Jun, 2015

Unbeatable Mind by Mark Divine

benmunoz
June 27, 2015
No Comments

For this book, I’m piggybacking off of Philosopher’s Notes’ book summary.

1. First Premise
Win first in your mind and then on the battlefield.  An unbeatable mind knows it will win.

2. Starve + Feed
In the parable of the two wolves — the wolf of fear and the wolf of courage — which one wins?  The one you feed.  Intercept any negative thought and replace with positive thoughts.

3. Breathe
In high pressure situation, breathing is the most powerful way to remain calm.  Box breathing = inhale for 5, hold for 5, exhale for 5, hold for 5.

4. 1 Thing + 3Ps
What is the one thing you were born to do in this world?  Journal and read to figure this out.  Every day, remind yourself of this.
Know your 3Ps: 1) Purpose, 2) Passion, and 3) Principles.

5. Uncommon Resolve
The components of uncommon resolve: intense desire, belief you can achieve it, positive attitude, military discipline, and unrelenting determination.

Finally: make all of this part of your daily practice.

Simplify by Joshua Becker

benmunoz
June 20, 2015
No Comments

This book, from the blogger behind Becoming Minimalist, wasn’t terrible, nor was it great.  But at least it was only $3 on Kindle and took 20 minutes to read.

1. Be Convinced

  • easier to clean
  • less stress
  • eco-friendly
  • more time for other things

2. Make it Work for You

  • find a style of minimalism that works for you

3. Jump Right In

  • start with small decluttering projects first
  • specific tips for living room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen
  • sell stuff on ebay and craigslist, or donate it

4. Stop the Trend

  • stop buying stuff
  • stop renting storage space to store your extra stuff

5. Persevere

  • recognize where clutter collects
  • stop junk mail
  • buy fewer and more high quality toys
  • more nature, libraries, parks and museums

6. Share the Joy

  • tell your stories to friends and family

7. Simplify Everywhere

  • simplify your schedule
  • use Stephen Covey’s urgency vs importance grid and spend more time in quadrant 2
  • stop multitasking
  • speak in plain English
  • watch less television
  • clean up your computer

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur by Mike Michalowicz

benmunoz
June 15, 2015
No Comments

Not a classic business book, but I’ll post my summery anyways.

When you are down to three sheets of toilet paper, you are very careful with it.  When starting a company, you should have the same mentality.  You should manage your precious resources while building the business using creativity and hard work.

The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur has 8 attributes:

  1. Cultivates a Powerful Foundation of Beliefs
  2. Has Passion
  3. Slants Towards Premature Action
  4. Extremely Great at Only a Few Things
  5. Uses Ingenuity Over Money
  6. Dominates a Niche
  7. Marries Long-Term Focus with Short-Term Action
  8. Is Not Normal

Delivering Happiness By Tony Hsieh

benmunoz
June 15, 2015
No Comments

This is one of our top 5 business books.  Our first company tagline was “Happiness in a Pink Package.”

Book notes are below:

  • Books recommended: Good to Great, Tribal Leadership, Fred Factor, Fish, Made to Stick, Peak, Emotional Equations, Connected, Re-Imagine, Crush It
  • Be clear about your company’s culture, values.  Communicate them.  Commit to them.
  • Ask yourself, “what is your goal in life?”
  • And along with way, ask yourself, “what are your other goals?”
  • Think in terms of Maslow’s hierarchy for customers: first they need the correct item, then free and fast shipping, then surprise upgrades.  Get the fundamentals right first.
  • Zappos: 1. purpose, 2. people, 3. profits

Zappos 10 Core Values

  1. Deliver WOW Through Service
  2. Embrace and Drive Change
  3. Create Fun and A Little Weirdness
  4. Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded
  5. Pursue Growth and Learning
  6. Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication
  7. Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit
  8. Do More With Less
  9. Be Passionate and Determined
  10. Be Humble

The Effective Executive by Peter Drucker

benmunoz
June 5, 2015
No Comments

This one’s a classic business book by the dean of business thinking.

  1. Effective executives know where their time goes
  2. Effective executives focus on results
  3. Effective executives build on strengths
  4. Effective executives focus on the 80/20
  5. Effective executives make effective decision

1. Effective executives know where their time goes

  • people can be very time consuming
  • be slow to hire and hire only good people
  • track your time and prune time wasters
  • beware the recurrent crisis b/c these should be foreseeable/preventable
  • a well-managed plant is usually quiet and boring
  • time-wasters often result from overstaffing
  • too many meetings indicate poor organizational structure or employees with the wrong skill set
  • consider working from home one day a week or in the morning

2. Effective executives focus on results

  • efforts don’t matter, only results matter
  • three types of results are: 1) direct production, 2) culture building, 3) employee development
  • four requirements of effective workplace: communications, teamwork, self-development, development of others
  • effective meetings have a clear purpose that relates directly to the corporate mission

3. Effective executives build on strengths

  • promote based on the candidates strengths
  • strong people often have strong weaknesses
  • identify the right person to fit the role. Rarely change the job to fit the person.
  • do not hunt for a genius to do the impossible, redesign the job
  • make each job demanding and big

4. Effective executives focus on the 80/20

  • this is the secret to success
  • do first things first and do one thing at a time
  • success is not a sprint, it’s a marathon
  • stay lean by discarding anything that’s not working
  • always prioritize work based on opportunity not problem

5. Effective executives make effective decisions

  • don’t worry about unimportant decisions, worry only about important ones
  • if a problem is general, solve it generally and establish a rule
  • identify the criteria to determine if the problem is solved
  • afterwards, test to see if the problem was solved
  • one does not argue with a hypothesis, one tests it
  • encourage disagreement because disagreement often leads to alternate solutions
  • sometimes decisions are like surgery, the best option is to do nothing

Life of the Party by Bert Kreischer

benmunoz
June 1, 2015
No Comments

Collection of hilarious real-life stories by stand up comic and Joe Rogan regular Bert Kreischer.  Below are my notes from the book:

That is all.