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Books of 2012

December 30, 2012 By
Books

Image Credit: brewbooks

2012 was a year of reading and education for me. I have read more this year than in any previous year and it is great to see the accomplishment. What I believe drove this was Jon Acuff’s “FinishYear”  where he talked about finishing 12 non-fiction books. I went and doubled!

2013 is just around the corner and my goal is to complete 40 books by the end of next year. Who wants to come along on the journey?

Below, in no particular order, are the books that I completed in 2012. The links will take you to Amazon to read more about them and where I have written a review I have included a link to that as well.

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
The Money Class by Suze Orman
QBQ: The Question Behind the Question by John G. Miller
Parenting the QBQ Way John G. Miller
How to Be Like Walt by Pat Williams
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
The Legend of the Monk and the Merchant by Terry Felber (review)
Linchpin by Seth Godin
Poke the Box by Seth Godin
Tribes by Seth Godin
Think and Grow Rich by Napolean Hill
Rhinoceros Success by Scott Alexander
Wisdom Meets Passion by Dan Miller & Jared Angaza (review)
No More Dreaded Mondays by Dan Miller
More Than a Bucket List by Toni Birdsong (review)
Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins
The Art of Selling Yourself by Adam Riccoboni & Daniel Callaghan (review)
The Present by Spencer Johnson
Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson
The Daily Six by John Chappelear
Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters by Meg Meeker
The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau
One Big Thing by Phil Cooke (review)
The Wonderful World of Customer Service at Disney by Jeff Kober

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to All

December 25, 2012 By

Christmas TreeMerry Christmas and Happy Holidays to Everyone!

May you have a great rest of this year and be ready to kick it into gear for 2013!

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Rest In Peace Zig Ziglar

November 28, 2012 By

Zig ZiglarZig Ziglar
1926-2012

“You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.”

Zig certainly helped people get what they want but I would doubt he would say that he helped enough.  He is an inspiration to millions.  I am grateful that I had the opportunity along with my dad to see Zig Ziglar in person about ten years ago.  He was then in his 70s and still full of motivation and had the audience pumped.

The great motivator will continue to inspire generations to come.  I will continue to study his writings and recordings and one day hope to see him at the top.

 

 

Filed Under: Motivational, People Tagged With: , , , ,
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Happy Thanksgiving!

November 22, 2012 By
pies

Photo courtesy of Jason Meredith.

Happy Thanksgiving from my family to yours!

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You Are What You Say You Are

November 21, 2012 By
Main Street at Magic Kingdom

When you are a child you are always saying that you are a singer, movie star, or princess. Why do we lose this as adults and start focusing on the negative?

A lot has been written about this and I often wonder how many people pay attention and see how it really does effect their life.  What am I speaking of?  The story you tell yourself.

When you say you are something you tend to become it.  Those that say they are poor tend to be without money.  Why?  Because you head in the direction in which you focus.  If you focus on being poor you will stay poor.  Focus on having money and taking care of your money I know you will have it.  It may not be today or three months from now but try getting up every morning and instead of being broke to the point of being broken change your story.  Tell yourself that you are rich and say out loud the things that you have that make you rich.  Do you have a partner?  Children? A job? A home?

Why is it that as humans we have a hard time telling a good story when we as individuals are the subject?    Instead of “I failed” why not “I learned what not to do”?  When someone asks how you are doing why not respond with “Grateful for another day.”

Zig Ziglar says “A failure is an event not a person.”  Even the great motivator has spoken about it for decades.  The story you tell yourself is a major force in directing your life.  Saying “I am a failure” points you in the direction of failing.  When someone says “How are you?” and you respond with “Worn out”  it makes you fell more tired than before you said it (I am guilty of this).

A lot of people have talked about this but one of the more recent is Pastor Joel Osteen.  I have included his “The Power of ‘I Am'” sermon below.  Take the time and watch through it and take notes:

Filed Under: Life Coaching, Motivational, People Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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Book Review: More Than A Bucket List by Toni Birdsong

November 20, 2012 By

More Than A Bucket ListThis will be my final book review for 2012. As we embark on a new year and a new journey I will be gearing up for things to come in 2013!

