Books – Page 7 – Rachel Eyo

Unforgettable Lessons from “The Alchemist”

You see this little book in the picture? This seemingly story-like, shallow, “I wonder what in earth this book is talking about” kinda book? This “what and who is an alchemist” looking kinda book? This only 100-and-something pages of a seemingly simple story kinda book? Yes. This one. This book is ah-ma-zing!

I know I always say this about almost all the books I have read, but really…this book is everything. Since I got a copy, I have read it twice and each time, my mind expanded and welcomed new perspectives to the book and its contents.

Then imagine hearing other people speak to this little book on their perspectives and get blown away by all the lessons that could be learned from same. Well, this happened at the last book club meet of the book club I belong to this past Saturday where we discussed highlights of and take-aways from the book.

I think that if there is one book anyone should read in life (other than The Four Agreements and a couple others I would gladly recommend)…okay fine, if you were to read three books in this life, The Alchemist should definitely be one of them. It is that great a book!

The Alchemist delivers powerful, simple yet profound lessons and truths in daily living, following your dreams and expanding the horizons of one’s mind. The book follows the story of a young shepherd boy named Santiago who is determined to find a treasure at the pyramids of Egypt, after having a recurring dream about same. So he starts out on his journey to Egypt and along the way, meets different personalities and situations which teach him lessons on life. He is also able to expand his mind and thoughts and learn from these circumstances; some fortunate and others not so fortunate.

I would not delve into the end of the book and whether or not he found the sought after treasure- lest I spoil it for some of you, but instead I will briefly share some (because they are just too many) of the unforgettable and valuable lessons I learned:

Follow your heart

: Source: Quotesvalley.com

We all have personal dreams, goals and things we would love to see come to reality. These things are buried deep in our hearts and the more we try to shove them aside, the more they burn within us to be realized. So you may look around your environment, analyse your background, doubt your capabilities and fill your head with doubts. You may have discussed some of these dreams with certain close people in your life who have told you “Abeg, Nigeria is not ready for that one yet” or “where will the money come from?” or “that one too big, start small and then scale upwards”. You may have even convinced yourself that the dream is just a figment of your imagination and nothing is to be done about it. Well, one thing I learned from the book is to follow your heart and chase your dreams, no matter how big they appear because every other thing that you try to do to replace them will not give you as much satisfaction as the realisation of your dreams. That dream will keep burning within you until you take a step towards it, no matter how impossible it may seem.

Do not be afraid to fail

Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. If you are afraid to fail then you would always remain in the comfort zone, and like I learned this past week, “nothing grows in the comfort zone”. Sometimes, you have to go out there and make things happen. Waiting to be cautious for just the right moment, over-analysing the risks, examining the what-ifs would not take you very far. Sometimes you have to take risks, calculated I might add. And from those risks, some you win and others you learn from.

Recognize Opportunity

: Source: Alanoodmararsite.wordpress.com

In the book, after being robbed of all the money he has, the shepherd boy meets a crystal merchant who sells crystal glasses on a hill. He recognizes the opportunity to be able to work for him for a year to make back the money that was stolen from him. While working for the crystal merchant, the boy looks around and recognizes different avenues to increase the crystal merchant’s profit even in an existing market. He poaches several innovations to the crystal merchant which would help the crystal merchant make more profit. However, the crystal merchant is hesitant in accepting the change and innovation offered by the boy and lays different excuses why they would not work; mostly because others are already doing it. He eventually accepts this and the boy ends up making so much profit for the crystal merchant that his commission is much more than he imagined.

It is the same with life; sometimes we have a vision or a dream and we feel like we have to search for another because someone is already doing; or we feel like we have to modify it so it does not look like we’re “copying” their idea. But…Don’t be afraid to borrow someone’s idea or creation. Everyone wants to be a creative so bad that some people get carried away and fail to realize that there are hosts of opportunities even in an existing market. Don’t be afraid to enter an existing market to sell your products, whatever they may be. The question to ask is “what can I do differently that would make people want this?” Don’t wait for opportunities, create them! You would be surprised at what people would embrace if you started it.

Do not be discouraged by others’ pessimism and fear

“When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed.”

The scene in the book where the shepherd boy encounters the crystal merchant is one of my favourites because it taught me so many lessons. Wow. The boy looks around at the crystal merchant’s shop, gets excited at the opportunities that are there so that the man can make more profit but with every idea he brings up, the crystal merchant shuts it down with pessimism, excuses and negativity. We later discover that all this is as a result of the crystal merchant’s fear of change and the fear of realizing his dreams. The crystal merchant had a dream of one day travelling to Mecca, but did not want to realize the dream because he feared that the realization of his dream might be a disappointment.

