Essential Reading for 2010

Below is a list of essential reading material to help you grow, achieve and expand your mind. Of all the books I’ve read on Personal Development, entrepreneurship, communication etc, these are the ones that I believe in more than most. I feel these are the works that could have the biggest impact on your life too.

Each entry on Full Contact Reading has an Amazon synopsis, and where appropriate I’ve added a couple of words about it myself just so you get my personal perspective.

It’s not an exhaustive list, and it’s definitely not for “the expert”, but I guarantee that any of the books below will have an impact. And if that hasn’t made choosing a book simple enough, I’ve even highlighted a book in each category as a “Knockout”. These are the absolutely indispensable works, the ones I come back to regularly, the ones that are the most thumbed and highlighted and heavily ripped off (Sorry, I mean “referenced”) in my workshops and this very blog. The Knockout is like my “Editors Choice”: If you’re stuck for an idea of what to do with this list, as in life, go for the Knockout.

I’ll expand the list and add biographies in coming months, but for the meantime… Let’s do this.

The Human Mind
Brain Rules by John Medina
Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions by Gary Klein
Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales

KNOCKOUT: Sources of Power: How People Make Decisions

Communication
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini
Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson et al
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
The Jelly Effect by Andy Bounds
What Every Body is Saying by Joe Nevarro
The Definitive Book of Body Language by Allan & Barbara Pease
3-D Negotiation by David A. Lax and James K. Sebenius
Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior by David R. Hawkins

KNOCKOUT: The Definitive Book of Body Language

Making Your Mind Up
Smart Choices by John S. Hammond et al
The Path of Least Resistance by Robert Fritz
Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows

KNOCKOUT: The Path of Least Resistance

Creativity
The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp
Myths of Innovation by Scott Berkun
Innovation and Entrepreneurship by Peter F. Drucker

KNOCKOUT: The Creative Habit

Entrepreneurship
Bankable Business Plans by Edward Rogoff
How to Make Millions with Your Ideas by Dan Kennedy
The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki
Ready, Fire, Aim by Michael Masterson
The E Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
Straight From The Gut by Jack Welch
Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
Small Business for Dummies by Eric Tyson et al
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith

KNOCKOUT: Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Money
The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley & William Danko
Fail-Safe Investing by Harry Browne
Work Less, Live More by Bob Clyatt
It’s Not About The Money by Brent Kessel
The One Minute Millionaire by Mark Victor Hansen

KNOCKOUT: The One Minute Millionaire

Personal Development
The Success Principles by Jack Canfield
Re-Create Your Life by Morty Lefkoe
Changing for Good by James O. Prochaska et al
Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins
The Art of Exceptional Living by Jim Rohn
7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey
Create Your Own Future by Brian Tracy
The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life by Wayne Dyer

KNOCKOUT: The Success Principles (Though that’s a tough one. Could have easily been Think & Grow Rich or Unlimited Power. “Principles” just has incredible resources at the back and is astounding value for money as well as being a cracking read!”

Health & Fitness
The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain
Stress Management Made Simple by Jay Winner

KNOCKOUT: The Paleo Diet

Inspirational
Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
Chicken Soup For The Soul by Jack Canfield & Mark Victor Hansen

KNOCKOUT: Who Moved My Cheese?

Mind Blowers
The Divine Matrix by Gregg Braden
Cosmic Trigger by Robert Anton Wilson
Hyperspace by Michio Kaku
Zero Limits by Joe Vitale

KNOCKOUT: The Divine Matrix

self help

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Put Your Nose Back On & Get To Night Classes!

So following on from my last post (Go read it if you haven’t already), let’s see if I can’t encourage you to find yourself some real “me time”. Something that will not only provide a break from everyday life, but also a genuine chance to grow and develop. This is personal development, after all.

I know that deep down, everyone reading this has a talent (At least one!) that they either don’t know about, or they do know about it but are reluctant to let it off the leash. And this is part of the problem. There’s a voice inside of you yearning to be heard, screaming for recognition, and it’s being muted.  What does it have to say? Is it for you or the world?  I have no idea – but then I don’t need an idea. What is of major importance is that you can hear it, that you give allow it a release.

For most of my life I’ve either been hitting things, breaking things, putting myself in dangerous situations (Not always intentionally I admit), or I’ve been playing guitar, sketching, writing, I even had a crack at acting. Music/doodling/noodling/showing off aside, my activities have not always been for the right reasons nor been the right road to take, but I get that now.  That said, my motivation has always been the same.

