There is one thing about self help books you should know. If you find that you have been reading several, over a fairly decent number of years then you might have a case of short help syndrome wherein you keep saying you want to fix what you need to but never actually get around to doing it.
However the good news (coming from a person who has been there and er not done that for years) is that short help syndrome can be cured. Try "The Success Principles."
Yeah I know the title is feeble. You almost wish the author had not caricartured the whole industry by choosing a name like that. Infact I almost didn't pick up the book because of the title but then I am compulsive about wanting to improve and so....
As I casually browsed through (and I always casually browse through a book before I pick it up nowadays lest I buy and never open it post that one time when I decide it's useless) I got a feeling that what he is writing makes sense.
The "he" by the way is Jack Canfield. There is a co-author as well but I'm not sure what her role is as it seems to be entirely written in a male first person. I almost imagined a grandfatherly figure reading it out to me as a bed time activity. Yes Jack Canfield isn't quite Donald Trump but just as compelling.
If you read self-help books, Jack Canfied may ring a bell. Infact it's quite likely he may ring several bells in your head and some of them could be warning bells. He is the same guy who wrote 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' and there were so many in the series it covered practically half the developed world from teen moms to prom queens (ok I made that up but I'm sure the stories are somewhere there). The point is I wasn't quite a fan of the series so if you aren't one too....discount that.
The Success Principles is a different dip altogether. In fact I am not ashamed to admit this is the only self-help book I have re-read 2 times and plan to read yet again just to remind myself of things that need to be done.
As you leaft through the chapters you start with owning up responsiblity for your life, put your dreams together and get on an action path to achieve them one step at a time. On the way you can test out the little gems of advice and something is surely going to validate itself and have you saying "Wow, He's Right!!"
Taste "The Success Principles", it's a habit forming thing!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
IPhone - To aye or not to aye?
Blame it on a moment of weakness but even though I so wanted to buy a Blackberry as my next phone for months I finally settled for an IPhone on my birthday last year.
The reasons to buy a BB were several- My de facto best friend has a BB and so wanted me to be on BB chat. Plus I could do my e-mail on the fly. And not to mention the BB Curve is a beauty to look at with the aluminium frame on the side. But my brother shrugged all of these aside with just a wave of the hand - a bit like a don dismissing the achievements of a corner peddler - and told me I just had to go for the iPhone.... I don't quite recollect the words but the promise somewhat sounded like a "life changing experience". Now how do you say no to that?
My last thoughts on the way to the decision were - Of course the BB is cool. But the IPhone in India is still a scare beast. So uber. And anyway, since my company policy doesn't really require me to check mails on my phone I can take the risk. Plus my brother's convert like passion has to count for something no. Then there was that little matter of the really good offer which sealed the deal.
Two months down the line here's what I think.
FOR
1. Design - The number 1 reason to buy this phone is that it's still an eyeball catcher.
2. The apps - I have a mini dictionary, facebook, skype on mine and that's only the free stuff. The apps are good. And you will download and use them even if you're not the type. Just try once!
3. Touch screen and some thoughtful controls like when I press on a number in a message it selects it to dial. The UI is for most part - Nice.
4. Built in ipod - the speaker sucks but put the earphones on and you can rock on(e).
5. Wi-Fi, Internet and Mail - though the latter works well for Gmail and such light stuff. I couldn't get it to work for my official mail so I wouldn't know if it's as good for that but that could have been just me.
AGAINST
1. Go figure mentality - this is why I hated Apple to begin with. The oh we're so simple you won't need a manual. But guess what - it takes ages to figure out some things on your own if you are an apple novice. IPOD controls for one!!
2. You lose some - Take Call records for example. Once new ones replace them the old ones just disappear. Unlike the Nokia Communicator which I had two years ago for example where you can access them months afterwards via records history, once your call history doesn't have them your call records are gone. Or how to edit / delete things - it's a pain sometimes. There are several such things that don't work the way they do in Nokia or Samsung or Motorola. So while you'll be happy sliding photos like you can't do on the regular phones you will also miss the other comfort features you liked on your erstwhile phone. It's bound to happen.
3. Voice recording - You can't record decent voice on this phone - live conversation is completely impossible so if someone's giving you a phone number to jot down - well you better jot down even if you are driving. And normal voice recording sucks even with some applications I downloaded.
4. No video recording mode - like why? Even my piddly Samsung that cost 1/3rd had this
5. And last but also the most important reason - It really is delicate - The Samsung phone I last had was also a touchscreen on the top. I dropped it like a zillion times with no crack. In fact hardly a scratch - ok I guess a couple barely noticeable ones. The IPhone cracks after a few drops. To be fair it may take about 6-7 side falls but you keep dropping it chances are it will land head first and crack. Mine did. My worst fear about owning the iPhone came true in 2 months of owning one. And guess what - replacing the screen "officially" costs as much as a new Blackberry!! OOUCCH.
My brother still insists iPhone is the best. But for me I'd say that if the call to own one doesn't come naturally to you go ahead and settle for a more practical option. It's cool yes. But sorry bro it's really not as life changing as say, power steering.
