The pleasure of finding things out
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out (buy from Amazon) by Freeman Dyson
Type: Biography
Author:Richard Feynman
My rating: 3
Book introduction:
A collection of short works of a great physicist - Prof Richard Feynman
My review:
I must say, I am not as excited reading this book as some of other books on Richard Feynman that I read. Another book recounting the interesting things that Feynman did in his life. I still prefer Surely you are joking Mr. Feynman.
The Art of the Long View
The Art of the Long View: Planning for the Future in an Uncertain World (buy from Amazon) by Peter Schwartz
Type: Business
Author:Peter Schwartz
My rating: 4
Book introduction:
A book that teaches people how to plan for future scenarios and position your accordingly, it illustrates its point by many real business examples.
My review:
This books talks about how to make major decisions by looking at different scenarios, the goal is not to score well if the best scenario pervail, but rather how you are do well in all cases.
5 Golden Rules For Finding Your Life Partner
by Rabbi Dov Heller, M.A.
A relationship coach lays out his 5 golden rules for evaluating the prospects
of long-term success. When it comes to making the decision about choosing a
life partner, no one wants to make a mistake. Yet, with a divorce rate of close
to 50 percent, it appears that many are making serious mistakes in their
approach to finding Mr./Ms. Right!
If you ask most couples who are engaged why they're getting married, they'll
say: "We're in love." I believe is the #1 mistake people make when they date.
Choosing a life partner should never be based on love (alone). Though this may
sound not politically correct, there's a profound truth here. Love (alone) is
not the basis for getting married.
Rather, love is the result of a good marriage. When the other ingredients are
right, then the love will come. Let me say it again: You can't build a lifetime
relationship on love alone. You need a lot more. Here are five questions you
must ask yourself if you're serious about finding and keeping a life partner.
QUESTION #1: Do we share a common life purpose?
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Why is this so important? Let me put it this way: If you're married for 20 or
30 years, that's a long time to live with someone. What do you plan to do with
each other all that time? Travel, eat and jog together? You need to share
something deeper and more meaningful. You need a common life purpose. Two
things can happen in a marriage. You can grow together, or you can grow apart.
50 percent of the people out there are growing apart. To make a marriage work,
you need to know what you want out of life - bottom line - and marry someone
who wants the same thing.
QUESTION #2: Do I feel safe expressing my feelings and thoughts with this person?
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This question goes to the core of the quality of your relationship.
Feeling safe means you can communicate openly with this person. The basis of
having good communication is trust - i.e. trust that I won't get "punished" or hurt for expressing my honest thoughts and feelings. A colleague of mine defines an abusive person as someone with whom you feel afraid to express your thoughts and feelings. Be honest with yourself on this one. Make sure you feel emotionally safe with the person you plan to marry.
QUESTION #3: Is he/she a mensch?
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A mensch is someone who is a refined and sensitive person. How can you test? Here are some suggestions. Do they work on personal growth on a regular basis? Are they serious about improving themselves? A teacher of mine defines a good person as "someone who is always striving to be good and do the right thing". So ask about your significant other: What do they do with their time? Is this person materialistic? Usually a materialistic person is not someone whose top priority is character refinement. There are essentially two types of people in the world: People who are dedicated to personal growth and people who are dedicated to seeking comfort. Someone whose goal in life is to be comfortable will put personal comfort ahead of doing the right thing. You need to know that before walking down the aisle.
QUESTION #4: How does he/she treat other people?
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The one most important thing that makes any relationship work is the ability to
give. By giving, we mean the ability to give another person pleasure. Ask: Is
this someone who enjoys giving pleasure to others or are they wrapped up in
themselves and self-absorbed? To measure this, think about the following: How do they treat people whom they do not have to be nice to, such as a waiters, bus boy, taxi driver, etc. How do they treat parents and siblings? Do they have
gratitude and appreciation? Do they show respect? If they don't have gratitude
for the people who have given them everything, you cannot expect that they'll
have gratitude for you-who can't do nearly as much for them! Do they gossip and
speak badly about others? Someone who gossips cannot be someone who loves others. You can be sure that someone who treats others poorly, will eventually treat you poorly as well.
QUESTION #5: Is there anything I'm hoping to change about this person after we're married?
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Too many people make the mistake of marrying someone with the intention of trying to "improve" them after they're married. As a colleague of mine puts it, "You can probably expect someone to change after marriage ... for the worse!" If you cannot fully accept this person the way they are now, then you are not ready to marry them. In conclusion, dating doesn't have to be difficult and treacherous. The key is to try leading a little more with your head and less with your heart. It pays to be as objective as possible when you are dating, to be sure to ask questions that will help you get to the key issues. Falling in love is a great feeling, but when you wake up with a ring on your finger, you don't want to find yourself in trouble because you didn't do your homework.