“More Than A Bucket List” by Toni Birdsong is a hardcover gift book that runs 278 pages.  It is divided into many different sections to give you various activities/adventures to pursue.  The purpose of the book is to help you get more out of life instead of watching it go by.  My take away from it:  PARTICIPATE!

When I first came across the title of this book it was something I instantly wanted an opportunity to review.  My job is to help people live their life to the fullest and breakthrough the things that are holding them back and this is part of what a “bucket list” is intended to do.

This book contains a lot of different lists including things to do, places to visit, and adventures to pursue.  I really like the variety that is presented and it made me think of some places I would like to visit.  I also like the “Real–Life Challenges” that are presented throughout the book for you to go out and try in real situations.

If you are someone who is in a pursuit to find things to put on your bucket list or to help you generate ideas I think you will get a lot of suggestions and direction from this book.  However, I would not recommend it for someone who is really looking to find or pursue their dreams and passions – I believe there are books better suited for that than this.

Understand this is intended to be a gift book and not something that you would necessarily walk into a book store and look for as a self help item.  It is an excellent little tome to be given as a gift for that someone in your life that is in place to really connect with what is being discussed.

If you would like to read more reviews or purchase the book you can do so from Amazon.

*Note: I received a copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review.*
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ENDED: Giveaway: 3 Holiday ePlanners From ListPlanIt

November 3, 2012 By

Holiday ePlannerWinners

Congratulations to Matt L., Bambi W., and Davi H.! Enjoy your planners and have a less stressful holiday season!

*************************************************

From November 3-November 9 you can enter to win one of three holiday eplanners from ListPlanIt. These planners can help keep you organized and stress free during the holiday season from Thanksgiving through Christmas. It is 53 pages of tools such as card lists, gift lists, meal and party planning lists, and anything else you might need to get your holiday planning on track.

Giveaway Times

Giveaway will run from 12:01am EST on November 3, 2012 until 12:01am EST on November 9, 2012.  Winners will be announced no later than November 10, 2012 on this page.

Delivery

3 winner will be notified via e-mail and a link to download the eplanner will be sent from ListPlanIt directly to download your eplanner.

How to Sign Up

Follow the information below and gain multiple entries!

 

*Signup Form Removed – Giveaway has ended*

 

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Book Review: One Big Thing by Phil Cooke

October 12, 2012 By

One Big Thing by Phil Cooke

The book is about your “One Big Thing” or OBT.  Basically, what is the one thing you were put on the earth to do is the question it seeks to solve.  Why be average at a bunch of things when you can be great at your One Big Thing?  Phil Cooke takes you on a guided tour to discover what your OBT is and how to get out of some of the clutter that is around you.

I found that in this book there was not a lot of new ground covered for me.  Admittedly, I read much more of this genre than what the average person does, however, I found it to be a very easy and enjoyable read.  Phil Cooke has a writing style that is comfortable and makes you feel like you are having a conversation.  The book does accomplish it’s mission which is to help the reader bring focus into their lives.

“One Big Thing” does make you think and challenges you to look at your life and where you are.  What is it that you are passionate about?  What is it that you want to do with your life?  And once you have found those answers it shows you how to focus in on it and take steps in the right direction.

My favorite part of the book was the epilogue titles “You’re Not Crazy.”  I absolutely loved the story of Georg Friedrich Handel.  This part of the book reinforces on of the other chapters and goes to prove that you are never to old to accomplish what you were born to do.

I also highly enjoyed the quotes throughout this book.  I love good quotations and this one is packed full of them.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking to focus their life or who needs helping finding what to focus on.  Mr. Cooke has written a book that is easy to relax with and is enjoyable to read.  I look forward to reading his previous book “Jolt” in the near future.

To read more customer reviews or purchase the book visit Amazon.

