Tweet

What Are You Reading?

Guest post by: Pat Mussieux

Article Overview: I'm sure you've heard the commercial: "What's in your wallet?" My question to you, today, is what's on your bookshelf? I love to read and I have many, many books. In fact, my promise to myself this year was to actually read each of the books I do have before buying any new ones.

What Are You Reading?

I'm sure you've heard the commercial: "What's in your wallet?" My question to you, today, is what's on your bookshelf? I love to read and I have many, many books. In fact, my promise to myself this year was to actually read each of the books I do have before buying any new ones.

"Reading strengthens our sense of what it means to be human." - Oprah

I am often asked what books I am currently reading and/or what would I recommend. Let me share some of my favorite books with you (and these are all paperback, too). While, typically, I can be found reading auto-biographies - because they really are my favorites - I have set the goal this year to broaden my horizons.

Recommendation #1: "The Power of Focus" - Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Les Hewitt

I have had this book in my possession since the year 2000 and it is one of my absolute favorites when it comes to goal-setting and staying focused. It covers 10 focusing strategies which, I believe, we could all use these days. The topics range from habits ("Successful people have successful habits.") to the Confidence Factor (eliminating fear and worry) through to Living on Purpose (making your life simple again) - who wouldn't want that? My favorite poem is on page 159. This book also contains, in each section, Action Steps - so you can actually write a plan for implementing the great content.

Recommendation #2: "Miracles Happen"- Mary Kay Ash

I have great admiration and respect for this woman. This little 193-page book is full of great tips and insights for women in business. She not only writes about her own story but also addresses key concepts such as: Put on a Happy Face - God First, Family Second, Career Third - The Career Woman and Her Family - The $35,000 List (you'll love this!)- How To Succeed in a Man's World By Really Trying - Leaving a Legacy, and oh, so much more. She makes the statement that, in her belief, ‘the only difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is extraordinary determination'! Are you determined? This book is a keeper.

Recommendaton #3: "The Purpose Driven Life"- Rick Warren

This book speaks to the question: "What on earth am I here for?" This is more than a book; it is a guide to a 40-day spiritual journey that will enable you to discover the answer to life's most important question: What on Earth Am I Here For? By the end of this journey you will know God's purpose for your life and will understand the big picture - how all the pieces of your life fit together. And I happen to know, from my many readers and clients, that these questions are prevalent in this day and age. For each of the 40 days of this journey, in the book, is included a point to ponder, a verse to remember and a question to consider. I love it.

"We read books to find out who we are. What other people, real or imaginary, do and think and feel is an essential guide to our understanding of what we ourselves are and may become." - Ursula LeGuin, American Science Fiction Writer

Recommendaton #4: "Boundaries"- Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend

I often recommend this book to my clients. It is all about "When to Say YES, When to say NO, and How to Take Control of Your Life". These authors have created a whole series of books on the topic of boundaries. In this particular book, they cover boundaries when it comes to family, friends, spouse, work, your self and so on. They write about the definition of boundaries, boundary problems and the ten laws of boundaries (the first law is about ‘sow and reap'......hmmmmm......got you thinking?). If you regularly ponder the following questions, this book is definitely for you: Does your life tend toward a frenetic or a steady pace? Does life feel in a hurry or out of control, or do you feel as if you are making steady progress toward a goal? How do your boundaries, or lack of them, contribute to the state of you r life? You may want to read this book first - and then set some boundaries - so that, in fact, you will have the time and space to read the other 4!!!! Great idea, don't you think?

Recommendaton #5: "The New Psycho-Cybernetics"- Maxwell Maltz (edited and updated by Dan Kennedy and the Psycho-Cybernetics Foundation)

Ok, so this probably isn't the most light-hearted book on my recommended list. However, for those of you who want to succeed in business - this is a MUST READ, in my opinion. This book covers the original science of self-improvement and success that has changed the lives of 30 million people. Wow! That IS a lot of people. This book was recommended to everyone in my master mind group as a reading assignment this year. In my field of work, I took every gold nugget I could find in this book and applied them - and there are many. This book can turn your life around. Some of the content is about self-image, imagination, how to relax and let your automatic success mechanism work for you, how to remove emotional scars and give yourself an emotional face-lift, how to turn a crisis into a creative opportunity, and so on. I'm telling you - it is a must read!

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

1. Make a decision to read more over the next few months.

2. Start with a magazine if, in fact, you haven't picked up a book in a very long time. There are many interesting articles in the monthly magazines.

3. Visit my blog and share what you are reading - pass on your key point of learning.

Put some of my practices in place and I guarantee you will get more exposure for your business and/or your life. When you develop new skills, you are developing the confidence and courage to move forward and invent the life, and the business, you truly want. You will be much more comfortable and successful in the overall scheme of things.

Related Articles
  The easiest way to increase your success in life and in business
  How To Read A Book -and Get The Most Out Of It.
  How Many Books, Articles, Reports, Websites And Emails Do You Have Waiting For You To Find Time To Read Them?
  Release Your Reading! How to Let It GO and Still Read What You Need
  Stuck in the Brain
  Is This The Best Work-Life Balance Book Ever Written?
  Using the web to drive sales
  How To Encourage Your Child's Love of Reading
  Think Time
  Authentic Marketing: How to Set Yourself Apart from Others
  6 Email Strategies to Reach Decision-Makers
  THE LATEST EYE-TRACKING MOVEMENT RESULTS
  How small businesses owners can make this their best year ever
  Helping New Salespeople Succeed
  Is Reading Music Really That Important?
  Improve Your Reading Speed
  Reduction to the Achievable
  How Could Ayn Rand Have Known
  SMEs internal reasons for business failure
  WHY THE F*** WOULD I WANT A BLOG?

Article Tags: Confidence and courage, learn from the master, Pat Mussieux, reading, recommended books, women entrepreneurs, women in business



Related Forum Posts
how many hours do you spend in here per day? - How many hours do you spend here per day? Reading post and posting reply. Ever since I joined this great community, i have been spending at least 1 hour in this forum per day.
Re: How do we stimulate more forum activity and interest? - We do have the ability to track # of posts (as evident in the contest tabs above) - Reading posts is a different matter - I'm not sure if phpbb has any plugins for that but it's an interesting suggestion.
Finding creativity - Great topic Andy! For me it's: - Going for a walk (I always try to get out at least once during the day) - Taking a shower - Reading business magazines (especially Inc and Business 2.0) - Late at night (I'm more productive / creative at night than during the day) - Relaxing with a drink at the bookstore
Re: Franchise Consultants - Reading through these comments, I don't see where anyone has said they had a bad experience? I am going to refrain from commenting on the pros & cons as I am a franchise consultant, but I would indeed like to hear from anyone that has had a bad experience with the process itself. Carl you mention an "experienced franchise attorney". Can you recommend one to us? I have use for one quite often and have yet to find one that is in my area. Maybe there are some in other areas.
Re: Top 50 SEO Posts of 2010 - Hi Evan, Thank you for a great post, I will enjoy reading those because you can never get too much information about SEO and I will make a start tomorrow, LOL. I always enjoy reading your ‘What I am Reading This Weekend’ blogs that are great value and this is yet another great resource which makes this forum stand out from the rest and long may it continue, happy new year, Mal.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Qualities of Leadership Part 1

Unspoken Yet Important Rules for Book Proposals

Rumor Has It

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.