The One Thing : The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results | Gary Keller | Book Review

“Work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls-- family, health, friends, integrity-- are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered.”

― Gary Keller, The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results 

The One Thing is one of the bestseller self-help books by Gary Keller. This book was published in 2012. 

The One Thing simply asks you to focus on a single thing or task at a time. We always try to do too many things at once and we cannot possibly do them all at the same time.

Now there is no such thing as multitasking but even when you switch between one into another, you will not gonna get any results and this book will teach you to focus on a single thing at a time.

The ONE Thing teaches us the consequences of what happens when you actually don't focus on one thing and also the possibilities of what can happen if you do.

Gary Keller has given six lies between you and success,

1. Everything Matters Equally
2. Multitasking
3. Disciplined life
4. The Will power is always on will-call
5. A Balanced Life
6. Big is Bad

1. Everything Matters Equally

We all have that to-do list, when we look at it, it has goals for the day, week, month or year. But all of them are not equally important. 

We have given our priorities to every task. Some of them need to be done right now and some of them could be done after some time. 

This prioritisation helps us to focus on a single task. Not every task should be done at the same time.

2. Multitasking

According to Gary Keller, this is another lie we keep telling ourselves. There is no such thing as multitasking. You might be able to multitask at the same time, but you can't focus on all of them at the same time. 

3. Disciplined Life

Discipline is not a necessary thing in life, but we must have good habits developed inside us. 

Discipline makes you act in a specific way, remain this way for a long time and it will become a habit. 

If you want to be successful, then just develop good habits inside you. It takes around 66 days to develop a habit. It takes time but it is necessary.

4. The Will power is always on will-call

This is the biggest lie we have. When we tie our success to willpower without understanding the meaning of it then, we are moving toward failure.

If you don't want to be a failure, just focus on The One Thing throughout your day at a time.

5. A Balanced Life

According to Gary Keller, there is no such thing as a Balanced Life. In business work is dominant. Make your work time count. It should never be 50/50 of your work time count and personal time count.

Make your goals clear and prioritise your tasks and plan both sides accordingly.

6. Big is Bad

To achieve big success in life or to get your business bigger, you need to think big accordingly. Keller doesn't want us to lose the side of thinking big. Success requires action but it is only led by thinking big and having courage and commitment.

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings | Maya Angelou | Book Review

“The caged bird sings with a fearful trill, of things unknown, but longed for still, and his tune is heard on the distant hill, for the caged bird sings of freedom.”

― Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou’s autobiography “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” is the first part of a seven book series. It depicts the struggles of growing up as a black woman in America. It is a coming of age story that is honest and insightful in its portrayal of oppression, racism and bigotry. The novel is highly inspirational as we see the courage and strength of Angelou even at the lowest point in her life. It is indeed a tribute to her fighting spirit and courage!

The book serves as an eye opener to the discrimination faced by the rural Southern Blacks in America in 1930s. It highlights the struggles of Blacks working hard against all odds to put a decent meal for their family. As Angelou’s grandmother’s store in rural Arkansas served as a gathering point for the laborers, she was able to witness firsthand the plight of the laborers who worked hard in the cotton farms of the South.

Oppression of blacks and hatred and suspicion towards whites are the recurring themes in the book. Like any coming-of-age novel, sexual themes are also explored heavily by Angelou. A heartrending chapter of the book deals with the molestation and rape of an eight-year-old Maya in the hands of her mother’s boyfriend. Apart from rape, lesbianism and teenage pregnancy are also prominent themes as the teenage Maya struggles to adapt to the changes happening around her and within her body. The sexual escapades of Maya’s father in Mexico and her mother with her many boyfriends and an active nightlife also figure prominently in the book.

The book is a bold portrayal of the spirit of her times written by a free spirited Maya in the 1960s. It would have definitely been ground breaking at that time owing to the bold writing and themes discussed. The sexual themes discussed in this book are handled with great delicateness and maturity. The book might have been and will be cathartic to thousands of people who could identify with what Maya has written about- be it oppression, racial discrimination or sexual exploitation. On account of these themes, it never loses its significance with time as they are universal and transcends time. The book can be taken out of its setting in rural America and can be read with a broader perspective.

Maya never shies away from an honest portrayal in the book and expresses her emotions without any abandon. Her anger, sorrow, rage, happiness and ignorance are depicted without inhibition. Although the book depicts serious societal issues and personal experiences, it always manages to motivate the readers at the end. The climax ends at a jubilant note with Maya looking forward to a new future with its own struggles and happiness. Overall, this coming of age story is a must read for anyone irrespective of their reading preferences as this book is indeed a gem! However, parental discretion is advised as the sexual themes explored may not be suitable for very young children.

The Book Thief | Markus Zusak | Book Review

“Like most misery, it started with apparent happiness.” 

― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

The Book Thief is about a young girl, Liesel, growing up in Germany during World War II. Liesel is living with foster parents, Hans and Rosa. Throughout the story, Liesel steals many books. At first, she doesn't even know how to read, but she knows that the book is important. Hans notices and teaches her how to make sense of the letters. 

