So lately I had been reading a bunch of books with different kinds of topic for the past year and finish 9 books and 1 Audiobook:
- Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
- Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki
- Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
- The Richest Man in Babylon by George Samuel Clason
- The Progress Challenge by Dean Lindsay
- The Enchiridion by Epictetus
- Positioning: The Battle of the Mind by Al Ries and Jack Trout
- Scale Up Your Internet Startup by Dr. Larry Gamboa
- Entrepreneur 5 pm to 9 am by Kanth Miriyala
- Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath
I also watched a bunch of videos of TedTalks and other conference talks which I enjoy a lot. Now, I’m reading the book entitled “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie and right off the bat, it got me hooked. I got his book “How to Enjoy Your Life and Your Job” but I stopped half way. I might read that one again because its a waste to not read it. I’m also learning Japanese and I’m reading “Basic Japanese Grammar” by Everett Bleiler for my reference. I also have video references in learning the language and I tell you, I’m not even close to have a decent conversation.
I’m not into fiction maybe because its a personal preference, I read “Icebound” by Dean Koontz and “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe in the past but I wasn’t able to fully enjoy it. Maybe because I am not that too imaginative enough when it comes to fiction. It’s fiction so how will I be able to relate it in real life?
I enjoy Self Help books maybe because it develops you to be better but I would not suggest to follow it fully. What I really want from these books are the ideas that they give. An author will not make a good book if they haven’t experienced it in real life. I do disagree with some of the concepts that these books are giving and I also do steal some of it. The wonder of reading a lot of books is that you can
So, why am I into books right now? Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know in a sense because it just happened. I was influenced to read when I was in college but it didn’t get into me that deep until today. Maybe because I couldn’t relate to it and I was enamored with MMORPG mainly with World of Warcraft. Yes, I do play in the past and I can’t blame myself that I was addicted to it. Maybe one big influence that gives me this motivation to read is the company that I’m in. I wanted to develop myself because I wanted to contribute as much as possible but I’m not that there yet.
Some of you will ask, “You’re reading entrepreneur books, money, marketing, and stuff. How does it relate?” Simple answer, you can’t fully help if you don’t understand the system. If you can’t answer the questions, “Why they do, what they do?” or just simply can’t understand their process, you’re not going to understand them. Reading these kinds of books is not a threat but an opportunity to be better. Not understanding leads to many arguments like why are they need to lay off people, why they need to have merge two organization, or something like that.
Lately, the university that I attended to will merge the College of IT and the Business of Accountancy. Reading books like entrepreneurship and business lead me to the conclusion that its a good business move because the next semester there will be no first years coming in so it’s hard for the university to pay its teachers. That’s why I came to a conclusion that its a mixed feeling and not only think that it is not a good idea. I was sad but at the same time came to realize that the university still values their teachers because they don’t want them to suffer because of a low number of students. The awards and recognition that the College of IT had garnered will be a waste but I think this will be another opportunity for the school build another future. Many students won’t understand it but we can’t blame them.
I’m a little bit off topic here, back to “Reading”, other people think that reading a book is just a waste of time. I don’t blame them because they are busy with other things. You need to set aside time to read but for me, I set aside 30 minutes of my time to read a book. 30 minutes is just 1 episode of an Anime or a TV Show. I do this when I am drinking my coffee which is a perfect time and mood to read. I really want to read a book on top of a hill but it’s not going to happen in the near future. Anyways, reading takes time.
“Reading makes a full man”
Sir Francis Bacon
Reading leads to learning, learning expands your horizon of reasoning, being able to reason rationally means you are progressing.
I’ll be honest, I screw up in the past and I admit that I am not perfect or a good person. There are tons of instances that I wish that I did do differently but I do want to develop myself by reading and make my brain work.
“Be Progress”
Dean Lindsay
See what I did there?
