Economic-Life Books

Excellent book giving me tools that I can immediately implement in my coaching business. In addition, there is great value offered by the author through links to his website that magnify the learning.

I loved this book! Bruce's technique for Energy Leadership is revolutionary and could really change your life. The best thing is, the lesson is in the form of a very readable story. The characters suck you in and you will find yourself reading it and unable to put it down just to see what happens next! Also there are many additional freebees you can access through his website. All are listed in the book.
*If you are currently in a leader position or just want to become one in your own life, you can not miss this book!

When I shared Energy Leadership with the owner of the company I am currently working with a light bulb went on within her. Not only did she realize that the process of Energy Leadership is genius, she came to the realization that the incredible results of team cooperation and increased productivity were the results of her own growth. She truly discovers each day what it means to be a leader. Energy Leadership provides the How to anyone seeking to take the lead and tap into the awesome power of success.
Signed,
A raving fan!

The times they are a changing . . how true. yet we can make the change for the better by applying the concepts and principles that are so prevalent in "Energy Leadership." This book completely engaged me in looking at life situations in such a way that not only could I relate to but I could also apply Bruce Schneider's concepts everyday with everyone. The future is ours to create so why not explore the benefits of how to be more effective at home, in business and in relationships. A great book,especially for the times that we are living in!

Energy Leadership is a book that reads deceptively easily and enjoyably given the amount of powerful information within it. This book explains the impact of energy in our life. It clarifies energy blocks and ways to move past them. Energy Leadership shows the way to anyone who wants to create the life they desire to live, professionally and personally. It's the kind of book you benefit from reading many times, and each time, you take something new away. Waste no time in getting your copy. Improve your life today!

A great idea book. A lot of tidbits that one might think are ordinary but they really can be fun to create and effective to use. I am definitely going to incorporate some into my presentations and style.

I had the pleasure of hearing Sam speak at a recent convention, where she excerpted this marvelous collection of IMMEDIATELY ACTIONABLE tools and techniques for producing breakthrough creative ideas on demand. I bought the book and now it never leaves my desk. Never again struggle for brilliant branding ideas, terrific taglines or compelling copy...use Sam's simple techniques to make yourself, your writing, your product or your brand unforgettable to your audience.

Sam Rocks!

I saw Sam speak at Mark Victor Hansen's Mega Speaking Event and I can tell you, she knows how to captivate an audience. Sam has a genuine style that comes across as sincere, professional, and experienced.

If you've never seen her speak, you're missing out. Sam delivers on content, humor, and info that each of us wants. She helps people re-evaluate their thinking in order to connect in a personal way with your audience by re-creating statements for personal branding.

Sam will teach you how to be creative in away that's practical. Pop is not about hype, it's about bringing your message to your people in a way that is unique and powerful at the same time.

I found that POP is for anyone who wants an edge over the competition because it's not about cheesy tactics to woo people, it's more about reaching people with the essence of who you are and transforming it in a punchy way in order to attract people to what you are selling/marketing.

I recommend it because it's valuable for people wanting to cut to the chase and grab the gems.

Need something different, something special to kick your business into overdrive? You'll find it in POP. When Sam Horn says you can stand out in any crowd, believe her! Rather than just talking about it, Sam Horn shows you how to make your own business "pop."

Like a cookbook, POP is filled with recipes to inspire your imagination with fresh ideas and fun exercises. Start anywhere. Keep going until you arrive at your own unique inspiration.

Way out of the ordinary . . . step out of the mundane and become extraordinary! Innovate with Sam Horn! This book can help you get there.

Five Stars and then some!

An awesome book for jazzing up your writing and speaking. Sam Horn crams so many ideas for creating buzz and imprinting your message and brand in the minds of listeners and readers that I found myself making checklists as I ran through the draft of my last book trying to find places I could use her principles and ideas. It's not all about marketing either. She has great ideas on the use of stories and quotes in your writing, how to create memorable content using lists and alliteration, and plenty of other techniques to make your writing come alive.

It's easy and fun to read as Sam is very clearly one of her own best students. Her writing is tight and wonderfully informative with no filler. The ideas are things nearly anyone that has to communicate (verbally or in writing) can use right away.

I felt a little bit self conscious rating this 5 stars: every other reviewer thus far has given it 5 stars as well. But 5 stars it is! I'd say that's a pretty clear message about the strength of the material.

It's the best marketing lesson you can buy for $15.

In this day and age there are a lot of books on the shelves that have been written to aid people going through certain stages in their life. Perhaps one of the stages that have remained nearly untapped, or unaided, is that of the high school graduate on through the mid-twenties. Nicholas Aretakis has come to relieve the youth with his book, No More Ramen: The 20-Something's Real World Survival Guide. Aretakis writes with a clear and level-headed pen, engaging his young readers with schooling, employment, money, and still more. Aretakis has gathered information from hundreds of young men and women, 20-somethings as he so aptly names them, and not only lays out simple directions for many of the youth's questions but brings about those answers in a personal way by drawing upon comparisons of his own life as a 20-something 20-some odd years ago. Aretakis answers questions like what readers should look for in an employer, how business traveling schedules should be broken down between work and play, how to boost credit scores, and even tips on remembering fellow workers' names for those initial anxiety-filled times at a new job. Whether stuck in a rut or getting out into the blinding lights of the adult world, No More Ramen is an essential read for every 20-something looking for a bit of guidance.

