Book Review: Conversations with Millionaires by Mike Litman

If I would have read the book, it would have made it in my books-i-didn’t-finish shelf in few pages only. Good God!! I listened to the audio book and to say that I was mesmerized would be an understatement. Well, this is not any regular audio-book which is just a rendition of the content, it is the collection of the original radio interview recordings which led to this book. You have to listen to Mike Litman hosting radio show to understand how mediocre and numb Indian radio hosts are. He is so full of energy, well-read and smart that even some of the TV hosts would not be able to match up by his side.

 

Ah, coming to the content side of the book. Well if you take nine cheap self-help books having the most promising names from any of the railway station bookstand and bind them together, it will not be very different from the current book. The millionaires selected for this book are not any millionaires or even the most successful millionaires – they are the millionaires who are into motivational-speaker-and-self-help-books business themselves. And all throughout the interviews they are establishing how their work is groundbreaking and how they are better than others into this business. By the time you reach fourth or fifth part, you are already sick of their know-it-all-achieved-it-all attitude. Come on man, you are not Bill Gates or Larry Page!! Have some humility.

The ‘millionaires’ are divided into two parts – those who coach about success and others who profess about financial freedom. You can definitely skip the former guys but you can still go through the latter if you have not read any books like Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Overall, I highly recommend giving this book a skip as well. Maybe you can listen to one or two interviews of Mike Litman to understand to what extent he is better than the rest. Continuously two bad books is making me want something meaty now – have high expectations from the body language book I am reading.

Book Review: The Dip by Seth Godin

The Dip is a book about quitting or not quitting depending on where you lie. I am not quite sure what significant I got out of the book. The part where he explained why you should be the best and how there are disproportional rewards for being number one was really good. So was the part where the difference between active perseverance and passive sufferer was highlighted. But all else was very generic. The fact that you should quit when it is right time rather than keep on hanging or similar stuff about when you should be perseverant – I mean we know all these stuff already, dont we? There are few good pointers about when you shouldn’t quit – when long term seems better than short term. I believe I expected more out of the book – something thought provoking. Maybe that’s what happens when marketing writer tries to venture into behavior psychology with few of his observations. But probably my views are so because I went through the abridged version and that too an audiobook. I recommend you can give this book a skip.

Polaroid

It was the same old world

Things haven't changed really

But 'unfamiliar' is the word

When I look around slowly

They say happiness is a pursuit

Then why I don't wanna go anywhere

There are thousand possibilities

But where have you gone my fear

Why suddenly I feel complete

When I am sure I saw a void

I thought of it as so many things

But I forgot its also a Polaroid

Book Review: Good to Great by Jim Collins

This book is about 11 companies who made a leap from “Good” to “Great” and what caused them to make that leap. And what is the definition of Great? Continuous 15-years highest stock market returns is the definition author uses of which I was highly skeptical about. I am sure there can be many other data and non-data points like Revenue growth, Innovations and Self-disruptions made by the company that can be used or even a longer time horizon wouldn’t hurt. Except this reservation of mine, I liked the way the book is researched and the conclusions are drawn. The book is divided into nine chapters and each chapter is about the common things that the research team found in the 11 companies and did not find in the other non-great companies.

The book makes an interesting read definitely. Though I did not find it ground-breaking but I am sure in 2001 when it got published it must have been. I would give 4 stars to the book and put it in “Can-Read” category. 

How to Read More?

I so wanted to write a “How-To” for a long time but was not finding the right topic of expertise. Well I am not one of the most voracious, versatile and learned readers. Not even anywhere close. I do admire the likes of Churchill for whom a book a day was the norm. But I do read a lot, specifically non-fiction. Maybe a few good fictions like Fountainhead, White Tiger here and there but non-fictions for the most part. And I have been fairly regular in my quest for knowledge as there was no point in past 8 years when I did not have a book with me. So here are some pointers from me for all those who wish to read more but somehow not able to:

1. Why to Read: Before starting any new habit it is extremely important to understand the need for that habit. You cannot find the desire and the will to persist in the habit without being clear why you want to do it. For me, it is simply the quest to know more, to get varied point-of-views and at times to get inspiration. For some of my friends, it is the beauty of literature, the thrill of a suspense novel or to get out of the triviality of everyday life. Find your own reason but do it for sure because if won’t you will give up post few books!!

