"A Grain of Rice"

The Book

A Grain of Rice

Helena Clare Pittman

What It’s About

In ancient China, a poor farmer, Pong Lo, asks the Emperor for his daughter’s hand in marriage.  Though the Emperor initially wants to cut off the head of this bold peasant, his daughter, Chang Wu, after seeing how bold and clever he is, convinces her father to spare the young man and put him to work in the storeroom.  Pong Lo proves more than worthy of his station and soon rises up in rank and responsibility in the palace.  Then a crisis occurs and it is Pong Lo who saves the day.

The Emperor, though grateful, cannot give his daughter’s hand in marriage because Pong Lo is still but a peasant.  So Pong Lo makes an unusual request that is both hilarious and instructive. 

Why I Picked This Book

If I were told there was one book I would have to read every day,  I might pick this children’s book.  A Grain of Rice has humor, pathos, romance, and a great hero.  The author subtly praises the virtues of hard work, a good attitude, and devotion to Purpose.  This book has made me laugh and cry.  It has also inspired me to do things well and to be industrious.  Since it’s a children’s book, it can be read in just a few minutes, but the power of this book should not be underestimated because of its brevity or its intended audience.

How This Can Help You

This book is both amusing and inspirational.  Pong Lo is a man with a Purpose.  He is also a man who is wise, humble, industrious, and knowledgeable.  After reading this story, you may want to be like Pong Lo.

Quotes from the Book

“Though (my blood) has to find its way through 70,000 miles of veins,” answered the peasant quietly, “it never fails to reach my heart.”

“The expression on (Pong Lo’s) face was always pleasant and his step was light.  As he worked he often hummed a merry tune which was so delightful that the other servants couldn’t help but sing with him.”

"Money Rules"

The Book

Money Rules – The Simple Path to Lifelong Security

Jean Chatzky

What It’s About

In this book the word “Rules” is a noun not a verb.  Chatzky states that there are things just as important or more important than money, (“More money won’t always make you more happy,”) but that if we don’t follow some simple guidelines, lack of money will make you unhappy.  In this short and easily understood book, Chatzky offers 94 rules for handling money well.  Some of the ideas are common sense to most people and have bee stated elsewhere (89.  Don’t lend money to friends and relatives.), but it’s nice to have all these ideas in one place.  This book is definitely for the layman, thought I imagine most financial experts would agree with most of Chatzky’s ideas.

The book is broken into eight sections:

1.     Make Money

2.     Save Money

3.     Avoid (Most) Debt

4.     Spend Wisely

5.     Invest for Tomorrow

6.     Cover Your Assets

7.     Do’s and Don’ts

8.     The Last Word

In addition to money itself, she discusses how money relates to our jobs, our future, and even our personal lives.

Why I Picked This Book

Besides being a quick read, there is some very practical advice.  Though not a technical book, I understand insurance and stocks and bonds just a little better now. 

How This Can Help You

The philosophical bent makes the book accessible to the layman.  Chatzky’s humor also helps.  There’s a philosophical undercurrent behind the principles that I wished I had learned years ago.

Quotes from the Book

                                    1.  Your job is your most important investment.

2.  Your education is your second most important investment.

16. The best way to be comfortable is to be slightly uncomfortable.

21.  Save for something.

24.  Saving is more important than investing.

59.  Nobody cares about your money as much as you do.

80.  Life insurance is (usually) a lousy investment.

"The Alchemist"

The Book

The Alchemist

Paulo Coelho

What It’s About

This is an allegorical tale of a shepherd boy, Santiago, who has a dream about a hidden treasure buried near the Great Pyramids of Egypt and makes his pilgrimage to find it. Like many travel stories, Santiago meets interesting people, sees interesting places, and has many adventures and detours. His quest, the people he meets and the adventures he has are all part of pursuing his “Personal Legend.”

Though he encounters a disaster early in his journey, he realizes he has already traveled farther than he ever has before and accepts his difficulties as part of the journey.  Like all people with a goal, Santiago faces many obstacles, delays, and even some blessings, but he keeps his goal in front of him.  He even finds his soul mate, but he has to wait for the right time before he can be with her.

Why I Picked This Book

This book would be another “desert island book,” which is appropriate because much of this story takes place in the Sahara Desert.  But it’s the message of pursuing our personal legend that makes this book so powerful and, for me, so personally relevant.   I, too, am pursuing my personal legend and while the details are different, much of what I have experienced is described in this book.

Is there anything more powerful or more important than understanding why we are here?  We are here because we have a purpose to fulfill.  We have a mission, a reason, a purpose.    It’s not easy to pursue that, but this book will make the journey easier. 

