Books2Wealth is the premier internet source of FREE book
reviews and other materials to help you find success and Create True Wealth.
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Creating True Wealth
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ISSN: 1945-9300 -- Issue Number: 113 - December
31, 2010
Educating people for building wealth,
adapting to a changing future and personal development. |
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Successful
People Read - Reading Leads to Success
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Let's End the Year Looking
Forward
Our final issue of Creating True Wealth gives you two Bonus Guest Book Reviews and a Guest
Article to wrap up 2010 and to look forward into 2011.
You will also notice that the title sections
above are now linked to the articles below so if you see a title you really want to check out before
reading the entire newsletter you can click right to it rather than having to scroll all the way down.
This feature along with the cleaner and more technically sophisticated layout for the newsletter is how
we are moving into 2011. Please let me know if you have any problems reading the new format in your
email program. As usual my goal is to bring you the best in book reviews and articles to help you
create true wealth in your life and learn more.
There is a lot of great material planned for
future issues in 2011, so stay tuned.
No matter how much you achieved this year
remember that you can achieve even more in the year to come by continuing to learn more from those who
have succeeded. Plan to create more and succeed more in 2011 - the future is yours to claim. Keep on
learning, keep on reading and set your goals now for what you hope to achieve in the coming
year.
Happy New Year to all!
Wishing you success and
prosperity,
Daniel R.
Murphy
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Learn from a Legend!
The late Jim
Rohn is a legend in the personal development field. For over 50 years he taught and inspired
millions of people to succeed and exceed their expectations. His philosophy of personal development
is fundamental and proven. Read more about Mr. Rohn and his timeless wisdom here.
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Inspiration in a few words:
"Dig the well before you are thirsty." -- Chinese Proverb
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Featured Book Review
Title and Author: Relationship Economics by David Nour
Synopsis of
Content:
David Nour revisits a common subject of books these days but with
a different twist. He identifies the most important resource of a business (and arguably of a
person) to be their relationships – who they know and the quality of their relationship with those
they know.
Nour divides relationships into three categories: personal,
functional and strategic. He suggests each type of relationship serves different functions and
require different approaches to establish and to nourish.
He argues that relationships are the centric goals for business
development whether we realize it or not. He also discusses how our relationships guide us in
developing our leadership ability.
Nour applies Social Network Analysis (SNA) and several other
scientific measurement approaches to identify the significance of relationships and to plan for
them strategically. The book discusses how to develop relationships, such as those with customers,
and how not to. Nour even provides a 30-60-90 day personal relationship plan to build and nurture
relationships.
Nour’s book offers some unique and creative approaches to
understanding the significance and power of relationships in our business and in our lives. While
he protests that his book is not about using or exploiting people and relationships it is difficult
to see how the business application aspects of his book and the strategic applications do not in
fact teach one how to utilize relationships and their development to your advantage – a glossy way
of saying he shows you how best to use them.
This book is worth the read. You will undoubtedly learn some
valuable ideas about how to establish and grow relationships in the business world. It should be
read however with a bit of caution – taken too far the ideas here could be exploitive and contrary
to one’s personal integrity. In fairness to Nour, many people use far less strategic thinking to
exploit their relationships – he does not advocate exploitation but the tools he teaches would seem
to make it far easier to accomplish.
Readability/Writing Quality:
The book is quite readable. It is organized like most modern
business books with many chapters, sub sections and application or example boxes. While the book
has a logical flow it is sometimes difficult to remember what section you are in based on the
content.
Notes on Author:
David Nour describes himself as a “social networking strategist”.
He heads up his own consulting company called BeOne Now.
Three Great Ideas You Can
Use:
1. The main reason networking does not work is that it lacks
purpose, goals, is haphazard and reactive. Learning to plan networking with a definite purpose, a
set of goals and a strategic plan makes it far more effective.
2. Teams should be selected and trained along the
“relationship-centric” model; that is, using team members who possess and demonstrate the most
relationship functional attributes.
3. To attract the most influential relationships you must build
your relationship currency, what you have to offer to attract the relationships you seek; this
currency includes: becoming more interesting by deepening your own horizons and interests, building
a personal brand, and becoming known for your high value content.
