Do you even read, bro?
 

I went for a walk to the bookstore at lunch.

I read the book What Makes an Effective Executive in it's entirety.

No, I'm not Jonny 5. It's a smallish sized book & it was only 50 odd pages.

I thought it would make this a good time to kick off another thread to keep track of all the books I read.

I'm becoming kind of addicted to reading. Which is awesome.

I'll update it later with a list of all the ones I've read so far.

I've read..

How to Win Friends & Influence People

The 4 Hour Work Week

Feel The Fear & Do It Anyway

The Tools - 5 Techniques to Unlock Your Potential

How to Stand Out

You Are a Badass

The Ultimate Secret to Getting Absolutely Anything You Want

Perfect Communications

The Power of Your Subconscious Mind

Instant Influence & Charisma

How to Talk To Anyone

The Lean Startup

Beyond Positive Thinking

Influence - The Psychology of Persuasion

The Secret

The $100 Startup

How to Make a Fortune on The Internet

Start & Run an Internet Business


There's more but this is all I can think off the top of my head. There's a bunch of eBooks both short & long that I've went through too.

Some of the above books would be worth going through again.

Right now I'm reading The Power of Now. I read it once before in eBook form but it felt like a load of gobbledygook at the time so I'm giving it another shot. RSD Tyler said he's read it 50 or 60 times.

Of course, I'm constantly reading & researching business related stuff on Entrepreneur website (of the magazine) & articles by Entrepreneurs on the Addicted to Success Site (so awesome I have it as a thumbnail on my phone) amongst others.

Just read a short 65 page eBook on Influencing & Persuasion Skills before bed.

I've read the hungry caterpillar. I was with him where he was eating and went to bed. Not so much when he got up again and started flying...

That's gutting mate. No morning sex.

Finished reading The Power of Now

Although I found it full of what feels like a whole load of gobbledygook & unnecessary waffle, I've been trying to use the stuff I've read in my day to day life.

Particularly in regards to thoughts about the future & the past. When I find myself thinking of something out of my control be it past or future, whilst walking down the street for instance, I'll tell myself to just be present..

Yesterday I was down in our Dublin office for a focus group & during an impromptu presentation I was giving to the room, the head of customer service challenged some of the ideas our group had come up with..

When I should have been listening to his queries so I could give an appropriate response, I found myself wondering how much pizza was left over from the lunch we had.

So I refocused & gave him my full attention.

I'm going to continue this presence thing but I'm unsure it will ever lead to this deeper spiritual "oneness with the universe" or some shit he babbles on about.

I started reading Rich Dad Poor Dad which appears to hold a lot of potential.

in the first chapter the writer talks of a time when he was 10 years old & his "rich dad" (his mates dad) taught him a valuable life lesson, after the kid asked him if he would teach him how to make money.

It began with an endearing anecdote about the time that the kids dads (the rich one & the poor one) finding the two 10 year olds literally trying to make money by melting lead into a plaster of paris mould shaped to cater for a 10 cent coin.

The chapter ended with him telling of the comic library they launched. They asked for the comics from the store of the rich dad, that were going to be thrown out, after swearing not to resell them, & charged kids 10c for 3 hours access to read as many comics as they wanted. And it turned into a successful business for the 10 year olds. They even hired one of the kids teenage sisters as the receptionist.

I read that chapter on the train home from Dublin yesterday & I honestly would have loved to read it right through.

Not often I feel that from a book after the first chapter.

Ok, allow me to elaborate,

The kids arent supposed to hear me

The kids weren't gifted anything. They used their heads & decided to form a business.

They launched a business. That doesn't mean you're not capable.

Although I do know where you're coming from

The comics were from the rich dads store. When the woman who worked there was seen cutting off the top of the front pages (in order to get the credit from the unsold items) the kid asked her what was going to happen to them. She told him that the comic book delivery guy comes to collect them.

The kids waited for the comic book guy & asked him if they could have them. He allowed them to take the comics on the promise that they don't resell them.

As for the legalities of their business. They were a pair of 10 year olds, who cares if they paid taxes?

Did you or I pay taxes on any of the many drug deals we'll have been involved with over the years? I know I didn't.

True plenty of the big shot tycoons we all know, usually started out breaking rules. I'd bet Alan Sugar didn't do things completely by the book when he started out selling car ariels from the boot of his car.

