Best Memory Improvement Self-Help

Keeping your brain healthy isn’t just a medical issue; it’s a God-given capacity and an essential building block for physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I can't think of a more important book for supercharging your brain and making sure that you capture and remember all of your successes, family moments, and life experiences."
"As far as the strategies outlined, they range from easily changed habits to full brain scan analysis, so no matter your capabilities or financial situation, you'll find at ton of strategies to implement into your life to make your brain better, and your life better."
"important and comprehensive book written by one of the best specialists in the work of improving our knowledge and care of our brains."
"excellent information of everyone living with or heading to old age...."
"Very interesting information."
"I'm 52 and have started thinking about my health as I move into more challenging years."
"There is so much information that I never thought about in this book that can certainly help not only my husband but myself as well."

In Unlimited Memory, you'll learn how the world's best memory masters get themselves to concentrate at will, anytime they want. The 3 bad habits that keep you from easily remembering important information How a simple pattern of thinking can stop you from imprinting and remembering key facts, figures and ideas, and how to break this old pattern so you’ll never again be known as someone with a “bad memory” How to master your attention so you can focus and concentrate longer, even during challenging or stressful situations How to use your car to remember anything you want (like long lists or information you need to remember for your studies or personal life) without writing anything down Simple methods that allow you to nail down tough information or complex concepts quickly and easily How to combine your long-term memory (things you already know and will never forget) and short-term memory (information you want to remember right now) to create instant recall for tests, presentations and important projects The simple, invisible mental technique for remembering names without social awkwardness or anxiety How using your imagination to bring boring information to life can help you dramatically improve your attention span and recall An incredible strategy for remembering numbers (the same system Kevin used to remember Pi to 10,000 digits and beat the world memory record by 14 minutes) How to use a mental map to lock in and connect hundreds or even thousands of ideas in your long-term memory (this method will allow you to become a leading expert in your field faster than you ever dreamed possible). His work has been featured in The Oprah Magazine, Time, Forbes, Inc., The Huffington Post, ELLE, Longevity and on numerous TV and radio shows.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Many college students seem shockingly ok with forgetting half of what they spent so much money to learn, I for one spent the money to know and remember what I have been taught."
"He does not sugar coat the need for initial effort spent learning the systems, and does not belabor the obvious need & benefits of practice. AFTER finishing this book a little extra reading in the subject area, proved that without using the more commonly recognized terms, Mr. Horsley covered many areas of value including the "Major System" for handling the memorization of numbers based on a method of translating numbers into sounds. We all learn differently, & for this reason Mr. Horsley's book is a decent springboard from which to launch oneself into the act of mental improvement. The words created by the system he introduces in Chapter 12, can be used to create "Peg words" that upon creation are automatically organised in order."
"He also shows you/helps with examples on how you can use what you have learned earlier in the book to jump right in with both feet and start and work to improve your memory right way."
"The author makes it very clear that in order to change your same old dull routine, do something different."
"Love the narrator's voice."
"This book is okay."
"great book for self development."
"Amazing book really straightforward and easy to read, this book is for open mind people with ability for great imagination,this book makes it all practical then reading recommended!"

The blockbuster phenomenon that charts an amazing journey of the mind while revolutionizing our concept of memory An instant bestseller that is poised to become a classic, Moonwalking with Einstein recounts Joshua Foer's yearlong quest to improve his memory under the tutelage of top "mental athletes." Amazon Best Books of the Month, March 2011 : Moonwalking with Einstein follows Joshua Foer's compelling journey as a participant in the U.S. Memory Championship. As a science journalist covering the competition, Foer became captivated by the secrets of the competitors, like how the current world memory champion, Ben Pridmore, could memorize the exact order of 1,528 digits in an hour. Brains remember visual imagery but have a harder time with other information, like lists, and so with the help of experts, Foer learned how to transform the kinds of memories he forgot into the kind his brain remembered naturally. If you try to picture Albert Einstein sliding backwards across a dance floor wearing penny loafers and a diamond glove, that's pretty much unforgettable. A: The U.S. Memory Championship is a rather bizarre contest held each spring in New York City, in which people get together to see who can remember the most names of strangers, the most lines of poetry, the most random digits. I went to the event as a science journalist, to cover what I assumed would be the Super Bowl of savants. A year later I came back to the contest, this time to try and compete, as a sort of exercise in participatory journalism. A: In the process of studying these techniques, I learned something remarkable: that there's far more potential in our minds than we often give them credit for. I'm not just talking about the fact that it's possible to memorize lots of information using memory techniques. I'm talking about a lesson that is more general, and in a way much bigger: that it's possible, with training and hard work, to teach oneself to do something that might seem really difficult. A: The "art of memory" refers to a set of techniques that were invented in ancient Greece. Today, of course, we've got books, and computers and smart phones to hold our memories for us. In the same way, if you're not doing things that are unique and different and memorable, this year can come to resemble the last, and end up being just as forgettable as yesterday's lunch. The techniques I learned, and used in the memory contest, are great for remembering structured information like shopping lists or phone numbers, but they don't improve any sort of underlying, generalizable memory ability.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"This book is fascinating."
"This book gripped me, and immediately had me checking out memory tricks and techniques."
"It's well written and the story is very compelling and of course I love that it is based on someone's actual experience."
"Great insight to what it takes to improve one's memory, overall fantastic, I kept a couple of tricks for myself."
"Really engaging read about memory."
"The memory techniques helped me on my job and college."
"Decently written book, but not as interesting as I would have expected."
"Compelling non-fiction narrative."
Best Statistics