The New Entrepreneurs: Making a Living-Making a Life Through Network Marketing
The New Entrepreneurs : Making a Living--Making a Life Through Network Marketing (buy from Amazon) by Rene Reid Yarnell
Type: Business
Author: Rene Reid Yarnell
My rating: 3
Book introduction:
This book that talks about how to make a living out of a business concept call network marketing.
My review:
If you are into multi-level marketing, also known as network marketing, this book provides many cases and tips of how to conduct a successful business.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad
Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money--That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! (buy from Amazon) by Sharon L. Lechter
Type: Business
Author: Robert T. Kiyosaki
My rating: 4
Posted by irene
Book introduction:
By comparing how rich dad and poor dad educates his kid, the author shows why rich people get richer and poor people struggle to survive. It points out some neutral human behaviours which restrict us to build our wealth.
My review:
The concepts are simple, but we always need to be aware of whether we're buying "assets" or 'liability" to our personal balance sheet. It is useful for financial planning.
How to slay the financial dragon
How to Slay the Financial Dragon (buy from Amazon) by William A. Stanmeyer
Type: Business
Author: William A. Stanmeyer, J.D.
My rating: 4
Posted by Dominic
Book introduction:
This book talks about how most people are trapped in fighting a losing battle with the financial dragon. A dragon that if you chop off its head, 2 more pop up! How to go for the heart and kill it for good.
- Why so many people are failing but yet CONTINUE to do the same thing?
- What can be done differently?
- Why the government is useless in securing your retirement plan?
- How to build asset that generate cash-flow?
My review:
Another book by Stanmeyer that talks about how to break free from the financial burden with more interesting analogy and metaphor.
I particularly like the chapter calls "Think outside the prison", it is all about will! Once the will is there, you can achieve ANYTHING!
Rich Dad's Prophecy
Rich Dad's Prophecy: Why the Biggest Stock Market Crash in History Is Still Coming... and How You Can Prepare Yourself and Profit from It! (buy from Amazon) by Sharon L. Lechter
Type: Business
Author: Robert T. Kiyosaki, Sharon L. Lechter
My rating: 4
Book introduction:
The full title of this book is Rich Dad's Prophecy, why the biggest stock market crash in history is still coming...
It talks about how people in our generation (gen x) is going bear the retirement cost of the Babyboomer generation because they were promised a "Defined Benefit" retirement scheme and we are given a very different scheme called "Defined contribution" and the cost is dear. How major corporations are suffering since 2000 onwards. Why most people are not prepared for this change and will not have sufficient fund to retire. In turns, they are going to make terrible mistakes in investment and will trigger a panic reaction sometime in the future and cause a major market crash.
My review:
Very revealing indeed. Predicting an inevitable trend that will hit us all very hard especially us the kids of babyboomer generation. It is terrifying that most people will not be able to survive in their retirement years and not realising it today so they can better prepared. The "Defined benefit" Vs "Defined contribution" analysis is most interesting, esp. after reading an article on how Ford the automobile manufacturer suffered a downgrade in credit rating because it's "defined benefit" pension fund for its enormous body of retired workers is severly under funded and that they must injected hundreds of millions of cash from its future profit to plug the hole and Ford is definitely not alone.
If you really want to get yourself prepared and sheild yourself from the big shock that is going to hit us, read this book and selectively adopt the advices in this book that are most suitable to you.
The Wave 4 Way to Building Your Downline
The Wave 4 Way to Building Your Downline (buy from Amazon) by Richard Poe
Type: Business
Author: Richard Poe
My rating: 3
Book introduction:
A book that cites multiple examples of how proper network marketing is conducted
My review:
Recommended to people who have just started doing network marketing business
Double lives, Second chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski
Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzysztof Kieslowski (buy from Amazon) by Annette Insdorf
Type: Biography
Author:Annette Insdorf
My rating: 4
Book introduction:
This is a book dedicated to one of the greatest movie directos - Krzysztof Kieslowski. The book covers all his works, from the first documentary that he made, to the first fiction movie, to the last movie before he retired
My review:
If you are a big fan of Kieslowski, this book is a must. My favourite Kieslowski movies include the Decaloge, Double life of Veronica, Blue, White and Red. It was a absolute delight to be able to write able some of Kieslowski's early work and so I'm on a mission to find these movies.