I don’t know about you, but COVID-19 has changed how I am spending my time this year. I wake up some days with determined productivity in mind, only to barely manage the essentials that day. Other days, it just seems pointless to try and get anything done. So when I picked up Significance: How to Refocus your Life on what Matters Most by Paul Hannam I was delighted to find how relevant the information in the book was to our current global situation.
The author extorts the reader to take this time to reflect on where we are and where we want to be in our personal development and life fulfillment. When restrictions ease and we go back about our business again, it should be with renewed purpose, not despair that we’ve returned to the same old rut.
Finding significance to our lives doesn’t have to be complicated. We already intuitively know what it is that makes us happy. However, we’ve been conditioned to put that aside, and instead, take up the yoke of employment, marriage, and responsibility. What if we could break free from what no longer serves us? Imagine what we could accomplish!
The focus of this book is how to create an unlimited version of yourself by setting goals and tapping into your adventurous side. Personal narrative alongside practical guidance make this book a timely read, even if you won’t be traveling out of the country this year.
There is no reason to stop dreaming about a different sort of life. Success Redefined can help you find work online, foster a rule-breaking mindset, and create a support network now so that when the time comes for you to hit the road, you’ll be ready.
In 2020, COVID-19 has drastically changed the way we think about school. The heated debates on whether it is safe or not to open in August need not concern you if you start making adaptations in your life now to accommodate homeschool, unschooling, online schooling or whatever combination best works for your family. Success Redefined: Travel, Motherhood, & Being the Boss can help with this process too!
If you are searching for a better way to live, then you’ll want to pick up your copy of Monique Alvarez’s book and start your planning!
Have you made goals that you haven’t met yet? Do you have a vague dream that you want to accomplish someday? Are there things you want to try but are afraid of failure? It’s time to buckle down with The Thinking Game: A Winning Strategy for Achieving Your Goals by Kara Lane and catch those rainbows!
Kara Lane wrote The Thinking Game with the objective of helping you (that’s right YOU) achieve a goal, any goal. However, there are some rules to the game that you need to learn first.
Once you’ve understood the rules, there are things you can do to prepare yourself to meet your goal. You wouldn’t just wake up one morning and decide to run the Boston Marathon now would you? Kara Lane provides some exercises to help you manage your unconscious mind, develop a thinking mindset and strengthen your thinking skills.
The Thinking Game also gives a brief summary of several critical thinking techniques for you to choose from. When making a goal, a decision or pondering the future, you could make a pro/con list, comparisons table or a checklist. You could also use the +1 Solutions, 5 Whys or the Six Thinking Hats methods of analysis.
A goal can never be realized without a little creativity, so Kara provides several creative thinking techniques for you to utilize as well. Meditation, visualization, affirmations, brainstorming, mind mapping, and brain mining are all proven methods to aid you in thinking outside the box.
My favorite chapter was Chapter 6: Questions to Frequently Ask to Improve Your Thinking. We all have aspects of our life that we want to improve. Asking questions like the ones suggested for success, relationships, money, personal satisfaction on a regular basis will help you (and me) stay focused on those long-term goals.
The good stuff doesn’t stop there. Part 3 is all about applying conscious thinking to achieve your goals. In order to get from here to there, you need a plan. This section helps you narrow your goal into something you can reasonably obtain, or if your dream still seems unobtainable, how to make smaller goals that take you in the direction of your dreams. And if you fail, well, what did you learn to make the next plan better.
The Thinking Game is a must read for EVERYONE (seriously). The title belies the seriousness of the book. Yes, thinking can be a game but it’s so much more than that.
I enjoyed the challenges the author included to help the reader move out of his or her comfort zone. Our lives are not meant to be wasted with mindless tasks and passive entertainment. I admit to having a fondness for this type of self-improvement book. In fact, I have a whole shelf of books designed to bettering your situation. This is a book that I gladly added to that shelf.
After all, we all want something. And reviewing the advice and activities in The Thinking Game, you (and I) will be able to move closer to obtaining those goals.
I received an advance review copy from Reedsy Discovery. You can read my review here.
Everyone is familiar with the idea of the starving artist, but have you heard of the thriving artist? Using the life story of Michelangelo Buonarotti as inspiration, you know, that guy who painted the Sistine Chapel, Jeff Goins debunks that starving artist myth and presents a new paradigm in which would-be starving artists become thriving artists.
Although Michelangelo is the primary artist featured in this book, countless other artists, both past and present are included. The author has compiled these fascinating rags to riches stories through research and interviews with artists and entrepreneurs. Each story supports the claim that in order to be a successful artist, one need not starve.
Now that doesn’t mean every creative soul should quit his or her day job just yet. There are a few hurdles you’ll have to vault. The conflicting beliefs of the starving artists and the thriving artist are nicely outlined in 12 chapters. Some of these beliefs might be surprising. Did you know that the thriving artist steals his or her ideas from others? Would you believe that it is essential to cultivate a patron in order to succeed? Are you aware that you should receive monetary recompense and esteem for your creative endeavors?
There were some truly inspirational sections in Real Artists Don’t Starve by Jeff Goins. When I had finished reading, I felt encouraged and hopeful while at the same time realizing how very far I have yet to go to become one of those thriving artists. Fortunately, just like Michelangelo, I’m as stubborn as a donkey, so perhaps one day I’ll get there.
Read more about the book here. Pick up your own copy here.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Changing the world is not as altruistic you might think. Most movers and shakers have multiple motives for what they do. Author Justin Dillon takes us through his personal journey from musician to founder and CEO of the Made in a Free World organization which focuses on disrupting human trafficking trade worldwide. Citing example after example, he explores the reasons why each one of us should make an effort to change the world, what keeps the world from changing and how we can actually change the world.