One of Wall Street Journal 's. Best Ten Works of Nonfiction in 2012 New York Times Bestseller “Not so different in spirit from the way public intellectuals like John Kenneth Galbraith once shaped discussions of economic policy and public figures like Walter Cronkite helped sway opinion on the Vietnam War…could turn out to be one of the more momentous books of the decade .”. — New York Times Book Review "Nate Silver's The Signal and the Noise is The Soul of a New Machine for the 21st century ." Drawing on his own groundbreaking work, Silver examines the world of prediction, investigating how we can distinguish a true signal from a universe of noisy data. Most predictions fail, often at great cost to society, because most of us have a poor understanding of probability and uncertainty. In keeping with his own aim to seek truth from data, Silver visits the most successful forecasters in a range of areas, from hurricanes to baseball, from the poker table to the stock market, from Capitol Hill to the NBA. With everything from the health of the global economy to our ability to fight terrorism dependent on the quality of our predictions, Nate Silver’s insights are an essential read. Baseball, weather forecasting, earthquake prediction, economics, and polling: In all of these areas, Silver finds predictions gone bad thanks to biases, vested interests, and overconfidence.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Longer review: I'm an applied business researcher and that means my job is to deliver quality forecasts: to make them, persuade people of them, and live by the results they bring. But we're not very good at it, and fall prey to cognitive biases and other systemic problems such as information overload that make things worse. However, we are simultaneously learning more about how such things occur and that knowledge can be used to make predictions better -- and to improve our models in science, politics, business, medicine, and so many other areas. For example, on p. 162: "What happens in systems with noisy data and underdeveloped theory - like earthquake prediction and parts of economic and political science - is a two-step process. Second, this noise pollutes journals, blogs, and news accounts with false alarms, undermining good science and setting back our ability to understand how the system really works." Of course this makes the book fascinating to generalists, geeks, and breadth thinkers, but perhaps more importantly, I think it serves well to develop reusable intuition across domains. The third non-fitting audience will be experts who desire depth in one of the book's many topic areas; it's not a technical treatise for them and I can confidently predict grumbling in some quarters."
"The anecdotes and exposition are fantastic, and I wish we could make this book required reading for, say, everyone in the country. This kind of pundit chatter, as Silver notes, tends to be insanely inaccurate. Weather prediction has gotten lots better over the last fifty years, due to highly sophisticated, large-scale supercomputer modeling. Nate Silver made a living playing online poker for a few years. When the government tightened the rules, the less savvy players ("fish") stopped playing, and he found he couldn't make money any more. Rational employees may have less career risk when they "bet with the consensus" than when they buck a trend: this may increase herding effects and makes bubbles worse. Note: Nate pointedly does not claim that one can make money on Intrade by betting based on FiveThirtyEight probabilities. But he stresses that Intrade prices are themselves probably heavily informed by poll-based models like the ones on FiveThirtyEight. Climate prediction: prima facie case for anthropic warming is very strong (greenhouse gas up, temperature up, good theoretical reason for former causing latter). But lots of good reason to doubt accuracy of specific elaborate computer models, and most scientists admit uncertainty about details."
"I do not teach statistics for a living, but I was able to follow Nate Silver's hypotheses, explanations, and formulas; his reasoning was clear."
Best Neuro-Linguistic Programming

And You're About to Learn How to Use His Memory Strategies to Learn Faster, Be More Productive and Achieve More Success Most people never tap into 10% of their potential for memory. In Unlimited Memory, you'll learn how the world's best memory masters get themselves to concentrate at will, anytime they want. The 3 bad habits that keep you from easily remembering important information How a simple pattern of thinking can stop you from imprinting and remembering key facts, figures and ideas, and how to break this old pattern so you’ll never again be known as someone with a “bad memory” How to master your attention so you can focus and concentrate longer, even during challenging or stressful situations How to use your car to remember anything you want (like long lists or information you need to remember for your studies or personal life) without writing anything down Simple methods that allow you to nail down tough information or complex concepts quickly and easily How to combine your long-term memory (things you already know and will never forget) and short-term memory (information you want to remember right now) to create instant recall for tests, presentations and important projects The simple, invisible mental technique for remembering names without social awkwardness or anxiety How using your imagination to bring boring information to life can help you dramatically improve your attention span and recall An incredible strategy for remembering numbers (the same system Kevin used to remember Pi to 10,000 digits and beat the world memory record by 14 minutes) How to use a mental map to lock in and connect hundreds or even thousands of ideas in your long-term memory (this method will allow you to become a leading expert in your field faster than you ever dreamed possible). His work has been featured in The Oprah Magazine, Time, Forbes, Inc., The Huffington Post, ELLE, Longevity and on numerous TV and radio shows.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Many college students seem shockingly ok with forgetting half of what they spent so much money to learn, I for one spent the money to know and remember what I have been taught."
"He does not sugar coat the need for initial effort spent learning the systems, and does not belabor the obvious need & benefits of practice. AFTER finishing this book a little extra reading in the subject area, proved that without using the more commonly recognized terms, Mr. Horsley covered many areas of value including the "Major System" for handling the memorization of numbers based on a method of translating numbers into sounds. We all learn differently, & for this reason Mr. Horsley's book is a decent springboard from which to launch oneself into the act of mental improvement. The words created by the system he introduces in Chapter 12, can be used to create "Peg words" that upon creation are automatically organised in order."
"He also shows you/helps with examples on how you can use what you have learned earlier in the book to jump right in with both feet and start and work to improve your memory right way."
"I am definitely starting a DAILY memory skills training routine and will forever be grateful for stumbling upon this excellent piece of literature."
"The author makes it very clear that in order to change your same old dull routine, do something different."
"Love the narrator's voice."
"- I enjoyed the examples provided in each chapter to review the memory skills/techniques listed."
"great book for self development."
Best Business Leadership Training

