June 2017 Reads: Fearless, Tools of Titans, and More!
Wow, we just completed the month of JUNE!!! I can't believe we're half way through 2017. Thanks for all of those who have been following on my journey and giving me encouragement and recommendations. I'm happy to have inspired NUMEROUS people to up their self-development, but the feeling is mutual because I am inspired by my readers as well.
I have had numerous questions of people asking how I have had the time to read this much. Here are a few things you should know:
1. 70-80% of these selections are audiobooks. My wife thinks I'm crazy when I am in my garage pumping iron and instead of listening to upbeat music, I'm listening to an audiobook. Additionally, the average American spends 101 minutes in their car everyday and I have taken massive advantage of my car time. You can read about that in my blog "Life Hack: The 90 Minutes Difference That Can Make All The Difference". In the blog I talk about how I made the switch from listening to things like sports talk radio, mainstream music, and the latest in the political world to audiobooks on business and leadership.
2. I read books while I am on my Nordictrack Freestride Trainer, which is pretty pricey (around $2,000) but you can find an elliptical that does that same thing for much less. I recommend the Nordictrack Elliptical. Before I go into any lifting session I do at least 30 minutes of cardio, thus, 30 minutes of reading. I try to find ways to kill two birds with one stone and I have found that I love growing my body and mind together. When doing cardio on a machine, you want to make sure you can prop up a book (or iPad) in front of you. When lifting weights or running/biking outdoors, I always listen to an audiobook. It may sound boring at first and hard to get used to, but I feel like it improves my concentration when lifting and helps me forget about how hard and grueling the trail is.
3. Television has been extremely limited this year. I used to be a big fan of a whole list of TV shows, all of which I intended to keep up with, but I have given that up. The only thing I allowed for this year was the NFL and NBA Playoffs (and even that was limited). This allows me to get a massive amount of reading (and business) done.
4. I wrote a blog on Discipline and Habits a few months back in my blog "The One Thing You Must Master to Develop Successful Habits" and I truly feel like this was essential for me to even start my journey. I am very glad that a few weeks of discipline is now solidifying into good long-term habits. Trust me, it makes things a whole lot easier. I spend my leisure time differently, because of my habits, and wouldn't change a thing.
5. I am a productivity junky... I'm always trying to find ways to maximize your time, which is why I wrote "5 Productivity Hacks That Will Save You 10 Hours A Week"... You should definitely check that out.
So here's the breakdown:
It was a slow month of Audiobooks, I only finished 3 since I was already at 40 this year (with a goal 52). From the looks of things, I'm well ahead of my goal! So I decided to spend extra time getting caught up listening to my favorite podcasts. It's pretty crazy how much I have learned these past 6 months. I'm well on my way to achieving a PhD in self-development! Be inspired to stretch yourself past your limits and keep growing! It's amazing what you can do if you are intentional with every moment.
Fearless by Max Lucado
I can definitely say that Max Lucado has written one of my favorite books with this one. Fearless is a must read Christian-based book that focuses on letting go of fear and trusting God.
It seems that the world is plagued with fear nowadays. "They're talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the housing market, upswings in global warming. The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word terror. Fear, it seems, has taken up a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, fear herds us into a prison of unlocked doors. Wouldn't it be great to walk out?
Imagine your life, wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, or doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day, where you could trust more and fear less.
Can you imagine your life without fear?"
Rating: I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars for being inspirational, and deeply addressing how to overcome fear.
( iTunes: E-Book, Audiobook | Amazon: Book )
Tools of Titans by Tim Ferris
This book took me two months to read. I hadn't added it to my reading list until I completed it, but it is some GOOD stuff.
I think Tim Ferris does a great job interviewing some of the world's most successful people and digging deep to get to the tips, tricks, and habits that they possess. Some of the content that these people provide can be a little "out there", but the good outweighs the bad in my opinion.
Some of my favorite interviews were the one's with Kevin Rose, Tony Robbins, Seth Godin and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Although, some of the most valuable advice came from not-so-popular names like Jason Nemer, James Fadiman and Derek Sivers.
The coolest thing about this book is that you have access to the mind of millionaires and billionaires for an entire chapter, learning what they think made them successful. What are the chances you would be able to pick these people's brains in your lifetime? Not very likely as there are over 100 interviews here.
Rating: I give this book a 5 out of 5 because of the loads of information and details it gives. It's only a 5 out of 5 if you skip over things that get weird, and Tim Ferris encourages his readers to do so at their option.
( iTunes: E-Book, Audiobook | Amazon: Book )
Whale Hunting by Tom Searcy
This book was good. It describes how to land big sales in business, rather than focusing on the little sales.
Very informative, but also very boring. If I was the author I would have definitely spiced things up a bit with some examples of companies who have done these strategies, or something that would give real-world examples.
The book was very theoretical, and thus I didn't really enjoy the read compared to other sales books.
The content is good, I don't want to take that away from it. There are many strategies and concepts that are discussed in this book that will help small businesses succeed by landing big deals.
I would advise to get the E-Book or Book rather than the audiobook, and skim to the sections that have the step by step solutions, and you will get more out of it.
I rate this book a 3.5 out of 5 starts for lack of real-world examples, but good content in theory.
( iTunes: E-Book, Audiobook | Amazon: Book )
Apple Podcasts
This month I reached 40 books that I have read or listened to out of my initial goal of 52 for the year. I figured I was well ahead, so I decided to listen to much more podcasting this month. Partly because I am a podcaster myself, and also because I really started to miss some of my regular podcast shows. Here are my list of podcasts I binged this month:
1. Building A StoryBrand with Donald Miller - A great podcast for learning how to craft your brands messaging into a story that sells.
2. Click Funnels #FunnelHacker Radio - A great marketing podcast for online entrepreneurs.
3. EntreLeadership with Dave Ramsey - A great podcast for Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs
4. Bigger Pockets Real Estate Investing Podcast - A great podcast for Real Estate Investing.
Parting thought:
I highly recommend signing up for audible.com to get your self-education started through audiobooks! See the link below:
