Austin Property Talk

36 Books to Read in 2010

 I have a plan to read these books this year. Some I have read before and are worth reading again each year.  For those of you that are keeping score at home, that is 36 books (one not pictured because I already lent it to someone).  It looks like a lot, but its only 28 pages a day (9975 total). In fact, Chances are very good that I will surpass this now that I think about it.  The books on the bottom row will take priority over the novels on the top.  I usually am working on 3 at a time.  Books read:  Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin.  Reading:  The Purpose Driven Life, First Things First and Camel Club. If you click on the picture to the left, it will take you to an interactive bookshelf on shelfari.com - pretty cool.

The Go-Giver

One of my goals for 2009 was to read at least one book per month.   Learning and exploring new ideas if one of the most important and enjoyable things for me.  I haven't sat down yet to tally the books I've read, but I do know Ive completed some great reading thus far. 

On a recent family trip to the beach, I took along a book that Ive been looking forward to reading.  Its been on my shelf for some time.  I was able to devote more time than usual to reading while I was there and I finished the book in a little over a day.  This book is called the Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann.  As with most of the books that I read, it is a business philosophy book, but its principles can very easily be applied to the daily life of anyone who reads it. 

The book is written in the context of a parable.  The subtitle being:  A little story about a Powerful Business Idea.  The story follows an ambitious young salesman, Joe, who is a real "go-getter," yet struggling to meet his quarterly quotas.  He can't seem to get out of his own way and hes just recently missed out on a couple massive business deals that instead went to competitors.  Hes beyond frustration. 

Through the advice of a senior colleague, Joe schedules an appointment with a man named Pindar who happens to be an enigmatic speaker, author and mentor.  I picture him as an older Tony Robbins type figure.  Throughout the week, Pindar introduces Joe to a group of "go-givers," each in charge of teaching him one of the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success.  

Without going into great detail on all 5 philosophies, the basic message of the book can be summed up with the Third Law:  Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests first. 

I truly enjoy reading these short business parables.  Off the top of my head, a couple of others that Ive read and enjoyed are Referral of a Lifetime and Who moved my Cheese.  I'd recommend any of these three books to someone who migh tbe struggling with change or stuck in a rut of some kind.  They are inspiring and enlightening.