Prepare for high-stakes situations Transform anger and hurt feelings into powerful dialogue Make it safe to talk about almost anything Be persuasive, not abrasive. KERRY PATTERSON, JOSEPH GRENNY, DAVID MAXFIELD, RON MCMILLAN, and AL SWITZLER are the cofounders and leaders of VitalSmarts, an innovator in corporate training and organizational performance that has taught more than two million people worldwide and worked with more than 300 of the Fortune 500 companies.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Enter the book Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High. I heard Joseph Grenny, one of the authors speak on this topic recently at the leadership summit and got a lot out of his session. Christians and church staffs are notorious for avoiding crucial conversations. This is why churches often split, people leave hurt and visions never move forward. When in reality, because of what is at stake (salvation) and because of the calling of Jesus, we should do a better job of having crucial conversations. Individuals who are the most influential—who can get things done and at the same time build on relationships—are those who master their crucial conversations. The mistake most of us make in our crucial conversations is we believe that we have to choose between telling the truth and keeping a friend. This is one of, if not the main reason, most conversations stop and things do not move forward. If you are a boss and want honest feedback and conversation, people can't fear for their jobs or that you will yell at them. Recently, there has been a lot of writing online about pastors abusing people, creating a culture of fear, yelling at staff members, elders and volunteers and it blows my mind. One of the ironies of dialogue is that, when talking with those holding opposing opinions, the more convinced and forceful you act, the more resistant others become. But, in conversations, if we give the impression that something has been decided or that we aren't open to suggestions, we will kill discussion. If you find yourself pushing your ideas, you aren't having a good dialogue and instead are simply giving out orders. That may be your leadership style, but it won't accomplish a healthy team environment and in the end, your church or business will never reach its full potential. When a crucial conversation ends, there must be clear expectations and guidance moving forward."
"I would recommend this book to anyone in a high stress job who needs to confront people about high stakes issues."
"I’m sure this book could be useful in personal situations, too, but it’s really great for business, which is the perspective in which I read this."
"Wonderful book to use in both business relationships and personal ones."
"This is an excellent read."
"Excellent book, with great practical tips and very useful advice for daily conversations."
"Great tools for applying."
"This book will change the way you think about difficult conversations."
Best Stress Management Self-Help

Most people are fearful of change, both personal and professional, because they don't have any control over how or when it happens to them. Since change happens either to the individual or by the individual, Dr. Spencer Johnson, the coauthor of the multimillion bestseller The One Minute Manager, uses a deceptively simple story to show that when it comes to living in a rapidly changing world, what matters most is your attitude. Called “The King of Parables” by USA Today , Dr. Johnson is often referred to as the best there is at taking complex subjects and presenting simple solutions that work. He has won the National Speakers Association’s highest honor, the “Council of Peers Award for Excellence,” and the Golden Gavel from Toastmasters International, and was inducted into the HRD Hall of Fame.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"A good chunk of the book discusses how it's a book, and then spends several pages building up the story to make it more of a book."
"I've read this book before, but thought I'd pick it up again almost 8 years later, especially since recent circumstances in my life have caused me to 'sniff the cheese'."
"This book though a little too repetitive talks about change."
"Opens one's eyes to having to be flexible and have a broader perspective in life to move forward."
"Quick read."
"I ready the adult book previously and this is a good book to teach the same concept to kids."
"Great price and perfect reminder of life's predicaments."
"Everyone should read this book."
Best Motivational Self-Help

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is his antidote to the coddling, let’s-all-feel-good mindset that has infected modern society and spoiled a generation, rewarding them with gold medals just for showing up. Once we embrace our fears, faults, and uncertainties, once we stop running and avoiding and start confronting painful truths, we can begin to find the courage, perseverance, honesty, responsibility, curiosity, and forgiveness we seek. A much-needed grab-you-by-the-shoulders-and-look-you-in-the-eye moment of real-talk, filled with entertaining stories and profane, ruthless humor, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**k is a refreshing slap for a generation to help them lead contented, grounded lives. This is a masterful, philosophical and practical book that will give readers the wisdom to be able to do just that.” ( Ryan Holiday, New York Times bestselling author of The Obstacle is the Way and Ego is the Enemy ). “Mark’s ability to dig deep and offer amazing, yet counter-intuitive, insight into the challenges of life makes him one of my favorite writers, and this book is his best work yet.” ( Matt Kepnes, New York Times bestselling author of Travel the World on $50 a Day: Travel Cheaper, Longer, Smarter ). “An in-your-face guide to living with integrity and finding happiness in sometimes-painful places… This book, full of counterintuitive suggestions that often make great sense, is a pleasure to read and worthy of rereading.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"As someone who has given far too many f***s about far too many things their entire life, this book was exactly the wake up call I needed. We have a limited emotional capacity, and we often squander it on reactions to mean-spirited people or unfortunate events, completely forgetting that, although we can't control the world around us, we can control ourselves. If you're the type of person who's struggled to keep their temper in line or if you're like me and you find yourself on an emotional roller-coaster because you take every event in the world and within your own life to heart, I strongly encourage you to read this book. If profanity is so much of a problem for you, that you can't tolerate reading the first half of this book (the last half is much less profane) you're probably too narrow-minded to have taken away any of the many philosophical benefits this book offers."
"If you don't have anything substantive to occupy your time, then it's trivial stuff that bothers you: "Your ex-boyfriend’s new Facebook picture, how quickly the batteries die in the TV remote, missing out on yet another two-for-one sale on hand sanitizer—chances are you don’t have much going on in your life..." Mark suggests just picking a few big things--values and people that reflect your values: "What I’m talking about here is essentially learning how to focus and prioritize your thoughts effectively—how to pick and choose what matters to you and what does not matter to you based on finely honed personal values." On a serious note, the author relates a horrific experience from his youth, when a drunken friend took a dare, jumped into a lake and drowned. This tragedy led to a determination to change the direction of his life, and figure out what is most important: "Oddly, it was someone else’s death that gave me permission to finally live. The author refers often to a book, "The Denial of Death," (which became a Pulitzer Prize winner.). In serious, heartfelt chapters, the author reflects on human existence, and our search for meaning in life."
"Some of the main themes are these: (1) Choosing what to care about; focusing on the things/problems that are actually meaningful/important (= "giving a f*** about the right things"). (2) Learning to be fine with some negative things; always aiming for positivity isn't practical, and is stressful in itself. (3) Taking responsibility of your own life; it's good for your self-esteem not to keep blaming the circumstances for your problems. (4) Understanding the importance of honesty and boundaries, especially in relationships. (5) Identity; it might a good idea not to commit strongly to any special identity such as "an undiscovered genius", because then any challenges will make you fear the potential loss of that identity you've clinged to. (6) Motivation; how to improve it by accepting failure and taking action. (7) Death; how learning to be more comfortable with one's own mortality can make it easier to live. The first 20% of this book were a little bit boring to read, but after that, the experience was very absorbing."
Best Abuse Self-Help

