reading

Have you read these posts?

June 14, 2012 by Alan R Leave a Comment

Time marches on. Information comes and information goes. While the newest information is often the most relevant, there is no denying the wisdom of the past. Timeless, evergreen content is everywhere, you just have to find it. There may be a few posts that are several years old that resonates with you so much, it changes your life.

If you are looking for life changing content, check out the blogs and content from these amazing people:

Seth Godin

Tim Ferriss

Dan Miller

Below are some posts you may have missed from this site. Some are popular, but most are just personal favorites and in no particular order. Thanks for reading

How to read a book

What’s Your Story?

Hiking and armadillo classification

Strive to be the best???

What are you complaining about?

Prejudice, being different, and what we tell our kids

The power of never and always

Creativity, Classical Music, and TED

Why I stopped reading books (and I think you should too)

November 21, 2011 by Alan R Leave a Comment

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I enjoy reading. In past years, I have read hundreds and hundreds of books and listened to over four hundred audiobooks. I really, really enjoy reading. I have, however, decided to stop reading and listening to audiobooks….. at least, temporarily. Why would I do such a thing?

Reading is learning. I mostly read and listen to books that can help me personally and professionally. I want to be a better person and I believe books are the best way to help me on my journey. But no matter how many books I read, no matter how many audiobooks I listen to, it doesn’t matter if I don’t apply the knowledge I learn from those books. So, how should you apply the knowledge you are learning?

Things I read tend to get jumbled together. I may recognize the name of a book that I have read over a year ago or I may not. Chances are good that if I recognize the name, I may not be able to tell you much about that book. To make matters worse, most of the books I read are borrowed from the library so I have them for a very short time. What can you do? How can you retain the information? The secret lies in having a system.

[Read more…]

Do you prefer Audiobooks or Podcasts?

October 19, 2011 by Alan R Leave a Comment

For years, I listened to audiobooks when I drove. They are entertaining, informative, and in my opinion, a much better alternative to listening to music. Over the past 5 or so years, I have gone through over 400 audiobooks of varying lengths and subjects, from business to horror, self-help to history. I enjoy listening to content while I drive, exercise (at least, when I exercised more regularly), and any other time I can. Audiobooks, while a great source of content, are often not the most up-to-date information. Enter podcasts.

Podcasts, while being up-to-date, may not represent the best source of information. Anyone can create and distribute a podcast with little trouble. They are much shorter in length; typically from a few minutes to an hour or so compared to many 10’s of hours for the typical audiobook. The content is more recent; you can create a podcast and have it available in a few minutes compared to months or more for audiobooks. So what is the best solution?

As most things in life, this is not an “either-or” choice but an “and or both” choice. Both have their uses, strengths and weaknesses. Seth Godin utilizes blogs, books, and other media options but does not create podcasts. I would feel it a great disservice to myself not to have the wisdom of Mr Godin to learn from. Justin Lukasavige from Coach Radio TV does amazing podcasts (up to 179 episodes as I write this). The episodes are about one hour long and packed full of great information, stories, and coaching to help you do business better. Again, I would feel it a great disservice to myself not to have the wisdom of Mr Lukasavige to learn from.

As we get further into digital content, we will be bombarded with more and more information. There will be good information, bad information, and information so awful, terrible, and bad for society, it should be erased from human memory. What is the best source of this information? Is it from podcasts? Is it from audiobooks? Traditionally published books? ebooks? Who knows?

As a society, we must keep an open mind in regard to content as well as content delivery. Gone are the days of three television stations or nothing on the radio. We live in an era of global access to information. Not only can we access the information, not only are we content consumers, but we are content generators. We have the power, the tools, and in many cases, the passion to produce quality content for the world. All you have to do is find your passion and get started.

What is your passion?

How can you turn that passion into relevant content?

How can you share it with the world?

Strive to be the best???

October 5, 2011 by Alan R Leave a Comment

While reading Brand Relevance: Making Competitors Irrelevant by David A. Aaker, I came across this quote

“You do not merely want to be considered just the best of the best. You want to be considered the only ones who do what you do” – Jerry Garcia, The Grateful Dead

That started me to wonder, which one am I following? Am I trying to be the best of the best, or the one who is blazing a new trail for everyone to follow? Sure, trail blazers will make mistakes…. they will fail…. but when they succeed, it is spectacular, life changing….. world changing.

So, which one are you?

Party like it’s 1899

June 1, 2011 by Alan R Leave a Comment

(Photo by nuchylee)

What could you do if you had an extra 4 workdays in a week? No, no, no, not to work, what would you do with that much FREE time? That is a question posed by Dan Miller on his 48 Days blog. How many things have you been putting off because you had no time? Months ago, we canceled our satellite service. Friends and family were concerned with how the children would cope. Some felt sorry for us having to go through this. What did people do before TV? Before DVRs? Before mass-media distraction?

People back in 1899 had books to read. They met with friends and discussed issues. They had their own businesses. They learned and they did. There were distractions then as there will always be, but think of what they accomplished with what was available. What could you do? What WOULD you do if you had a million dollars and could not fail? What if…..

Think of something, great. Now we have the “what”, the next step is the “how”. Dreams are great, but if you don’t turn them into actions, the never become reality. Yes, you will make mistakes. Most likely, it will be hard. Great things in life are often difficult or seemingly impossible. What would you do if you could not fail? How would you do it? Life is too short to look back on and wish things were different. People often regret what they were unable to accomplish rather than their mistakes. If you want a different life, why not take those 32 hours a week and make it happen? What now….

We have the “what”, now are you going to use those 32 extra hours per week to take action on the “how”…. to take action on your dreams…. to take action on your future….