Tiffany Chang
Junior, 20 years old
New York University

Like the typical Entitlement Generation-er, I've always considered the future as a puzzle that would work itself out, the world as my very friendly oyster, and success to fall easily at my feet. Lo and behold, we face the real world and realize, oh my goodness--we are in way over our heads. Nicholas Aretakis's No More Ramen is a great read for those who suffer similar revelations and need guidance...and actually to anybody who THINKS they don't need guidance--because you'll be surprised at what you don't know about the real world.

This self-proclaimed "real world survival guide" is exactly that--a manual for figuring out the little details of the work place and personal obstacles, and just how to be a personal success in life. Aretakis's book is a casual, conversational read, privileging readers with forgotten tips like what to say in a conference, what to look for in a job, and how to translate academic success to professional success. For all of you out there who have heard too often the clichéd schpiels about dressing to impress, running over portfolio pitches or simply following your heart to that perfect job that seems nonexistent, Aretakis gives you a little bit of that--and then blows you out of the water with the more important specifics.

From personal rating charts, goal sheets and answers about everything from sick days to tax forms to housing plans, No More Ramen is a clear shot of a book at giving you success in life in a nutshell. I recommend this book to all 20-somethings, and even those younger, and definitely to parents. Everyone must take a bite out of this delicious No More Ramen--the solutions offered are answers to questions you never even thought to ask! Guaranteed this is not just a guide, but a 20-something's key to avoiding regretful hindsight and future panic attacks.

Nicole Walker
Senior, 20 years old
Pennsylvania State University

I have to say, I was a little skeptical in reading a book entitled "No More Ramen". It wasn't exactly seeming like it would be very informative but boy was I wrong. I picked up this book and couldn't put it down. It was extremely insightful and surprised me with how true everything in the book was. Nicholas Aretakis takes complicated subjects that are plaguing all of us college age students such as budgets, graduation, work, interviews, co-workers, investing and other topics that most of us are clueless about, and gives advice on how to handle it. The book is also written so it's very easy to read. It's written in a no B.S. style and he really tells it how it is. It includes numerous charts and spreadsheets that will help you map out your goals and plans and even sample charts on how to set up a budget and start investing. He provides answers to questions such as: "How can I get what I want out of life? How do I balance work, family, and fun? How do I gain financial independence? How do I keep myself on track? Why does it feel so overwhelming to be a 20 something heading out into the real world?" These questions and many more are all answered in this book and I really gained valuable insight.

As a graduating senior I'm in the process of looking for a job, planning my future, figuring out how to pay for everything, and planning to live on my own which can be a scary thing but this book definitely give some good guidelines to help get you started so you don't flounder once you leave the safety net world of college. I know I have a ton of questions that I'm sure I wont know the answer to until I actually have to experience them but this book definitely gave me a head's up on how to handle those situations.

Even though this book is geared to 20 something's, I really believe a person of any age could benefit from this book because it speaks to a lot of different topics and concerns that even some 30 and 40 year olds haven't quite gotten the hang of yet. Nicholas Aretakis went cross country and interviews thousands of 20 something's and compiled and analyzed all the data and turned it into this book in an easy to understand format. It really lets you know that you're not the only one panicking and having problems but that a majority of the rest of the youth of the country has the same worries and anxieties that you have. At the end of the book there is the chapter entitled "My 11 Must knows" where he gives a sweeping overview of the book and his last words of advice and he does a fantastic job condensing all the information. He says that there are 4 qualities that make up a happy and balanced life: Freedom, Accomplishment, Money, and Enjoyment. Nicholas Aretakis takes them 4 pillars and explains ways throughout the book on how to achieve them. I very highly recommend this to be on every 20 something's bookshelf and maybe even their parents' bookshelves because it truly is a very useful and insightful book to read. Well done Mr. Aretakis.

After reading No More Ramen: The 20-something's Real World Survival Guide, by Nicholas Aretakis, my advice to prospective readers of this book is: do not be misled by the title; you do not have to be living off Ramen noodles to benefit from this book! ANYONE from the ages of 14 to 50, maybe 60, will find the information in here useful, because it covers such a wide range of topics that focus on advancing one's career as efficiently as possible. One topic I found particularly useful was about planning: analyzing what exactly your goals are and then developing a clear, direct path to achieve that goal. There is an abundance of useful information, resources and exercises squeezed into about 230 pages, but it's not repetitive and you don't need to memorize; the topics within the chapters are divided nicely, making it easy to use the book as a reference. If you are confused about what your goals are, I highly suggest you read this book, because it will help you put your life into proper perspective. Before I read this book, I was confused about what I really wanted to do in life, and about internships, graduate school, everything else that you hear about in college, and reading this book has helped me decide what I want to do in life, along with what steps I should take in order to achieve that. I feel more secure and confident about where I am now in life because I know I am doing what I should be doing. No More Ramen is an essential read, and the sooner you read it, the better.