2. What to Read: Again some part of the answer to this will come out of your why-to-read but here is what has worked for me marvelously – NECESSITY or rather RELEVANCE. I have found myself continuously reading because the books I read kept on answering the questions my life posed at those very moments. For example, most recently I read books on e-commerce and negotiations when I joined Amazon because that is what was needed of my job; I read on entrepreneurship when I almost started my own company; I read various books on emotions and psychology during tough phases of my life and I read biographies of sportsperson in the sports I suddenly have grown my interest. I would not be able to read a book on philosophy today but when I was questioning my theological belief system I did read on atheistic philosophy. I am sure this will be as applicable to non-fictions as well. Your reading can depend on what you want to feel – romantic, thrilled, peaceful or sympathetic. Or even what you want to know more about. For example, Arthur Hailey completely decodes one industry in one book and has bestseller novels like Airport, Hotel, Wheels etc.

3. Audiobooks: As Descrates said “The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest men of the past centuries”. Those conversations just come more alive when you are listening to an audiobook. Imagine Dalai Lama telling you about philosophy in his own words. You have to listen to him speaking to understand how his voice brings life to all those words you read in the book. His serene, calm, sympathetic voice with the utmost sincerity has the highest possible impact. But my argument for audiobook is primarily not because of the impact of the book but the convenience. I have started reading while I am driving, walking, gyming or doing chores. My responses in those moments are so automated that I do not need my full concentration there and rather can listen to an intelligent mind speaking. There are two concerns that people raise when I suggest them audiobooks – Safety and Distractions. Yes it is might feel a little unsafe to listen to a book while you are driving or lifting weights but isn’t listening to music is as unsafe. You also get distracted being lost in your own world listening to great songs. But anyways, what I do practically is to focus more on what I am doing currently than listening to the book. I might miss a few sentences here and there but non-fictions do not change course in the matter of sentences. The whole theme essentially remains same and so you do not lose much. But if you feel like if you have lost track completely, just rewind 2 minutes and listen it over. I would rather read for 1 hour with 80% efficiency than not reading at all. I am not sure how it would pan out in fictions as the beauty of language and the transportation to another world is more important there. Also one hint in a few sentences missed might be crucial for the suspense. But for non-fictions it works amazingly well. I do not recommend listening to books whenever you can read just because you can read much faster and skip the things unimportant.

4. Gadgets: I own a Samsung Galaxy Note (Screen Size 5 inch), an Ipad 2 (Screen Size 10 inch) and of course a laptop. Depending on whether I want to have a browsing experience across various windows, read while waiting for flight boarding to start or to read at peace on a bean bag every device has its purpose. I mostly browse through magazine and news articles on my phone, read books and magazines on Ipad and research extensively on a topic browsing through various websites on my laptop. I strongly recommend a 4+ inch smartphone and a tablet to anybody who wants to increase his reading time.

5. Social Networks: I owe my sudden spike in reading to also the amazingly wonderful social network goodreads.com. Not many of my friends are here but many of the friends who are avid readers. It is a platform where you share what you are reading, what you have read, what you liked and your reviews of books. How it has helped me? 1. Discover good books basis what my friends’ reviews, what they have liked and are currently reading. 2. Discover yet more good books basis the awesome recommendation engine which tells you what books you are likely to love based on your current likes 3. I keep on updating my progress on goodreads every 50 pages I complete. It keeps me motivated and gives a small sense of accomplishment 4. I keep on bookmarking the books I find interesting in my to-read shelf and immediately-to-read shelf and often choose my new book from those shelves.
Well I was also recommended Shelfari which incidentally is owned by Amazon and is a similar social network. But I did not find all the features I love in Goodreads. Ofcourse there would be much higher number of reviews given that all Amazon’s reviews would be imported here but I do not need 60,000 reviews, I just read a few!! There are others like aNobii and Librarything which I haven’t explored. Go and find where your friends are and which interface and content you like better.