Publication
Information:
Relationship
Economics by David Nour
Copyright 2008 by David Nour. Published by John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.
Overall Rating for Book: Good
Guest Book Review
An Amazing
Memoir By An Amazing Man
By Douglas Cobb
Three grains of wheat are so small, and
seemingly insignificant, but it's what they can represent that's important. A mere three grains of
wheat, and the promise they represent, can influence a person's entire life. In his memoir, Three
Grains of Wheat, Mike Papasavas looks back on an extremely rich life in which more than once, the
course it took was influenced by small things that made all the difference in how he went from a
rural life in Rhodes, to Germany, then Canada, and finally, America. The story of how he went from
his humble beginnings to become a successful businessman, banker, and family man in America is
nothing short of miraculous, and led me to believe, as I was reading, that Papasavas' belief that
the course of his life has been divinely guided must have some basis in fact. Three Grains of Wheat
is an inspiring memoir of how grit, determination, a belief in the importance of the small things
in life, and an abiding religious faith can take a person literally anywhere he or she wants to
go.
What do three grains of wheat mean to you? Possibly
nothing, as they are so small. But to Mike Papasavas, then known as Emmanuel or Manolis, they
represented a promise that one day his life would change for the better:
One day when I was working in the fields, I was
suddenly overtaken by a strange sensation of depression, fear, anxiety, and desperation. At that
moment, I stopped the animals in the middle of the path. I took three grains of wheat from one of
the bags and placed them under a stone. This act-those three grains of wheat beneath the
rock-symbolized my commitment to one day abandon the village life and seek my own path. Those three
grains of wheat have served as a reminder that there will always be opportunities beyond the
familiar.
I like it that much of the tale of the author's
earliest years as a boy in the Greek village of Agios Isidoros, where he was born in 1938, is told
in the form of flashbacks to his past that Mike has while traveling by train to Bonn, Germany. His
memories of encounters with Nazis, and of his school career and of when he temporarily ran around
with a gang of other young boys, are very interesting. Some of the things he did, like banging on a
hand grenade, made me wonder how he ever survived to enjoy the success and happiness of his later
life.
Another memory Mike has on the train illustrates the
crucial importance of the number three in the author's life. It was when he was trying to attend
high school, and pay for the tuition himself. It was a time when he had little money left over from
his job to buy any food, and he survived on very little to eat, like bags of peanuts. He was living
outside for a while, in the cold and the elements, and he even considered committing suicide. Then
at three in the morning, he heard the church bells ring:
I would remember it as the "three tower clock rings"
and similar to the grains of wheat, compare it with any future difficulty or obstacle, to remind me
how much suffering or misery a person can endure. I will never, never forget that moment, as the
echo of the peeling chimes has been permanently recorded in a non-erasable section of my
memory.
The author's twisting and turning route to eventual
success was far from an easy one. He only knew a few words in German, most of which he'd read as he
studied up on the language on the train to Bonn, but Mike didn't let a little matter like not
knowing the language of the country he was bound for prevent him from going there to live and work.
The same was true when he later traveled to Canada, and be among the lowest paid workers because he
didn't speak English, and it was also true when he first arrived in America. But, despite the
initial hardships the author details that he suffered through in each new country he moved to, his
bosses recognized his intelligence and determination, and rewarded his hard work with bonuses, pay
raises, and promotions.
The book also gets into what the author's life was
like when he wasn't working, like the friends he met, and his love interests. These portions of his
memoir I also found to be very interesting, and revealing in how his dating and interactions with
other people revealed information about Mike's moral code of ethics. Like almost everyone, he's
done some things he isn't proud of; but, in general, his code of ethics and sense of outrage when
someone he personally knew acted immorally showed me a lot about his upstanding
character.
Three Grains of Wheat by Mike Papasavas is one of
the best memoirs I've ever read. It's not one about a famous actor, politician, or sports figure,
but a person like you or me. That's why you, like I did, will find it so easy to identify with Mike
Papasavas and his life. I've often wondered, as he does, how my own life would have been different
if I hadn't done this or that, if I hadn't met my wife and we had our two children, etc., and I
also can't help but to feel that divine guidance had to have been involved. But, whether or not you
believe this, you'll find Three Grains of Wheat to be a gripping, engrossing memoir you'll want to
be sure to read.
