Book Reviews

This is going to Hurt by Adam Kay What’s it about? This is going to Hurt (2017) is a revealing and brilliantly hilarious look at the daily reality of working as a doctor in the UK. The book follows Adam as he rises through the ranks of the National Health Service. Every chapter has a witty, usually painful, always funny anecdote, and more often than not, they’re disturbingly grim. Adam’s personal recollections and diary entries offer warts and all look at the life of a doctor going about his business. Be it removing a plethora of objects in places they have no right to be in; tv remotes with condoms on them up the back passage (ouch), or engagement rings in a kinder egg in the holiest of holies only to get stuck. The list of unimaginable antics people get up to is amazing and quite baffling. During Adam’s 90-hour workweek, these events are all told in his dry, non-judgemental gallows humour kind of way. It’s a great read if you want to pick yourself up by reading about other people’s misfortunes! Who is it for? Medical students and aspiring doctors People curious about healthcare in the UK Anyone interested in some bleak medical horror stories Anyone with a dark sense of humour

I like Matthew Syed for a few reasons, really; his podcast ‘Flintoff, Savage and the Ping Pong Guy with Robbie Savage and Andrew Flintoff was honest, insightful, and loads of fun. Secondly, for calling out Pier Morgan (in his Sunday Times newspaper column) for being a self-aggrandising, thin-skinned social media bully. And thirdly for writing his complex yet easy to understand fascinating books on human behaviour. In his book Black Box Thinking (2015), He explores how failure is actually one of our greatest assets despite all the shame and pain associated with it. Full of practical tips on developing a healthy, productive relationship to failure, Black Box Thinking will help you change your mindset and the way you can deal with failure. Based on the principle that aircraft have a black box, which means every mistake, can and is scrupulously investigated so that it doesn’t happen again. It’s a metaphor for life in that we can learn from our mistakes. He contrasts this with the medical world, where death can and does happen through a doctor’s misdiagnosis or poor management. However, Syed explains that due to ego and the established norms of dealing with such incidents, they do not get investigated… the opposite to what happens in the airline industry. So mistakes keep on happening, and people keep on dying. Who’s it for? Psychological enthusiasts who want to know a bit more about how the mind works. Anyone who’s sick of making the same mistakes People who want to turn failure into success. Key Ideas People are afraid of failure because it compromises their self-esteem. Failure certainly hurts, but it’s a necessary precursor to improvement. If you can’t admit your mistakes, then you’ll never progress. To learn and develop, you have to subject your theories to failure. Failure inspires great solutions and helps fine-tune a complicated process. Reaching your full potential requires embracing failure. Summary It’s hard to admit mistakes, but if you want to meet your full potential, then you not only have to recognise that you make mistakes but embrace them as part of your path to success. Indeed he argues that without failure, there is no progress.

Tony Robbins is the guru of self-help. I went back and listened to his 1989 book, Unlimited Power (whilst in the car on 1.5x speed) Simply put, he says anything is achievable, you just need to have the systems in place to be able to do it. Start with this book, and one day you too, could be walking barefoot across the fire! What is it about? Unlimited Power is a powerful useful guide to overcoming fear, uncertainty and the feelings of unworthiness that can plague your life. With a few mental and physical exercises to help generate positive thoughts and improve body language, you can achieve the goals in life that truly matter to you. Who is it for? Entrepreneurs and CEOs who want to take their company to the next level.Dreamers who need help releasing big plansAthletes looking to unlock their potential Main Takeaways: There is no such thing as failure, as each step you take offers you an opportunity to learn and growYou can control your brain and change the way you process your emotions to overcome depression.You can achieve anything through the five-step process of modelling.Use eye movements to activate your brain for improving memory and creativity.By finding the right method of communication, you can make sure your partner receives your love.You can change your body language to fight depression.The power of conviction comes when you align your body and mind with a confident plan of action. In conclusion:You are not a victim, what happens in your life is a result of your own attitude towards it and how you treat yourself and your body. If you want to change your life, start changing your attitude. By making simple alterations to how you respond to situations and your emotions, you’ll find you can achieve anything you want. Actionable advice:If you ever feel that you don’t have the energy to achieve a given goal, deep breathing will help.Effective breathing has also been shown to activate your immune system and can even prevent the growth of cancerous cells. Photo Credit from Google.com