It’s about expression. It’s about exploration. It’s about communication. Even today when I’m far too old to be stepping into a ring (Nobody mention Randy Couture!), my martial training, weight lifting etc, is a means to test myself, expand my boundaries and explore my limitations – as is my work as a hypnotist and as a writer.

And this is the key to finding your own little corner of the world – something just for you. Me Time. Find something to absorb you, to engage you, to draw you in and hook you. Not something you can do while you do something else, or something that you have to get out of the way before you move onto whatever. One of the major things that keeps me weight training and working out is that it’s 100% Me Time. It’s just me and the iron, the rest of the world and my responsibilities and obligations can wait for an hour or so. I know where to find them when I finish up.

Find something that teaches you about yourself. Find something that gives your higher self a voice. Find something that gives you time off from the outside world. It’s yours and yours alone, and whatever happens nothing can take away the achievements or lessons you pick up along the way. Nobody else even has to know you have this Me Time!

I know many reading this will have an artist or sculptor inside them somewhere. I know you probably also feel like you have no talent – hence your burying this desire to create. Let me tell you, I can walk into any gallery in the world and find at least a dozen “artists” who also have no talent for art. Did it stop them going for it? Should it stop you? Most importantly – how do you even know you don’t have talent? Even MORE important – you’re not doing it for me or anyone else! IT’S ALL ABOUT YOU!  F*@K THE CRITICS (Yes, including me!)

The same goes for all you poets, musicians and authors out there. Or maybe you’ve always wanted to dance? Sing? Speak in public? Perform stand up comedy? Give the sermon at your local ministry? Learn a language? Tai Chi? Yoga? Meditation? Grow bonsai? Create mosaic? Pottery? Tapestry? Anything except Morris Dancing – it’s all there for you. It’s all inside you. NOW.

Don’t wait. New Years is not the only time for resolutions. Find that class or study group. Get that “… For Dummies” book (My first stop for all new information!), talk to the experts – do whatever it takes but DO IT NOW. You’ve put this off for too long already!

You’re not finding a hobby. You’re finding another way of testing yourself, of building something – either metaphorically or literally, of communicating and expressing yourself. You’re bringing a little bit of your own world into this one. You’re finding some way of showing the world – and yourself – your soul. Release that which you have kept confined. Freedom from… Freedom to…  Remember?

Why would you avoid this any longer? Do it. You owe it to yourself.

Moving on…

PS – yeah I know it’s a weak title for this posting. Conversations with the police take it out of me, it seems.

self help

Quick Question No.5

When you plan for success, do you really plan for success or do you think about all the things that could go wrong, all the stupid mistakes you could make and the negativity that could crop up, and try to work out ways to avoid them?

 

self help

How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?

Often when I post something on Full Contact Living or one of the awesome lovely special sites I visit, I will get a reply along the lines of “I like what you say and I’m trying it. But it’s so hard to apply to everyday life and I find myself failing…”

Is there anyone who doesn’t relate to this? I’m not raising my hand to this one and I suspect you’re not too. I know only too well the frustration of reading something inspirational in an Antony Robbins book one week, and nothing having changed the following week. Something to remember here is a point I touched on recently regarding successful people. Let me remind/clarify. I can strip down the key qualities to success to just TWO ELEMENTS.

Successful people know where they want to go.

Successful people are willing and prepared to do whatever it takes to get them there.

That’s it. Personal Development was never so easy!

Once a successful person is on course, they will put in the effort – and most importantly the time – to get them to their goal. A musician will practice for hours. An athlete will run laps, lift weights, watch their diet. An academic will study, and study… and study. To the point where most people have got bored and walked away YEARS previously.  In short – Successful people will spend far longer rehearsing than they will actually performing. I know from personal experience – I’ve probably spent more hours in a single day of rehearsal than I have in a studio during my entire music career. How many months – or years – did Usain Bolt have to train in order to run that 100m? Years of prep for a task over in less than 10 seconds. I’ve known close up magicians who will practice for hours a day on just one tiny trick – that you won’t even see happen!

HOW COME?

Successful people put more focus on the joy of success than on the discomfort of failure. As a musician, I would practice a riff for HOURS. I’d get it right maybe 1 time out of 20, if I was lucky. But it felt sooooo good when I got it right, I just kept on going until I was nailing it 2 times… 5 times… 10 times… eventually every time (Pretty much!).  If I got it wrong, I’d just laugh and start it again. It’s no biggie if I drop a note, I just keep on forging through those 19 bum notes for the euphoria of playing that tune perfectly on the 20th attempt. I’ll apologise to the neighbours tomorrow.