You can see a pattern in the ratigs' posting dates: very often it's two reviews per each particular day, then they wait a week to post two more. Fake reviews.

This is an excellent book to bring team collusion. My team have all read it and are "on the bus." Thanks Jon for some really great thoughts and perspectives. Dr. Massie

There is an enormous amount of negative energy in the world today. Those that choose not to fall into this trap, rise to the top at an exponential rate. Any fool can condemn, critize, and complain, and most fools do. This book highlights the effects of positive energy and is enjoyable to read. So good, I encouraged my wife to read it and we have had several discussion around its topics.

This book is worth your $$$ and time to read. It was a fun, easy to read story with an amazing message.

The Energy Bus is a book I would recommend to everyone. I would love to see it required reading even at the high school level and weveryone in the business world should read it. It might make some teens rethink their life goals or think about their life goals. very easy reading for anyone over 14 years old.

Middle aged man comes home one day and starts to take stock of his life - he is failing at his job, in his marriage and with his kids. One day his car breaks down on his way to work and he has to take the bus to work - he meets a bus driver and passengers who force him to reflect on his life and a better way forward. The author, through this parable, reveals "10 secrets" for success in life, at home and in work that lead to fulfillment and accomplishment. The 10 rules:

1) You're the driver of your bus
2) Desire, vision, and focus move your bus in the right direction
3) Fuel your ride with positive energy (negative energy is friction)
4) Invite people on your bus and share your vision for the road ahead
5) Don't waste your energy on those who don't get on your bus
6) Post a sign that says no energy vampires allowed on your bus (get rid of the malcontents)
7) Enthusiasm attracts more passengers and energizes them for the ride
8) Love your passengers by giving them your time, listening, recognition, service - work to bring out the best in them
9) Drive with purpose
10) Have fun and enjoy the ride

My assessment:

1) Easy to read, can finish in one 2 hour sitting

2) Initially comes off as "too cute" but author manages to pull you in with a simple but powerful message with some basic plays in a ground game that can win

3)Applicable to all ages from teenager on up

4)If you like parables, you'll love the story's messages. If not, you'll wonder why you didn't just jump to the excellent outline recap in the back of the book.

5) This story reminds me of the famous Albert Einstein quote: "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." The author succeeds in taking a frustratingly easy trap to fall into with a simple and effective path forward.

Two of my favorite excerpts:

"The goal is not to be better than anyone else but rather be better than you were yesterday."

and

"Your positive energy and vision must be greater than anyone's and everyone's negativity. Your certainty must be greater than everyone's doubt. After all, George, there will always be the doubters who doubt, doubt and doubt and tell you you can't do this and you won't be able to accomplish that. They think that dreams were meant for others but not for people like you and them. And there will even be people who don't want you to succeed because it makes them see their own weaknesses and failures. So that's how important your positive energy is George. You can always kick people off your bus and you'll need to do that from time to time but just remember that there will always be more negative people who get on. And sometimes you will have an Energy Vampire on your bus like a boss or someone who you can't kick off. You got to deal with them. That's why you got to feed the positive dog and why you got to cultivate it every day and why we gave you the Energy Book. One day is not enough, George. It's got to be a habit. Positive energy is a like a muscle. The more you use it the stronger it gets. The stronger it gets the more powerful you become. Repetition is the key and the more you focus on positive energy the more it becomes your nature state. So when someone comes at you with negativity you will be able to respond with strength and positive energy."

Ms Muir is a great storyteller. I was interested in the topic and prepared to slog through boring text to learn something, but this was AMAZING. Read like a novel. She sees inter-relationships and draws conclusions which taught me a lot. Now I want to read everything she's written. I was sorry when I finished this book.

Using a pond near her home in Newton, MA as a backdrop, Diana Muir weaves a compelling view of New England history, which she argues is a series of ecological crises.

From pre-Columbian times, Muir says, New England was populated by individuals struggling on a land that was not conducive to making a living. Radical solutions to unsolvable problems were their only escape. In the 1790s, when farming was the only occupation, a growing population and a soil spent by generations of misuse, resulted in a dearth of farmable land. With no prospects and no future, individuals like Eli Whitney and Thomas Blanchard, were forced to look for creative solutions to society's problems and set in motion an industrial revolution.

I was particularly intrigued by the story of Frederick Tudor, the man who in 1806 introduced ice to Martinique. It is one thing to sell ice to people who because of their location, understand the concept. It is quite another, to sell ice to people who have never experienced it, to say nothing about the practical necessities of ice houses to warehouse the product.

His father's real estate speculation losses left Tudor with nothing but ambition and a house with a pond in Saugus, MA. He succeeded after two difficult decades. There was always a wrinkle to be solved before a fortune could be built. Iceboxes had to be designed and then marketed in southern ports to people who had to be taught how to preserve it.

This phenomenon explains why there so many Crystal and Silver Lakes dot the New England landscape, relics of an enterprising age. Savvy ice dealers understood that attractive names sell products. For a brief period even Muir's Bullough's Pond was briefly renamed Silver Lake.

Diana Muir e-mailed me twice during the past two years introducing her book to me. Having read her book, I am grateful for her persistence. If you enjoy reading unique looks at our history, I implore not to wait for her to contact you. Read her book; you will not regret it.