Reviewed by Douglas R. Cobb for
http://www.bestsellersworld.com
Article Source: An Amazing Memoir By An Amazing Man
Guest Book Review 2
Innovate the Steve Jobs
Way
By Avil Beckford
In the recent webinar, "Innovate the Steve Jobs Way:
7 Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success," Carmine Gallo shared seven principles
for innovation which he learned from studying Steve Jobs for many years. The webinar was a prelude
to his book The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough
Success. I found it extremely useful to attend the webinar before reading the book and I combined
what I learned in the webinar with what I learned from the book. I have also expanded what I wrote
in a previous blog post. The book provides concrete examples of how Steve Jobs innovates and the
author conducted several interviews with former Apple employees.
To support what he says in the book, Carmine Gallo
also looked at what other innovators were successfully doing. He defines innovation as, "A
new way of doing things that result in positive change." How can you innovate the way you do your
job? What innovations are occurring in other industries that you can transfer to
yours?
Carmine Gallo has identified seven principles to
guide innovation based on what he has learned from studying Steve Jobs, the Co-founder and CEO of
Apple. The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs has 15 chapters, an introductory one and two chapters
devoted to each principle. Though the book presents a lot of information on the way Steve Jobs
approaches innovation, there are many examples of others who are innovating in similar ways and
achieving success.
Principle One: Do What You
Love
Passion is everything, and it keeps you going when
you face inevitable setbacks. Be obsessed and improve the areas that you love. To achieve success,
passion is not enough - follow your obsessions, tailor them to your skills, and focus on what you
can make money from. What is your calling and your destiny? How can you change the
world?
A simple formula is Success = Passion + Skills +
Market Demand
Principle Two: Put a Dent in the
Universe
Innovation doesn't take place in a vacuum. Have a
vision, because innovation cannot occur without one. What's the bigger picture and how can you
share your vision with enthusiasts who will make your vision a reality. How is your product or
service going to change the world? How can you leave the world a better place than you found
it? How can you make your customers' lives better?
Margaret Mead's quote, "A small group of thoughtful
people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has," encapsulates this
principle.
Principle Three: Kick Start Your
Brain
Seek our new and novel experiences, and bombard your
brain with them. Who is doing something remarkable that you can learn from? Steve Jobs studied the
Four Seasons Hotel and Mercedes Benz because they are aces when it comes to remarkable customer
experiences. Jobs introduced a Concierge Service in the Apple Store based on what he learned from
observing the Four Seasons Hotel.
A critical part of this principle is to make
connections among disparate things and force yourself outside of your physical and mental comfort
zone. To live a vision requires creative thinking which requires immersion in novel
experiences.
New experiences expand the way you think. Surround
yourself with people from different cultures. Experiment, and try new things. What are two things
that you can do differently to improve the way in which you deliver your product or
service?
Principle Four: Sell Dreams Not
Products
Understand your customers, and help them to fulfill
their dreams. Get to know them better than they know themselves. How can you change your customers'
worlds? Create remarkable customer experiences and market that.
Your customers often do not know what they want, so
be a linchpin as marketing guru Seth Godin says and anticipate what they need before they do. It's
a twist to the concept of build it and they will come, to build it and convince them that they
should come.
Principle Five: Say No to 1,000
Things
Take the road less traveled. Remove distractions so
you can focus on the core product. Eliminate distractions from the customer experience. Don't
spread yourself too thin, and go for simplicity. Steve Job told Mark Parker, "Get rid of
the crappy stuff and focus on the good stuff." Go for simplicity and elegance.
Simplify and focus on your product and service
offerings. What are you best at? What is one thing that you do extremely well? Focus on it and
simplify.
Principle Six: Create Insanely
Great Experiences
Create emotional connections with your customers.
What are five ways you can enrich the lives of your customers? What relationships are you forming
with your customers? Look outside your industry for examples. Create memorable experiences so you
have rabid fans. Before you innovate, hold your customer in your mind's eye, and proceed from
there.