In this empowering book, Gavin de Becker, the man Oprah Winfrey calls the nation's leading expert on violent behavior, shows you how to spot even subtle signs of danger—before it's too late. Shattering the myth that most violent acts are unpredictable, de Becker, whose clients include top Hollywood stars and government agencies, offers specific ways to protect yourself and those you love, including...how to act when approached by a stranger...when you should fear someone close to you...what to do if you are being stalked...how to uncover the source of anonymous threats or phone calls...the biggest mistake you can make with a threatening person...and more. Author Gavin de Becker says victims of violent behavior usually feel a sense of fear before any threat or violence takes place. A leading expert on predicting violent behavior, de Becker believes we can all learn to recognize these signals of the "universal code of violence," and use them as tools to help us survive. The book teaches how to identify the warning signals of a potential attacker and recommends strategies for dealing with the problem before it becomes life threatening. People don't just "snap" and become violent, says de Becker, whose clients include federal government agencies, celebrities, police departments, and shelters for battered women. Gavin de Becker : Your question contains much of the answer: today’s world, "where terror and tragedy seem omnipresent..." The key word is "seem." When TV news coverage presents so much on these topics, it elevates the perception of terrorism and tragedy way beyond the reality. In every major city, TV news creates forty hours of original production every day, most of it composed and presented to get our attention with fear. Question: Your bestselling book The Gift of Fear gives many examples to help readers recognize what you call pre-incident indicators (PINS) of violence. If intuition is used by a woman to explain some choice she made or a concern she can’t let go of, men roll their eyes and write it off. We much prefer logic, the grounded, explainable, unemotional thought process that ends in a supportable conclusion.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"As research has shown, what we call women's intuition is in reality the fact that women, on average, are far better at picking up nonverbal cues than men. fMRI scans reveal women use 14-16 regions of their brains during communication, while men only 4-6 areas (most women probably would dispute giving us that much credit-:). In modern society, in the interest of being "polite", we often suppress our natural intuition, our gut feelings. One of my great fears has to do with my beautiful wife's suppression of her natural intuition around strangers, in the interest of being polite and non-judgemental. Gavin de Becker's loud message to women, Trust your gut, Don't suppress your intuition, Don't worry about hurting some stranger's feelings is a powerful one."
"Titled "Survival Signals" this chapter will teach you the sophisticated manipulations that criminal predators use to try and gain control over you. There is much more detail in this chapter, and I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to recognize these "interviewing techniques" that criminal predators use."
"I would recommend this book to everyone who knows a human being that they feel 'weird' about."
"This opens yourself up to using all of your innate tools that you can use to safeguard yourself, from abusive relationships, to stranger attacks, to workplace violence."
"I believe this book should be required reading in our schools."
"Great book!"
"This information is wonderful for both males and females; although, I think. women would get the most out of this book."
"Gavin de Becker not only shares the wisdom he has gained through his work, but also his experiences."
Best Personal Transformation Self-Help