It is hard to imagine how Reflections in Bullough's Pond could have been better written. Diana Muir gives an account of the interplay between New England's economic history and its environment in a lapidary prose which never leaves the reader behind. By the end of the book we are enlightened about the ebb and flow of these matters over the five hundred-odd years from early European settlement to modern times without ever being overwhelmed, for Ms Muir always wears her erudition lightly.

She breaks new ground in her treatment of the environment as both an economic resource and as a complex-often vulnerable-amalgam of ecosystems. Her thesis is that we are living on capital, be it fossil fuel, topsoil or forest-she is particularly compelling on the vulnerable biochemistry of these last. Unusually, however, Ms Muir is scrupulous in her use of statistics and fastidious in her argument. She never seeks to undermine the legitimacy of the economic impulse, though she does not flinch from her conclusion: an argument for restraint in economic activity and population.

Nor does she lose sight of the propensity of ecosystems to renew themselves, albeit often in new forms: she is pleased-almost amused-by the return of the beaver and the moose, while regretting the extinction of the elm and the emergence of local spruce monocultures. Indeed Ms Muir expresses herself more forcefully on the loss of flora than fauna. Perhaps this is because the long life cycles of the former make it harder to take an optimistic view of their capacity to renew themselves. Alternatively it may be because the collapse of agriculture in New England following the opening up of the West, has stimulated the return to southern New England of so many species formerly evicted to Canada.

Reflections in Bullough's Pond is no naïve elegy for a Paradise Lost; it never loses sight of a human interplay with the landscape which long antedates industrialisation, not to say European settlement. In a particularly ingenious section of the book, Ms Muir reminds us that in the middle of the nineteenth century, the courts and legislatures altered common law doctrines of liability to free up industrial activity. This reflected the climate of the times. Ms Muir argues that the climate of our own times may well give rise to more extensive liability concepts to restrain the corporations, notions very much with the tail wind of popular and professional thinking.

Given the book's generosity and elegance, it seems curmudgeonly to cavil at any part of it. But a couple of issues do arise. First forests. Since the invention of agriculture, we have cleared them for the simple reason that we have better uses for the land. This has been going on in the Old World for millennia. Of course there have been local environmental disasters, eg in North Africa and Mesopotamia, but nothing sufficiently general to justify veneration of forests as a precautionary measure. This is an artefact of late-twentieth century sentiment in the New World. There such virgin forests as have not lost within living memory are being destroyed even now, thus the local salience of the issue. Over the past fifteen years their defenders have sought to enlist support by arguing that they served one or another vital purpose: producing oxygen, acting as feedstock for drugs, now Ms Muir points to their role in topsoil. The first two arguments are infrequently heard these days. As to the last, let me point out that where I grew up in the eastern part of England, the ground was cleared eight or nine hundred years ago, but the topsoil remains sufficiently fertile for the local farmers to get out record yields.

I was also left uncertain as to the course Ms Muir might prescribe for the several billion who have never seen Bullough's Pond, and whose habitats have been profoundly altered by economic activity for millenia rather than centuries. The residents of Asia's great river valleys cleared the forests long before Columbus saw the New World. They have to eat-with luck raise themselves above thoughts of the next meal. Ms Muir has practical suggestions as to how the courts might restrain US corporations, but nothing on how to restrain the aspirations of those who dream of a fraction of American prosperity. I suspect she is wise enough to know that there is nothing to be done on this score. In a rare nod towards the nether reaches of environmental alarmism, she hints that she expects nature to impose population restraint, if we do not. I am more sanguine. In whatever might come to pass as in what has come before, we will wade through. As we must.

Other reviewers have discussed the virtues of the book, so I will only add that the lessons to be learned from this well written and fascinating study are relevant to the entire planet, not just New England. As such, the book is highly recommended to anyone anywhere who is interested in mankind's relationship to the environment and its effects on culture and economics.

This is one of the best books I have ever read- period! At the core of the book is Ms. Muir's message that we are part of nature, not separate from or above nature, and we have a great responsibility to maintain the integrity of the environment. Granted, this message is not new. Where this book is very different is how Ms. Muir leads up to this message. She shows how the New England landscape changed from one where farming dominated to one that was a mixture of many different types of mills and factories. You learn the consequences of everything that was done along the way: the consequences to fish and birds of damming rivers; the consequences to forests and to the air we breath of heavy logging; the consequences of catching too many of one type of fish, etc. What is great about this book is that Ms. Muir does not deal in hazy generalities. She takes you step by step and shows you specifically how certain actions cause certain changes in the environment, often unforseen. There is nothing simplistic in her observations and she knows there are no easy answers. She lays out the data for you and you can come to your own conclusions. But what really takes this book to another level is the fascinating biographical information that Ms. Muir provides concerning the many, many New Englanders that invented the machines of the Industrial Revolution and kept the economy vibrant as the importance of agriculture diminished. The way this book is put together is very unusual, due to the combination of all of the above factors and in the space of 248 pages you will learn a great deal of information. The research Ms. Muir must have done in writing this book is staggering and her knowledge across many different areas is amazing. Don't miss reading this book.

