Tag Books

Need motivation? Then it’s time for Sun Tzu’s, “The Art of War”

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sun-tzu-statue

Statue of Sun Tzu in Yurihama, Tottori, in Japan

I’m not sure how I heard about Sun Tzu’s, “The Art of War,” but it piqued my interest as a book I needed to read.

Sun Tzu was a Chinese military general known to be a great war leader and strategist. His goal was always to try and win a battle without fighting and if he did have to fight, to win the easiest battles first. If you read his book, you’ll find that his war strategies apply to business as well.

When I was in Singapore, I was determined to visit a bookstore and find Sun Tzu’s book. I also wanted to explore “other” interesting books that I might not find back home. The bookstore, of course, had a variety of books from Asian authors (Chinese, Japanese, Korean), a great Supply Chain section and a big area for best selling American novels as well.

image1Being the popular book that it is, the bookstore was out of Sun Tzu’s, “The Art of War;” however, they had a business version called, “Sun Tzu for Success: How to Use The Art of War to Master Challenges and Accomplish the Important Goals in Your life,” by Gerald Michaelson with Steven Michaelson.

As I started flipping through the pages, I was hooked. Michaelson takes Sun Tzu’s strategies and relates them to management/business situations. In Section One of Michelson’s book he talks about the importance of understanding “who you are.” He says that Sun Tzu’s philosophy was about knowing yourself, because if you do not know yourself, you are your worst enemy.

Sun Tzu/Michaelson’s goal is to prove to us that no matter how challenged life can be, we are in charge of our destiny, our dreams and our goals. For any hurdle in life, we need to find that inner passion and strength to “stay strong” and want to push through “rejections/failures” in our studies, jobs, owning a business, and more. It takes hard work to win!

I leave you with another bit of inspiration…

Midas Kwant (a 19 year old from the Netherlands), gave an inspiring TedxMaastricht talk on “Finding your Passion.” He talks about being really unhappy in grade school and how his life changed with the determination of his parents and a “little bit of luck.”

Here is to staying positive in life. By reading, learning, meeting new people and sharing inspiring stories, we help each other.

REMEMBER:  When we least expect it, miracles and creative ideas come to us that change the course of our lives. One small act of kindness toward someone can change the course of THEIR day, and the smile they give us warms our hearts and changes OUR day too!

So, I challenge you to go out and do one kind deed today!   Good luck, be creative!

Amazon’s 1st Bookstore Opens

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imageAmazon opened its first bookstore last November 2015 in the Seattle area. For those of you who might not know this, Amazon’s headquarters is in Seattle. I am excited about this, because it means that bookstores will hopefully be making a “come back.”

Right now, this is their first bookstore, but from what I read in the Wall Street Journal they have plans to open more stores soon. Of couse, the employees at the Amazon Bookstore were saying this is the only store they have planned at this time.

The bookstore had a good selection of books, a nice layout for viewing the books and a great magazine collection. Oh, and I was pleasantly surprised to see they had a very large children’s section too.

They cleverly had some Kindles displayed on the book racks. As I don’t know much about the Kindle I gave it a try. I have mixed emotions on reading books “only” online. I miss the feel of a hardcover printed book, seeing the cover, turning the pages, etc. I know online reading is certainly great for traveling and at some point I will be a Kindle owner; but, for now, I am still holding out and reading the old fashioned way.

Judging from the amount of people in the bookstore they feel the same way. There were people of all ages in this store. It is very close to the University of Washington. I read so many other things online that having a “real printed book” feels like I have escaped from technology — I like that feeling!

Printed books still have their place in the world!  Hallelujah!

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Badge of Honor

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This week, I deserve a badge of honor. For years now my mother has been begging me to listen to audio books. I have resisted as any child does. Why, I just didn’t think I’d like it. I mean, if you have to listen to the CD, you have to pay attention, and with our busy lives when would I have time to mentally focus?

The Rosie Project

The Rosie Project

My mother, in her Italian accent would say, “Cicciolino, listen to the books while you are cleaning the house, you’ll want to clean, because you’ll want to hear the entire story.”

I’m laughing, can you imagine that? I thought she was really digging deep now. An audio book that will make me WANT to clean the house? I imagined myself wearing a cute Italian apron, with a funny duster, humming opera tunes while listening to audio tapes. That’s the perfect Italian wife!

This past week, my mother got her wish. I actually listened to an audio book. It was by complete accident.

Our Book Club is reading “The Rosie Project,” by Graeme Simsion. All the print versions at the library were checked out, EXCEPT (did you hear that), except for the audio version. YES, I smiled; OK Mom, you’re getting your wish!

A miracle happened! I popped the CD in my car and was pleasantly surprised to hear the narrator (Daniel O’Grady) speaking in an Australian accent. His voice, reading the story of a “nutty professor looking for a wife,” was so amusing that, my mother was RIGHT, I wanted to keep listening to the story! NOW, I needed a long road trip somewhere…

Cat O'Nine Tales: And Other Stories

Cat O’Nine Tales: And Other Stories

I’m hooked… next audio book, “Cat O’Nine Tales: And Other Stories,” by Jeffrey Archer!

Here’s a perfect example of not being open to someone’s viewpoint! Mom, you are ALWAYS right!