The year has gone so fast and we are in the last week of November. So, before the year-end make sure to read these 5 books.
1) Tuesday with Morris by Mitch Albom
This is a story of a professor ( Morrie) & one of his beloved students Mitch.
Morrie was in his 70s when he was diagnosed with fatal cancer and was informed that his survival now for only a few months.
This revelation didn't make him sad but energized him to live his last days with unconditional happiness, he began educating people about their limited time and advise them not to waste it.
With time his popularity grew and soon he was called by Media & influence for a talk & interviews.
During this time Mitch who had lost all contact with his teacher saw him in one of the random shows and was stunned.
Soon he discovered more about his living conditions and visited him frequently. The visit was every Tuesday which coincidence with their college lectures which also used to be every Tuesday,16 years back.
The topic they discussed range from Death, Family, Regrets & Age.
The conversation which happened between both is filled with life-long lessons especially taboo topics like Death & Emotions
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Conclusion
The book is perfectly harmonious covering the life story of Mitch & Morris and their conversation.
The only aspect that annoyed me was that story was going back & forth covering his past & then back to the present.
Hence the flow which we feel was missing for me. However, the lesson about love, compassion, and empathy taught in the book will forever stay with me.
2) Becoming Steve Jobs Brent Schlender
This is a biography of the late Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Inc, Written by Rick Tetzeli an award-winning journalist who has covered the technology & business sector for the past 20 years.
Besides the above facts, Rick was very close to Steve from the very start and was aware of many of its weaknesses & strategies which Steve would not share with others.
Hence written from a third-person perspective the book is unbiased & covers the entire story of AppleInc & Steve Jobs.
Steve had a burning desire for a personal computer that anyone can use and not only big corporate & engineers.
He believed that the right computer will be a " Bicycle for the mind" and help us achieve things that our mind can never accomplish.
Today all this is a fact but back in the 1960s, it was only science fiction.
So to make a dent in the universe Steve started Apple in his garage with his friend Woz and made their first computer Apple 1 which was not a big success.
Then they found their first investor Mike Markkula who showed them the importance of branding & packing he believed that people always judge a book by its cover.
With this, they made their flagship product Apple 2 which was a great hit.
To cut a long story short, Steve got removed from the CEO position and he resigned in 1985 and started another two companies named NeXt & Pixar, and later returned to apple in 1997.
All these incidents are described by the author, a journalist himself, who used o report on tech issues.
The author was very close to Steve jobs, even when jobs used to hate & stay away from the press in his later life, Hence we get a complete picture of his life in this book.
CONCLUSION
The story of jobs & many entrepreneurs taught me one big lesson in life majority of the time it is not outsiders but our people who will betray us.
There is an old quotation also which goes like "Lord, protect me from my friends, I can take care of my enemies". Hence we mustn't trust anyone blindly, there needs to be a questioning mind.
The author is brutally honest about Steve's rude attitude toward his employee and portrays many of his weaknesses.
It is quite rare nowadays when many memoirs & books just portrayed a positive image of their authors.
Recommended to those who like to know Steve Jobs beyond Isaacson's biography. This is not an alternative to Isaacson's book. That one is a much more well-defined version.
3) The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
The self-help genre has invariably been my favoriteđ for its proficiency to inspire a person. There have been vital setbacks𼺠in my life.
However, nothing stays in my mind for more than a week due to my habit of readingđ self-help books.
Many people mindlessly criticize this genre as manipulative, which is a half-truth, since you have never put effortđ¨âđŹ into research and picked a nice book. I have picked the wrong booksđŤ a couple of times, but I kept learning and with time it has now become instinctiveâ¨
The compound effect is one such book đthat will motivateđ you to concentrate on your long-term goals.
The formula given in the book is straightforward,đ" To pick a small habit and do it consistently"đfor at least 3 years. For eg- if you meditate đ§ââď¸daily for 2-5min you won't see any impact of it within a month or two.
After one year too you will barely discover any substantial difference, đhere is where the majority of the folk stop. However, if you continue, after 36 months, you see your health improving, you feel less exhausted đ´, your emotions 𤏠are within your control and your relationship has also improved.
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To make this long journey simple and fun,đş the author has further given various tips & tricks to combat the negative stuff đĽand keep your attention focused which is very important.
1) It starts first with identifying your habits, and figuring out "WHY".
2) Attaining momentum (Getting into a stay of flow)
3) Influence- keep in control of these things đ
đ-What do you feed your mind with?
đ-People do you spend time with?
đ-Your environment.
4) Acceleration- Moment of truth- You are your real competitorđĽ (Work on yourself)
Again, I would recommend you to listen to the book on Audibleđ§if you have a subscription then it's available for free.
4) LONG WALK TO FREEDOM by Nelson Mandela
This book has been one of the longest books on my thr.
I discovered the book in March 2020, but unaware of Mandela and his journey I skipped it and proceeded to read other memoirs on popular personalities.
Almost all the memoirs I have read, after that from Richard Branson to Bill Gates & Will Smith and even Barack Obama, had some incidents of Mandela with them, respectively.
Hence I began learning about him and after so many years found it quite amazing. I hope I would have picked a little early đĽş.
The book starts with the introduction of Mandela and the Xhosa a famous tribe to whom he belonged. His father die in his early childhood and he was taken care of by the regent ( the head of the tribe).
Things were going fine as he began pursuing B.A. However One day suddenly the regent called him and his son and informed them they will be married soon.
Both opposed the idea and seeing no other option ran from their hometown to Johannesburg, his real struggle began after that, he pursued his LLB and joined a law firm as well as ANC ( The African National Congress) and got into politics.
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The book was pretty long 700 pages so giving a full summary would be impossible, but the book đ is a lifetime read.
The racism that thrived at that time and still does is a very dark reality that he and many others are facing. The memoir makes one see the struggle in front of their eyes, one could feel the oppression and a strong will as well.
5) THE FOUNDER'S DILEMMA by Noam T. Wasserman
A business doesn't become great đšonly with moneyđ¸ & connections, it becomes great with an idea đĄ & vision.
It becomes great when there is a person đ¨âđźat the top who can foresee the future way before it happens.
When he can manage a teamđŹ of 100 people and can work alone, lastly & most significant when he can ask the right questions âinstead of providing the right answers every time.
These are some crucial fundamentals that are excluded đmany times by B-schools that teach & concentrate solely on profit and market growth as a way to grow đąa business.
In the book "Founder Dilemma" the author Noam Wasserman focuses on the exact right questions that everyone should ask before starting their venture. Questions regarding -
-Going solo or with the team?đŹâ
-Who will become CEO?đ¨âđźâ
-How to share equity?â
-How do hire the right people?â
Apart from focusing on the above question, there should be a perfect alignment đ¤šbetween 3Rs- Relationship, Role, & Rewards. Everyone should get rewards based on their role & work, no more or less.
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I loved â¤ď¸ the concept in the book that focuses on so many fundamental questions to which we never pay attention, we feel we know them already, but when we get a setbackđ we learn that we are not that greatđ.
So I would recommend everyone to read this book, even if you are not into business, you should give it a try since many concepts regarding work-life balance apply to everyone.
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Also, check - out "5 Books to read for This November"
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