You may have a business partner or a friend or even a family member to whom you bring up innovative and seemingly crazy ideas that could work, but who always shuts it down with excuses or reasons why it would not work. Perhaps you need to surround yourself with people who will give you reasonable reasons why it would work. Do not be discouraged by others’ pessimism and fear because you do not know where it may stem from; but do not allow that affect the pursuit of your dreams.

Live in the Now

And I love this life lesson that I constantly have to remind myself of; because we get so caught up in life’s activities, even when we’re looking forward to the accomplishment of our dreams, we get so caught up in it that we forget the gift of the present. We forget to hug our loved ones and tell them how much we love them or even enjoy the simple things of life.

“If you pay attention to the present, you can improve on it. And if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that God loves his children. Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity.”

It is never too late

You may have a vision or a goal, a dream of some sort that you have always wished you could realize but never got around to doing it. It could be furthering your education in a particular field, hitting the gym to achieve your dream weight, starting a business or whatever. And you may take a look in the mirror and say “Nah, it’s too late. Now there’s kids, there’s responsibilities, there’s family members to worry about, there’s other things to do, no time for dreams. You shoudda done that a long time ago” BUT! It’s never too late. You are still as capable of achieving your goals and dreams as you were 20 years ago. Even more so now with wisdom and experience. Do not give up. You can do it.

When you want something, all the Universe conspires in helping you to achieve it

This is the core and central theme of the book and I love it so much because it is so true. Look, if you really want something bad enough, you will find a way to get it and you will see that people and things will fall in line to help you achieve it. You just need to ask yourself “how bad do I want this?” You will just find that people you did not know from Adam would come into your life who can bring something to the table in respect of that dream or you’ll find that things would start working out for good. It just takes the right attitude, the right determination and hard work.

Attitude is everything

In life, I am learning as I learned from the book, that attitude is everything! How we view life and how we see things and the attitude we choose to develop for ourselves is absolutely everything! A positive attitude is like a plant, if you’re going to grow it, then you have to water it daily with positive thoughts. Now that doesn’t mean that the sun may not shine a bit too brightly on a particular day or the rains may not come down a bit too heavy on another, but the constant is the watering with positive thoughts. No matter what situation you may be in, your attitude determines whether you can get out of the situation or whether you will remain there. Your attitude in life can also determine how far you go in life.

Focus on your journey/personal calling

We each have our own journey and our personal calling; what we are on earth to do; our purpose sort of in relation to humanity and our gifts/talents. There are certain things that come naturally to us, things that we happen to be good at, things that we love doing, and things that we ought to give the world that we can be paid for.

The Japanese call this our Ikigai : a combination of our mission, profession, passion and vocation. (I just finished a great little book on this and would share about it another time)

This is what we should be focused on instead of putting all our hard work into something that does not give us the same satisfaction as following our dreams. Each person has his/her own. Comparison of the next man’s dreams and progress with yours never a better man made. Focus on yours and achieve those dreams! You can.

Well, those are just some of the lessons I learned from this great book. If you want to read an e-copy this beautiful morning, you can click the link Here and download it. You’re welcome!

Have a great day!

Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime- Book Review!

So I just finished reading this book last week and all I can say is it is definitely one of my faves this year!

How would I describe this amazing work of art? Unputdownable. Purely Exceptional. Amazing. Outstanding work.

Yes, I am fully aware that as a Trevor Noah fan, I may be a little bit biased, but all bias aside (lol, how would I know when I put it all aside?), I think that this is definitely a must-read. Trevor is an amazing story-teller and if you watch his stand up or The Daily Show on the regular then there’s absolutely no way that you would read the book without reading it in his voice.

I loved every moment of the book. I laughed, gasped, almost cried, probably cried as I soaked in each word, each paragraph, each page, each chapter. In my mind (which came alive and fed my ever hungry and restless imagination), I travelled through time, culture, social class, struggles, stories, and successes.

I spoke languages in accents I have never heard, travelled to cities and towns I have never been to nor lived in. I imagined each city, each town, each scene as though I wrote the book and I felt like I was always standing ten feet away from each scene or as though I was a fly on the wall. Whenever I opened the pages, I felt like I was not present in my reality but just loved being immersed in it all. This is a good time to add that I would hide somewhere at work just so I could get at least 30 pages in. The book is just that good.

