Summary: The Go-Giver (Bob Burg & John David Mann)

By

The following is a summary of the book The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann.

The book tells a parable of a man named Joe who, struggling to make his quarterly sales target, meets a mentor named Pindar to help him. Pindar then teaches Joe the “Five Laws of Stratospheric Success” by having Joe meet various people who have already mastered the five laws.

The book is a short read, but it contains a powerful message. One that aligns with Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Law of Compensation: you will always be compensated for your contributions, one way or another. Therefore, it’s better to focus on giving more if you wish to receive more. That’s the secret of the book in a nutshell.
[Read more…]

Quotes: As A Man Thinketh (James Allen)

By

As A Man Thinketh is a a book about managing your own psychology. As an entrepreneur, and even as a human being in general, controlling what you choose to focus on is of the utmost importance. That’s why it is one of my personal favorites. It’s also one of the books that Tony Robbins gifts the most.

I’ve read it several times throughout my life. Each time it affirms what I’ve always known, from experience, to be true: that you are what you think about. That thoughts are things. That to improve our lives, we must first improve our thinking. In essence, we become what we think about, so we must control our mind and our thoughts.

[Read more…]

Quotes: The Art of War (Sun Tzu)

By

The Art of War is a classic book about military strategy. While the content may seem, at first glance, to be about traditional warfare, the concepts and principles found within the book can be applied to everything from business and relationships, to sports and other competitive endeavours. It’s also quite a short book, but dense with wisdom. In many ways similar to other East Asian philosophy books like the Tao Te Ching.

As an entrepreneur, it is valuable because you can re-read it during different circumstances in your life, and apply it to your current situation. In that sense, the principles in the book are extremely flexible. But, to get the most value, I recommend interpreting the book metaphorically, as opposed to taking it literally. It will be far more useful to you.

[Read more…]

Summary: Leadership 101 (John C. Maxwell)

By

Leadership is one of those topics that makes me uneasy, only because it seems to attract charlatans, especially within the corporate world. That’s why the word has some negative connotations to it, at least in my mind. But there is nothing mysterious or negative about true leadership.

Author John C. Maxwell proves this with his refreshing book, Leadership 101. While the title of the book does sound basic and unoriginal, the content of the book is surprisingly strong. It covers the topic of leadership — within the context of an organization — in a very clear and concise manner.
[Read more…]

Mind Map: Creating Lasting Change (Tony Robbins)

By

I have been an interested student of Tony Robbins since I was a teenager. I credit my parents for having copies of Unlimited Power and Awaken the Giant Within laying around the house. If it were not for them, I never would have acquired a copy of the “Personal Power” audiobook later in life, or his newer works like “Get The Edge” and “Creating Lasting Change”.

I know the titles sound cliché, but I would not judge the quality of the content by them. Unfortunately, his work gets painted by the mainstream media as phoney motivational fluff, but I would disagree. You could consider it motivational, but far from fluff. Some of his ideas on nutrition and “incantations” are not really my cup of tea, but if you have the ability to understand the good ideas, and the drive to apply them, I’m confident that you will see results.

The following mind map is a high-level summary of the audio program entitled “Creating Lasting Change” by Tony Robbins. The program itself covers a psychological approach to affecting positive change in both yourself and others. It proposes that all leadership begins with leadership over self, then defines a framework for achieving lasting cognitive change.

[Read more…]