I am part way through this book and love it. It takes you on a realistic and practical journey of change. It also explains why the techniques work and then has exercises that help you experience it. What's also key is that Jennifer White speaks from her own personal experience of applying these tools.

I've ready many books on how to get the life you want but by far this is the best yet. Easy to read, there's little exercises to do to get you thinking and she even provides ideas for making more. Brilliant. If you know you're not living your best life, then this book will really get you going in the right direction with motivation. Get it!!!

Does it seem strange to anyone that all of the 26 reviews for this book sound exactly the same? Almost like the same person wrote all of the reviews.......or coached others on how to write them.....hmmm...

If you feel that you work to hard and earn to little, this book is for you. Jennifer White shows you how to be more effective in whatever you do. When you become more effective--you will start earning more money-because your more effective, more valuable. Jennifer is one of the top coaches in the nation and it's not for no reason. Her methods are sound. Proven. They Work. Highly recommended.

Zev Saftlas, Author of Motivation That Works: How to Get Motivated and Stay Motivated

Jennifer White's book is not for wimps and losers.

A self-help book written by one of the finest success coaches in the country, "Work Less, Make More" is an innovative tool to help self-driven, highly motivated individuals who are probably already successful do more and do better - to pull themselves out of a stalled rut, perhaps; to work more effectively; to make a quantum leap to a higher level of success; and clearly, to make a substantially higher level of income while working at a physically less demanding level.

Jennifer White's focus is on results and the premise, while difficult to envision, is achievable for those who are willing to make a paradigm shift in their outlook on what constitutes success, to undergo a sea change in their relationships with their family, their friends, their customers and their constituents.

This book is NOT for those that are unwilling to subject themselves to an intense level of scrutiny and, for a significant period of time, to pull themselves a long way out of previous comfort zones and to instill in themselves new habits.

My personal opinion is that this book is most likely to be successful for those individuals that are to a significant extent self-employed, self-driven, highly motivated and worrying with the realization that their career needs a lift. For those that qualify and are willing to change, Jennifer White's perscription will help you to become more deeply fulfilled and earn substantially higher financial rewards without driving yourself to an ulcer, without insulating yourself from your family and friends and without contemplating an early grave.

And isn't that what we all want, after all!

Paul Weiss

A truly wonderful system, complete with methods and follow up exercises that help you realize the focus that is needed to excel in your professional life. A lucid flowing style makes sure you grasp and retain everything that is said. Distinguishing yourself is the key to being noticed, remembered and respected in this world. This book is the Bible when it comes to building your own "Personal Brand".

Learn the ways to change yourself internally and change the way you perceive and interact with the world. Jumpstart your future professional life. Practice what is said and you will truly see a difference in your life.

Distinguish yourself, for if you don't, you will fade away and drown in the sea of "cliched existence".

Rajesh Setty's "Beyond Code" is a deceptively simple prescription for getting out of the rut of today's complex workplace. As a career coach I see many clients, especially from high-tech who feel lost, stressed out, and hopeless. This simple book (not just for those from high-tech) can change their outlook on how they can learn to manage with what is already available to them in abundance: Their own internal resources! If those who feel "unplugged" in today's indifferent world, they can simply change their outlook by following the nine potent steps outlined and beautifully illustrated in Shetty's book! Bravo!

Dilip Saraf
Career and Life coach

Rajesh Setty's 'Beyond Code' is a book that anyone in the IT industry must read. Even if you are not from IT, you will find it reveling. You connect to Rajesh's thoughts immediately from page one and never stop thinking about what he has to share all through the book.

Most of the headings and highlighted sentences appear common sense to you, though the explanation that follows depicts thoughts that have come out of experiences, tried and tested. The connection is immediate and long lasting. Rajesh explains why book reading is so important even if you think you know what it teaches you. I appreciate Rajesh sharing his real life experiences and the 'suggested' reading list at the end of the book. Books are life transforming indeed.

The author clearly makes his experiences, ideas and thoughts by categorizing the 'inner game' and the 'outer game' in the pursuit of 'distinguishing yourself'.

My favorite parts of the book are, 'My Story', 'Likability' and 'Lead'.

I strongly recommend reading this book if you believe in the idea that 'you learn from other's experiences, not to spend precious time learning from your own experiences'.

I would have loved to read and learn more and more of real life professional experiences of the author, all of 'highs' and 'lows'. May be I call for a sequel to 'Beyond Code'.

Even though this books targets to distinguish yourself in the technology professional world, it does not limit there. Its highly essential for any person to distinguish himself or herself almost in any domain on both personal and preofessional front.

My favorite chapters were likeability, leave lasting impression, leverage and listen!

The best part of this book is it asks to you to implement whats written in the book. These theories are highly practical. The books is highly adoptable.

Beyond Code provides advice on how to differentiate yourself. Make your customers happy, communicate well, keep learning... the pieces of advice are good but common sense. They have already been covered in other books. I recommed Working With Emotional Intelligence and The 12 Bad Habits That Hold Good People Back.