I am not a fan of spoilers or giving spoilers to people (yes I am that considerate, worship me) so I would not give any spoilers away from the book but it is safe to say that this book is definitely one of my top favorites ever!

Grab a copy and enjoy!

Overall score: 9/10

“The Greatest Salesman in The World” by Og Mandino- Mini Book Review!

So I know I always say this about the books I read but, I’ll just start by saying….THE GREATEST SALESMAN IN THE WORLD BY OG MANDINO IS ONE OF THE MOST AMAZING UPLIFTING AND LIFE CHANGING BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ!!!

I mean, I was absolutely mind blown by how amazing a little book of less than 150 pages could be (sometimes I just think to myself in wonder at the awesomeness that can be found within the front and back pages of a book). When we first selected the book at The Readers’ Hub Book Club’s Maiden Meet (you can learn more about that here), I was a little skeptical because the title of the book gave me the impression that the book might just apply to salesmen…but boy was I wrong!

So jumping right into it, the book was written by Og Mandino and published first in 1968. It has 18 amazing chapters and the author basically shares ten principles from ten scrolls which he believes are the keys to philosophy, success and happiness. Although the book is set in ancient times and was written in 1968, it presents so many lessons and principles which are applicable to us now…oh, and it’s not just for salesmen or people interested in selling goods or products. Any individual can learn so so much from this book.

: Photo Source: Pinterest

In my mini review, I would carefully resist the urge to go in depth into the plot or the story line of the book. The book does present interesting characters and an interesting plot. In fact, the end of the book had me saying “WOW!…WOW!…WOW!” I was literally jumping out of my bed when I finished reading the book, so plot wise, you’re good to go.

The scrolls presented in the thick of the plot of the book are:

Scroll I – I will Form Good Habits and Become their Slave
Scroll II – I will Greet Each Day With Love In My Heart

Photo Source: Pinterest
Scroll III – I will Persist Until I Succeed
Photo Source: Pinterest
Scroll IV – I am Nature’s Greatest Miracle
Scroll V – I will Live Each Day as if it Were My Last
Scroll VI – I will be Master of My Emotions

Photo Source:Devcom Wallpaper Photo Collections
Scroll VII – I will Laugh at The World
Scroll VIII – I will Multiply My Value Every Day
Scroll IX – I will Act Now

Photo Source: Pinterest
Scroll X – I will Pray to God for Guidance

As much as I would want to, I cannot share what I learned from all of the scrolls and principles but I can share a little on two that really touched me that I shared at the monthly book club meet. They are: I am Nature’s Greatest Miracle and I will Act Now.

On “I am Nature’s Greatest Miracle”, I was reminded that I am special and unique in my own way. I was also reminded that I need not waste so much efforts and vain attempts at trying to be what I am not or trying to compare myself to who I am not. We all have out strengths, weaknesses, potentials and different character flaws. It was also really refreshing to be reminded that I was conceived in love and am on earth for a particular and special purpose and that i was not here by mistake. I was urged from the book to not just sit back, relax and pat myself on the back for today or yesterday’s accomplishments, but instead to work hard for tomorrow. I was reminded that of 7 billion people on the planet, there is no one exactly like me.

On “I Will Act Now”, my take home from the book was that some times in life we get so excited about the new things we learn or the visions, dreams and goals we have but then fear or procrastination creeps in and then what seemed like we would start on that dream or vision in 2 days seems to be taking a year to start. A year goes by in a blink and five in two blinks (obviously not literally, but you get what I mean). The scroll emphasised acting now and not being prone to procrastination or fear. It also emphasised the fact that “Action is the food and drink which will nourish my success”. I share some of my favourite quotes from the scroll below:

“Henceforth, I will remember the lesson of the firefly who gives off its light only when it is on the wing, only when it is in action. I will become a firefly and even in the day my glow will be seen in spite of the sun. Let others be as butterflies who preen their wings yet depend on the charity of a flower for life. I will be as the firefly and my light will brighten the world.”

“Only action determines my value in the market place and to multiply my value I will multiply my actions. I will walk where the failure fears to walk. I will work when the failure seeks rest. I will talk when the failure remains silent. I will call on ten who can buy my goods while the failure makes grand plans to call on one. I will say it is done before the failure says it is too late.”