I hope these tips might help you. Do let me know in the comments if you have found a different useful or practical way to read more or if you agree/disagree. I would like to summarize with this beautiful thought by Mark Twain, “A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read.”

Book Review: Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi

Never Eat Alone is the ultimate book on networking recommended as one of the best business books ever. But after first few pages, I was skeptical that this book will turn out to be another broad level guide about networking containing importance of relationships and fearlessness ultimately from which I will come out BORED. I can say instead I have come out wiser, clearer and more creative. The book is FULL of practical and usable tips and tricks which will go a long way in improving one’s connections if implemented. And Keith Ferrazzi knows what he is talking about. He has played the game, mastered the game and reinvented it as well. Whether you are trying to succeed as a businessman, want to be a CEO or even running an NGO, this book is a must read to at least take you in the right direction. It will open your mind towards the vast array of possibilities of how you can go about expanding your network.

Now acknowledging that it is definitely a must-read I will like to criticize it a little bit as well. Mr Ferrazzi you would have been much more helpful if you would have included some bits about how people with different set of strengths than yours should try to achieve what you have. Without a doubt, as you yourself have also mentioned numerous times that you were born with gift of the gab and with an upbringing which made you comfortable in one-on-ones with seniors. Not all have the same strength as you have and by simply stating what you have done would not be of much help to the million shy people. Agreed some of your tips are easily embraceable and practice will make you better in the other tips, but because of your immense knowledge in the field I think we can expect more out of you.

So overall I am immensely benefited from reading this book as I plan to continue my struggle to come out of my shell and be comfortable with new people, making good conversations and enjoy in a group other than that of best friends and family. However, I do have these two thoughts in mind: Can drastic changes be made in personality traits and the other one being should I try to address my shortcoming or I should rather strengthen my strengths further.

Book Review: The Art of Happiness by Dalai Lama

Ever tried reading those mystical or spiritual books in which half of it you do not understand and the other half that you do understand; your mind does not buy it because of being utterly illogical? If you haven’t then you should give a shot to “The autobiography of a Yogi” as I am sure your mind does not have capacity to imagine how absurd a book can be. “The Art of Happiness” was started by me with a fear in mind of encountering a similar book but since I liked an interview of Dalai Lama somewhere I did expect it to be little different. And what a fresh breeze of air this book is. I feel lucky to have read this, to be able to get a glimpse into thoughts of Dalai Lama.  Amazing book.

There is always a sense of disbelief and scorn in my mind when I hear spiritual or religious views because of my atheist inclination. But when you hear a person who is quite similar to you in thought process, trying to explain those spiritual or religious views, how they make sense and even cite some studies which prove the views right, it becomes hard to reject his narration. This book is an effort of a psychologist, Howard Cutler who is trying to first get convinced by the views of Dalai Lama and then give world a way to be able to witness the brilliance and clarity of one of the purest minds in the world today. It makes the book very interesting and credible as the author does not sound completely submissive to Dalai Lama. He reasons it, questions it and presents his view as well.

I especially liked the meditations that are suggested in this book. To me meditations were always equal to reaching the state of near-blackout while keeping your thoughts away but for the first time I have heard about mind exercises as part of meditation. And I did find these exercises very effective and practical. The book is heavily focused on the power of compassion and how you need to control your mind. Power of compassion is really unique in my readings till now but controlling your mind did seem clichéd, though the treatment of the subject by Dalai Lama is not at all hackneyed. Must Must Read Book!! Go buy it. Read it. Now!!

Book Review: The Lean Startup by Eric Ries

As I am writing this, I have just paid the last installment of the fees for making a web-based application. The cost of making it was significant as was the time spent on visualizing, interacting with the developer and testing it. And now I am not sure that it is something I will be translating into a business of my own, at least not in the near future. Sigh. When I got this business idea, I wanted to just-do-it nike style before it gets too late and so I wrote the B-plan in a train travel, met the website designing company the next day and closed the deal day after. I now wish I would have read this book before that.