How This Book Can Help You

If the message of this book is to be believed, then each of us has our own personal legend to pursue.  Not everyone will.  Some will try and then quit.  Others won’t even try.  But the lucky will try and not give up. Those needing encouragement in the pursuit of their own goals will find this book invaluable. 

Quotes from the Book

“It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”

“One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.”

“Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.”

“To realize one’s personal legend is a person’s only real obligation.”

"Loving What Is"

The Book

Loving What Is – Four Questions That Can Change Your Life

Byron Katie

What It’s About

A very depressed and mentally ill Byron Katie had a spiritual experience, similar to what Eckhart Tolle described in The Power of Now.  But her experience led her to different, though similar conclusion and, as a result, she created “The Work.”  The Work is four questions and a “Turnaround.    When applied to difficult situations, fears, or perceptions, what Katie calls “our stories,” these questions can help create a change in attitude. 

The four questions are:

1.     Is it true?

2.     Do I know for sure that it’s true?

3.     How does this thought make me feel?

4.     Who would I be without this thought?

Apply the Turnaround.

For example, I might think someone is angry with me, so I apply The Work and it looks like this:

My friend is angry with me.

Is this true?

-   I don’t know, but I think he is.   (Since I don’t know for sure, I can skip the second question.)

How does the thought, “My friend is angry with me,” make me feel?

-   I feel scared and sad.

Who would I be without the thought, “My friend is angry with me?”
- I would feel peaceful.  I would be happy.

Possible Turnarounds

-   My friend is NOT angry with me.

-   My friend is angry, but at something or someone else.

-   My friend is tired.

-   My friend is sick.

-   I am actually angry and that’s what I was feeling.

There are many ways to “turn around” the original story, but usually the NOT statement works.  If it doesn’t, there are more possibilities to consider.

This process works best with writing. 

Why I Picked This Book

Along with The Power of Now and The War of Art, this would be another desert island book.  I have used this process many times and it has freed me from depression and fear when I was in worrisome situations.  I used it at work once when I was required to attend a meeting that I felt was unnecessary.  I was quite unhappy about this.  After applying The Work to my negative feelings, I not only felt completely different.  I realized, in this case, I was the problem, not the meeting.  This revelation changed my perspective and my day.   I was able to take a leadership position in the meeting and create inspiration for others.  This is one of several times The Work brought me relief and joy.

How This Can Help You

We all tell our own “stories” about how the world is, how our lives are, and how things should have been different.  The Work can help you examine your beliefs and free you of emotional burdens.  This can help us in relationships and in all areas of our lives, because it helps us to look at our problems differently.

Quotes from the Book

“As long as you think that the cause of your problem is “out there”—as long as you think that anyone or anything is responsible for your suffering—the situation is hopeless. It means that you are forever in the role of victim, that you’re suffering in paradise.”

“A thought is harmless unless we believe it. It’s not our thoughts, but our attachment to our thoughts, that causes suffering. Attaching to a thought means believing that it’s true, without inquiring. A belief is a thought that we’ve been attaching to, often for years.”

“Our parents, our children, our spouses, and our friends will continue to press every button we have, until we realize what it is that we don't want to know about ourselves, yet. They will point us to our freedom every time.”

“Peace doesn't require two people; it requires only one. It has to be you. The problem begins and ends there.”

"Crush It"

The Book

Crush It – Why Now is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion

Gary Vaynerchuk

What It’s About

Using an alpha male approach, as well as a desire to sell and innovate since childhood, Vaynerchuk started his career, as a teenager, in his parents’ liquor store.  He was able to spot trends and good ideas before they reached mass audiences.  Using the newly born power of the Internet and his background in wine sales, Vaynerchuk created Wine Library TV (http://tv.winelibrary.com/) and made himself a multimillionaire, despite having no media experience or credentials as an authority on wine.

Vaynerchuk’s premise is that anyone, using his or her passion, no matter how seemingly odd or obscure, can become financially successful by combining knowledge of that passion with Internet savvy.  For examples, he offers gardening or game boards, among other things, as passions that one can turn into lucrative opportunities.

In this short book, Vaynerchuk writes a lot about personal passion, but also about one’s DNA, including his own, that can propel us to move forward and combine our passions, desires, and abilities.  He instructs us to use blogs and videos, along with the vast resources of the Internet to get our word out.   But the key ingredient is passion, for our subject matter and for success.

Why I Picked This Book

I’d read this book a few years ago and liked it then.  A friend recommended it so I re-read it and got some ideas I could use, including starting this blog series.  I’ve also had another idea that is connected with this blog and combines my passion for reading with technology.