Hans and Rosa are not Jewish, but they do not agree with the Nazi regime and privately fight against it by hiding a Jewish boy, Max, in their basement. Their anti-Nazi sentiments remain a secret until one day Hans helps a Jew who is struggling to keep up with the group as they're being marched to a concentration camp. In response, the soldiers whip both Hans and the man he helped. 

Hans is worried that this incident will draw suspicion to his family and that Max is no longer safe in his basement, so he sends him away. After Max leaves, Liesel is given a book he made her, 'The Word Shaker,' which he wrote about their friendship and a promise that they will be reunited. Hans is then drafted into the German army where he ends up breaking his leg and is sent home to recuperate. 

Unfortunately, Max was not able to escape the Nazis, and Liesel sees him being marched through town one day on his way to the concentration camp. As the war continues, Liesel is given a blank notebook to write her story in. She names it 'The Book Thief.' 

One day her neighbourhood is bombed, and Hans, Rosa, and her friend Rudy are all killed. In the rubble, Liesel leaves her book behind. After the war ends and the Jews are freed, Max goes back to find Liesel, and they are happily reunited. The book ends with Liesel moving to Australia, having a family, and living at a ripe old age. 

The plot of the book was amazing and to me portrayed another level of seeing what it was like in the war at that time. There isn’t much I can say about it as it just all felt so real and I kinda feel bad for saying the plot was good then when in fact this crap was happening and it was beyond shitty. 

The Alchemist | Paulo Coelho | Book Review

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

 ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

In “The Alchemist,” the protagonist, Santiago, dreams of treasure buried beneath the Egyptian pyramids while he tends to his flock in the fields. When the dream comes to him more and more frequently, he decides to make it a reality. Leaving his flock, he sets off across the Strait of Gibraltar to discover his fate. 

Along his travels, Santiago encounters various people who help him. A king with no kingdom tells Santiago he must realize his Personal Legend, a dream that your soul insists you make real and won’t allow you peace until you do. A gypsy woman advises him to follow his dream because it is the “language of the world.” Santiago also meets a crystal merchant who sadly will never realize his Personal Legend, and therefore, pushes Santiago to pursue his. 

Santiago meets an Englishman so absorbed in his books that he will never discover his soul’s true dreams, and a desert woman Santiago is destined to love. Finally, while traveling with a caravan to the oasis, he meets the great Alchemist himself, who helps Santiago discover the Soul of the World — the truth to all the elements in the universe, which brings everything into balance. 

Passionate, spiritual, and moving, “The Alchemist” encourages us to read the signs of the universe, go with the flow of life, and to discover and realize our Personal Legends. The universe wants us to achieve our Personal Legends, which starts us with what is known as “beginner’s luck,” as the king describes it to Santiago. 

However, challenges will also arise to test our resilience. The lesson, then, is that if we fearlessly and resolutely pursue our Personal Legends, the universe will conspire to help us — but test us, too. At the end of his journey, Santiago learns a new truth about his Personal Legend and also develops a new perspective on the world around him. 

From the flourishing meadows of southern Spain to a desert oasis and finally to the great pyramids of Egypt, the journey that “The Alchemist” takes us on is more than we can imagine. Coelho’s book leaves us feeling like we belong to something much greater than ourselves, which is both inspiring and humbling.

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones | James Clear | Book Review

“When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don’t have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy. You can be satisfied anytime your system is running.”

― James Clear, Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

Atomic Habits by James Clear is my most recent read. The reason I love it so much is that it’s about the little things that make a big difference. The author talks about tiny little habits that you do every day, and how these tiny habits compound much like money in a mutual fund. You don’t really notice the difference when you are implementing them, but then one day, it happens, you reach that goal, or you win that race. Like tiny little changes in your diet, and exercise that you do consistently. Nobody notices until “WOW” one day, someone says “You look great, how much weight have you lost!”

The introduction of Atomic Habits is what really inspired me to continue reading. The author, during his sophomore year of high school, was hit in the face with a baseball bat, which crushed his skull, broke his nose and shattered his two eye sockets. He was put into a medically induced coma. They didn’t think that he would ever play baseball again, a game that James Clear truly loved. He worked hard to finally return and make it to the varsity team his senior year, even though he only played a handful of games. Clear went on to college and was selected as the top male athlete at Denison University  and named wo the ESPN Academic All American Team. He attributes his incredible achievements to his focus on creating good habits.

The author explains that one of the secrets to creating successful habits is to make them irresistible. He explained that as humans when we experience pleasure, or when you anticipate pleasure you receive a release of dopamine. One of the ways to experience pleasure with a habit is to intertwine the habit with something you love to do. For example; maybe enjoy watching “The Wheel of Fortune” or any tv show for that matter, and you need to get in shape. You could set your exercise bike in front of the television and make it a habit that you will only watch television if you are riding your bike. It’s a win, win situation.