In The Four Agreements, bestselling author don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. She is the co-author, with don Miguel Ruiz, of six books in The Toltec Wisdom Series , creator of “The Four Agreements for a Better Life” online course, and editor of Deepak Chopra’s bestselling title, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"I am an undergrad student of philosophy and linguistics, a branch of the humanities. I also deeply love this series of books because of its obviousness and simplicity. There is a huge tradition of skepticism in linguistics, especially about how language is used in various cultures to create belief systems. A belief system is basically a set of instructions inside your brain based on language. These instructions help you navigate the stressful world around you so you can survive. We are psychologically wired to think our belief systems are accurate and experience deep stress if we find them to be inaccurate. You may not be surprised to find out that philosophy majors have not come up with answers to these questions because there is always a case where we are going to be wrong or have a counter argument. Much of the study of philosophy is the collection of vocabulary words to describe beliefs. They even have a mathematical component called propositional logic, where one takes sentences and reduces them to symbols and creates "proofs" but even prop-logic is under fire from academics for its complete inability to predict anything. I believe Miguel Ruiz must have taken a linguistics course as well--as his first agreement attests to the power of language. Both Saussure and Derrida (and many, many others) did work on how we form ideas in our heads based on language. The gist is this: we have something called a "symbol" in our brain which is composed of two parts: the word and the visual representation of the object (look up semiotics for further detail). These symbols are in our mind and work together to form meaning, then belief. If you really want a deeper understanding on how linguistics has saturated our belief systems I recommend reading some of their academic essays or get Rivkin and Ryan's literary theory books. To simplify: scientists and academics in the millions have tried and tried and tried to find "the true belief" for thousands, maybe tens of thousands of years and we have not yet arrived at any truth. The need to be right is so ingrained within us that we create a huge drama when someone contradicts our beliefs. - I take all gurus, religions, indictments and gossip with quite a high level of benevolent skepticism, which allows me to be free from the fear that goes along with these stories."
"Both are based on the philosophy of the Toltec, ancient people of southern Mexico who were known as women and men of knowledge. The author at times anticipates such problems on the part of the reader, and is indeed accurate in that regard. The Toltecs were not a race or tribe, or nation, but scientists and artists formed to explore and conserve the spiritual knowledge and practices of the “ancient ones”. The Toltec recognize that some 3000 years ago a human studying to be a medicine man woke to the realization that everything is made of light and that all that exists is one living being, and that light is the messenger of life because it is alive and contains all information. As children we believe what adults say, especially our parents, and our world becomes a dream, a reality built on symbols from others, not the silent feelings and observations that we experienced as infants. We live in a dream ruled by fear and filled with emotions of anger, jealousy, envy and hate. To escape our dream of hell, we must break the old agreements that are fear based and reclaim our personal power. The author suggests four basic agreements that you must make with yourself to reclaim your own power and find a heaven on earth, a life of joy and fulfillment. He feels that a sin is anything that goes against yourself, and being impeccable is not gong against yourself, taking responsibility for your actions, but not judging or blaming. He feels that gossip is the worst form of black magic, for it is judgmental language about others, even those we do not know. He gives the simple example of a child being told by her mother to shut up her singing because her voice was “ugly”. These are the type of agreements that we make in life that are harmful and destructive, that lead us into our dream of hell. And as you use such words, first by expressing love for yourself, you break all the many agreements that make you suffer, and begin to build your own dream of heaven on earth. Couldn’t someone’s anger be about us if our word was less than impeccable, but instead filled with the black magic mentioned by the author? I raise these questions in my mind because at times, as I read through this, it sounds as if one can “get a pass” for less than sterling behavior because he need not take others reactions personally. (True sadness from the passing of a child or similar “objective” tragedy is hard to relate to assumptions or taking things personally) I have found that people often assume my meaning, and sometimes take offense at something that was never intended to harm. I don’t know exactly why we are afraid to ask for clarification, maybe it roots back to those days when we were reluctant to ask questions in school. I think these two agreements about taking things personally and making assumptions are really part of a self centeredness that “it is all about me”. In fact it is really important to realize that it isn’t always about you, especially when the assumptions made generally do assume so and lead to taking things personally. Not making assumptions would seem to be one of the easier agreements to live up to, as it only involves a little bit of inquiry. I see his book as being primarily focused on reaching an internal contentment and happiness, not on navigating one’s way through the world at large. I just find a bit of a contrast between the focus of this work and something like “Falling Upward” by Richard Rohr where he acknowledges the need to survive in the competitive world as a means of gaining some level of confidence before, in the second half of life, we are able to discard much of the baggage of the first half and seek out a more personal and spiritual contentment. All see Western culture as imposing and espousing a very competitive, win/loose guilt ridden mentality. Such mentality may or may not be necessary for the struggles that we face, but, all my readings seem to agree that at some point our thoughts need to focus on attaining a more peaceful and inclusive level of spiritual contentment. By merely listening you show respect for the other person’s dream, for the reality he or she has created. The first Four Agreements taught us that out symbols are not the truth, and that many of these symbols–our entire symbology as he calls it- are lies that lead us to blame and shame and guilt, to a living hell. It is a war against that part of our mind that makes all the choices that guide us into our personal hell. It is that point where we come back to our real state, our divine self, where we fell a communion of love with everything in existence. We experience what he refers to as a resurrection, and it allows us to be wild and free like a child, except that we have freedom with wisdom instead of innocence. These books express a philosophy couched in rather mystical terms–in dreams and symbols, attention and awareness. I think he feels that a concept like goodness is also a truth that is intrinsically recognized and internal, and not a product of a value system that is imposed on us by others. But, at least to me, he doesn’t recognize such conditioning as being a necessary part of that portion of our lives when we must learn to cope in our world. The striking thing, as I read numerous books and other writings, and watch speeches, is the basic consistency in the message of oneness and the need to abandon, at least temporarily, much of what we have “learned” in order to open our minds, or perhaps clear our minds, so that we can receive the gift of interconnectedness."
"The Four Agreements are: - Be Impeccable With Your Words. - Don't Take Anything Personally. - Don't Make Assumptions. - Always Do Your Best. -When he says be Impeccable With Your Word, he means you should always speak,with integrity. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering. - when he says Don't Make Assumptions, he means you must find the the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want."
Best Self-Esteem