“Success will not wait. If I delay she will become betrothed to another and lost to me forever. This is the time. This is the place. I am the man.”

It was an absolutely amazing time discussing and hearing others discuss their views, perspectives and take homes from the book at The Readers’ Hub Monthly Book Club Meet yesterday, Almost everyone loved the book and couldn’t wait to start putting all that was learned into practice.

: Some of the Members of the The Readers’ Hub Book at the monthly meet for the Month of September

If you’re an avid book reader but feel you have issues with reading such as reading commitments or “no time” or maybe you’re concerned about certain books being too long, then this is the perfect book for you. Really! Depending on the size of the book you buy (some are in larger sizes or bigger print than the others), the pages of the book are roughly about 111-120 pages. Basically, if you chose to dedicate 3-4 hours on a weekend, you could finish the book.

If you’re a hard copy baby like me, go out there and grab yourself a copy! Trust me, you would not regret in the least bit! It’s available in book stores all over. If on the other hand, you can do with reading a soft copy, I have attached one here (the download should start automatically once you click on the link) for you. Thank me later.

I recommend this amazing and life-changing book a million times over!

Have a great Saturday!

The Readers’ Hub Book Club Maiden Meet!

The Readers’ Hub Book Club, Abuja had its maiden book club meet today! We had a total of 13 book lovers in attendance! We got to know each other better and discussed several issues ranging from our reasons for reading what we read, challenges with consistency in reading as well as our time management in reading books.

We also highlighted the goals of the book club for the rest of the year to include to read at least a book a month, to encourage reading for personal and social development, to gain exposure to new genres that would not be ordinarily read and to gain different perspectives on books read.

The selected book of the month of August is “The Greatest Salesman in The World” by Og Mandino and at the end of the Month of August, we would share and discuss what we took away from the book. Our next book club meet would hold on Saturday, 1st September 2018.

To keep up with our reading list as well as discussions on the books we read, go follow @thereadershubng_ on instagram!

"The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz- Book Review!

“Do not be concerned about the future; keep your attention on today, and stay in the present moment. Just live one day at a time. Always do your best to keep these agreements, and soon it will be easy for you.”

Hey guys! So I recently read an amazing, life-changing book titled “The Four Agreements” written by Don Miguel Ruiz. I had never heard about the book until I stumbled on someone’s reading list on instagram and I must say, I’m really happy I did. Enjoy.

The book was written by the author named above and it examines Four agreements/issues which according to the author, if we’re able to honour then we would be happy in our space and also have a good relationship with others. He reveals “the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering and offers a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness and love“

So getting right into it, the book starts out with explaining who the “Toltec” are- men and women who are known throughout Southern Mexico to be people of great knowledge and it is somewhat believed that the author is a descendant of some sort of these Toltecs. The book further describes what is called the “Domestication and the Dream of the Planet” which he explains that as humans, we were born into the world or planet and conditioned into having a number of beliefs that we did not choose, we were brought up to see the world the way the world is already seen and sort of given a moral code to live by. Through this “domestication” we learn how to live and how to dream. During this domestication process, we sort of form an image of what perfection is in order to try to be good enough and when we fall short, we reject, hate and constantly abuse ourselves that we are not good enough.

“Our image of perfection is the reason we reject ourselves; it is why we don’t accept ourselves the way we are, and why we don’t accept others the way they are”

The author then talks about the Prelude to a New Dream which includes the adoption of these four agreements. He encourages us to build a very strong will in order to create and adopt these agreements in our lives as the subsequent transformation that occurs will be amazing. I’ll share them below:

The First Agreement: Be Impeccable with Your Word

The author describes this agreement as the most important, yet the most difficult to honour. I think that most times, we underestimate the power, value and strength that lies in the words we say and how we say them to people. Sometimes, we just say the first thing that pops into our heads, not caring how the person on the receiving end might feel and I know I’ve been guilty of this a whole lot.

Being impeccable with your word just means learning to use your words wisely.If we understand what a single word is and what it does, we will learn to be more purposeful with the things we say to ourselves and others. Whenever we say negative things to ourselves like “oh I’m so stupid, how could I be so dumb? I don’t know anything” then we use the words against ourselves and surely enough, what we think, we become.

Sometimes, we talk about people behind their backs only to spread meaningless gossip, or we try to use our words to force our opinions, beliefs and even convictions down others throats when we were even conditioned to have some of those opinions and beliefs in the first place.

“Your opinion is nothing but your point of view. It is not necessarily true.”

