeal. There's nothing new in human nature and we all carry the seeds of all these secrets. Some resonate in us more than others, but can you really say that any of the feelings expressed are completely alien?
A LIFETIME OF SECRETS is the fourth book in the series. It's arranged roughly by the age of the secret-sharer, and this theme is certainly effective; you can, however, open it to any page and count on feeling a sense of kinship with the writer. I hope to keep this book for a while and will probably turn its pages many times. It's inevitable that some day I'll hear a friend mention something and I'll say, there's this book I HAVE to share with you; and they'll share it with someone else and I'll never see it again. And that's as it should be. (My secret: I hardly ever return books people lend me!)

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 : Now Habit: A Strategic Program for Overcoming Procrastination and Enjoying Guilt-free Play
Author : Neil A. Fiore
Rating : 4 Stars out of 5.
Summary : Good book but didn't help me.
Although there's nothing really wrong with this book, it didn't help me at all. I read through it, found some interesting stuff, but my procrastination habits remained the same. Although I didn't seriously follow any of the suggestions, because my procrastination problem is rather serious, that's why I still gave it 4 stars, because in my situation I think it's hard for a book to really help me. So, if you have a slight to moderate procrastination problem this book may help you. Otherwise, the best is to see a therapist.

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
Other Related Resources:
1: http://thebizchamps.com/read-or-listen-its-your-choice/
2: http://www.bellafigura.com/letterpress-inspiration/2009/03/wedding-trend-letterpress-reply-postcards/
3: http://www.boogiesbc.ro/blog/inspiration/inspiration-olli-pekka-jauhiainen-graphic-designer/
4: http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/boot/62641
5: http://www.cricket.gnc-web-creations.com/oganizing/