From thought leader Dr. Brené Brown, a transformative new vision for the way we lead, love, work, parent, and educate that teaches us the power of vulnerability. Every day we experience the uncertainty, risks, and emotional exposure that define what it means to be vulnerable or to dare greatly. But when we step back and examine our lives, we will find that nothing is as uncomfortable, dangerous, and hurtful as standing on the outside of our lives looking in and wondering what it would be like if we had the courage to step into the arena—whether it’s a new relationship, an important meeting, the creative process, or a difficult family conversation. Daring Greatly is a practice and a powerful new vision for letting ourselves be seen. “The brilliantly insightful Brené Brown draws upon extensive research and personal experience to explore the paradoxes of courage: we become strong by embracing vulnerability, we dare more greatly when we acknowledge our fear. —Maria Shriver " Daring Greatly is an important book -- a timely warning about the danger of pursuing certainty and control above all. The invitation in this book is clear: We must be larger than anxiety, fear, and shame if we want to speak, act, and show up. The world needs this book and Brené’s unique blend of warmth, humor and ass-kicking makes her the perfect person to inspire us to dare greatly." Brené Brown shines a bright light into these dark recesses of human emotion and reveals how these feelings can gnaw at fulfillment in education, at work and in the home. If you're a student, teacher, parent, employer, employee or just alive and wanting to live more fully, you should read this book. —Sir Ken Robinson "In an age of constant pressure to conform and pretend, Daring Greatly offers a compelling alternative: transform your life by being who you really are. —Michael Bungay Stanier, author of Do More Great Work "I deeply trust Brené Brown--her research, her intelligence, her integrity, and her personhood. So when she definitively lands on the one most important value we can cultivate for professional success, relationship health, parental joy, and courageous, passionate living...well, I sit up and take notice .
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Last week I was sitting outside a coffee shop reading a book on my kindle when a youngish guy walked by carrying a coffee and a computer, looking for a place to sit. I promptly went back to my reading but I could feel his eyes boring into me as I anticipated the dreaded question. There's just something about the vast amount of information that I'm pressured to wrap into one or two sentences that completely overwhelms and paralyzes me. Part of me was tempted to lie to youngish guy by replying, "oh, it's just some silly novel." Allowing myself to be vulnerable led Patrick and I into a conversation for the next hour. Patrick, if you're reading this, c'était une joie pour vous rencontrer. This moment of unabashed vulnerability with Patrick was the beginning of a major shift in my life. She reinforces what I've known all along but been afraid of admitting--that vulnerability leads to happiness. Following Brene's advice and expertise garnered through her research and life stories, truly does work. It was the reading of Daring Greatly that prompted me to finally divulge my long kept secret of my history with an eating disorder; which wound up being my highest trafficked blog post of all time. If any of these questions ring true then I hope you'll read this book for yourself."
"In fact, "Vulnerability is the the core, the heart, the center of meaningful human experiences." The main concern of Wholehearted men and women is living a life defined by courage, compassion, and connection. It comes down to this: If we don't embrace vulnerability, we are destined to live a lonely, detached, unfulfilling life. Wholehearted Parenting: Daring to Be the Adults We Want Our Children to Be. - Final Thoughts. - Appendix -- Trust in Emergence: Grounded Theory and My Research Process. - Practicing Gratitude. Daring Greatly doesn't focus on the area of love and relationships, but it offers invaluable tools for deepening our love partnerships. For going deeper into vulnerability in the context of a romantic relationship, check out The Couple's Survival Workbook: What You Can Do To Reconnect With Your Partner and Make Your Marriage Work by Olsen and Stephens. More generally, if you're interested in Browne's concept of Wholehearted living -- the contextual framework of Daring Greatly -- check out The Gifts of Imperfection. It's not altogether easy, but it's deeply relieving to understand that this essential skill is not about simply stepping out under a hail of deadly arrows. It's about leaving behind lonely and fearful self-interest, having courage that deeper connection eagerly awaits us."
"I enjoy this book a lot and I’m thankful I had the opportunity to read it, it’s a book that will change how you see yourself and the rest of the people in the world."
"This a really important book for living well and learning how to tune out the noise of people who pile shame and guilt on others."
"Brene Brown is helping us to repair the fractured way many of us grew up to think and believe, and she does it with humor, empathy and lots of great story telling."
"Absolutely could not get into it."
Best Mid-Life Management

In It’s Never Too Late To Begin Again, she turns her eye to a segment of the population that, ironically, while they have more time to be creative, are often reluctant or intimidated by the creative process. She tells the inspiring stories of retirees who discovered new artistic pursuits and passions that more than filled their days—they nurtured their souls. This fun, gentle, step-by-step process will help you explore your creative dreams, wishes, and desires...and help you quickly find that it’s never too late to begin again. Julia Cameron has been an active artist for more than three decades.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"The 12-week summer might be a great time to do this course, or fall when school is in the air, or January when you're thinking about doing something different in the New Year. Cameron writes her purpose for this book is to give readers a set of tools to "trigger creative rebirth". Cameron reminds us that Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote her first children's book "Little House in the Big Woods" when she was 64. Some of the wisdom gleaned from this book: * You shake the apple tree and the universe delivers oranges. This book teaches the creative principles to bring these more into your life through activities, questions to ponder and answer, wisdom and examples of others."
"Then, to my amazement, the description of this book smacked me in the face and gave me the inspiration to read it. Julia Cameron and Emma Lively have a very valuable goldmine here if people who are in need of beginning again, who may feel timid or don't know how to start, can read this. I did some of the exciting homework, like walking 20 minutes and letting your mind wander, journaling first thing in the morning, and answering questions about certain periods in your life. Thank you,Julia Cameron, Emma Lively, PENGUIN GROUP TarcherPerigee, and Netflix for giving me an ARC copy of this book to read in exchange for my honest review."
"After 8 weeks, I'm putting it on the shelf to await my future retirement."
"This book is very much like the Artist Way."
Best Personal Time Management