Given the title of the book I expected practical information targeted at software engineers. But the book does not provide examples related to software. Instead we read about the author writing his first novel at age 13. While this would make good writing in an autobiography, it leaves me cold. Many programmers are introverted (INTJ types). Surely there is specific advice that can be provided to that group.

If Beyond Code is the first book you read about personal development, you will find it useful. If you have already read other books there is nothing of interest in it. As the author says: you have to differentiate yourself or be commoditized. It is too bad he didn't apply the idea to the book by targeting it more carefully.

Over all the book is very good. Short chapters make it easy to get through it and it does not drag. I found it a great resource for other books that it referance (eg. Think and Grow Rich). Depending on your occupation some of the ideas presented in this book will not apply to you (at least that's my opinion). For instance "printing" everything on paper might be more applicable to someone that gets a lot faxes or documents, but if everything you get is electronic I just find printing everything to be over kill, not to mention environment unfriendly. Other part of the book are good. Author states, "read this book and take whatever you want" and I totally agree. Even if you don't find some parts of the book applicable to you, you will find something that you'll be able to use.

Of the 3 dozen books I've read related to organizing, this is one of my favorites. It is presented in an easy-to-read format that makes it possible to spend a few minutes and read a chapter at a time. There were many great quotes and ideas that are easy to implement. The book also included fun anecdotes. Very well done!

Chris Crouch's "Getting Organized: Improving Focus, Organization and Productivity" is a fine read which accomplishes what all good teachers do best: Imparting with vivid good humor and simplicity the wisdoms of processes taken beyond the classroom. The target audience here, primarily workers in any workplace, calls for a most delicate balancing act: Being thoughtful and succinctly explaining the theory, practice, and results of a disciplined approach to Organization. Mr. Crouch accomplishes this masterfully with anecdotes, explanations, and his "master teacher" persona.

This is a very good book to help you get organized. I originally had a three star and changed it to a four star. So many of this book's best elements are also found in David Allen's Getting Things Done. I read Allen's book last year and it knocked my socks off. When I read this, I wasn't as impressed as I would have if I read Crouch's before Allen's (they're both obviously drawing some of the best tidbits from some of the same material that preceded them). They have many, many of the same very helpful tips. The advantage of Crouch's is that is has short digestible chapters. However, an overall approach does not clearly emerge, just a bunch of big and small organizing ideas. An advantage of Allen's is that you get a clear, overarching approach into which all those good tips suggested in these books fit. Allen's chapters are longer, and though very readable, can get a little bogged down compared to Crouch. If I had only one book to buy, I'd get Allen's. However, I'm glad I read Crouch's because it has given me a refresher.

Getting organized is a major issue for many of us (I work two jobs, both of which require me to maintain an office). While one book may do it for some, I strongly believe that major habit changes will more likely come if you really plunge into an area like this. That means reading Crouch's book, Allen's book, and even Julie Morganstern's Organizing from the Inside Out. While Allen and Crouch focus on the office and home office (mail, home files, etc.), Morgenstern also covers garage, basement, closets, etc. I'm serious, to change the way you look at things, you need to read several books and make yourself an "expert." Otherwise, it will be a book you read that you're not likely to act on.

I read them in the order of 1) Allen, 2) Morgenstern and 3) Crouch. If any readers will choose to read all three of these, I'd recommend Crouch first, then Allen, then Morgenstern. Crouch will lure you in with his short little chapters (once you get past his too many introductory-type chapters before you get into the good stuff). Then, reinforce what you learn by reading a lot of overlapping stuff in Allen's book, but Allen will give you an outline or framework that ties it all together. Then, move on from the office to your closets and garage with Morgenstern. Of the three, Allen was the best for me, but I needed the others to sustain my momentum. Good luck!

I recently bought both this and Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity in order to stimulate my thinking about how to take charge of my incredibly busy job as a software development manager in an e-commerce company. I manage about 8 people directly and am also the prime facilitator for another project team of about 15 people, half of which are contractors. Like most people, I also have my own work projects and initiatives, as well as huge laundry list of personal items to keep up with.

At first I was a little turned off by the 55 super-short chapters, each of which is 1-2 pages in length and has a "What? So What? Now what?" layout. The writing quality seemed only average, and I was left thinking "Is that it?" after each chapter. However, after I finished the book rather quickly and then got bogged down in Getting Things Done, I realized that this is a pretty good layout for the target audience - people who feel too busy to read a book on productivity.

Many of the observations seem obvious, but that is one of the key messages of the book: we're all making this stuff away too complicated. How many of us take ten minutes each morning to set a focus and key priority list for the day? Or do we omit that simple step, or fall into the trap of checking email "just for a few minutes" first and then get seduced into following little shiny objects all day while missing the big picture?

The "Five Decisions" chapters - Discard, Delegate, Take Immediate Action, Put in a Reference File, and File for Follow-up - are important but I think are covered better in the other book. About half of the other chapters really resonated with me, which made it worthwhile overall. However, the author lost me when he spent 10 chapters describing a paper filing system with folders for each day of the month plus various other files. I agree that people shouldn't expect software and tools to solve all their problems, but I think a PDA or list software like Remember the Milk is much better than a paper system for anyone who works in multiple locations or is "on the go". I felt like he was being a bit techno-phobic, sort of like the guys who insist that LP records are better than CDs or MP3s.