Eric Ries has written a masterpiece for entrepreneurs with radical concepts and ideas. And you come out buying everything the author has said much like a textbook because everything he has talked about makes sense, is practical and is backed by reason. The book is divided into three parts – Vision, Steer and Accelerate which is further divided into 12 chapters.

In the first part, he talks about how once you get an idea you should go on defining it and go about testing your hypotheses. Every business idea is made up of some hypotheses – people need X, A is inferior B will do a much better job, if there would be Z in the market people will completely change how they are currently doing things etc. All these beliefs of ours, which are obvious to us has many more layers to it or is sometimes even outright wrong though it might appear infallible from our vantage point. All these hypotheses need testing and further refinement for which one should start with what the author calls MVP – Minimum Viable Product. There are many arguments against MVP for example, mine were I will not get the best response if they do not experience the full thing or they might steal my idea. But if you think deeper through those arguments, MVP does make perfect sense.

In the second part, author discusses developing the product further by testing each and every change and deciding which one are making sense and should be included and which ones should not be. Here he highlights vanity matrices and how we should stay away from them. It is very important for startups to use relevant matrices. He also talks about pivot-or-persevere moments in startups when you have to take a call whether to continue working hard on the path you are going or to change the path now knowing something you did not know earlier.

Third part is all about the organization structure, policies and processes that will help you grow. Here he talks about different engines of growth on which a startup needs to be very clear that which one it is going to target. Here he has emphasized on innovation and how to inculcate it as part of the startup culture. The epilogue in which he has discussed how Taylor’s work has been misinterpreted and misused in today’s business world and why startup should not be victim of that, is also very interesting read.

Overall it was very enriching book. I especially liked how the author has been talking about how so much energy and talent is getting wasted chasing unclear and imagined ideas. His work has been an amazing effort towards reducing that loss. I highly recommend this book if you want to start your own company, you have one or are in involved into intrapreneurship.

Losing My Religion

                This is pretty much my first real post on this blog ignoring the quizzes of course. From my very childhood we were taught to start everything with God’s name. So we used to start our new year’s notebook with God’s name on the first page, not to mention even some of my examination answer sheets had “Om Ganeshaye Namah” on first line. I remember our housewarming party was a grand pooja, new machines getting installed in Dad’s factory also preceded by poojas and Mom, Dad and Grandpa starting there every single day with Pooja (still do). So carrying on the tradition forward here also I am writing my first post about Him or rather about Him being not.

I got born in the family of Brahmins – the priestly caste of Hindus who are expected to play the role of custodians of Dharma in Hindu Society. Knowledge of religion was imparted to us – me and my siblings – by our parents with the same sincerity as parents teach their child about morals. Actually sometimes both were so intertwined for us that I do not remember any such immoral act which does not offend God. I was probably the most religious kid among my friends till I was 10-12. The main influence for it was my Grandpa who himself is a very religious person. He was retired from business by the time I got born and so he used to devote significant amount of his time worshiping or reading about Him. I used to accompany him to daily morning ritual of hour-long pooja on Sundays I still have fond memories of him singing me lullabies of God’s bhajan which I absolutely loved.

As a little kid, I had this definition of God – He is someone who has all the powers in the world who will grant all your wishes if you are a good person and show respect to him regularly failing any of these you are bound to be doomed and all bad things will happen to you. Pretty basic eh? As time passed I started seeing some anomalies about it – like my wishes came true only about half the time (I was a pretty demanding wisher) and I was not bad to others and I had my own share of visiting temple to show respect (and to wish more too). Then somebody told me that the wishes should come out of your heart and if your heart is pure you will get what you want. And of course  they told me you need to work to get what you want – only wishing wont help. Wont help? Wont help? But why? I am fulfilling all conditions to get what I want and what is this pure heart anyways!! And if I need to work for it then what is the use of the wish. I was confused.