With regard to technology, it is always risky to mention or recommend websites or technology, because that information can quickly become outdated and useless.  At the date of publication, MySpace was still popular.  Interestingly, he doesn’t mention it. Perhaps the author really does have an intuitive grasp of what will work, because most of the resources he mentions are still relevant five years later.   

The author lists loving one’s family as one of his three cardinal rules.   “Work superhardc (sic),” and “Live your passion,” are the other two.  But he says, other than time with your loved ones, you won’t have time for much of anything else, because you will be immersed in your “biz dev” opportunities.   He does not promise an easy road, but he does promise a prosperous for those who are willing to do the work.

How This Can Help You

As I said, this book gave me some ideas of my own.  Vaynerchuk’s excitement and enthusiasm are evident and infectious.  This book is especially helpful for those who want to break out of the 9-5 mold.  Of course, most entrepreneurs know the hours will be much longer.  It’s almost a little overwhelming, but there are more than enough ideas.  Take what works, but be prepared to work hard.

But the most important concept is the idea that we can monetize our passions, no matter what they are.  This means what we love can make us money if we are willing to do the work.

Quotes from the Book

“Live your passion. What does that mean, anyway? It means that when you get up for work every morning, every single morning, you are pumped because you get to talk about or work with or do the thing that interests you the most in the world. You don’t live for vacations because you don’t need a break from what you’re doing—working, playing, and relaxing are one and the same. You don’t even pay attention to how many hours you’re working because to you, it’s not really work. You’re making money, but you’d do whatever it is you’re doing for free.”

“Expect this to be all consuming.”

"Five Wishes"

The Book

Five Wishes – How Answering One Simple Question Can Make Your Dreams Come True

Gay Hendricks

What It’s About

Encountering a man at a party that neither man wants to attend, the author is taught a way to manifest his dreams by putting them in the present tense and then watching them come true.   The man, Ed Steinbrecher, an astrologist and spiritual teacher, tells Hendricks to make his “deathbed wishes,” that is wishes he would make if he were on his deathbed, perhaps regretting things he did or didn’t do or things he said or should have said.  Steinbrecher tells Hendricks to express a regret.  Hendricks’ first regret is this: 

My life was not a success because I never enjoyed a long and happy marriage with a woman I adored and who adored me.  I wish I’d enjoyed a lifelong blossoming of passion and creativity with a woman.”

Steinbrecher then tells Hendricks to turn that regret and wish into a goal.

My life is a total a success because I’m enjoying a long and happy marriage with a woman I adore and who adores me. I’m enjoying a lifelong blossoming of passion and creativity with her.”

Turning regrets and wishes into goals becomes a more proactive way of dealing with past regrets and perhaps circumventing future regrets.  The book goes on to describe Hendricks’ other four wishes and how working on them dramatically improves his thoughts, behavior, and life.

Why I Picked This Book

This book is a fun, easy, and quick read, but it has some substance to it as well.  Though the author focuses mostly on his own experiences, many of them are universal, such as damaged relationships, professional troubles, and finances.  By focusing on these areas as goals and seeing their completion in the present, he helps us see that we can take greater control of our own lives, heal wounds from the past and work towards a happier and more productive future.

            The most interesting part was the idea that we unconsciously keep ourselves from being happy because we think we don’t deserve to be happy (pgs. 74-75).  That idea alone could be the basis for another book.

How This Can Help You

Whether we set our goals in the completed present or the future, it is important that we have goals, state them, write them down, and begin working on them.  We don’t have to wait until our deathbed to start reflecting upon our lives and our choices.   We can begin now.  Five Wishes provides a way to do this.

Quotes from the Book

“Wherever your path takes you, may all your deathbed wishes come true, and may you celebrate each and every one of them many long years before your final breath.”

“Welcome the back talk, because it's completely natural and normal. It's actually a sign that the new idea you've planted in your mind is taking root.”

“The history of humanity, as well as our personal histories, teaches us a lot about adversity and how to deal with it, but very little about how to feel good and maintain that feeling.

"The Power of Now"

The Book

The Power of Now – A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

Eckhart Tolle

What It’s About

Now, the present, this moment, are all we have.  It is also all we need.  The past is useless because it cannot be changed.  The future is useless because it is imaginary.  Being stuck in the past leaves us filled with regret.  Being obsessed about the future fills us with fear.  It is only in the present that we can put the past and the future in proper perspective.  It is in the present, in the Now, where we can find God, and where we can find peace.

Tolle made this discovery for himself while undergoing an prolonged period of depression.  His emotional pain became so great that he cried out, “I cannot live with myself any longer.” 

