Book: Fish!

This thin book is a fable about a demotivated and weary people and area in a company and how it was transformed into a happy and inciting one. This is a simple leadership book that can help not only leaders in offices but also in any type of workplace -  and outside of it too!.

The ingredients based from it are:
1. Choose your Attitude.
2. Be present
3. Play.
4. Make their day.

The said ingredients to a better workplace are basic and inside the book are explication of them. On our Toastmasters meeting, "Attitude" was used as a word for the day and what is catchy is when he said that "it is contagious so be careful what you catch". The author made is easy for us to understand the importance of it and that the other 3 are nothing without it.

The first book about leadership that I have read is also a fable - "The Monk who sold his Ferrari" by  Robin Sharma and I will follow other coming fables that is about self help and leadership.

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Dan Brown - Lost Symbol

With 2 hours on the waiting line in Ninoy Aquino International Airport, 5 hour trip from Philippines to Port Moresby (PNG) and more than 8 hours of waiting and transport from Port Moresby to Lae, this book kept me from sleeping. The book hardly left my hands. For me Dan Brown did it again. The pacing was well done that I did not want to miss what happens next.()

Jeffrey Deaver's "Twisted" is the book that triggered me to look for more of its type and this one has twist up to almost the last chapters. In this story, Robert Langdon had problem with deciphering a lot which is quite different from the other 2 bestsellers he had which I believe is good. I am a fan of Sherlock Holmes and he also has his downs meaning he is only human and it bores me if all the time, the protagonist doesn't make mistakes. There are things to be learned which are very true.

Same as with other novels, Dan Brown puts all the trivia he can put and he never ceased to amaze me. And same with the other novels, there are a lot of things that the author considered to be facts so I believe I have to check some of the things that are quite sensitive.

This is his 5th book and I have read all of his novels. This one plus the last 2 - Angels and Demons and The Da Vinci Code are my favorites. From "The Da Vinci Code" which had a lot of opposition because of what he wrote about the Bible, in this novel, it is the hero.

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Book #7: Men, Women and Relationships

One of the books that I blogged about is about John Gray’s “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus”. On one of my stints to Philippines for holidays, I have found another book of him and hoped that it is as good and helpful as the first one that I have read. While in PNG, I have read more than half of the book until I became busy that I had to set it aside.<>

Thanks to the Tsunami alert due to Chile's devastating earthquake, I have to spend the rest of the day at home. I looked for my notebook where I list down my goals, doing so I saw this book with the bookmark on it.

I checked where I left and found that the next chapter is “Symptoms of Stress”. The previous parts are also related to stress but this chapter has the examples to situations that I have been experiencing and found the reasons to the issues I have been dealing with for several years now. I believe that this chapter alone is a good help for partners and also for those who mingles with the opposite sex. I said that because this is where arguments and problem starts and are things that in my experience are hard to communicate.

Almost all parts of the books got my interest and it is like the continuation of the first book which emphasizes difference between male and female.

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Book #6: Winning

I bought a book 2 years ago and had no time reading it. It was until my January 2010 holidays that I decided to read it as I have to wait for the International flight going to Philippines from Port Moresby, here in Papua New Guinea. I have heard of the name Jach Welch but never knew what he is made of.<>

I never knew how good a manager Jack Welch is until I read this book. The title is "Winning" and it is about the main reason why he is very famous - Management. It would have helped me a lot as it is now should I have read it years ago. As Warren Buffet commented, "No other management book will ever be needed." This may be an exaggeration but I believe that the knowledge herein plus experience while following them can take you far. He also answered a lot of questions that other managers ask him during his seminars that needs time to be answered.

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Book #5: Stop Worrying and Start Living

Worrying is one of my problems before. I am very afraid to make mistakes and can’t keep my focus on the thing I am working as I am always thinking what other people will think of it. Fortunately, I have read this book by Dale Carnegie and became aware of the mistakes I had. This is the second book from him that I read. How to win friends and Influence people is a very good one and helped me a lot in terms of dealing with other people and also as self-help.<>

Following the ideas and principles in it is also a great help in my personal life as I have been very cautious. Without worrying, I can do more. Being worry free, I have learned a lot more as I can talk to wiser person that I meet. It is also a great help for relationship and my wife, Joecy, have reaped some of the benefits of it and I have written them down to some of my other blogs.

At work, these helped me to be more relaxed… even in tough situations. Especially in the department I am have been my entire working years– Engineering and Maintenance. It is a department where a lot of problem is handed down. The principles and examples that Dale Carnegie has collected are priceless and are worth following.

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Book #4: 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

The first book by John Maxwell that I read is “21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership”. I remembered that I read this book from the plane going to China as we have to go to a paper company and finished it on the plane going back three weeks after. I had fun time reading this as John has led some ministries. Yes, he is a church leader. He has a lot of experience and the contents of his book are something worth reading.

This is the first book for leadership that I read from cover to cover. Before this, I would just read articles in the internet or listen to audio books. It was easy for me to relate as I have been practicing leadership beforehand. I am very much encouraged because I can relate in many of his experiences and I learned a lot of new terminologies and motivational quotations from this book.

I would use the learnings I have from him as I have used it in my other posts. The way he presents the laws is different and as I read, I can sense his decision making and firmness even if his experience is more on ministries. Same with other books, I will be jotting down more experiences not only at work but also in my personal life that coincides with his teachings.