The person who will write a response such as the one at the opening of this issue will have a different thought process. See if you recognise this (I know I do!)

I set a goal or decide on a course of action. I get a picture in my mind of exactly what will happen when I’m successful. I know exactly what I should do, how it should feel. It doesn’t turn out just like expected so I get frustrated and despondent.

Being positive, being “up beat”, changing lifelong conditioning and disempowering beliefs takes time. Most importantly. It takes PRACTICE. It takes ACTION. More accurately, it takes CONSISTENT ACTION. Whining doesn’t figure in this process, and nobody ever said it was easy or will happen in a week.

Believe me, if whining could take the place of action I’d have made it as the most successful person in the world in 2005!

Moving on…

 

self help

There Are NO LIMITS. Be Free.

As regular visitors to Full Contact Living will know, I’m a big fan of the polynesian philosophy of Huna. I’d definitely say “fan” rather than “expert”. There’s more than a little crossover between what I believe is essential to creating a better life – and indeed a better world – and what the Kahuna have known for generations, and this is not a coincidence (But then, nothing is).

Below are the Seven Principles of Huna, as described by my absolute favourite commentator on the subject, Pohaku. Check out his fantastic podcasts and website, HunaTrainer.  I’ve removed the Hawai’ian names just to keep things streamlined.

1. The world is what you think it is. Be Aware.

You create your own experience by your thoughts. Thoughts of fear, anger and resentment can make us sick and diminish our effectiveness, while thoughts of confidence, love, determination, and forgiveness can increase our health and performance. Learn to recognize the effects on experience of attitude, expectation, telepathy and belief. Thoughts will telepathically attract their equivalent. Positive thoughts will attract positive people and events. Negative thoughts will attract negative people and events.

2. There are no limits. Be Free.

Everything is connected. A single thought of love or hate influences the whole universe. Connectedness may be described as a web or infinite electromagnetic fields. Anything is possible. By assuming such interconnectedness we assume the possibility of influence at a distance. Our energy or spirit extends to the ends of the Universe because there are no limits. Keep the connection clear by continually releasing mental and physical stress and tension.

3. Energy flows where attention goes. Be focused.

Those aspects of your present experience which seem enduring are the result of sustained focused attention. If you don’t like your present circumstances then find some way to shift your attention to a new pattern. (Meditation or hypnosis are some techniques.) Keep your intentions, objectives, goals and purpose in mind, including frequently reviewing your motivation. This lends a high degree of efficiency and a low degree of frustration.

4. Now is the moment of Power. Be present.

Remember your beliefs, thoughts and behaviour change your world. It is futile to live in the past or the future. The greater your presence in the now, the greater your effectiveness. Be more consciously aware of the input from your senses. Be aware of sounds, colours, shapes, lines, touch, energy. Decide for yourself what is worth following up on.

5. To love is to be happy with. Be happy, praise.

Criticism kills relationships, praise builds them. Whatever you criticize or praise increases and grows. Self criticism causes stress, anxiety and inhibits awareness memory and energy whereas self praise increases awareness, energy, strength, memory, and contentment. Whenever you are criticized personally praise yourself aloud or silently and the criticism will have no effect. Sending blessings is as important as praise. To bless is to reinforce actual or potential good, to acknowledge beauty, admire skill, appreciate kindness and give wishes for success and safe journeys. Telepathic blessings can be just as effective.

6. All power comes from within. Be confident.

Confidence is vital because without it, it is difficult to function. All the power that creates your own experience comes from your own body, mind and spirit. You create all your experiences through your beliefs, desires, fears, expectations, reactions, and responses. Neither affirmations, prayers nor visualizations will be effective if they are spoken with wistful hope and feelings. Confident authority is the key to all conscious creation and manifestation. Suitable confidence raising affirmations are – “I approve of myself. I send praise to myself and others. I speak, think and feel with conscious authority and belief, I and everyone have the power to create our own experiences. I am doing well. I feel great”.

7. Effectiveness is the measure of truth. Be Flexible.

What is really important is what works. Every problem has more than one solution. There is always another way to do anything. This translates as the way you do anything determines the result, definitely not the reverse. Reach success through helping others.

As you can imagine, this is a very short summary of the principles and definitely worthy of continued exploration and reflection. I’d also recommend visiting www.hunatrainer.com and diving into their forums for more info and discourse on this fascinating subject.

BRB

self help