This thought repeated itself until Tolle wondered if there were two of him – the “I” and the “self” he could not live with.  He then wondered if only one of these personas was real.  He then had an inexplicable spiritual experience that he doesn’t remember, but when he woke up, he felt an indescribable peace, which lasted for the next two years.  Even while enduring homelessness his peace never left him.  He read and studied under spiritual teachers until he became one himself, teaching others to have what he has, the power of Now.

The greatest enemy to this power is the Pain Body.  The Pain-Body, an almost parasitic entity, lives within each of us, constantly crying out for attention and control.  It feeds on unhappiness and it is always hungry.  To fight this enemy within, we must be conscious of our thoughts; we must “watch the thinker.”   It is our unconscious and egoistic thoughts that strengthen the pain-body.  Again, many of these thoughts center around the past or the future and put these both in a negative light.

Being in the Now, however, can alter not only our thinking, but our moods, our actions, and our relationships with others and with ourselves.  Being in the Now is the same as being with God (or being “one with Being, as Tolle calls it).   The Now is where God is, and it is where we should be.

Why I Picked This Book

Other than the Bible, I have not had a book cause me to have a spiritual experience.  But upon beginning this book, I felt an enormous undercurrent of joy that lasted for several days and could be felt by others around me.  I hesitate to share this because I can’t claim that everyone will have the same experience as me.  In addition, even Tolle himself says that no spiritual experience lasts forever.  Still, it was powerful and unexpected.

It is not an “experience” that we should look for, but rather transformation, inner transformation.   This book has helped me to do that.  I am not “enlightened” yet, but when I am in the Now, I am completely at peace and in those moments I am enlightened.  Enlightenment is also not the goal.  The goal is to be present in each and every moment.  Knowing that I am not present is a form of presence.  When I am fully present, I am at peace, and I can live and work in a state of peace, joy, and love.

I have read or listened to this book several times and it always gives me comfort. 

How This Can Help You

If you’re like me, or like most people, you might find your thoughts constantly in the past or future.  This book gives practical advice and exercises on how to get to the Now in relationships, and in life.  This book will teach you how to be more present, and thus less worried, less angry and more patient, peaceful, joyful, and loving.  Like The War of Art, it is one of my top ten books.

Quotes from the Book

“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you have. Make the NOW the primary focus of your life.”

“Time isn’t precious at all, because it is an illusion. What you perceive as precious is not time but the one point that is out of time: the Now. That is precious indeed. The more you are focused on time—past and future—the more you miss the Now, the most precious thing there is.”

“If your mind carries a heavy burden of past, you will experience more of the same. The past perpetuates itself through lack of presence. The quality of your consciousness at this moment is what shapes the future.”

“Once you have identified with some form of negativity, you do not want to let it go, and on a deeply unconscious level, you do not want positive change. It would threaten your identity as a depressed, angry or hard-done by person. You will then ignore, deny or sabotage the positive in your life. This is a common phenomenon.

It is also insane.”

"The War of Art"

The Book

The War of Art – Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield

What It’s About

The premise is simple.  We are all called to do something with our lives, something important.  But each of us fights an enemy that Pressfield calls Resistance.  Resistance, like a force of nature attacks us all.  Its primary purpose is to keep us from our work.  Resistance is the greatest evil of all, because it keeps us from being productive, doing what we are meant to do, and from making the world a better place.  It keeps us from our potential, from our mission in life.

Resistance is both personal and impersonal.  It never quits.  Never.   And its purpose is to destroy us.

Resistance manifests itself in an infinite number of ways through internal and external forces, but, make no mistake, its main source of power is from within.  It is fueled by our own fear.  We fuel it.  We strengthen our own worst enemy.

To defeat Resistance, one must become a professional.  This is described in the second section, Combating Resistance – Turning Pro.  The term “Pro” is not literal (though it could be).  The professional is one who does his or her work every day, no matter what.  Because he is a writer, Pressfield describes his daily routine as a writer in both literal and figurative terms.    The key is that the professional does his work every day.  Doing the work is a battle, which he eventually overcomes each day.  After the work is done for the day, or when his time is up, he can rest and enjoy leisure time.  But it’s not long before he’s thinking of the next day’s battle with Resistance.

The professional understands that this battle will be and must be fought daily.  It is a battle fought by anyone pursuing his or her purpose, doing his or her work.  Becoming a professional is the surest way to beat Resistance.  It’s not easy, but we must approach our work as if were being paid for it.

The third section, The Higher Realm, discusses angel and the muses.   These are our allies in the war against Resistance, in the war to do our work.   It is doing our work and being a professional, that calls down the forces of Heaven, of Creation, to assist us.  This section is mystical, but also practical.   It is also inspirational.

