MUST READ
Interesting – You Might Want to Check These Out
The Undervalued Self by Elaine Aron – Gma recommended this book and it sounds absolutely fascinating every time she mentions it. The author, Elaine Aron, suggests that we naturally define our personal value in two ways, by Linking and Ranking. If I understand these concepts correctly, Linking is when we attach ourselves and make personal connections with others that we feel comfortable with. Ranking, is how we compare ourselves to others and view our own position within the social hierarchy. Fascinating reading. You can find excerpts here: The Undervalued Self.
The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things by Barry Glassner – A friend is reading this book about the largely irrational fears that Americans have and how these collective fears and our reactions to them are misplaced (i.e. terrorist attacks, plane crashes…etc. ) Our real focus should be on things like the health care crisis and other daunting issues. Very compelling summary Mr. M. G.! I’m definitely gonna take a look. Very relevant for us as G-biz prepares for her long plane trip to S. Korea next month.
The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks – The author asks 5 questions to identify the hidden genius that is in everyone. Here’s an excerpt of one of the questions from the book: “In my work what produces the highest ratio of abundance and satisfaction to amount of time spent? (Even if I do only ten seconds or a few minutes of it, an idea or a deeper connection may spring forth that leads to huge value.)” Makes me think…hmmm…shouldn’t I be writing???
And for other aspiring writers: Write to Publish: Essentials for the Modern Fiction and Memoir Market by Christopher Klim
Here is a list of books that helped me realize my dreams to this point:
The Ultimate Secrets of Total Self Confidence by Dr. Robert Anthony – This book absolutely changed my life. I recommend reading it from cover to cover and really try to apply the principles in your own life. Dr. Anthony helps you sift through all of the distractions, like negative mind chatter previous programming /thought patterns, that hold you back. A family member once told me that it seemed like I wrote the book on “How to Get Everything You Want”. I’m sure that the vibe that moved her to say that about me is DIRECTLY related to the principles I learned in this book. First I had to shred old beliefs, and get rid of the blame game. The next step was transformation and re-programming. Here are some excerpts from the book:
The Law of Mental Magnetism – Like Attracts Like…Whatever you give your dominant thought to…will be attracted to you…The important thing is to know exactly what you want. If you don’t you will attract only confusion. p91.
…if you have the desire to do anything creative, you also have within you the means of fulfillment. Creative Intelligence would not have given you the desire if that potential were not real for you. In other words, whatever desire you have, no matter how far-fetched it may seem, carries with it the ability and mechanics to make it become a reality. p 98
Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain
The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity by Julia Cameron – OK so I misplaced this book a couple of years ago, so I can’t review it right now for you. However, a few notable concepts that I got from this book are about “The CrazyMakers”. These are people who deliberately and sometimes subconsciously bring you drama – ESPECIALLY when you are doing well, or are on the verge of breakthrough, or there’s something good happening in your life. Usually CrazyMakers are people very close to you, and very often they are people you love deeply, like family members, friends or significant others. You have to recognize the crazy maker by the drama they bring as they adjust to the good things happening to you. The book suggests you should get rid of CrazyMakers altogether. I contend that you can’t always get rid of them-especially if you’re bound by love and blood. I think you just have to know how to manage them, and navigate the drama-fied water’s around them.
Mastering the Information Age by Michael J. McCarthy – Awesome direction on how to manage the overflow of information we have to process in this Information Age. Information is so very accessible these days it’s easy to get lost, distracted or plain discouraged. McCarthy makes suggestions on how to prioritize and approach information review and capture.