Dividing this book into two parts, he first makes the case that in almost any profession, cultivating a deep work ethic will produce massive benefits. A mix of cultural criticism and actionable advice, DEEP WORK takes the reader on a journey through memorable stories -- from Carl Jung building a stone tower in the woods to focus his mind, to a social media pioneer buying a round-trip business class ticket to Tokyo to write a book free from distraction in the air -- and no-nonsense advice, such as the claim that most serious professionals should quit social media and that you should practice being bored. "DEEP WORK accomplishes two considerable tasks: One is putting out a wealth of concrete practices for the ambitious, without relying on gauzy clichés. Cal Newport's exciting new book is an introduction and guide to the kind of intense concentration in a distraction-free environment that results in fast, powerful learning and performance. "DEEP WORK makes a compelling case for cultivating intense focus, and offers immediately actionable steps for infusing more of it into our lives. "Cal Newport is a clear voice in a sea of noise, bringing science and passion in equal measure. "Cal Newport offers the most well-informed and astute collection of practical advice I have seen for reclaiming one's mental powers.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Spend enough time in a state of frenetic shallowness and you permanently reduce your capacity to perform deep work. I build my days around a core of carefully chosen deep work, with the shallow activities I absolutely cannot avoid batched into smaller bursts at the peripheries of my schedule. Depth-destroying behaviors such as immediate e-mail responses and an active social media presence are lauded, while avoidance of these trends generates suspicion. …The key to developing a deep work habit is to move beyond good intentions and add routines and rituals to your working life designed to minimize the amount of your limited willpower necessary to transition into and maintain a state of unbroken concentration. … the minimum unit of time for deep work in this philosophy tends to be at least one full day. To put aside a few hours in the morning, for example, is too short to count as a deep work stretch for an adherent of this approach. Idleness is not just a vacation, an indulgence or a vice; it is as indispensable to the brain as vitamin D is to the body, and deprived of it we suffer a mental affliction as disfiguring as rickets… it is, paradoxically, necessary to getting any work done. At the end of the workday, shut down your consideration of work issues until the next morning— no after-dinner e-mail check, no mental replays of conversations, and no scheming about how you’ll handle an upcoming challenge; shut down work thinking completely. If you need more time, then extend your workday, …trying to squeeze a little more work out of your evenings might reduce your effectiveness the next day enough that you end up getting less done than if you had instead respected a shutdown. 13. for a novice, somewhere around an hour a day of intense concentration seems to be a limit, while for experts this number can expand to as many as four hours— but rarely more. They initiate much larger parts of their brain that are irrelevant to the task at hand… they’re pretty much mental wrecks."
"Deep Work is the execution/tactical companion to Newport's last book, So Good They Can't Ignore You and it doesn't disappoint. -However, these are usually also things that you need to trade in your career capital (rare skills and experience using them) in order to maximize. So Good They Can't Ignore You doesn't spend much time explaining how to actually implement deep work (deliberate practice) into you life. It tells you to focus deeply, stretch yourself cognitively and get constant high quality feedback on your work/output. If you have already bought into the idea, you can skim this part, but I found the examples and people he featured to be very interesting so it's worth a read. Newport lays out an interesting theory for 3 types of workers, Superstars, Owners and High Skill Workers and makes a convincing and important argument for the importance in the future of being able to work at higher levels of abstraction and work with intelligent machines. Meaning is a key part of Newport's argument because the whole book links back to the Passion vs. Rare Skills debate…which is a better strategy for finding a job you love? Newport give 3 theories on why deep work is meaningful, a psychological, neurological and a philosophical reason. Rule 1 gives you a bunch of strategies and examples of how to integrate deep work into your schedule. The Grand Gestures part of this chapter is really good, you learn about Bill Gates Think Week and same famous authors who go to secluded islands or build cabins to get a lot of deep work done when necessary. Newport gives a number of strategies for doing two important things: improving your ability to focus and eliminating your desire for distraction. This rule isn't as strategic as the other ones, it's mostly about making a side argument that these networking sites aren't as important is you think they are."
Best Sex & Sexuality

In celebration of its 20th anniversary, a thoroughly revised and expanded edition of the leading book on fertility and women’s reproductive health. “This beautifully written guide to a woman’s fertility signs is packed with knowledge, wisdom and humor—a must for the bookshelf.” (Co-authors of The New Our Bodies, Ourselves).
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"Every woman should know exactly how their bodies work and this book def opened my eyes. I also find that charting both bbt and cervical fluid works better than any ovulation app or period tracker. Its also a very helpful tool for your gyno so they can better pinpoint if there is an issue with ttc or another reproductive problem."
"Extremely informative book, good to use as a reference."
"I’m learning so much about my body and can’t stop raving about all the insight!"
"This book is so educational."
"So much great information, presented in a very clear and easy to understand way!"
"The book to get AND read."
"It's a really great book very informative very easy to read very easy to understand I would suggest it for anybody that's either trying to get pregnant or prevent pregnancy the natural way."
"I have LOVED this book."
Best Art Therapy & Relaxation