I did not stop wishing though and even found out ways which increase my chances of getting what I wanted. There are three ways– donating money/kind to God, do pooja/havan or you have to visit some superholy temple for your wish. For any of these three means there is a pre and post – either you could have faith and do them and expect for the best or you could tell God you would do them if your wish is granted. I always preferred the second one as there is no risk attached to it. If it doesn't happen I have nothing to lose.

The odds of wish coming true were still the same. Also every now and then I used to get some experiences which seemed strange to me. Like how I made donations to God but it ended up being used by priests to lead a lavish life.  Like the priests and helpers used to ask money for doing services to God. Aren't they supposed to be doing this for love of God and get what people voluntarily give them, if any? Like how some of the most religious looking people chanting prayers all along were the most ill-behaved lots in extremely crowded temple atmosphere. Aren't these guys supposed to be the good guys? Why my mom has to keep so many fasts to keep God happy and why would God want anybody to be suffering for him? Saying which why at all God wants us to show him respect regularly? What is he so insecure about? Isnt he the one who controls everything? Doubts keep coming in my mind during 12-15 age whenever I thought about God and religion. But who has courage to say bad things about God and “people of God” as I knew bad things might happen to me if I do. Then came Godhra riots and the idea of people killing each other in name of God was absurd even to a 15-year old. Can God allow such cruelty in His name? The idea of God not being there started breeding in my mind as I got bored of visiting temples often and praying regularly as they were not taking me anywhere. And I failed to see any other utility but out of fear of bad things happening to me I still used to visit Him and then wished some more while I was still there.

As time progressed to college and work-life, things changed. As I read more and kept on thinking about it, I started doubting my faith in God in whatever form it remained. I want you to ponder over the thought of him not being visible to anyone. It is like He has decided to conceal himself and let people guess He is there. If God would have been there it should have been possible to see him, feel him or sense him. And we are told of God being a fatherly figure taking care of us. What kind of father would be like “you are my son but you can’t figure out whether I exist or not. So you would have only your faith to bank upon.”  Or at least He would have taken care of His children, which brings me to my next point.

The world is full of evil – evil in the form of atrocities on innocent people by other people or nature. Please note that I am not talking about the hardships that people face that make them stronger at the end and which religious guys want to think as God’s way of helping us. There are mothers dying while trying to have babies, small kids dying of diseases ranging from dengue to cancer, wars causing villages to be wiped off. I am talking about pure evil which is cruel to humanity helping no one in the process and is absolutely unfair to those who suffer. There can be four possible things supposing God exists. God can’t make a difference to this but He doesn’t want to, He can’t but He wants to, He can but He doesn’t want to or finally He can and He wants to. Well if He can’t but He wants to then that makes him impotent. If He can but He doesn’t want to that would make him out rightly cruel something which doesn’t go with the image of caring father as mentioned in my previous point. If He can’t and doesn’t want to then it makes him both Cruel and impotent. If He can and He wants to also then probably God is doing a pretty lousy job it seems and the concept of omnipotence is just hyperbole.

Believers point out that if God is not there how possibly this majestic universe full of millions of intricacies and just too perfect can there be. There is someone out there who created this and who is driving all this. Well I agree that there is some energy which created this and is driving all this and that entity is nature. Nature is not fair, it doesn’t have feelings – it is just indifferent and that precisely how life is. The nature is actually the real power but it in no way fits into the image of God that we have. My theory is that the concept of God and religion has been created for two reasons – to comfort ourselves and to control public. Just think about how religion just gives answers to all the questions unknown which causes fear in our mind.

Life after death? Well there is God who will take you in His home. There you will reunite with your loved ones. Your died loved ones can see you from up there already. How do I deal with this immense problem in my life? God is watching who will make everything right. And when that problem doesn’t get sorted out? Whatever happens it is will of God and it happens for good eventually. Why we are here? God sent us to fulfil certain purpose and you need to find that purpose.