The reasons to buy a BB were several- My de facto best friend has a BB and so wanted me to be on BB chat. Plus I could do my e-mail on the fly. And not to mention the BB Curve is a beauty to look at with the aluminium frame on the side. But my brother shrugged all of these aside with just a wave of the hand - a bit like a don dismissing the achievements of a corner peddler - and told me I just had to go for the iPhone.... I don't quite recollect the words but the promise somewhat sounded like a "life changing experience". Now how do you say no to that?
My last thoughts on the way to the decision were - Of course the BB is cool. But the IPhone in India is still a scare beast. So uber. And anyway, since my company policy doesn't really require me to check mails on my phone I can take the risk. Plus my brother's convert like passion has to count for something no. Then there was that little matter of the really good offer which sealed the deal.
Two months down the line here's what I think.
FOR
1. Design - The number 1 reason to buy this phone is that it's still an eyeball catcher.
2. The apps - I have a mini dictionary, facebook, skype on mine and that's only the free stuff. The apps are good. And you will download and use them even if you're not the type. Just try once!
3. Touch screen and some thoughtful controls like when I press on a number in a message it selects it to dial. The UI is for most part - Nice.
4. Built in ipod - the speaker sucks but put the earphones on and you can rock on(e).
5. Wi-Fi, Internet and Mail - though the latter works well for Gmail and such light stuff. I couldn't get it to work for my official mail so I wouldn't know if it's as good for that but that could have been just me.
AGAINST
1. Go figure mentality - this is why I hated Apple to begin with. The oh we're so simple you won't need a manual. But guess what - it takes ages to figure out some things on your own if you are an apple novice. IPOD controls for one!!
2. You lose some - Take Call records for example. Once new ones replace them the old ones just disappear. Unlike the Nokia Communicator which I had two years ago for example where you can access them months afterwards via records history, once your call history doesn't have them your call records are gone. Or how to edit / delete things - it's a pain sometimes. There are several such things that don't work the way they do in Nokia or Samsung or Motorola. So while you'll be happy sliding photos like you can't do on the regular phones you will also miss the other comfort features you liked on your erstwhile phone. It's bound to happen.
3. Voice recording - You can't record decent voice on this phone - live conversation is completely impossible so if someone's giving you a phone number to jot down - well you better jot down even if you are driving. And normal voice recording sucks even with some applications I downloaded.
4. No video recording mode - like why? Even my piddly Samsung that cost 1/3rd had this
5. And last but also the most important reason - It really is delicate - The Samsung phone I last had was also a touchscreen on the top. I dropped it like a zillion times with no crack. In fact hardly a scratch - ok I guess a couple barely noticeable ones. The IPhone cracks after a few drops. To be fair it may take about 6-7 side falls but you keep dropping it chances are it will land head first and crack. Mine did. My worst fear about owning the iPhone came true in 2 months of owning one. And guess what - replacing the screen "officially" costs as much as a new Blackberry!! OOUCCH.
My brother still insists iPhone is the best. But for me I'd say that if the call to own one doesn't come naturally to you go ahead and settle for a more practical option. It's cool yes. But sorry bro it's really not as life changing as say, power steering.
An idea worth spreading
After nearly 2 years in hiatus - seriously time does fly!! - I am back on my blog. Would have been back sooner but it didn't seem like someone would miss hearing from me. Much has happened since then but then again a lot is still the same. So let me not waste your time on the trivial pursuit which my life has been. Instead I'd like to share with you something that's worth sharing. TED.com : Visit it, browse through, play the videos and be inspired.
Here are a few I liked:
Steve Jobs on How to Live Before you die (Of course we have all read the article. Now hear it live from the horse's mouth)
http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html
Sean Carroll on the arrow of time (one of my favorite topics never mind that I hadn't heard of Mr Carroll before)
http://www.ted.com/talks/sean_carroll_on_the_arrow_of_time.html
David Blaine on how he held his breath for 17 minutes (just to answer the question for yourself - is it possible?)
http://www.ted.com/talks/david_blaine_how_i_held_my_breath_for_17_min.html
The only downside to this is the slow bandwidth in India. It takes forever to load and play anything. What I for do for You Tube feeds is just have the video download in the background in mute and once its done glide the play button to rewind to start. The trick is not to reload - just glide down the button back. Works pretty ok. Try it and help others do the same. Like TED it's an idea worth spreading :)
Here are a few I liked:
Steve Jobs on How to Live Before you die (Of course we have all read the article. Now hear it live from the horse's mouth)
http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html
Sean Carroll on the arrow of time (one of my favorite topics never mind that I hadn't heard of Mr Carroll before)
http://www.ted.com/talks/sean_carroll_on_the_arrow_of_time.html
David Blaine on how he held his breath for 17 minutes (just to answer the question for yourself - is it possible?)
http://www.ted.com/talks/david_blaine_how_i_held_my_breath_for_17_min.html
The only downside to this is the slow bandwidth in India. It takes forever to load and play anything. What I for do for You Tube feeds is just have the video download in the background in mute and once its done glide the play button to rewind to start. The trick is not to reload - just glide down the button back. Works pretty ok. Try it and help others do the same. Like TED it's an idea worth spreading :)
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