With questions that are sometimes provocative (“On a scale of one to ten, how happy are you?”), occasionally quirky (“What can you smell right now?”), and inevitably interesting (“If you could travel anywhere tomorrow, where would you go?”), this classically designed journal—embellished with beautiful details—is the perfect gift for anyone embarking on a new phase of life. Potter Style , an imprint of the Crown Publishing group, is a high-end gift book and stationery line, specializing in lifestyle, design, art, fashion, humor, and DIY.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"However, you will get that with any journal that is attempting to come up with 365 unique questions. So it is overall a good little journal."
"But seeing those realities scattered throughout the journal is helping me realize what I can control and what I can't. Yes, there are some silly questions in here and some that don't lead to greater self-awareness or life-changing epiphanies, but I appreciated the variety, because I think I would have found it difficult to answer a deep or self-analytical question every single day."
"This journal asks a question a day that can be simple or profound depending on your thinking at the time. The format is such that you can start it on any day of the year...no need to wait for New Year's."
"This book arrived with many bent pages and fairly dusty."
"I thought that this would be a great gift for him to look back on his life over the years and see how much he has grown and changed."
"I've always loved Journaling but, I am not always good at keeping up with it."
"A little smaller then I was hoping, but the size does make it portable so if I'm traveling it won't be such a hassel to take with me ."
"I LOVE this book and look forward to writing in it each day but a few things could make this book even more awesome. You don't always think much about what TV show you are watching but 5 years from now it'll be interesting to see."
Best Healthy Relationships

Whether your relationship is flourishing or failing, Dr. Gary Chapman’s proven approach to showing and receiving love will help you experience deeper and richer levels of intimacy with your partner—starting today. Updated to reflect the complexities of relationships today, this new edition reveals intrinsic truths and applies relevant, actionable wisdom in ways that work. GARY CHAPMAN --author, speaker, counselor--has a passion for people and for helping them form lasting relationships.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"My wife and I have 2 small children and our house is hard to stay clean because every room feels like a mess. A big part of improving your relationship with your spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend is to sticking with a date night to make sure you have quality time together. My wife and I have been together for 10 years and got stuck in the rut of an endless routine of doing everything we could for our kids, followed by daily chores and left little time for ourselves. Committing to 1 date night a week has really helped our relationship and improved our communication."
"I was once asked to read this book by the only person in the world I love.....I refused. It's not a good feeling as a man to agree to read a book on relationships because you feel like you're putting everything into the authors hands.....and what if he "doesn't understand" or what if the advice doesn't apply to us.....what if it makes things worse between us because he advises things we don't believe in.....no....I'm not reading that I told her. I thought no matter what we would always figure each other out and we would be ok......I didn't see being asked to read this book , was a cry out from the woman I love hitting a boiling point and her attempt to communicate to me in a different way......the same things she's been trying to for a long time..... Instead of being some guys opinions or......typical shrink talk that in no way could apply to each specific relationship.......I found it to be a book that opens up the mind to the understanding of love.....and how it is not this one universal "language" we all feel we should be the same with.....I once told her...."nobody taught me how to love, I'm growing....learning".....I pleased with her to understand I love her.......we simply didn't have an understanding of how and why we didnt approach love the exact same way as each other.....only makes sense that it should be the same right? I will just end it like this..... last night I took a stretch that I have been doing for over 2 years and I changed it in a slightly different way....... a lot of the pain I normally get daily is gone....... just to put a spotlight on that sentence .....I'm saying that what I had been doing for so long..... trying to cure one of the biggest problems in my life that hadnt been working............that I continued doing........ believing in and depending on.... to be my much needed answer.......It wasn't until I allowed the idea of the same stretch applied in a different way, that I ALLOWED life to be better for me. You have to go into the book with an open mind because if you do it with the mindset of wanting it to say what it is that you want to hear.....then you can never let the life-changing words happen.......you're learning a language as you read...not what's right and wrong but what was being lost in life. Keep in mind this is a book about the language of love so if you think about when you go to school to learn a different language...you are taking the difficult step of taking time there in order to understand.....be able to take what you understand and apply it.....and be able to communicate in a NEEDED way once you learn....AND THEN USE......communicate and UNDERSTAND eachother."
"Every couple should read this BEFORE they begin a relationship!"
"Great book, I read a friends book and decided to purchase it for myself."
"My husband and I read it and I bought a copy to give my parents (they could really use it to understand each other better!)."
"This book will really make you think about things when you read it, especially if you have had relationship problems..."
"contains helpful information and I enjoyed reading through people's testimonies and experiences."
"I love this book!"
Best Creativity

With questions that are sometimes provocative (“On a scale of one to ten, how happy are you?”), occasionally quirky (“What can you smell right now?”), and inevitably interesting (“If you could travel anywhere tomorrow, where would you go?”), this classically designed journal—embellished with beautiful details—is the perfect gift for anyone embarking on a new phase of life. Potter Style , an imprint of the Crown Publishing group, is a high-end gift book and stationery line, specializing in lifestyle, design, art, fashion, humor, and DIY.
Reviews
Find Best Price at Amazon"However, you will get that with any journal that is attempting to come up with 365 unique questions. So it is overall a good little journal."
"But seeing those realities scattered throughout the journal is helping me realize what I can control and what I can't. Yes, there are some silly questions in here and some that don't lead to greater self-awareness or life-changing epiphanies, but I appreciated the variety, because I think I would have found it difficult to answer a deep or self-analytical question every single day."
"This book arrived with many bent pages and fairly dusty."
"I've always loved Journaling but, I am not always good at keeping up with it."
"A little smaller then I was hoping, but the size does make it portable so if I'm traveling it won't be such a hassel to take with me ."
"I LOVE this book and look forward to writing in it each day but a few things could make this book even more awesome. You don't always think much about what TV show you are watching but 5 years from now it'll be interesting to see."
"I love writing down simple thing every day and comparing how my life changes or doesn't changes over the course of time."
"Just got this yesterday and did my first entry."