It's not how I'm planning to start out though. I'm gunna make sure everything's done right. One of the first things I'll need to do is register as a sole trader.

A sole trader of what? What research have you done? What is your business plan, your business model?

Initially I wanted to start off by selling stuff on Amazon but I felt that although the traffic is already there, the business is still Amazon & will never be your own. You're just a store/merchant on Amazon.

So it's going to be an online dropshipping business & I've decided on the website building platform I'll be using, Shopify. And the products will most likely come from Aliexpress.

The biggest obstacle has been deciding the market to get into. I read an article the other day that suggested that, rather than trying to figure out what products to sell, instead find an audience.

Products can come & go, but an audience will always be there. So that made me go back to the drawing board in a way.

I need to contact Shopify & Aliexpress & find out if everything can be done with a debit card. If not I'll have to get a credit card (something I'm hoping I don't need to do).

I'm buying a new laptop tomorrow or Thursday, so I can get stuck into it a lot more than I have (I've been multitasking at work, juggling work & research). As soon as I decide/figure out the audience/products, I'll start writing a business plan.

The next 2 months will be spent engrossed in it. I was thinking of setting a launch date, so I'll be forced to get a move on.

Just finished reading..

Internet Riches: The Simple Money-Making Secrets of Online Millionaires

Pretty informative book and I picked up quite a few tips from it. But then again I've picked up dozens and dozens of similar tips from various sources over the last few months.

I'm now feeling a little analysis paralysis from all the business related reading I'm constantly doing.

I already know what I need to do, what I want to to do, how I'm going to do it, and the eCommerce host that I'm going to do it with.

Now the only thing I'm gunna focus on regarding all this is narrowing down and deciding on the target market/audience/niche.

That's the biggest obstacle and most important next step.

No more fucking reading required for the time being.

I read somewhere that Kiyosaki has a habit of either telling lies or over-exaggerating. Rich Dad, Poor Dad not being an exception. I'm not much of a reader so I've not read it, however said chapter 1 anecdote sounds fable-like.

It sort of reminds me of Donald Trump. The self-titled self-made billionaire who received a "small loan" of $14 million in 1975 from his father, millionaire property magnate Fred Trump. I think the "loan" is still outstanding today, which basically made it free. This is one of many "loans" he received, including $3.5 million in casino chips Fred made to help his sons failing casino pay the rent, later being called out as illegal!

Baron Sugar used a telephone box as an office. He employed his mate to sit outside and take calls for him and prevent people from using it apparently.

I very much doubt he paid tax at 16!

Also you don't actually need to register anything as a sole trader. So long as you're registered for tax, there's nothing else you need to do. You're supposed to declare everything you make, but all which is under 12k (including other income) is tax free. Tax is calculated on everything you earn. For NI, you can top up whenever you like.

I was intrigued by the opening chapter. And although I wasn't so harsh as yourself and Kowalski about it, I am of course pretty sure that some of it was written for the purpose of a good story... I mean, he was what 9 years old I think? He "quoted" very many, and some lengthy anecdotes, phrases and conversations in that chapter. I highly doubt that when he wrote that book 50 years later he could remember all that stuff word for word.

Having said that, I haven't actually read any more of that book yet. Just the first chapter but at least when I do I can pick up where I left off easily.

As for Trump, I remember that clip clearly about the small loan from his dad. Except it was only 1 million, not 14.

I know, the poor fuck only got a $1 million loan. Tragic.

NOTE: From what I hear though, or the odd tweet I see, Trump is apparently doing something good, or Americans are happy with him, or something? I wouldn't know anything as I don't follow politics or the international news.

My accountant (a lady friend I met on a paid clinical trial 2 months ago, but who will be my accountant) gave me some advice on starting out, sole-tradership and limited company's etc. This is stuff I learned about in business school 8 years ago but, that was 8 years ago so I'm not gunna lie to myself and say I GOT THIS. I'd prefer to pay a professional and not only that, but when I do need her, she's not a random stranger that I don't know.

As for registering as a sole trader, I'd prefer to do that. To me it feels better than simply quietly making some extra money on the side. It'll encourage me mentally. To be officially self employed (even if on the side) is a step towards becoming a full time entrepreneur.

I believe I'm an entrepreneur anyway even though I haven't launched anything yet. I have the mind, the drive, the focus, the vision, the dedication, the belief, the want, the need, the obsession.