Really the best way to improve your organization habits is to browse several books and articles on the topic, note the themes that recur (like planning time, grouping tasks by project or goal, etc.) and then choose a couple of things to focus on. I'd recommend this book as one of those resources but not the best-written or only one.

I really enjoyed this book. It was the exact thing I needed at the right time. I am on my second reading of the book, and this time taking the time to do all the exercises Christine offers. In combination with the freedom formula teleclasses Christine has been offering recently this has really given me the tools I need to break through limiting, poverty beliefs and attract the 6 figure business I desire!

Melissa Kitto
[...]

I'm having breakfast at the moment and reading the book "The Freedom Formula" while eating my toast. I had to get up and email Christine straight away. What she has created through her wisdom and clear communication will no doubt change people's lives. I've just got to the section on Connecting With Market and it has really resonated with me. It ties together so well why personal development and business development are inseparable. Business owners who apply this model will not only have a personally fulfilling business that is profitable - it will allow them to be a catalyst for change in the world.
Thank you Christine for taking the time to create such an inspiring book.
Now, my coffee is getting cold. I'm going back to my breakfast and to keep on reading!

Fabulous! This book is life changing! Every entrepreneur should make the time investment to read it. A combination of philosophy and practical, I gleaned many ideas for my own executive coaching business. Christine Kloser is right on target.

I am pleased with the quality of product and the delivery service. I think I'm going to really like the book.

"The Freedom Formula" has definitely delivered what Author Christine Kloser promised!

Through each educative chapter of the book and though the many thought provoking exercises- I obtained valuable knowledge about how I was running my business. With this new knowledge I was able to create many new successful business practices and more money making projects than ever before.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank You Christine! Your expertise and knowledge has saved me a lot of time and headaches and made me a even more successful!

Dr. Cindy Brown-Author of "The Cinderella System"
"Business & Relationship Strategist"

I have had the joy of reading Dr. Rao Srikumars book: "Are You Ready to Succeed? Unconventional Strategies to Achieving Personal Mastery in Business and Life" - This book has taken me on a journey within myself. This has been very interesting for me. I define leadership skills in levels, and I always urge to define what level I am on, and to what level am I going. The problem is that I do not know what the next level brings or what it contains. I do not define levels in promotions, but in skill and knowledge. When I heard Dr. Rao speak at google, I felt that this was my next path. I have not just read his book, but I have also done the exercises it provides. The result is interesting. Although I am by nature quite like the person Dr. Rao want me to be, it provides me with more awareness of myself and my mental being.

It might be hard to describe the effect the book have on me, because it provides me with no tools on how to become a better leader, but still it makes me a better leader as I am more aware of my mind and my inner dialogue.

The book is very interesting and it appeals to me because I agree with a lot of what he writes in the first place. If you really really badly desire something in life, the universe will work with you to get you there. I have experienced it myself many times. Why is it like this? The book will give you some hints.

Being positive.
I am a positive person; I do believe the best about people. I hear people on a regular daily basis talk negative about others, and I see how people are affected, even about people they have never met, suddenly they think less of the person. I do not think less of a person if other people talk negative about them, I think; "This is not my view of this person" - "I have not had any negative encounters with this person" - "Why do you feel you have the right to influence my opinion of a person in a negative matter?" - And it backfires on the person talking negative. This also helps me to prevent me from talking negative, because it is not in my right to give an opinion that can influence other people's relationships in a negative way. This book point out that mental chatter (This is your inner dialogue) is negative by nature. It does judge people all the time, just think about it. You have a huge bad and ugly critic sitting inside your head. It does not only judge others, it also judges you. This book provides a guard post in your head. It teaches you to identify what is negative, and alert you. It helps you to be more positive.

Sit on a chair.
This book got me to sit on a chair for 30 minutes to try to do nothing. It was an interesting experience. I absolutely recommend you to read this book, not only if you are a leader, but also if you want to be more positive and happy. But I would rather say that you need to do the book, not just read it. It has a lot of exercises that needs to be done in order. And you must follow it step by step.

What did it do for me?
Not so much yet? I still do a lot of the exercises in the book on a daily basis, I do feel happier, and I do feel more aware of my own senses and mental statement. I do feel stronger after events that might be considered negative. My landlord called me the other day, saying that I need to move, because they need the space for themselves. I really like it here. Bad thing, and I need to do the hassle of moving. I did find a new place, with a better standard than this, with a great kitchen, with better location between my son's kindergarten and my job. And it turns out that his best friend from kindergarten has just moved in next door to the new place. So is this a bad thing? Good thing?

And lately I have gotten a proof that the book is changing my life...

101st floor please!
I have been having a dream lately, two times just this week that I am in an elevator and going up high to 101st floor. I tried to Google dream and elevator today and found out that this dream means;

"Dreaming of riding upwards in an elevator may symbolize an easy upward
climb with no obstructions. As you move up in the world, you may feel that you
have the support of someone or the universe. Rising in an elevator may also
symbolize spiritual development or an increase in awareness with an ability to
rise above and view the world from an elevated standpoint."

