
Title : Think and Grow Rich
Author : Napoleon Hill
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : One of the best self-improvement books ever
I was originally recommended this book by a colleague who I saw reading it. His copy was well-used and creased to bits - he mentioned that he always kept in in his briefcase for any journies etc when he could pick it up. After starting to read myself, I was amazed at the lessons in the book - it really starts you thinking about what you want in life, and more importantly, how you are actually going to make it happen. A lot of the book is also commonsense, but I guess that is why I found it so appealing and easy to read. I also particularly liked the case-studies, and I found the author very easy to read.
One slight downside for me was the ties towards the end of the book to the authors own religious beliefs. While I have an open mind on these things, the way it was put over wasn't really for me, and I lost a bit of interest in these parts.
In summary though, its a book I have gone back to time and time again when I need a bit of inspiration or focus. Its also great for getting your positive thinking together both inside and outside of work.

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 : 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 : 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 Life You Were Born to Live: Finding Your Life Purpose
Author : Dan Millman
Rating : 5 Stars out of 5.
Summary : When the time comes, you'll see exactly how accurate it is!!
This book was recommended recently by a friend in Sidney, I borrowed it and couldn't put it down. Somehow it was a best seller over there and it took me a couple of weeks to get hold off my own copy!
I can just say that I completely agree with the statements of "A reader from Nashville", "Joy", "Leila" "A reader from New Zealand"!
Although I'm a sceptic mostly, I'm a firm believer that numerology is of the - if not the - most accurate way of describing the path etc. of a person. Dan M.'s book is based on the life path aspects of numerology with some differences, such as "adding" "10" "12" numbers. It is still uncanny how accurate it was in depicting my number (I couldn't say if it's exactly as accurate as numerology, or even slightly more so!) and I'm convinced that "J. Balbirnie" will see exactly what I mean when the time comes. Dan M. says himself at the end of his book, that one reader wrote to him, first thinking his book was rubbish, it however ended up making a lot of sense to him a few years down the path!
Excellent reading, I highly recommend it!
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