We need to learn to use our words wisely. Tell yourself how wonderful, amazing, smart kind and great you are today! Use kind words when talking to others or about others even if they have hurt us.

The Second Agreement: Don’t Take Anything Personally

LOL! This was one of my biggest lessons from the book! I absolutely love this Agreement and since I read the book, I have tried to honour it daily.

Understand one clear thing this morning: NOTHING OTHER PEOPLE DO IS BECAUSE OF YOU. IT IS BECAUSE OF THEMSELVES.

Taking things personally makes you an easy prey for predators. When we take things personally, we tend to “get easily offended by the things other people say and then you make a big deal out of something so little because you have the need to be right and make everybody else wrong.” WOW.

“If someone gives you an opinion and says, “Hey, you look so fat,” don’t take it personally, because the truth is that this person is dealing with his or her own feelings, beliefs, and opinions. That person tried to send poison to you and if you take it personally, then you take that poison and it becomes yours.”

We all see the world with different pairs of eyes and each person creates a movie or picture in their mind. Look, in each person’s movie, they are the producer or star actor/actress. Everyone else is a secondary actor/actress. It is their movie. You that is taking things personal is just a secondary actor. In a not so nice, but real way, you’re not that important to them.

“Your point of view is something personal to you. It is no one’s truth but yours. Then if you get made at me, I know you are dealing with yourself. I am the excuse for you to get mad.”

You are never responsible for the actions of others. You are only responsible for you. Don’t take things personally because when you do, you’re only setting yourself up to suffer.

The Third Agreement: Don’t Make Assumptions

“Because we are afraid to ask for clarification, we make assumptions, and believe we are right about the assumptions; then we defend our assumptions and try to make someone else wrong.”

“When we believe something we assume we are right about it to the point that we will destroy relationships in order to defend our position. We make the assumption that everyone sees life the way we do. We assume that others think the way we think, feel the way we feel, judge the way we judge, and abuse the way we abuse. This is the biggest assumption that humans make.”

WOW.

Find your voice to ask questions and resist from making assumptions. Everybody has the right to tell you yes or no but you always have the right to ask.

The Fourth Agreement: Always Do Your Best

This affects the other three because if you do your best at honouring the other three then you have a good chance at success in them. Your best will change overtime, but no matter the season or the mood, always give your best. At school, at work, with family and friends, with God and your relationship with Him, always ask yourself “Is this my best?” “Am I giving my best?”

The author expresses that by doing your best, the habits of misusing your word, taking things personally, and making assumptions will become weaker and less frequent with time. You don’t need to judge yourself, feel guilty, or punish yourself if you cannot keep these agreements. If you’re doing your best, you will feel good about yourself even if you still make assumptions, still take things personally, and still are not impeccable with your word

And this is just some percentage of the book! Please have a good read!

I highly highly recommend this book! It’s short, amazing and profound. If you’re not as old-school as I am (only enjoy reading hard copies) and you would like to check out the book today, you can read a soft copy here.

Have a great Saturday! x

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff and its all Small Stuff; by Richard Carlson, Phd (Book Review!)

Soooooooo guys!! Hope we had an amazing week…and if you did not, be encouraged, be happy, today is a brand new day to make things happen and just be thankful for the gift of life (in short, you go dey alright). Hopefully as you read more, you’ll find reason to be a little bit more encouraged.

This past week, I read an amazing book by Richard Carlson, PhD called “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and its all Small Stuff”!! (okay, I’m a little too excited, can you tell?). Well, maybe that’s because I learned so so much from it. Honestly, this book is packed and loaded with amazing truth and lessons.(I am currently attempting to read at least a book each month for the year 2018 and if I can surpass that goal, then that’s great. I’m also seeking to encourage and help others fall in love with reading a book or “find the time” to get at least a few pages in a day. I’m learning that there’s always time to do the things we really want to do, so if you have the strong desire to finish a book, but “don’t have the time”, perhaps, you’re spending your time on the wrong things…remember HVAs and LVAs?It’s amazing the things you find between two book covers.)

For me, “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and its all Small Stuff” was literally unputdownable (yup, that’s a word) and I found that I finished it in just a couple of days. I know that I got quite a number of questions about the book when I posted excerpts on my Instagram story and people wanted to know more about it. I also had a discussion with one of my closest friends about some of the things I learned from it. My colleague then suggested I do short book review (or my version of what that is, really) so I’ll be sharing some of the things I learned from it and how applicable they were to me.

