1. Connect the dots.
When Rashmi Bansal wrote her first book “Stay hungry stay foolish”, it created bizarre among MBA students. That was on 25 successful entrepreneurs who passed out of IIM-A and their journey of becoming multimillionaire. After that book, people started thinking that only management institutes crops up multimillionaires. So to shut all those mouths, Rashmi Bansal wrote her next book “connect the dots”. It is the success stories of 20 successful entrepreneurs without an MBA who dared to find their own path. Every story that I have read in this book is an eye opener. The stories are classified into three categories – Jugaad, Junoon and Zubaan.
- Jugaad – has the stories of entrepreneurs who have no formal training in business and and learnt by observation, experimentation and application of mind.
- Junoon – has stories of seven entrepreneurs who are driven by a particular idea, or passion.
- Zubaan – has the stories of creative people who were in need of a platform to express themselves.
You will learn to swim only when you jump into deep water and these stories will give you the courage to do so .
2. The monk who sold his Ferrari.
This book is about how to bring those things in life that money can't buy, like happiness. This well crafted story by Robin S Sharma provides an approach to living a simple life with greater balance, strength, courage and happiness.
The monk who sold his Ferrari is a tale of Julian Mantle, a lawyer who had achieved everything most of us could ever want: professional success with a seven figure income, a grand mansion in a neighborhood inhabited by celebrities, a private jet, a summer home on a tropical island and a shiny red Ferrari. But one thing is missing, the happiness, the joy, the inner peace. The story is about how he found all this in the peeks of Himalayas. This book has changed my whole mental attitude, obviously in positive manner. The principles explained in this book are pasted on my room's wall. Some of the virtues are:
- Master your mind
- Follow your purpose
- Practice kaizen
- Live with discipline
- Respect your time
- Selflessly serve others
- Embrace the present
3. Discover the diamond in you.
Its a 59 minute guide to success, because you can finish it in less than an hour. Professor Arindam Chaudhuri, an economist, management guru and also an eminent author brings a lot of real life success examples in front of you via this book. Arindam in this books questions those criticizers as whether they knew Sachin, at the age of 13 used to practice cricket for 5 hours every morning. He asks them as to how many people they know who wake up that early and practice their passion at that yound age. Only winners have that in them. So many other examples.
- Marilyn Monroe was rejected by 20th century fox as they thought she was unattractive.
- Beethoven music teacher told him that as a composer he is hopeless.
- KFC's Sanders pitched his secret recipe to 1000+ restaurants. Finally he got a taker.
Whenever I lose hope in something, I read this book. And in one hour I'm again full of energy. A must read for everyone.
4. How to win friends and influence people.
The main point of this book is that if you want to have friends and be successful, you should be nice not mean. It sounds so obvious and I thought I was doing it, but now I realize all the mean things that I've done and still do to people when I don't get along with them. Now I try to think more about the other person's perspective . I've already noticed a change in the way I interact with people.
That fundamental principles are the same that you have learn t from you grandparents or parents or from you favorite teachers. But the presentation in this book is just awesome.
Some major sections of this book are:
5. You can win.
Winners don’t do different things, they do things differently. That’s what Shiv Khera tried to explain via this book. You will find so many short motivational stories in this book that will compel you to change your perspective.
This book reveals the success strategies step by step with simple examples. The book is so interesting that I'm sure you will finish it in one stroke. But I'll suggest you to read it slowly chapter by chapter and make notes if possible.
This book is an international best seller with 2 million copies sold in 16 languages.
Ok signing off, probably will back with 5 best fictions coz I'm addicted to reading. For now good bye.
Happy reading.
------Kapil Garg--------