Yea ok I know that all sounds cheesy and cliche etc. But in simple terms I'm a businessman at heart, and I will pursue that shit until I'm successful.

I read Richard Branson's Like a Virgin. I had read about 15 chapters before yesterday (it's written in 3/4 page chapters) and then when I found out yesterday was international #ReadABookDay a decided to sit down and finish the whole book.

I have no major comprehensive book review or anything like that. Just that it was a decent read in regards to how business is done. Or rather, how he and Virgin group done/does business.

Which, as I'd kinda known but it didn't really register, was that they have always did things better by spotting competitors faults and building an entire business that was ultimately superior than competitors from the offset such as Virgin airlines - their super friendly cabin crew went above and beyond for their passengers and with a smile, something others didn't - air trips were mundane and unpleasant.

There was also things that were a little more risqué than usual. Like the Kate Moss cocaine "shock story" which Virgin jumped on immediately and hired Kate to star in one of their adverts about "contracts" referring to Virgin mobile, after having lost her modelling "contract". It was quite funny and pretty genius too if we're honest. Someone's loss is another's gain - just like another more recent example when the BBC sacked Clarkson and then Amazon picked him and the other 2 up.

(The Kate Moss thing wasn't in the book that's just me further reminding of Virgins willingness to shock)

Branson's book was definitely worth the read because it gave me a broad understanding of how to think alternatively and creatively. He is a legit entrepreneur yet he prides his success (not solely) on his willingness and ability to do what others aren't doing, even if it means twisting the rules a little bit.

I can't explain it properly how cool of a businessman he is, you'd need to read the book. I'm a big fan now.

I've got 2 more of his books and can't wait to read them. Especially the one called "Screw it, lets do it"


NOTE: Just as I was about to post this there was a news bulletin on my local radio station saying there was a hurricane or something on the British Virgin Islands, where Richard and his Missus lives.

Also helps that he was brought up in a family of wealthy business owners and was a mozart of business e.g. as soon as he could talk, he could think business.

Obviously is good to get knowledge from all these successful people but at the end of the day any top tier people are genetic freaks with the right upbringing and a stupid amount of luck.

I wasn't aware that he was a silver spoon kid. Lucky cunt. Rags to riches stories are way better.

I like Peter Jones from dragons den. He had millions, lost it, found himself on a mates sofa, clawed his way back and was a millionaire again within 2 years.

Of course, after having already been a millionaire once, I imagine it would have been easier to do the second time around.

Haven't read his story yet but it's one I'm looking forward to.

Just finished..

The Art of People - The 11 simple people skills that will get you everything you want

There are 12 weeks left of the year. I'm gunna try and read 10 books by the end of the year.

Yes I know that sounds easy but I'll be doing it alongside intensive study work as well as the gym and all the other life shit.

If I get 10 books read in that time I should have built a good habit leading up to the new year in which I'll be attempting to read up to 100 books in the year.... But 52 will be the primary goal; at least 1 book a week.

The book I've just finished counts, so I have 9 more to read before the end of December. I've probably read 20/25 books and eBooks so far this year. Not as many as I'd hoped but much more than most people these days.

I'll likely be reading quite fast, but slow enough to understand everything. Some people here have suggested to me that reading all these books is pointless, but I'd like to quote Warren Buffett on getting smarter by reading..

"Read 500 pages every week. That's how knowledge builds up, like compound interest"

I certainly prefer to read than watch game of thrones or eastenders. Fuck me, the soaps :dead1: I'd rather cut myself.

Now to go choose another unread book from the 100 or so in my home library.


Ps. In work lately there has been a lot of downtime. So I've been able to use some of that time to spend reading, rather than talking shit to those around me. Which, I'm astounded I hadn't thought of before. Nonetheless, I might actually be able to squeeze my book a week into my working days, which would be awesome.

I read every day. I make a point of reading 50 pages a day. 25 pages earlier and 25 pages later. That way I can get through a novel in a week.

That's cool man I read every day too. It can be anything from 10 pages to half a book (on a very good day). I don't read fiction though, only self-development, educational and psychology stuff.

I do keep some lighter reading by my bed though to help me drift off to sleep. Like right now I'm reading a true story about a guy who escaped from the Bangkok Hilton; the toughest prison in Thailand.

Reading non-fiction is a habit of the successful!

History and science books I find pretty good. Books on language as well.

You should compile a list, maybe in OP showing what books you recommend. Maybe made a new thread.

