Solvivienda

Talk about a book title that grabs your attention! Quite a few friends and colleagues have recommended this book to me over the last couple of years, in part because they know that meaningful change is difficult to achieve for so many people. The basis for the title “Change or Die” is that numerous studies have found that upwards of 9 out of 10 people don’t change their lifestyles and behaviors… even when their lives depend upon it.

Subtitled The Three Keys to Change at Work and in Life, the book asks the question, “Could you change when change matters most?” It is a fact that five behavioral issues drive the large majority of the health care budget in the United States. They are too much smoking, drinking, and eating. Too much stress and not enough exercise. If potentially only one out of every ten people can change our behaviors, even in a crisis, then what hope do any of us really have?

Deutschman suggests that there is a way to effect meaningful, sustainable change but, as we have pointed out, most people (groups, organizations, companies, etc.) miss the mark. People and organizations change all the time, however the author doesn’t focus on how people change on their own. His main topic is “how to change when change isn’t coming naturally; when the difficulties stubbornly persist. When you’re stuck.”

I believe that all great leaders are constantly learning and growing. I also believe that there are two great ways to do this. Read and Listen. I read every night as part of my night time ritual. I also attempt to listen to books on tape whenever I can. This is what shapes me as a leader and as a therapist. The following are a list of books that I have read that help me with my management and leadership skills. I also believe that some of these authors have more than one book that should be read and I am including one book that I have not read but was recommended to me by mentor as an essential learning opportunity.

• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey. This book is great for teaching essential time management and project management skills. The first time I read it (back when my kids were in elementary school) it changed my life and I read it every 1-2 years just to brush up on my time management skills and to remind me what is productive and what is just busy work.

Talk about a book title that grabs your attention! Quite a few friends and colleagues have recommended this book to me over the last couple of years, in part because they know that meaningful change is difficult to achieve for so many people. The basis for the title “Change or Die” is that numerous studies have found that upwards of 9 out of 10 people don’t change their lifestyles and behaviors… even when their lives depend upon it.

Subtitled The Three Keys to Change at Work and in Life, the book asks the question, “Could you change when change matters most?” It is a fact that five behavioral issues drive the large majority of the health care budget in the United States. They are too much smoking, drinking, and eating. Too much stress and not enough exercise. If potentially only one out of every ten people can change our behaviors, even in a crisis, then what hope do any of us really have?

Deutschman suggests that there is a way to effect meaningful, sustainable change but, as we have pointed out, most people (groups, organizations, companies, etc.) miss the mark. People and organizations change all the time, however the author doesn’t focus on how people change on their own. His main topic is “how to change when change isn’t coming naturally; when the difficulties stubbornly persist. When you’re stuck.”

A business parable, Beans tells the story of a coffee bar in Seattle. The authors describe four essential ingredients for success that apply to companies of any size: start with passion, hire good people, make the buying experience personal, and maintain a good product.

The 1st ingredient in the book is PASSION, and the idea is simple: you must have passion for what you do. Love what you do and do what you love. Work is about more than the money; it’s about enjoying what you’re doing. If you don’t, clients will know it…and that’s a problem. And no matter how much passion you have for what you are doing, if your clients don’t have a similar passion for your product or service, they’re not going to buy from you. So if they don’t have the passion, you have to create it for them. How do you do that? First, you must fully understand your customers’ needs and wants, and then you must over-deliver.

The primary goal of both Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki in writing the book is to share to the world their perspectives in addressing poverty. They see that the middle class is now being phased out worldwide. And history teaches us that once the middle class is gone, there will be social unrest. They admit that there are complex underlying factors to poverty and there is no simple answer. Just to give money to the poor will never solve the problem. Mindset has to change. Education plays a significant role in this change. And financial literacy is the kind of education that people need.

The Book Has 5 Parts:

1. The authors explain the reason they wrote the book in Part 1.

2. You will read the explanation about three types of investors in Part 2. People fall under four categories: employee, self-employed and small-business owners, big-business owners, and investors. You will also find here the distinction between savers and investors, leverage as the key to great wealth, and the mind as the greatest lever of all.

3. The discussion about factors that influenced one’s life is found in Part 3. These influences came from various sources including home, school, military training, sports, business, and religion.