Prologue about the book: Take Action, Take Action, Take Action they all say….but like a Nat at a nudist convention it’s deciding where to start. Having spent a lot of time talking to people who ‘do’ meetings and attend multiple training programmes, it seems clear to me, that one of the reasons they do so, is that they’re a bit lost and searching for what to do and how to do it. This book will help sort the wheat from the chaff and allow you to focus on what’s important and build momentum. When it comes to self-help (or Shelf-help) Eat that Frog! Is definitely one of the better ones. Eat that Frog! By Brian Tracy What is it about? Eat that Frog! is all about overcoming procrastination and learning to manage your time.  It’s normal to feel drowned in your work, but when you learn to ‘eat your frogs’ – meaning do your most important tasks first, you work more efficiently and are happier too.  Who is it for? All procrastinators  Anyone with a goal they want to achieve Those overwhelmed by all the work they have to get done Introduction  The ability to be more productive in every sphere of your life with a few simple conscious actions. Everyone has said: I wish I had more time  I’m overwhelmed  I can’t possibly get all these things done Where do I start I’ve just lost two hours somewhere Whether it’s at home or in the office we’re constantly pushed by the amount of things to do.  It won’t take a life overhaul or major surgery to get more things done.  You just have to be a bit more productive and insightful to perform at a higher level. This book is about; how to eat that frog or tackle the biggest hardest most important task first.  In so doing you become more disciplined and focused.  Be the boss of your to-do list and discover a more efficient and effective you.  Brian Tracy offers 21 great ways to stop procrastination and get more things done faster: Set the table Plan every day in advance Apply the 80/20 rule to everything Consider the consequences Practice creative procrastination Use the ABCDE method continually Focus on key result areas Apply the law of three Prepare thoroughly before you begin Take one oil barrel at a time Upgrade your key skills Identify your key constraints Put pressure on yourself Motivate yourself into action Technology is a wonderful servant Focus your attention Slice and dice the task Create large chunks of time Develop a sense of emergency Single handle every task Takeaways: Every successful goal starts with a plan Establish your priorities and focus on them The path to progress is all about self-exploration You perform best by staying up optimistic and self-disciplined Acknowledge what’s holding you back, then overcome it Take control of your own time Key message in this book: Defeat procrastination by figuring out who you are and what you want to achieve. Confront your limitations, plan your time and eat your frogs! When you complete your most important task first, you train yourself to stay on the Road To Success.

Today, I will review the E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber (Why most small businesses don’t work and what to do about it.) Usually, 80% of start-up business fail within the first year. People start by being good at one aspect of the business, i.e. making coffee, making cakes or designing clothes, but don’t know about the other aspects of business; hiring, bookkeeping, ordering, marketing, sales, etc. However, if you build your business as a franchise model, i.e. build it with systems in place, that anybody can take the reins; your chances of success will increase radically. In other words: Work on your business, NOT in your business. Start with the end in mind: Before starting your business, ask yourself, ‘what kind of life do you want to live?’ How much money do you want, and how much do you want to work? These are the key questions for which you need the answers before you start, as you should set up a business in a way to help you attain your goals. Main points: 1. A heroic entrepreneur with a great idea and technical know-how succeeding in business quickly? That’s a myth. 2. Usually, an entrepreneur’s business won’t survive past adolescence. 3. To nurture your business beyond the adolescent stage, you have to plan from the start. 4. Inside, everyone has many different business personalities. 5. There’s an ongoing revolution in small business that provides a path to success. 6. Imagine your small business will one day be a national chain; now build the first store. 7. Start a business to satisfy your personal aim in life. 8. Organisational charts are crucial for your business’s growth and establishing accountability. 9. To manage your employees. Don’t rely on great people – rely on a great people-management system. 10. Next, forget everything and think only about the customer. 11. In the end, you’ll have a business made up of fully functional systems. 12. The process of planning and implementing never stops.   Photo Credit: Kylie Holliman-Rivera (IG: @curlynloud)  

Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad, Poor Dad, put simply, is foundational, mandatory reading for any self-respecting property developer. Understanding how to gain financial freedom and long term wealth is clearly and concisely spelt out and achievable to anyone who has the drive and ambition to make it happen. In Rich Dad’s Cashflow Quadrant Robert Kiyosaki identifies the four distinct ways of earning money – As an Employee. Being self-employed or running a small business, Owning a big Business Investing. Although there is no right way to live your life, if you want to attain financial freedom then the best thing is to move into big business ownership and investing. Even if you don’t want to become a business owner, investing is still vital, as it will provide you with a passive source of income throughout your life. Because money is so vital, it’s often a very emotional subject, but as soon as we’re able to approach financial risk objectively, we’re able to take control of our lives. Actionable advice: If you can, invest judiciously today! No matter your age, it’s a good idea to begin investing now. Though there is a risk attached to investing, there is often just as much risk attached to your job or the certainty of your pension. In fact, if your investment is well researched whether it’s in stock or property, then it’s likely to provide you with security later in life. Main points: – The different ways in which we can earn money can be divided into four quadrants. – Studying and working hard won’t get you financial freedom. – Working hard and working smart are two different things. – In today’s economy, we can’t rely on the government to look after us, we need to take our financial security into our own hands. – The four quadrants attract different types of people. – The surest way to achieve financial freedom is to move into business ownership so you can invest. – There a five different glass of investor. – Money provides irrational feelings which we must overcome new paragraph to achieve financial success. – Take baby steps and keep the long-term in mind.   Photo credit: Vancouver (IG: @vancitybash)  

I was listening to the Tim Ferris podcast (Tim Ferris of the 4 Hour Work Week fame), and in episode 494, Tim talked jointly with Michael Phelps and Grant Hackett. Although I’m from the swimming and water polo world, I had never realised that although huge rivals in the pool are very close, almost like brothers. It was a fascinating insight into their personalities. It covered multiple areas, including most notably, carrying the weight of success, their struggles with mental illness and how they deal with life post their athletic careers. As Tim Ferris often does, he asks his guests to choose a book that affects them. Grant Hackett mentioned the Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson. So I thought I’d follow along by adding a book and comments each week. The first of which is Mark Manson’s “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck.”   The Key Message of the Book: We try to do too much in life, and this leads to stress and unhappiness. Each of us needs to learn to stop “giving a f*ck” and about the things causing us pain. What do you want to really care about and develop a more constructive approach to work, love and life itself? Forget FOMO (fear of missing out) and learn to say NO.   Summary of Learnings: – What is in it for me? Learn to focus on the important things in life: and screw the rest. – Whatever you do in life, it will be a struggle, so you need to find the struggle that’s right for you. – Suffering can lead to great things, but if you don’t have the right values, you’ll never be happy. – Many people tend to focus on ‘shitty’ values, so it’s important to find some good ones to believe in. – Sometimes we feel like victims’, but positive change only happens when you take full responsibility for your life. – We often flee when our identity is threatened, but Buddhism can help; it helps to recognise the fake concepts in life. – Romantic love can be destructive unless we learn to control it. – Humans are terrified of death, and so they tried to live on beyond it.   Quotes: – Not giving a f**k does not mean being different. It means being comfortable with being different. – Don’t just sit there. Do something. The answers will follow. – Life is essentially an endless series of problems. The solution to one problem is merely the creation of another.   Photo credit: Tian Ming Goh (IG: @goh_tm)