How comforting. Isn’t it. This is all too good to be true. Apparently God is answer to everything unknown. Even tides were explained as an act of God some time ago.

Second reason for creating religion was that it is just too easy to control people through it. People will not do immoral act with the fear of God which terribly reduces the act of catching and punishing people. It unites people towards a common cause and is a strong cultural foundation. And moreover “People of God” got upper hand over the general public making ruling much easier. How Vatican used to call shots in entire Europe at one point of time and Brahmins being essential King’s advisors in India.

I am not against religion. On the contrary I think without it society would just collapse. It is must for keeping order, uniting people and letting people feel a sense of comfort. Without religion, life would be very difficult. But it is not for me. It is too difficult to believe in something which you do not find logical just for the sake of others. I can’t. Saying that I know the life this side is not easy. Just imagining how it would feel losing a loved one and getting to terms that there is just no getting back makes my Heart stop for a bit. Also realizing life is not fair because nature is indifferent is difficult to imbibe too. But I believe that is how world is and I will not resort to comforting answers to feel better. Rather I can’t. If you want to explore atheism more do read this book The Little Book of Atheist Spirituality by Andre Comte Sponville from which I was able to consolidate my thoughts.

Tata Crucible 2012 - Pune Tata Track Finals

Round 1: Crosstalk

It was the regular crossword format round.

1.    Which country has highest paid ministers?

2.    Connect – Pele, Buffon, Maradona

3.    I own own. Who said?

4.    Kevin, Seamus, Ted and Otto created this. They wanted the name of the product to be 4 letters. Hence the name. It has been found to be equally popular with kids as well as adults.

5.    In Chetan Bhagat’s novel “2 states”, X sees future in you. What is X? (How can chetan bhagat’s novel come in a biz quiz!!!)

6.    “Stock market is a racket. Those stock market guys are crooked.” Who said?

7.    Landis and Gyr have been acquired by this company. Name it.

8.    Andrew Fluegelman coined this term after he wanted a particular distribution system.

Answers

1.    Singapore

2.    Puma

3.    Oprah Winfrey (for Oprah Winfrey Netowrks – OWN)

4.    XBOX

5.    Citibank

6.    Al Capone

7.    Toshiba

8.    Freeware

Round 2 – World in Capsule

1.    Identify the advertiser.

2.    Identify the trademarked logo from the world of music.

3.    Identify the first guy.

4.    Identify the company.

5.    What is special about this place?

6.    Identify this shareholder of a famous company

Answers

1.    Durex

2.    AC DC

3.    Larry Sanger – Wikipedia’s other co-founder

4.    Spark The Rise by Mahindra

5.    This hotel is in Finland made completely out of ice which is created every year in winters and gets melted in summer.

6.    Zynga the dog after whom the company is named

Round 3 – In Focus

1.    Who is the author of the book “blink”?

2.    Which celebrity owns Boy ToyInc.

3.    Which apparel company was created by Donald Fischer?

4.    Who owns IMDB?

Answers

1.  Malcolm Gladwell

2.  Madonna

3.  GAP

4.  Amazon

Round 4 – Line of Thought

Connect to a company.

1.       

2.        

3.        

4.      

Answers

1.    Adani – Logo of Welsupn, Wilmar and  Gautam Adani

2.    Godrej

3.    Coca cola

4.    Disney

Round 5 – Different Strokes

Format was like – 3 hints will be given one after one which will connect to someone/some company. Points will reduce as next hint comes. 15 on first hint, 10 on second and 5 on third.

1.    A. Founded in 1982 by Gary Hendrix with a National Science Foundation grant, it was originally focused on artificial intelligence-related projects.

B. James Gross sued it for scareware alerts

C.

2.    A. Giridhari Das – president of Iskcon used it to draw attention through this to spread Krishna consciousness

B.   Its producers are Raine Maki, Harro Gronberg and Mikko Hakkinen.

C.

3.    A. I am founder of Navjyoti India Foundation and the India Vision Foundation

Answers

1.    Symantec

2.    Angry Birds

3.    Kiran Bedi