I would classify both books, Into Thin Air and The Alchemist as “fishing” books. I am not talking about outdoors fishing, deep sea fishing or even ice fishing. What I refer to is these books have a fishing hook that catches the reader, hook line and sinker. Read the first page of either book and you have taken the bait, you’re hooked.
Both books have been in print for some time now, but it took the recommendation by two friends for me to travel to the book store and purchase the books. Without their suggestions that I might enjoy reading each of the books, I may have missed being blessed by Jon Krakauer, author of Into Thin Air and Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist.
People read books for enjoyment. But the content of a book, when applied to our everyday life, should make us a better person. The Alchemist provides two excellent examples of ideas, that have the power to make us a better person and therefore more successful. In the book, a camel driver tells the Sheppard boy why he is not concerned with the threat of war that surrounds them: “Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man.” The moral: live the moment. Later the Sheppard boy explains what alchemists do. “They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us become better, too.” The better sales person has the better customers and works for the better company; the better company has the better employees; the better doctor heals people quicker and saves more lives; the better entertainer provides better enjoyment; the better teacher graduates better students and the better neighbor lives in a better neighborhood.
Through this posting, I am recommending a number of “fishing” books that you may want to consider in addition to the above two mentioned books. I believe you will be a better person for having read any of the following books:
1. The Greatest Salesman In The World, by Og Mandino — The story of a camel boy who is given ten ancient scrolls which contain the wisdom necessary for the boy—or anyone— to achieve all his ambitions.
2. The Richest Man in Babylon, by George S. Clason — Using parables to teach simple lesson in timeless financial wisdom aka how to get rich.
3. Hope Is Not A Method, by Gordon R. Sullivan & Michael V. Harper. Practical lessons on leadership, acting strategically, and human behavior for business leaders from America’s Army.
4. Execution the Discipline of Getting Things Done, by Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan — Sound, practical advice about how to get things done. “The absence of execution,” the authors write, “is the single biggest obstacle to success and the cause of most of the disappointments that are mistakenly attributed to others causes.”
5. The Effective Executive, by Peter F. Drucker — The practices the executive must master in order to be truly effective. Drucker writes, “The executive is, first of all, expected to get the right things done. He or she is to work on truly important things.”
6. A Message to Garcia, by Elbert Hubbard — A very short book that delivers. The story of Colonel Andrew S. Rowan, who when called on by the President to delivery a message of importance to Garcia, delivered. (See Hawg Blawg, Feb. 1, 2009).
7. Patton on Leadership, by Alan Axelrod — Strategic lessons for corporate warfare.
8. Selling the Invisible, by Harry Beckwith — A field guide to modern marketing for those in a service business. How markets work and prospects think.
9. Now, Discover Your Strengths— by Marcus Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton — Shows you how to develop your unique talents and strengths — and those of the people you manage.
10. Positioning the Battle for the Mind — by Al Ries & Jack Trout. A classic in using positioning as a communication tool to reach target customers in an over communicated marketplace.
11. Outliers, by Malcolm Gladwell — Discusses what separates the high achievers from the rest of us. (Gladwell is the author of two other outstanding books: The Tipping Point and Blink)
12. Talent Is Overrated, by Geoff Colvin — The premise is that great performance isn’t reserved for a preordained few. The price may be high—but it is available to us all.
There are a lot more “fishing” books, but here is a fishing trip a month for twelve months. So, cast out your line, set your hook and don’t let the “big” one get away.
HOG THOUGHT: There are all kinds of books on all kinds of subjects. Invest in yourself and purchase a book on a subject that you enjoy and want to know more about. Read for pleasure and information, but always for application. You can buy a “fishing” book today at a book store, order online or check out at your local library.
HOG QUOTE: “Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." —Joseph Addison
HOG ACTION: Live in the moment. Read and digest a good book this month. Set your goal to read every day. Look for good ideas that you can put to practice in your life, professional and/or personal. Information plus execution will help make you a better person.
Note. I post every two weeks. This is posting number 36.
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