“Unstoppable Confidence” Because You Can Never have Too Much of It.

My recent curiosity with Neuro Linguistic Programming has led me to another book on the subject, this one focusing primarily on confidence.

What’s the difference between confident people and shy people? Usually the difference between optimism and pessimism. Both groups of people are pretty attached to what they think is a certain outcome. The confident people are attached and expecting a great outcome, the shy people are expecting a terrible outcome. Why? Probably because through the course of their 15-20 years on this planet, they had few bumps and bruises. They may have been picked on in school, or had a bad breakup with a former lover. They may have had strangely abusive relationships with friends, even family, and picked up on certain rules. They carry those rules with them wherever they go, even if those rules haven’t proven themselves to be effective at all.

The cool thing about NLP is that, once you realize that your own personal history is just a mental routine that you go through (eg. you see a pretty girl, imagine her laughing at you, and you give up the thought of talking to her–the girl triggers the routine), you can just… give yourself a new history. It’s true. You can actually reprogram yourself. This book is full of bizarre techniques to do just that. Continue reading

“Frogs into Princes” Understanding the Magic that Happens When We Talk

You may have heard of NLP, but if you haven’t it’s not your fault: Neuro Linguistic Programming (fittingly) has been simmering below the surface of the public consciousness for a few decades now. NLP is the study of how our minds use, interpret and process language and thought. This seemingly geeky subject turns out to be incredibly fun and useful, if you can figure it out. Using NLP in your day to day life effectively is kinda like the ‘stop the bullets in mid-air’ scene in The Matrix. Yes, I’m talking about hypnosis. Buckle up. Continue reading

“21tiger Days” My Story of Graduating, Surviving, and Thriving in the New China

Author: @21tigermike

“The Expat Era is over, you know. No more hand holding.”

These were the words of my Grad School advisor. Despite her warnings, a few years later, I’m still in China. Now and then people ask me about my first year, and I still look back on that time with fondness: everything was so new, so raw, and so free. If you’re working abroad, or thinking about it in future, definitely check out my true story of getting into, and surviving, China, and all the things I had to learn to make it happen.

21tiger Days includes:

  • The real narrative story, as well the critical ‘missing chapter’ Continuum that unifies all the previous books in a whole new light, multiplying their value immensely
  • 300+ pages covering all topics in the previous 21tiger books and tons of additional material,including the essay that started it all, and the origins of 21tiger
  • Completely redesigned layout and style, perfect for reading on a Kindle or other eReader

Get this book
Download $2.99 eBook
Download Free 21tiger Days Sample
(Don’t have an eReader yet? Click Here to check them out!) Continue reading

“Innovator’s Dilemma” The Disruptive and Counterintuitive Path of Innovation

Author @claychristensen

For decades, the United States has been the bastion of great Capitalist Innovation. With the American system, it was thought, you had the greatest chance to take a great idea to tremendous wealth and power. What does that really mean? It means having a great education system, a great financial system, and a great patent system. When you finally take your widget to the market, your accountant might even tap you on the shoulder and ask you about taking the company public. An IPO (Initial Public Offering). Taking the company public is a great way to motivate your employees (they can be paid in stock), and allows the company to grow rapidly in value, based on public perception. A few years later you’re issuing quarterly reports and the stock price is bouncing up and down based on the contents of that report. After a few years, the company begins to stall out: your widgets are more advanced than they ever were, but you latest model hasn’t done so hot in the market. Your loyal customers are content with last year’s model, so the growth prospects are middling, and the stock starts to slide.

What the hell just happened?

The Innovator’s Dilemma reveals the true source of groundbreaking and game-changing technologies, and why the Modern Corporate System works against real innovation. If you can understand why certain companies and entrepreneurs stall out, you can understand how to avoid it. Continue reading

“Steve Jobs”: Asshole. Impresario. Artist.

Author @WalterIsaacson Recommended@gruber

Before I’d even got this book on my Kindle,I’d already written about 3000 words of ‘notes’ for this review. After all, I’d been using Apple products my whole life. Surely, I thought, there’s nothing in the book that’s going to change my opinions. Boy was I wrong. A word of warning: if you love Apple, or its co-founder, or its design aesthetic, or its amazing brand, be prepared to see everything in this book, including things you don’t wanna read. Finding out intimate details about Apple, is kind of like going backstage at a Led Zeppelin concert in the 70′s and seeing your heroes wasted, and babbling like babies, surrounded by bimbos. You might not be ready to meet your heroes, and find they’re human. Maybe that’s what’s so heartbreaking about Steve’s passing. He was human after all. And we wanted him so bad to live up to his image, as a perpetually young, dashing, charismatic genius, who seemingly waved his hands, and showed us the future. Continue reading

“Rework” by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson

Author @jasonfried Tipped @four_sides

Rework is a book about how to rethink business–how to rethink your job, how to rethink your colleagues, how to rethink success. So what’s wrong with business in the first place?

Well, like how many pursuits go awry in life, the emphasis of image over substance (like in Mastery) is the killer. So how does this come across in business? The desire to have a cool business card is one way, the desire to get big fast is another, the desire to use ‘bizspeak’ words when plain English will do is another. There is this temptation to very quickly overcome your small size and limited experience, with a veneer of cheesy tacked on ‘professionalism,’ which really stinks because, of course, everyone around you can smell it. It’s a turn-off. And if you’re being dishonest about your size, your success and your persona, is it possible you’re being dishonest about your products too? Of course. Continue reading