Principle Seven: Master the
Message
Effectively communicate your vision. Innovate around
the way you communicate the vision. What are master presenters and communicators doing? Emulate
them. Be a great storyteller, and be consistent in your messaging.
I enjoyed reading The Innovation Secrets of Steve
Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough Success because I had to stop several times
and think about what I was reading. The many examples demonstrated how others were using these
seven principles with great success, and I understood how I could use them as well. I also learned
about innovative products that others were delivering.
For instance, DNA 11 creates art with their
customer's DNA and became a multi-million dollar business in five years. The owners Adrian
Salamunovic and Nazim Ahmed didn't conduct focus group interviews to decide if there was a need for
their product, they created the product then created the demand for it. They also noticed that some
of their customers were asking for art with their pets' DNA, so they offered that to other
customers who might not have thought of that.
What Carmine Gallo has shown in his book is that
innovation does not necessarily mean crating something radically new. Sometimes it is simply doing
something in an entirely new way. This is a practical book written in a clear manner. I recommend
The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs: Insanely Different Principles for Breakthrough
Success.
Avil Beckford, Chief Invisible Mentor, writer and
researcher with over 15 years of experience, is the published author of
[http://stores.lulu.com/avilbeckford]Tales of People Who Get It and its companion workbook Journey
to Getting It. Subscribe to the Invisible Mentor Blog http://theinvisiblementor.com for great
interviews of successful people, book reviews, how-tos, articles and tips to mentor yourself and
ignite your hidden genius. Explore the Resources Page for free white papers, presentations and an
e-book
Article Source: Innovate the Steve Jobs Way
Guest Book Review Bonus
Fight For Your Money by
David Bach
By Ben Sanderson
No one likes to get ripped off. No one. Yet, we end up losing our
money through scams, bad purchases, and other monetary mishaps. Would it not be a much better world
if we could all get a heads up on the red flags that contribute to losing money? Thanks to the
excellent book Fight for Your Money by David Bach, it may be possible to avoid all manner of
rip-offs that seek to separate you from your hard earned income. Seriously, this book by David Bach
is one of the most helpful and insightful on the market. This is why it remains and absolute must
have publication for every fiscally conscious individual's library.
Does Fight for Your Money deal with the subject of confidence men
that lurk in the shadows? Actually, the bulk of the book deals with the common rip-offs we need to
contend with from legitimate companies. The business world and the state and federal governments
are always looking to squeeze all your earnings from you. This can be stressful but it can also be
dealt with. The key here is that as long as you are wise to the tricks that are being pulled, you
will be in the perfect position to deal with the problems.
What are some of these problems? The private sector is loaded with
hidden fees and charges designed to siphon your dollars. The government offers many tax breaks but
spends no time or money letting the public know such breaks are there. Again, you do not have to
deal with these issues as long as you know they are there. When you do, you can take the steps to
address such problem. Namely, you will avoid the fees and take advantage of the benefits. David
Bach shows you exactly how to do this in his excellent book.
When you read Fight for Your Money, you will learn how there are
scores of extra fees on cell phone contracts, credit card, automobile purchases, cable bills, and
even savings/investment plans. Look, no matter what you want to purchase someone will try to take a
little extra of your earnings. Since you don't want that to happen, you need to be on your guard.
David Bach will show you how to stay on your guard and avoid being taken advantage
of.
This is not to infer the book is loaded with over the top, pie in
the sky tips on how to circumvent legitimate fees. Rather, it is designed to point out common areas
to be aware of and how to keep more of your money. And is that not what you would want in the end?
If you do then you also will want this book.
Truthfully, this work can be considered one of the top books on
the subject of saving money and avoiding scams and bad deals. Those that wish to keep more of their
money in their pocket are advised to check it out.
Please visit The Personal Development Company if you would like to
learn more about
[http://www.thepersonaldevelopmentcompany.com/david-bach/fight-for-your-money.html]Fight For Your
Money by [http://www.thepersonaldevelopmentcompany.com/david-bach.html]David
Bach
Article Source:
[http://EzineArticles.com/?Fight-For-Your-Money-by-David-Bach&id=5431184] Fight For Your Money
by David Bach
Guest Article
Celebrate Your Year: 23 Questions to Inventory Your Successes
by Jack Canfield
As you set goals for the coming year, it’s a good idea to take
stock of the progress you’ve made toward your 2010 goals. For many people, this review is
unpleasant and even can lead to a downward spiral.