Why I Picked This Book

Not that I would ever want to make this choice, but if I could only have ten books, The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield, would be one of them.  Except for the Bible and The Power of Now, no other book has affected me as much as this one.  I listen to or read this book at least three times a year.  My debt to Mr. Pressfield for this book can never be repaid, except by doing my work.

The War of Art helped me realize that I allowed fear to keep me from doing what was most important to me.   I spent years knowing what I wanted, but being afraid to move forward.  This book helped me see what I was fighting.  I was fighting laziness and fear, but most of all, I was fighting the calling to do my work and to live my life fully, as it was meant to be lived.

How This Can Help You

If you’re feeling unfulfilled or frustrated with your life, it may be because you are not doing the work you were put on this planet to do.  The War of Art may help you see that and it may also help you to make some decisions to move forward.  You may see what has been holding you back for so long, how to change your habits, and how to enter into a new life, a far more meaningful one.  You may realize that you aren’t alone in your struggle, and that millions are going through the same struggle.  But you will also see that you have to face your own resistance alone.  Best of all, you will see that, though the battle is a daily one, it can be won.  You can beat Resistance.

Quotes from the Book

“This is the other secret that real artists know and wannabe writers don’t. When we sit down each day and do our work, power concentrates around us. The Muse takes note of our dedication. She approves. We have earned favor in her sight. When we sit down and work, we become like a magnetized rod that attracts iron filings. Ideas come. Insights accrete.”

“The most important thing about art is to work. Nothing else matters except sitting down

every day and trying.”

“Of any activity you do, ask yourself: If I were the last person on earth, would I still do it?”

“We feed it [Resistance] with power by our fear of it. Master that fear and we conquer Resistance.”

Additional Information

http://www.stevenpressfield.com 

Go to his blog for more encouragement.

The Purpose of Reading

There are just too many books– good books, great books, fun books, instructional books, spiritual texts, the classics, beach novels, “serious” literature, and more.  It goes on and on.  If you could read a book a day for the next ten years, you still wouldn’t even be close to reading all that’s available.  Bookstores can be overwhelming.  So can the well-intentioned recommendations of friends – “You have to read this book.”  (I’ve been guilty of saying that myself.)  If the publication of all books, magazines, newspapers, and Internet content stopped right now, we still would have too much to read.  

We could throw up our hands in despair and look for the remote, but that won’t solve the problem.  We need to do something.  We need to read or at least have an idea of what’s available to read.  The more we read, and the more widely we read, the more we think. Our thoughts, for better or worse, often determine the quality of our lives.  All of our loves, hatreds, beliefs, and even our self-image come from our thoughts.  We can also find our thoughts through our Purpose.

So what do we do? 

Maybe I can help a little. 

I read…a lot.  I’ve read at least 60 books over a wide variety of subjects in the last five years alone.  That’s not a lot, but it’s more than many.  In addition to reading, I write…a lot.  I’ve kept private journals for almost 40 years.  I’ve written three books, and published one.  In the last year and a half, I’ve written nearly 700 blogs.  I love writing and I love reading.  Even more, I love sharing what I’ve read in a way that’s practical and appealing.  I want to share what I’ve read, how it’s helped me, and most of all, how it might help you.  This is part of my Purpose.

Here’s what I’m not doing:  I’m not writing book reviews.  I’m already recommending these books, or I wouldn’t have read them in the first place and I wouldn’t be taking the time to write about them. There won’t be a rating system.  No books will be getting stars or happy faces or a thumbs-up.  While I may point out merits or shortcomings of something I’m reading, that’s not the purpose. The purpose is to share something that’s helped me in the hopes that it will help you.

This will also not be a “Cliff Notes” version of the book.  The main ideas will be present, but if I’m writing about a fictional piece, I probably won’t be giving- away the ending.  If it’s a self-help book or a spiritual text, I won’t be covering every point, only the main ideas.  If you don’t read the books I’m recommending, then you will miss a lot.   I want you to read these books.  They’ve helped me and they can help you.  But if you can’t or choose not to read the books recommended here, at least you’ll be able to discuss them intelligently after reading these blogs.  You can agree or disagree with my perspective, but you’ll have something to consider.

Using Steven Covey’s idea in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, I want to begin with the end in mind.  Here’s the picture in my head.  Eventually, this website will have hundreds of books to choose from, across many genres.  There will be indexes, by title and subject.  I’d even like to create an app for this.  Most of all I want to see people getting excited about reading books that might help them find their Purpose.

Welcome then.  I hope this is the beginning of an exciting and fruitful journey for all of us.  Now let’s Get Started and Keep Going!