A Must Read! – The World is Flat

This book should be required reading for everyone. Period.

Why? I’m glad you asked!

Our world has undergone some amazing changes in recent years. Thomas Friedman brings them into focus and clearly explains the impact on our lives. It usually takes historians decades to determine the effect events have on our lives, thanks to this book and Friedman’s ability to connect the dots, you don’t have to wait that long. From the fall of the Berlin Wall to 9/11, from the first email to Google, this book will challenge your perceptions and perspectives and give you valuable information on meeting the challenges of this new world.

As a VA working with the opportunities and challenges of today’s business environment, this book is a must read. If you have a high school or college age child – it should be required reading for them!

Forget About Time Management!

 

The Power of Full Engagement

What good is Time Management if you have no energy? As the book cover says, “Managing energy, not time is the key to high performance and personal renewal.

If you want more out of your life, give your body what it needs to work efficeintly and your brain what it needs to be effective.

Oh, and did I mention that it’s easy? Yep, if I can do it – so can you!

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Beyond Goal Setting – Goal Realization!

Who Are You Really and What Do You Want?

Dr. Shad Helmstetter, Ph.D

Have you ever set a goal that you didn’t reach and then felt, well, bad? Maybe you were just disappointed or maybe you felt like a failure or maybe it was somewhere in between. Whatever you were feeling I bet it wasn’t joyful.

Want to change that? In my experience when I have failed to reach a goal it has usually been because I really didn’t have a clear picture on what I really wanted. And I also didn’t understand that I was the only reason I wasn’t achieving the success I wanted.

Then I heard an interview with Dr. Shad Helmstetter, Ph.D. where he discussed his book, “Who Are you Really And What Do You Want?” Wow! I was so excited – Dr. Helmstetter had some great ideas and I was hungry for more! The book had not yet been released (this was back in 2003) and I waited on pins and needles for it to hit Amazon. I pre-ordered it and waited anxiously for it to arrive. The minute it did, do you know what I did?

I set it on my bookshelf and let it gather dust.

Nope, I’m not kidding. Dumb huh?

The only thing I can figure in hindsight is that I was terrified to find out that all the years I had struggled to achieve “success” had been wasted. The truth is that those years helped me succeed. And the truth is I had to be ready to read this book.

Now, I don’t want to scare you – it’s not a difficult book and it’s not going to tell you that there are some dark horrors in your childhood that keep you from being fulfilled. It’s a very easy read, very conversational. It has great ideas and suggestions and does a wonderful job of walking you through figuring out what you really want for yourself.

How do I know? Because I finally picked up the book and read it in March of 2005. (I know because I wrote the date on the inside of the book!) You know what happened? It was truly a life-changing experience. Yea, yea, I know – we hear that a lot these days about a lot of “self-help” books but for me, this one really did.

Dr. Helmstetter has a great blueprint for setting goals in a way that makes them relevant and doable. He also has some great information on how our “Self-Talk” affects us. I have always been an upbeat person but until I really started paying attention, I didn’t realize how mean I was to myself! The best part of the book for me though was learning how to take the “self” out of self-help. I mean, think about it – if we could help ourselves, would be stuck wondering why we aren’t achieving the goals and success we want in life?

This book is a must for anyone who is committed to what Anthony Robbins calls CANI – Constant and Never-ending Improvement. Make this commitment to yourself right now – you deserve it!

Change is the only Constant!

Who Moved My Cheese
By Spencer Johnson M.D.

Someone very wise once said that the only constant in life is change.  Oh so true!

For many of you becoming a Virtual Assistant has meant changing from an employee mindset to a business owner mindset. That’s a big change. Some of you are exploring the VA industry because the current economic situation has forced your previous employer to downsize. That’s a big change too.

Some other very wise people have advised us to embrace change but you know – it’s not always easy to say – “Hey, I just got laid off -WooHoo!” Even when you knew it was coming. Even when you know, on an intellectual level, that it is for the best and everything really will work out.

Funny thing about change – in the midst of the chaos the sun does continue to rise and set and hubby still wants you to fix dinner and the kids still need help with homework and the dog wants to go out now (yes, right now!).

So – how do you actually embrace change and learn to celebrate it and maybe even look forward to future change? No, wait! – it really is possible and this great little book shares some excellent insight on how to do it. It’s a fun and quick read – just 94 pages with big print.

Who Moved My Cheese? was authored by Spencer Johnson, M.D. who co-authored The One Minute Manager with Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.D. (another book that is fun and easy to read and I highly recommend it!) It is written in parable form and is the story of two mice and two people (very small people) living in a Maze (where you look for what you want) and searching for cheese (a metaphor for what you want to have in life).

I was given this book back in 2000 after going through a divorce and losing my mother. My daughter Elisabeth and I read it together (she was 9 at the time) over the course of a few days. I know it has served both of us well. Plus it was just plain fun to read!

Enjoy!