*Note: I received a copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review.*
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Book Review: The Art of Selling Yourself by Riccoboni and Callaghan

October 4, 2012 By

The Art of Selling Yourself“The Art of Selling Yourself” is a book written by Adam Riccoboni and Daniel Callaghan of MBA & Company.  It was originally published in the United Kingdom under the title “Buy Me!” in 2011.  The content of the book is, as you might tell, about how to sell yourself in business situations such as interviews, ideas and public relations and how to sell yourself if you are an entrepreneur and needing to sell your concept to potential markets.

Riccoboni & Callaghan outline ten steps to take to sell yourself:

  1. Self-Belief and Confidence
  2. Personal Preparation
  3. Personal Presentation
  4. Communication
  5. Empathy
  6. Under-Promise and Over-Deliver
  7. Going the Extra Mile
  8. Overcoming Setbacks
  9. Managing the Media
  10. Leadership

The book contains exercises to complete to help you focus on your qualities and unique selling points and takes you step by step from there to show you how to present yourself in a way that people want to buy you (your services, idea, or work with your company).

While some of this book is not ground breaking or new to this genre I did enjoy it quite a bit.  I think everyone will get many takeaways and the book will help you develop confidence, show you how to network, show you how to have a conversation with someone in a way that you can better relate, get out of your comfort zone, and get up from setbacks and move on to the next sell.  I also like the step by step format which makes this an easy read and helps you work on one concept at a time.

One of the most interesting parts for me are the case studies.  Profiles of Sir Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, and Jeff Bezos were my favorites out of the the ten included in the book.  You have an opportunity to see, in a few pages, how these business masters started out and see where they have come today.

I would recommend this book to anyone who needs to sell themselves in any area of their life but especially in business.  From selling yourself to a potential employer to selling your project to an investor this book will show you how to begin and that is with yourself.  I will have this on by bookshelf as a resource to continue to look back on.

To read more customer reviews or purchase the book visit Amazon.

*Note: I received a copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review.*
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Book Review: Wisdom Meets Passion by Dan Miller & Jared Angaza

September 25, 2012 By

Wisdom Meets Passion

Something drew me to this book when I heard about it and I am glad that it did.  “Wisdom Meets Passion” is a book about moving forward and doing something you are passionate about in your life.  Why live in the mediocrity of the cubicle that you hate when you can use the wisdom you have gained during your life with the passion in your heart to pursue your dreams?

“Wisdom Meets Passion” is a collaboration between Dan Miller and his son Jared Angaza.  The two compliment each other while giving the text their own perspective.  If you have read either of Dan’s other books you are in for a change.

This book is an easy read and if you have ever listen to the “48 Days Podcast” you can hear Dan Miller’s voice while you are reading it like he is talking to you.  Why?  Because he is.  It is a wake up call to a multitude of people who are not doing what they love to do, are pursuing careers to make someone else happy, or because they think it is what is responsible “adult” thing to do.

This is not a career guide like “48 Days.”  This is a “get off your butt” guide that really helps with that push to get you going.

Jared’s points of views from living in Africa are excellent and fit very well in this book.  I would love to see him write a book of his own about his journey growing up to where he is living today on the African coast.

I would highly recommend to anyone who is stuck wishing or dreaming they were doing something else with their life.  Working with a non-profit, wanting to open their business, or ready to change the world?  Pick up this book for a kick start.

“Start with what you have. If you wait until you have the confidence you need to do a job search, the education you need before you are a great candidate, or the money you need to start a business, you’ll never start anything. Start today. Start walking toward your ultimate success.” Dan Miller

To read more customer reviews or purchase the book visit Amazon.

*Note: I received a copy of this book at no charge in exchange for my honest review.*
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I Don’t Have Time To Exercise

September 23, 2012 By
Plank

Photo courtesy of Hector Alejandro.

Many say they do not have time to exercise (among other things). I will admit that this has been one of my faults in the past. There was always something else that was “more important” at the time. However, last week something came to mind out of nowhere when I was getting ready for work.

I started doing some math and figured if you exercise three times per week for 30 minutes each day that equals 78 hours which is 3.25  days per year.  If you exercise from the age of 18 until age 70 at the three day/30 minute interval that equals 169 days.

