WHAT BOOKS WOULD BE THE BEST TO READ
FOR A PROGRESSIVE, ACCOMPLISHED THINKER
Before recommending books, it is important to make them "relevant" and useful, methinks. To help pick those, I ask: What are the key building blocks to having a great life?
Whatever educational courses one takes and books one studies should be sufficient to absolutely master these! To the extent, the education is "scattered" one does not achieve but a fraction of what can be achieved otherwise; concentrating in one area to master it is a magnificently productive strategy. Look up on Amazon what I've listed and decide if each book would be good for you.
MY ESTIMATE OF WHAT MUST BE LEARNED
Emotional Intelligence - A requisite skill for personal and relationship purpose.
Achieving "No Fear" - Of loss, of future hardship; no suffering
No need to spend energy on protecting "ego"
Self-management without urges ruling (at all!): habits, willpower, self-control
Keeping self in balance and a high state of resourcefulness, homeostasis
Peace and self-security
Keeping self "filled-up" as the priority in life
Keeping self in personal power
Certainty and completeness in personal life philosophy
Absolute health (and clear criteria, with check-ins scheduled)
Effective time management and life planning
80/20 principle life management, based on priorities
Running life based on values
No efforts to control where there is a low or no payoff.
CORRESPONDENCE
8/12
It was a pleasure meeting you today at Barnes and Noble. I can tell that I have a lot to learn from you.
A little bit about me. I am in the and just moved to the area for work and should be here for another __ years if I stay in the military. I was a Psychology and Philosophy double major
I describe the military as: I really like the (due to the travel, financial stability, serving others) but love being an Officer (leading people, taking care of the good ones, crushing or reforming the bad ones, and helping
everyone be better).
If I get out of the military, it will because I want to pursue my passion for counseling. Whenever I end up getting out of the military, I plan on getting my Doctorate in Psychology, Masters of Divinity (I am a non-denominational Christian, but still love learning and thinking about my faith and others), and maybe one
day, a law degree just for fun. I am single with no girlfriend at the present time. I am also passionate about photography, speaking spanish, soccer, and deep conversations. Anyway....lots of random
facts about me.
I am interested in reading books about leadership, books that have changed the way that you see life or changed your paradigm, books on financial investing, psychology, philosophy, religion, biographies,
family or relationships, and so much more. I pretty much read anything except horror (because there are enough scary things in real life) and romance novels (never really delved into this genre). I would greatly
appreciate any book recommendations or authors that you recommend.
Reply:
Sounds like a good life and life direction!
I will be finishing up a few things on my list and then I'll put together a reading list that will have some value for you.
Of course, as you know from your leadership training, a well-done master plan is essential to creating the life you want (and knowing what that life is that is wanted) - ultimately the overall plan is of course translated into specifics - steps, rules, policies, systems to use (e.g. time mgmt system), resources to use (mentors, etc.) Having one of these at 28 would be incredibly empowering, although, of course, you already standing strong - perhaps much of the benefit will ultimately be to those whose lives you touch.
If you choose to set one up, I'd love to see it, and, with your permission, perhaps to include an anonymous version on the site.
I haven't pulled together all of the planning systems I want to end up with (and I've not found a complete system anywhere), though I've set up a fair amount: Planning Contents/Links and Planning Forms Directory Links.
Anyway, for now I'd encourage you to buy Success Principles, Jack Canfield; First Things First, Covey; Eat That Frog, Brian Tracy. And then look at the sites for John Maxwell and Brian Tracy to see which of their books are of interest to you (it would be good to know which you select).
I assume you've been to seminars and workshops, so it would be useful to see which ones you attended and which ones you thought were more useful. Meanwhile, I'll assume that your education in psychology and philosophy is largely academic, where there are missing pieces in terms of practical implementation (?).