Simple and straightforward bu very profound and deep, the book was written by Richard Carlson, PhD (who is late now. He died in 2006 at 45). It simply explains 100 principles and ways not to sweat the small stuff in life and prevent the simple things from taking over your life. Don’t be scared, each principle is explained in a page or two. He writes on principles such as Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, Make Peace with Imperfection, Let Go of the Idea that Gentle, Relaxed People Can’t be Superachievers, Be Aware of the Snowball Effect of Your Thinking, Develop Your Compassion, Remind Yourself that When You Die, Your “In Basket” Won’t Be Empty, Don’t Interrupt Others or Finish Their Sentences, Do Something Nice for Someone Else – and Don’t Tell Anyone About It, Let Others Have the Glory, Learn to Live in the Present Moment and so on.

Clearly I can’t share on the hundred in just one post so I’ll briefly share on the first 7 that stood out to me.

Sometimes, in life we’re so caught up trying to get things done, rushing here and there, having mini panic attacks about things we’re yet to do, trying to meet deadline after deadline at work or with kids, dealing with issues from family members, friends and acquaintances, making decisions or just trying to get things right in life generally and we get so so worked up, get so anxious, burst into tears occasionally (if you’re as dramatic as I am. LOL) or find ourselves frazzled “upandan” and …basically all he’s saying is chillllll!

Here are the 7 simple ways I really connected to:

1. Choose Being Kind Over Being Right; I learned so much from this one because I have the tendency to try to express my views in an imposing way. We all think we are right most of the time, but I’ve learned that sometimes even though I think I might be right it’s better to just be kind and agree with someone or even try to see their point of view first rather than trying to make sure its understood I’m right.

2. Choose Your Battles Wisely; The day I read this, an uber guy spoke to me rudely and made some “anyhow” comments. LOL. I wanted to annihilate him!Lol, strong word I know. But I just smiled and let it go. I wasn’t going to allow anyone steal my joy and I just learned that its not everything you argue about and its not every point that has to be made. Some things, you just let go of. Not every battle you engage in, basically. People would definitely get on your nerves once in a while but you cannot react to everyone and everything, that would just be so draining.

3. Learn to live in the present moment; because we’re sooooo busy looking forward to the future and making future plans and running up and down trying to get things done to secure our future or the future of our family or children that sometimes we just forget to chill, and breathe in the fresh air and just enjoy the beauty around us. There is so much beauty and joy in every present moment. Life is just one moment after the other like he says in the book. There’ll always be something to look forward to but I’m learning to just enjoy the present moment in life.

4. Make peace with imperfection; because even life isn’t perfect(and I’m talking mostly to the OCD grumps out there!). Not everyone can be as tidy as you or as coordinated as you or as nice, or as giving or as calculated. We all have our imperfections and we just have to learn to embrace same.

5. Don’t Interrupt Others or Finish Their Sentences; LOOOOOOOL! I related to this one the most! I literally laugh at myself anytime I remember this because I do this ALOT!!!!! Lately, I’ve been learning to just let the other person finish talking and see where they’re coming from and not jumping on sentences like a horse or something. If someone is talking and you want to make a point off what they’ve said but you’re scared you might forget you can just write it down or on note it on your phone or something. This doesn’t mean you don’t contribute to a conversation, not just interrupt.

6. Become aware of your moods and Don’t allow yourself to be fooled by the low ones; If you’re someone like me who tends to have extreme moods (when you’re happy, you’re extremely happy and when you’re sad, its like you want to fall in a gutter and drown) then you’ll learn alot from this. Sometimes I get moody and might not know why I’m in that mood or why I might not be in the mood to be chirpy but whatever the mood, I’m learning to remind myself “this too shall pass” and I’m also learning to be “grateful during the highs and graceful during the lows”.

7. Lighten Up!; well because life is beautiful and you don’t have to take things too seriously or like every one is going to die in the next five minutes. Life is not an emergency so take one step at a time and put a smile on your face as often as you can. I’ve learned that with just a simple smile, you don’t know whose day you can make or who you can encourage with your smile.

I really recommend this book to be placed on your bedside or within reach so you can grab it and refer to any portion at any time. Oh, and because I’m the best I’ve found a PDF that you can download here (but if you’re old fashioned like me, head into a bookstore and grab a copy!).

You’re very welcome. LOL

Have a great Saturday guys!

And when you read, be sure to share with us what you learned from it!