If you didn’t achieve all of the goals you set at the beginning of
the year, you may feel like you have failed. Our self-esteem can take a hit, we can become
disheartened and discouraged, and our motivation drops. Some people actually become
depressed.
If this sounds familiar, it’s time to reframe how you look at
success. Zeroing in on accomplishments that didn’t happen puts your focus on what you lack, rather
than on what you have (the things you did experience and accomplish). This subtle mental trap leads
to a host of negative consequences, which usually lead to attracting more lack.
The answer is not giving up the review of your year. Periodic
review is essential to the process of growth and goal achievement. The key is to acknowledge,
appreciate and celebrate what you did accomplish, and then to refocus on the goals that you still
want to achieve.
The “Win List”
One of the techniques I teach my Platinum Inner Circle Group is to
create a detailed “Win List” at the end of the year. Its purpose is to help you acknowledge all of
your wins, especially those that didn’t start as a written goal or intention.
This powerful technique takes about 30 minutes to complete. Start
by listing all of the goals you set and achieved this year. Then list any other wins you think of –
both large and small.
Here are some questions to help identify your
successes.
• What wins or progress did you achieve in
business?
• Did you discontinue an old product or develop
a new product or product line?
• Did you identify a new market to focus
on?
• Did you create any new marketing pieces or
campaigns?
• Did you delegate any tasks to become more
productive? This could include adding new staff and/or assistants, such as a housekeeper,
executive assistant, gardener, errand runner, babysitter, or child care person. It also might
include putting new systems into place to increase your efficiency.
• Did you buy, use or learn to use any new
technology? This includes mental, emotional or spiritual technology, as well as mechanical,
electronic and digital technology?
• Did you spend more time in
nature?
• Did you develop any new supportive habits
(such as meditation, exercise, sleep, or gratitude)? Did you overcome any non-supportive habits
(for example, addiction to alcohol, caffeine, sugar, video games, porn, gambling, or
shopping)?
• How did you grow in
leadership?
• Did you deliver any presentations or speeches
or develop new programs?
• Did you develop any new abilities, skills or
competencies?
• What success did you achieve in the areas of
financial income, investments or debt reduction?
• Did you create any new relationships or deepen
existing relationships? Consider both business and personal relationships.
• Did you make any progress in
self-development?
• Did you attend any positive events (e.g.,
seminars, lectures, concerts, theater, or sports)?
• Did you experience any positive events with
your family?
• Where there any positive events in relation to
your house or apartment?
• Did you take any trips or
vacations?
• Were there any positive additions to your
life?
• Were there any positive events in your
community?
• How about any positive events in your
spiritual life (e.g., church services, meditation, retreats, rituals)?
• Did you experience any positive events in
regards to letting go (e.g., bad habits, negative people, or clutter)?
• Did you have any wins in health and fitness
(e.g., weight, exercise, cholesterol, sports, or endurance)?
Reduce Mental Friction
Mental “friction” caused by negative thoughts and feelings will
slow down your progress as you work to achieve your goals. By using this technique to focus your
attention on what you did achieve, you’ll shift into a state of gratitude and joy, accelerating
your momentum into the new year.
Jack Canfield, America's Success Coach, is the founder and
co-creator of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on
Peak Performance. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and
joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at:
www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com
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I hope you will find the information in the Creating True
Wealth newsletter useful. Future editions will highlight other books in the fields of business,
sales, motivational materials, self help literature, psychology and other related fields. This
newsletter is published weekly on Fridays.
Daniel R. Murphy, Publisher. All content is written by Daniel R. Murphy unless noted
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Learn from a Master of
Success
- the late Jim Rohn.
No one has spoken to more audiences around the world or sold more
audio programs around the world than the great Jim Rohn.
He was a giant in the self development industry for half a
century.
Jim is no longer with us but fortunately his wisdom and teaching
does remain for us to use.
Learn more about this legendary self improvement teacher and the
fantastic educational materials you can obtain here.
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