A doctor I saw a few years ago told me if I did not drop some weight I could take 20 years off of my life.  So the realization that popped in my head that morning is that by not exercising for those 169 days I could possibly lose 7,300 days via an early death by a controllable factor.  I prefer to choose the exercise over the other outcome!

Of course, the numbers are different depending on what age you start your workouts and hopefully you’ll never be in a condition where you need to stop.  Imagine being one of the people you see on television that are running marathons in their 90s!

 

Filed Under: Fitness, Life Coaching, Time Management Tagged With: , , , , , ,
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Keep organized and stress free this holiday season!

September 2, 2012 By

100 Days To Christmas 2012

Book Review – “100 Days to Christmas” by Jennifer Tankersley

I see it year in and year out.  Individuals stressed out beyond belief because the holidays “creep up on them” as if the dates move every year.  They are running around at the last minute trying to buy gifts and get cards.  I know you can relate in some way.

You can now avoid the drama that comes with doing everything last minute thanks to Jennifer Tankersley.  Her book “100 Days to Christmas” takes the “surprise” out of the date coming up on you and allows you to do a little each day that gets you ready for Christmas.

Your countdown begins on September 16 as you get your supplies ready to go.  Then you do a little each day such as doing your Christmas budget, deciding on a costume for Halloween, and getting your food ready for Thanksgiving day.  There is a different activity each day some of which is just something fun to do with the family like picking apples or going to the pumpkin patch.  Saturday is your catch up day to do any projects your missed during the week and get ready for the new week.

Along with the ebook you also get 25 downloadable PDF pages from ListPlanIt, Jennifer’s main site, that includes your budget sheet, planning calendars and more.

I highly recommend this ebook, if nothing else, because it allows you to greatly reduce your holiday stress while increasing your enjoyment of Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

It is an excellent tool to use and you can add traditions and items that you need to do or take away things that you don’t like.  The important thing is you are ready and prepared for the last three and a half months of the year and can enjoy it with your family and friends.  I purchased one last year and loved it and I am sure you will find great ideas inside too!

To learn more or purchase the ebook for $5.00 visit ListPlanIt.

If you want to know a little more about reducing your stress through the holiday season check out my article from last year:  99 Days Until Christmas

*Note: I received a copy of this ebook at no charge in exchange for providing my thoughts in this review.*
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Customer Service Survey

August 23, 2012 By

Customer ServiceI am doing research for a project and I want to know what customer service problems you encounter when you are out shopping or dining.  The following is a brief survey and should take less than 4 minutes to complete.

Feel free to pass this survey on to friends, family, and colleagues!


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The Math of Customer Service

May 25, 2012 By

Dollar SignToday I had the opportunity to guest post on Chris LoCurto’s blog.  It is an issue I have been thinking about for many years.  Check it out at ChrisLoCurto.com

Filed Under: Customer Service Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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100 Days of Summertime

May 21, 2012 By

100 Days of Summertime ebook coverJennifer Tankersley’s newest edition to her organizational repertoire has been released. “100 Days of Summertime” is her followup to her successful (and wonderful) ebook “100 Days to Christmas” which takes you from100 days prior to the holiday (September 16) until Christmas day itself and showing you how you can have a stress free holiday season.

In this ebook we go from Memorial Day to Labor Day outlining different life events and activities you can complete to have a great family summer.  This includes planning a start of summer party and preparing for graduation events to school starting up and preparing to get ready for fall (which starts September 22).

Woven throughout this book are downloadable planning sheets from Jennifer’s site ListPlanIt which you can fill in the blanks and print out.  These are great for continual planning for events during the year.

I recommend this ebook to my clients for a couple of reasons.  One is it gives you some ideas on things to do during the summer.  Instead of sitting at home all the time or doing the same routine day in and day out this can help provide you with variety.

Second reason is that it helps reduce stress by helping you organize what you need to do through the use of calendars and other downloadable worksheets.

You can purchase this ebook from the ListPlanIt web site for $5.

 

(Note: I received a copy of this ebook at no charge to review it and the links are referral links.)
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