And after reading this book I do feel an increase in awareness, maybe I am suddenly standing on the next level of my development ladder? The dream interpretation does match my feelings. I do strongly recommend this book.

As someone who has been a writer and teacher in the personal development and spirituality realm for many years, I love this book. It is so direct and straightforward, and quite profound in its simplicity. Srikumar Rao offers a step-by-step exploration into who you are, what you believe, and how what you believe is impacting your success. He offers this deep personal work in a language that is accessible to anyone. And his writing style gives the reader complete confidence that they can do the work! Thank you, Srikumar, for this accessible and powerful book!

Excellent exercises to re-think one's current life and work situation. Carried through, these lessons can have a profound impact on those struggling with serenity and purpose.

"Life is short. And uncertain. It is like a drop of water skittering around on a lotus leaf. You never know when it will drop off and disappear. So each day is too precious to waste. And each day that you are not radiantly alive and brimming with cheer is a day wasted"

Who wouldn't be interested in what this man has to say, right? You'd have to lack a pulse not to want - better, profoundly yearn for - the life affirming perspective and deep joy in being alive he describes.

But have you or I got the vision, guts and discipline to commit to what it's going to take? That's the central question this book poses on every glorious and uplifting page.

Like Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits", Rao proposes that meaningful change happens from the inside out: You'll recall Covey's first 3 habits are about "Personal Victory".

This book is more powerful because it doesn't deal with practices - "habits" - for cognitive behavioural change, like Covey. No, Rao challenges the fundamental fabric of our life experience: our very consciousness.

In one sound bite, the rallying cry of this book is: "live a conscious life".

I'm excited by this. As someone who has lived in a coma - mindlessly propelled by the "conveyor belt of life" - and has jumped off, this resonates very deeply with me.

But this isn't a quick fix. Rao invites you on a very tough spiritual journey that will last a life time.

Brutally simplified, he invites you to become conscious of your self-limiting, self-defeating models of the world, your judgmental critical dialogue, and to develop insight to shift these, partly using the meditative practice of mindfulness.

The outcome: "Gradually, you get to the point where you can control what you are consciously comfortable with letting into your mind. And that is how you start straightening out of your life"

But that's not the tough part. What comes next is far more challenging. What if you believed the Universe wasn't "a dumb, insentient mass" but "a conscious entity that is intimately intertwined with you and not separate from you. It wants to give you what you desire and you can influence it"

Wow! If that was your operating principle, just imagine how different would life be? How much more time and energy would you spend focusing on and manifesting what you want in life instead of worrying and complaining about what you don't want?

Most of the rest of book is dedicated to building the "Benevolent Universe" model. Rao coaches us on how to let go of guilt, blame, destructive habits and anxiety about what we can't control. This all uses up valuable energy and makes us feel powerless: far better to channel energy into constructive and resourceful practices that serve us.

Specifically he shows us how to use the "Law of Increase", the reality that "Whatever you are truly grateful for and appreciate will increase in your life" and how to manifest our deepest desires simply by being resolutely and single-mindedly focused on them with a deep conviction that they are already ours.

Freedom and happiness? We already have them: they're inside, not outside us.

Thinking we have to "acquire" something to be free or happy is misguided, according to Rao: "The talons of our addiction shred our minds and wreck repose... There is nothing you have to get in order to be happy"

Why go on this journey at all?

Because fundamental to our purpose is contribution: the unique gifts we're on the road to discovering and manifesting in the world will contribute to the greater good: literally make the world a better place.

"When you stop explicitly focusing on yourself, on what you want and don't have, and start focusing on how you can be of service to a larger community, then you set loose some very powerful forces"

The reward of accepting the challenge in this book is enlightenment: a deep understanding of your purpose in life and the insight to manifest it.

It will make a leader of you, if you let it.

Before enlightenment, chop wood carry water.
After enlightenment, chop wood carry water.*

I read the book's title as meaning "You're successful, are you ready for that?" rather than "Do you want to succeed?" emphasizing the word "ready". And just as reaching enlightenment does not obviate the need to perform the more mundane chores of life, being ready to succeed does not obviate earning a living or making friends. You can do both but if you're not ready to see your success, you won't realize that you are successful and you won't be as happy as you could be.

Rao only indirectly writes about increasing the material and social markers of success, i.e. how wealthy you are or how many friends you have. He stresses that we need to give less importance to these markers and to appreciate what we already have. (And when adversity strikes, we should appreciate that it wasn't worse.) Success breeds success but only if you nurture it properly and that's what he writes about.

Rao's techniques are simple and effective. He first gives examples of what he calls mental models, or predetermined thinking patterns. For example when you are preparing for meetings you always assume that people will argue with you, this predetermined pattern in which you think is a negative mental model. Rao wants us to become conscious of our mental models, especially the negative ones. Next he wants us to detach ourselves from them. He has us create an imaginary friend, who's actually not a friend but an unbiased observer. We're to imagine this friend to describe what we're saying or thinking.

Rao offers many more exercises, with the later exercises building on the earlier ones. The best thing about "Are you Ready to Succeed?" is that the exercises are practical and not too New Age-ish.

Vincent Poirier, Dublin
*Thanks to Eric for the "Buddhist saying". VP