If you have a bad habit, and want to try to break that habit, one of the things that you can do is make that habit difficult to do. So, lets say you have a habit of going to Kwik Trip every night for supper, and you want to start eating better. One of the things you could do is change your route. When you leave work, take a different route home that doesn’t go past Kwik Trip. Seems simple right? Think about how you can make a habit difficult to do. We all want the path of least resistance, so if you can make it difficult to do, you’ll have a better chance of breaking that habit.

If you’re looking to build a better habit system, this is the book for you. You’ll learn the fundamentals of how small habits when done consistently can make a big difference. On top of it you’ll learn what to do to make those habits easy to accomplish by putting them on a path to least resistance. You’ll learn what “the valley of disappointment” is, and how so many people get discouraged. The book gives you tips on what you can do to break a bad habit too. The final chapter discusses the Cardinal rule of Behavior Change. What is immediately rewarded is repeated. If you can reward yourself for your hard work, there’s a better chance you’ll keep doing it. An easy read, a 5 star review, this book is for people that want to learn how to make a big difference in their lives by simply executing tiny changes consistently. 

The Broken Girls | Simone St. James | Book Review

“Books were her salvation. As a child, she’d had a shelf of childhood favorites that she loved enough to read over and over again. But after, during the hospital stay and the long voyage and the cold days in Idlewild’s dreary hallways, books became more than mere stories. They were her lifeline, the pages as essential to her as breathing.” 

― Simone St. James, The Broken Girls

In a rural town in Vermont in 1950, four roommates bond as they try to survive Idlewild Hall, a boarding school for girls no one wants. They scare themselves with the story of Mary Hand, whose dead baby could be buried in the garden where nothing grows.

In 2014, Idlewild Hall has been abandoned for decades. But when a mysterious benefactor buys the compound, journalist Fiona Sheridan is intrigued. Twenty years ago, Fiona’s sister Deb was murdered, her body dumped in the road outside the old school. Even though Deb’s boyfriend was tried and convicted, Fiona always had her doubts. Could the history of the school…and doomed Mary Hand…have anything to do with her sister’s death?

The novel unfolds along two timelines: 1950, in which roommates Katie, Roberta, Sonia, and CeCe try to cope with their creepy school, and 2014, as Fiona digs deep into the school’s mysteries. The 1950 timeline features chapters from each girl’s point of view, which gets confusing at times. Fiona is aided by her journalist father as well as her boyfriend, Jamie, a cop about ten years younger than she is whose father was the police chief when Deb was murdered.

It’s an engrossing read, and moves along at a fast clip. There are several mysteries to be solved: Was there really a Mary Hand, and does she haunt Idlewild? Did one of the roommates really run away? Who really killed Deb? Who is the mysterious wealthy widow who has bought Idlewild, and what are her plans for the property?

St. James has does an exemplary job with setting as well. The rural Vermont town where the story takes place feels as abandoned as the school, but it’s a claustrophobic place where residents close ranks at the first sign of trouble.

The novel works well but for the ending. Not to give too much away, but mystery readers expect separate threads to tie together, and St. James does not deliver that experience. Still, the characters and setting engaging enough that while the ending is disappointing, the journey to get there is worthwhile.

Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You about Being Creative | Austin Kleon | Book Review

“Don't just steal the style, steal the thinking behind the style. You don't want to look like your heroes, you want to see like your heroes.” 

- Austin Kleon, Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative 

Art is hard. Really, really hard. And what makes it worth while as a form of expression is, in fact, how hard it is. Austin Kleon, author of the new book Steal Like an Artist, understands this. In his book, Kleon talks about the pressures that creatives face day in and day out. He understands and preaches what every creative type dreads to hear when it comes to the question of “how does one make it in the art world?” You have to actually work. His actually-doing instead of talking-about-doing approach to working towards creative endeavors is a beacon of light to the color-by-numbers art guides that are out there. Don’t believe him? Just ask the legendary creatives he quotes throughout the book: Jay-Z, Jim Jarmusch, Brian Eno, Kurt Vonnegut, Steve Jobs, and Mark Twain. They all have their unique insights, but they all go back to one central theme: you gotta work hard.

The title stems from Kleon’s and his quoted resources’ belief that there is no such thing as being original and that originality probably hasn’t happened in centuries. What he does argue for, however, is a breath of fresh air. Be influenced by your heroes. Do what they do and slowly but surely you’ll do it with your own unique voice, just like your art heroes tried to become their art heroes. Steal Like an Artist is a quick read, chalk full of daily reminders that what you are doing is a long, hard journey, but that that’s what makes the journey worth taking and how you become yourself and your art becomes your own. It also allows you to be human in the modern age, telling you to take breaks, do nothing, and network online because we need our down time if we want our active time to be any good.

This book is great. It’s good for yourself if you just need a little boost of encouragement, and it’s a perfect gift for a friend or family member who is fighting the creative fight. It’s great to just read and pass along. Steal Like an Artist is not telling you to reinvent the wheel, but to keep building your wheel and one day it will look like something beautiful and new.