The key point for me was what the author called “finding your riot.” Although that seems a bit aggressive, what he refers to is finding what you are passionate about and using that for social change. Combine that riot with the desire to “contribute to a larger narrative” and your unique abilities, and you have the recipe for world-changing work.
Much like the author, who began with his belief that changing the world was only attempted by selfless and sacrificial people, I often feel that perhaps changing the world was beyond my abilities even though I’ve made some effort at do-gooding over the years. I can’t say that I’ve been successful in changing the world even one iota despite my efforts, but I know people who are, and I haven’t given up yet.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
How do ordinary men and women find themselves complacently or even passionately supporting mass murder? How can people transcend their immediate personal suffering yet succumb years later? How can society prevent such atrocities such as the Holocaust or the Spanish Inquisition from reoccurring? What causes people to willingly sacrifice their lives for a national or religious rationale? How can these things be measured empirically and studied? Author Fred Emil Katz discusses these questions and more in Immediacy: Our Ways of Coping in Everyday Life.
The topic presented is complex. Immediacy: Our Ways of Coping in Everyday Lifeis a series of essays and articles written by the author during his distinguished career as a sociologist that have been compiled and updated. The book has 5 principal sections, each with an introduction that explains how these chapters relate to the idea of immediacy. I found these introductory chapters to be extremely helpful in my understanding of the material.
It may seem to some that society as a whole has evolved beyond the incidents discussed in this book, but has it? (List of genocides by death toll) A call for national unity in an effort to make the country great again which becomes the justification for national purging of undesired and unassimilated residents, never mind the cost to human lives, sounds eerily familiar. Although Katz has more questions than answers for us, at least he is presenting this topic for our consideration and if we were wise, we would ponder them carefully.
I especially found the chapter on societal denial to be eye-opening. Sometimes, humanity turns a blind eye. Sometimes we just can’t see.
The examples the author uses to illustrate each aspect of immediacy are well-known. He uses some unorthodox punctuation, dashes rather than commas or parentheses, but it did not detract from the overall readability of the text.
While I believe that the message is one that everyone should be made aware of, I’m not sure that everyone would benefit from reading this book. Its tone was scholarly even when discussing the fate of the author’s own parents and elder brother. Sociology as an applied science is still in its infancy. We just may not be able to think of our immediacies as something we can change.
Each page focuses on one emotion or behavior that might be holding you back and includes information on the psychology about that emotion or behavior, an inspirational quote, a link to a short video, recommended readings, a link to online support resources, and blank areas to record your reflections as you work through the book.
Emphasis is given to procrastination, self-doubt, overcoming being overwhelmed or indecisive, stress, depression, anxiety, anger, vengefulness, and tips to finding a more peaceful existence.
Lately, a number of personal and business ventures have fallen from the sky and I’ve been naturally feeling a bit overwhelmed. Therefore, I thought it would be best for me to begin this workbook with the Overwhelm or Indecisive unit.
First was a reference from an article entitled “Overwhelmed much?” published by Psychology Today which highlights 9 reasons most of us are more overwhelmed than we should be.
A nice quote from Paulo Coelho is the next resource for the topic.
Then there is this short video made by John Tayles discussing Cures for Indecisiveness.
For further reading try Eat the Elephant, Overcoming Overwhelm by Karolyn Blume where the author shares time-tested tools for eliminating overwhelm and perfectionism.
If a book seems too overwhelming, there’s a blog resource which breaks it down into bite-size bits. Here’s the link for Steve Andreas’s NLP Blog and the post Overcoming Overwhelm.
As wonderful as this personal development workbook is, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. J. Byrne also hosts a micro-mentoring course to help you define what you want from life and carve out the time to create it.
If you’d like to read more about self-sabotage, then check out this article by Mike Bundrant, retired psychotherapist, Master NLP trainer, and practicing life coach entitled Top 5 Self-Sabotaging Habits to Quit Right Now.
So how do you get from just dreaming about what you want from life to actually doing something about it? Launch Your Dream by Dale Partridge gives you 30 days of activities specifically geared to help you set up your own business and develop a sustainable lifestyle in the process. This step by step approach will assist you in having it all, including meaningful work, a balanced family life, and adequate income to maintain each aspect.
I have to admit, I highlighted huge sections of the book. There were so many points I wanted to incorporate into my life, that I had to reread the book a second time, paying special attention to the text I had marked. What stood out for me was the systematic debunking of certain “follow your dream” myths. The top 10 incorrect beliefs are as follows:
Myth #1
Working for someone else is more stable than being self-employed.
Myth #2
Anyone can work for themselves.
Myth #3
It’s a simple matter of discovering what you are passionate about and doing it.
Myth #4
Self-employment is the gateway to wealth.
Myth #5
Failure should be avoided at all costs.
Myth #6
The number one reason people don’t start their own business is a lack of funds.
Myth #7
Only the young and hip are successful entrepreneurs.
Myth #8
Working for yourself means no more free time.
Myth #9
To be successful, one must be ruthless.
Myth #10
If you build it, they will come.
Once I was convinced that I, too, could become a successful entrepreneur, it was time to break it down into segments. The bottom line, which totally amazed me, was when looking at your proposed business, or at your current life, you are not the hero, but the guide. With the self-absorption prevalent in modern society, it takes a bit of a mental stretch to wrap your mind around this concept. Your purpose in creating a business, any business, is to provide assistance to others so that your customers can triumph. Your role, whether you provide a physical product or not, is that of service. Starting with this foundation, the sky’s the limit.
Then there is this short video made by John Tayles discussing Cures for Indecisiveness.