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Book #3: How to Win Friends and Influence People

This has been my foundation in terms of dealing with people. Dale Carnegie has compiled a great collection of experiences and examples from him and thru research to make them easy for us to understand and follow. This is a great start for people who would like to lead or just simply make friends.

From my post: “problem”, the answer I told me friend came from this book. It is from the first chapter of the book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”.

As he said in it, all the principles can be written down in a piece of paper but giving real examples is one thing that can motivate the readers to follow. The big difference between this and other books on dealing with people is that he imply for us to do them sincerely. I learned a lot out of reading this book and learned more when I applied what I read.

I have been successful in sincerely dealing with people and I would always give credit to this book and the author. With this I read 2 more books he wrote which are also big help for me.

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Waiting

Nowadays, I have no trouble when I have to wait on a schedule or a queue. I can get thru waiting with ease as long as I have my book, my game or my mobile phone with me. The mobile phone is just a new addition and its main purpose now is not for sending message or for calling other people.<>

My PSP is one of my weapons when it comes to waiting. My favorite games are strategy, sports, or other things where I can learn something. There was a time when I have to wait for flight going back to Lae from Port Moresby, that time, I would wish I have to wait longer so that I can finish the championship on an NBA 2007 season. Usually, I would play until battery is flat of if I have problem getting though a stage. In my PSP are also leadership and motivational audio books which I listen to once in a while.

I am keen on checking my destination. If there would be some time i.e. commuting, then I am sure to bring a book with me. As long as I can, I would read some pages. I remembered a time when I have to wait on a long unexpected and unannounced queue and I am not armed with anything then. I ran into a bookshop (Booksale), saw the famous Suze Orman (Financial Adviser) on the cover and then bought the book – problem solved. I finished a third of the book until my turn came. I did not spend much and also learned something while waiting.

My latest addition is the mobile phone. It is not new to me. I have a mobile phone since Nokia 5110 was released. Now I have a better phone and I used it while waiting for making blogs. I place them in the Notes section. Either I would make a whole one or think of titles for the next one. With this one, even while waiting on a on a buffet or in bank, I have something to do. End

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Book #2: Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus

As I have said on my previous posts, I have not been good in relationship handling. Good thing I happen to read this book which helped me a lot in terms of my relationship with my wife, Joecy. When I read and practiced some points in this book, I saw what mistakes I have made and what wrong moves I have been doing. It was not easy for me then, but now, I am already reaping the benefit of the change I made. <>

The book is written by John Gray and the title is “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus”. In it, John shows the big differences between men and women which we should accept. I am not yet very fond of reading non-technical books when this one came. Fortunately, as I read and practice the principles written in it, it gained my interest and decided to finish them from cover to cover.
I also wrote the 2 common mistakes in relationship in my blue book and I would read them once in a while just to be sure I would not fall into that trap again. They are:

1. A man tries to change a woman’s feeling when she is upset by becoming Mr. Fix-it and offering solutions to her problems that invalidate her feelings.
2. A woman tries to change a man’s behavior when he makes mistake and becoming home-improvement committee and offering unsolicited advice and criticism.

It is the basic thing that a couple should know and the rest is elaborated in the book. Joecy would not agree before, but as I changed, so she does.

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True Gem

While in a group discussion, a friend of mine who is matured wanted to give advice to a couple who will soon get married. She was telling the couple some good ideas and realistic examples which they at some point have a good probability of running into. It ended in an argument as the couple won’t agree to the advice while she kept on telling her that what she said may happen and that it is just to prepare them. I just kept quite because as the discussion goes, I can see that the couple would not give up protecting what they know and are already closed minded.

Days later, Joel, a friend of mine, told me to read a book he already read and fortunately found something that may halt such arguments. The book is titled Thick face, Black heart by Chin-Ning Chu and this is what it says:

If you have a large, perfect diamond and you take it to the village marketplace, you will have tremendously hard time trying to convince the junk peddlers to give you five dollars for it. However, if you circumvent the village peddlers and the small town shop keepers and go directly to the most reputable diamond dealer in the nation, you would not have to waste your energy attempting to convince him. Your merchandise would speak for itself. You wouldn’t even need to open your mouth, and he might offer you five hundred thousand dollars for it.

If you are a true gem, do not waste your energy trying to undersell yourself to the common village peddlers. You will annoy them and wasted your time. It is much easier to sell valuable goods to those who recognize the value than to those who do not.

I would say that instead of giving realistic advice to peddlers, probably start telling people same fables first. It is like telling peddler the value of a simply stone first, then of copper, silver, and gold. If they already know the value gold, it will then be easy to tell them the value of a more perfect and expensive stone.

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book #1: The Monk Who Sold his Ferrari

I will impart with you the books that transformed me into whatever creature I have become. Hope you would read them also and hope it will be of help to you as it is with me. This will be the first of a series.

I will start with the first self-help book that I have read which is The Monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma. It is a fable about a lawyer who is exceptional on his job. Through this, he became rich and famous, but is empty deep inside. The turning point is when he collapsed in the courtroom. After some time, he then sold everything he has and searched for the true happiness in life. He sought for the sages in India who hold the secrets of happy and fulfilling life (which are the main parts of the story). He found them and became their student. He shared his experiences and gained knowledge as he had promised.

I am fortunate to have read such a good and interesting book as a start. Being an enlightened person, I have followed the wisdom I have learned from the fable and have searched for more since then.

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