I had to laugh when people have told me that I'd LOVE the likes of the Harry Potter series. I'm like no I wouldn't, because I know I wouldn't.

It's a similar thing like this game of thrones shite. Everyone's telling me "Dan you HAVE to watch it!" No, I don't, and thanks for trying to tell me I have to, because now there's even less chance of me watching it than the zero chance that there was before.

I love history although I haven't got into it. It's one of them things I plan to do at some point that I never do. In fact one thing I have always wanted to do is trace my family tree back as far as I possibly can. As far as I'm aware, the furthest back anyone ever gets is like the early 1800s. There was an episode of Who do you think you are featuring Danny Dyer. They told him he was a descendant of Henry the 8th, which I think is quite possibly bullshit. It's nearly 500 years ago. Although if true, kinda cool.



Anyway, this thread here is for me to track and keep a note of all the books I read and I'm not interested in starting another thread to talk about books I'm going to be mentioning on this thread. But I'll consider what you suggested and perhaps give a short review or recommendation on certain books rather than me simply saying, Ok I've read this book, now I'm gunna read another one" which like I said is only useful for me keeping track and not in any way helpful for anyone else either considering reading the same book, or who has read the same book.

I do open the floor to questions, criticisms or chats about any of the books I post about.

I'm also open to discreet, homosexual acts.

I only just started watching gameof thrones. 4 episodes in and its pretty good, don't knock it till you've tried it.

Plus Emilia Clarke gets her tits out and gets fucked quite a lot, shes pretty fit.

No this is the kind of thing that makes me not wanna watch it. I've been told exactly this about Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings for example... "No Dan you will definitely love it!" Actually trying to tell me that I will like it and that that's a fact.

No, I won't. I know that I won't. I'm not into any of that fantasy shit.

In fact I'm too stubborn to try and like anything I've been "told" I will like.

This weeks book, that I have just finished..

Smart Thinking - How to think big, innovate and outperform your rivals

Covers a whole bunch of different areas like replacing habits with new behaviours that foster clever thinking. Maximising your memory. Effective ways to present and process information. And applying your knowledge to solve challenging problems.

Do you read and gestate on the knowledge? Or do you actively implement the mindsets and habits they offer?

I personally read a few books over and over again to ingrain them in my head but I also have a 1% retention rate plus a terrible memory.

Good books:

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Discourses by Epitectus
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson
No More Mr.Nice Guy (this has an action plan to improve yourself) by Dr.Robert Glover
Models by Mark Manson (Great dating advice with an action plan)

All great books which have habits and mindsets you can implement.

I managed to download 3 of these ebooks for for free. The 2 I din't get are the Mark Manson ones but I'll get around to it.

People keep trying to tell you something, Dan.


Peace,

kowalski

Went to the book store for my lunch today.

Picked up a smallish book called 9 things successful people do differently and read all 90 pages.

Unsurprisingly, it was 9 chapters. Each chapter consisting about 10 pages.

#1 Get Specific

#2 Seize the Moment to Act on Your Goals

#3 Know Exactly How Far You Have Left to Go

#4 Be a Realistic Optimist

#5 Focus on Getting Better, Rather Than Being Good

#6 Have Grit

#7 Build Your Willpower Muscle

#8 Don't Tempt Fate

#9 Focus on What You Will do, Not What You Won't Do


Money saved - £11... Although the book is not worth that kind of money. I was actually amazed the author has put a £10.99 price tag on a 90 page book that I read in less than 30 minutes during a lunch break.


Probably gunna try to do this at least once a week; use my lunch hour to pop in to a book store, pick a short, punchy, motivational/psychology/business book, read it and return to work a tiny bit smarter than I was an hour beforehand.

Just finished..

Sway - The irresistible pull of irrational behaviour

Which wasn't so much of a self-development book but more of an entertaining collection of true stories and anecdotes regarding people doing crazy things, backed up by evidence as to why these behaviours occurred.

As a Psychology student this was a decent, interesting book on the human mind and behaviour.

So now that my damn studies are out of the way I've been able to pick up a book again.

Currently I'm reading The Magic of Thinking BIG by David J. Schwartz.

Instead of doing what I used to do - powering my way through loads of books in short spaces of time, like Jonny fucking 5 - I took the advice that K was always trying to drum into my head; read, then apply what you've read. Which I've been doing since I started reading this current book.

I read at least a chapter every day. Each chapter has within it recommended steps you can take in order to start changing the way you're thinking/what you believe/how you behave/react etc. I find myself consciously reminding myself during the day at the office, of those specific actions from the book I chose to work on, and applying myself as necessary. Not only that, but some of the advice in the book that's meant for the reader, I've witnessed in other people too..

For instance, we had a comms session the other day with a senior, senior manager who was up for the day. During his presentation he decided to ask for ideas on a video we'd just watched, then he pressed on those of us who contributed, and some people who didn't. He could have not bothered, but he did. This was almost entirely a replication of an example/case study I'd read about in the book of this guy from a huge company extracting information, ideas and criticisms from his employees, during a similar scenario. It was kinda cool to see in action, something I'd read about the night before.

I've built up such an awesome collection of amazing books, and I'm excited to read them all. But, I'm even more excited to actually use the knowledge to my advantage rather than passively reading all these great books just for the sake of reading them, and not doing anything useful with the information. I'll even be able to re-read the books I already have done, because I didn't do fuck-all with the quality content they possessed within them. It was unproductive of me to think it was somehow making me smarter just because I could say I read 10 great books in 6 weeks, but it was ultimately pointless. Kowalski was right in saying I'd be just as well off reading fiction.

Just read The Mystery Method over a couple of nights.

I did read it back in 2011 when I "discovered" pick-up but didn't really read it properly.

Not that it matters, a lot of it is stuff we cringe at now - pulling out a piece of paper and a pen to have a girl do the ten words challenge, anyone?

But there's no denying that there's some useful shit in there too. Some that spring to mind, or struck a chord with me having just finished the book are..


1 Proximity IOI signals, even those that may be unconscious on the girls part - we've all seen this before at some point, and we're unsure whether to approach or not, and we didn't

2 'Pecking' - Leaning in when talking or listening, which is something I realised I sometimes do and must stop. Keep body language solid overall.

3 Walking in, or around the venue scoping out girls - circling the room in a predatory fashion.. The most important spot in the room is your spot

4 Don't be the guy/s standing there trying to look cool. Be the energetic guy/s that everyone want's to look at/be with (This is what I experienced a few weeks ago when guys and girls were fist bumping and hugging me)


There's a lot more of course, I'm not going to type an exhaustive list of everything, but the book made me aware I was making some mistakes through certain actions, that I'll now put a stop to.

In Easons earlier I lifted a smallish book for a quick browse and ended up reading the whole thing. 120 pages in 50 minutes.

It was from what appears to be a series known as Business on a shoestring and the title was Unleashing your Creativity

The reason I decided to read it was because I'm wracking my brain trying to decide/figure out what market to get into for a dropshipping business, and hoped that it would help me with that process.

I'm suffering from analysis paralysis right now. But I'm making a decision by Friday night one way or another.

I have no idea if it's already here, but I would recommend He can who thinks he can by Orison Swett Marden.

It's a fairly old book, published around 1908, and written in an old school sort of style, but despite being over 110 years old it is a gem of the old school success/self-improvement style books.

The book is actually a series of motivational essays on various topics, "He can who thinks he can" being the very first essay, it being about not letting anything stand in your way and believing in yourself. Alot like Carnegie's Win Friends and Influence People, it's one of those texts you should come back to every now and then, and I do when I feel discouraged. Rousing much!

I found it on Archive.org whilst searching for out of print books on Smedley-style Public Speaking to aid in Toastmasters. There's quite a few on there along with success/self-improvement stuff.

You can get the ebook here or read online:
https://archive.org/details/hecanwhothinkshe00marduoft

"Quiet" is a great book, great insight into personality psychology.

Went to the library earlier after the business event I'd just came from and read the 100-odd page Business Communication - In a week..... In an hour.

Finished reading The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People which took me much longer to complete than I'd have liked.

I actually stumbled upon the sequel "The 8th Habit" recently, but I'll not be reading that one right away.

I used to get halfway into a book, then open another, and would sometimes be "reading" 4 or 5 books at a time. Which ended with me not knowing what the fuck I was learning from what books and a lot of the time wouldn't finish any of them at all because I had too many open at once and couldn't decide which one to pick up and complete.

From now on it'll be one book at a time, with the exception of nighttime reading like the war and prison escape books I have on my bedside table currently.

I love popping into the library or bookstore now and again and devouring a whole 100\150 page book there and then, on a topic relevant to me at that particular time.