Sunday 15 November 2015

Book Review: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living

Firstly, you must be wondering how am I able to post another book review one day later since my last review! The reason is, I am accumulating my thoughts on few recent reads from my shelf and posting them consecutively on my blog.


This is one of the best books that I've read so far, and one of those which I would want to read twice.


This is a 378-page long book, which is more than enough for a new reader like me. It is penned by the international bestselling author of How to Win Friends and Influence People- Dale Carnegie. My life wouldn't have been worth if I had missed this wonderful brain washer (in positive way).  I rate it 5 stars (10 stars if I could).

Goodreads yields that this book has 100 editions, 36,716 ratings and 919 reviews as of date, whoa! My copy of book says that it was first published in 1953, quite early though, it is still very much applicable to our lives. The author himself is a self-help coach. He sums up his experiences and experiences from other people to justify the teachings that he gives throughout the book. This book has increased my fascination for self-help genre and has made me believe that a good book can bring positive change to one’s life. I didn't want to finish this book.

Without pouring in my heart anymore, yielding my submission to list down a few quotes / take aways from this book-
1) A magic formula to conquer worry-
  • Ask yourself 'what is the worst that can possibly happen?'
  • Prepare to accept it if you have to.
  • Then calmly proceed to improve on the worst.
2) Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.

3) Remind yourself of the exorbitant price you can pay for worry in terms of health. "Those who do not know how to fight worry die young."

4) When you, or any of your associates, are tempted to worry about a problem, write out and answer the following questions:

  • What is the problem?
  • What is the cause of the problem?
  • What are all possible solutions?
  • What is the best solution?
5) Keep busy. The worried person must lose himself in action, lest he wither in despair.

6) Let’s not allow ourselves to be upset by small things we should despise and forget. Remember "life is too short to be little."

7) Cooperate with the inevitable.

8) Let the past bury its dead. Don't saw sawdust.

9) Eight words that can determine your destiny: "Our life is what our thoughts make it."

10) Let's never try to get even with our enemies, because if we do we will hurt ourselves more than we hurt them. Let's never waste a minute thinking about people we don't like.

11) It is natural for people to forget to be grateful; so, if we go around expecting gratitude, we are headed straight for a lot of heartaches.

12) "I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet." Count your blessings, not your troubles!

13) Let's not imitate others. Let's find ourselves and be ourselves.

14) "Two men looked out from prison bars, one saw the mud, the other saw the stars."

15) Forget yourself by becoming interested in others. Every day do a good deed that will put a smile of joy on someone’s face.

16) Remember that unjust criticism is often a disguised compliment. Remember that no one ever kicks a dead dog.

17) Rest before you get tired. Learn to relax at your work. Learn to relax at home. If you can't sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It's the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep. Learn to organize, deputize and supervise.

18) Time solves a lot of things.

19) Believe in god. Leave things up to god. It is he who will take care of everything.

20) "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
       The courage to change the things I can,
       And the wisdom to know the difference."


As a formal conclusion, I would recommend this book to all those who are motivated to bring a change in the way they lead their lives. Each line would soak deep into your soul, relishing your thought process and conquering your problems.

(PS: the reviews expressed here are based on my personal reading experience, and do not intend to defame, derate or degrade the sale or vice-versa for the book. I am not paid for writing the reviews.)
If you are an author and want your book to be reviewed, drop an email at bookreviews@mansiladha.com.

Saturday 14 November 2015

Book Review: It Doesn't Hurt to Be Nice


BY A DEBUT AUTHOR, FOR DEBUT READERS!

This is a book by Amisha Sethi, published this September. With large fonts and merely 130 pages (of which, some are occupied by quirky illustrations in the form of callouts as preface for the upcoming chapter), its a chick-lit. It is a combination of fiction with self-help. I rate this book with 3 stars, and for a debut author let me make it 3.5.

The author has used a simple language, with mention of chants from upanishads and vedas at various places. The content is shallow, and picturesque of a Delhi girl's life transition from school to college to moving her way up the corporate ladder to love marriage to being a mother and then a mix of all. It sounds very obvious and a li'l filmy at times, covers the events of life that most of us go through at various stages of life. What is good about it is that the author has related these with some philosophy and learning. It's about finding your purpose in life and striving to be better each day than you were yesterday, which basically sums up my own belief as well, so that's a plus point.

Overall, the book was a speedy read for me and had vibes of optimism in it and hence I loved my experience with the book. If you are willing to take a break from reading huge books that take weeks to finish, and feeling overwhelmed with the contents from foreign authors, you can give it a try. Lastly, a learning for debut authors- Never write a book in hurry!

(PS: the reviews expressed here are based on my personal reading experience, and do not intend to defame, derate or degrade the sale or vice-versa for the book. I am not paid for writing the reviews.)
If you are an author and want your book to be reviewed, drop an email at bookreviews@mansiladha.com.

Wednesday 11 November 2015

A little less ME


In our personal or professional lives, almost all of us have this excessive need to be 'me'. We are self obsessed and cling to satisfying the "me" in ourselves. The consequences are not positive oftentimes.

We keep repeating such clauses either verbally, or in a constant internal monologue- "I do this", " I dislike this", "...this is not my cup of tea", "...how dare thy say that about me", "...because I ain't ever mistaken, I won't apologize." , "Hey, that's me. Deal with it." and so on. We surround ourselves with a wall of our rules, our superiority, our appreciation, our opinion, our definition of good or bad around us. Setting a definition for ourselves and devoting our senses to keep up to that by resisting anything that comes in the way, is indeed harmful.

Once in a while, give it a thought that if you keep aside the pointless notion of ME, you'd certainly open new gates for yourself and lead to a long term change in your behavior. Moreover, you'll make people feel better about you.

As Marshall Goldsmith quotes in his book What Got You Here Won't Get You There, "It's an interesting equation: Less me. More them. Equals success." And "It's not about you. It's about what other people think of you."

The mantra is- "laugh at your yourself; apologize frequently; show gratitude whenever possible and learn from each person you meet."

Tuesday 10 November 2015

Bookworm

I've recently introduced this section on book reviews. I am not an avid reader, but have started cultivating the habit of reading lately. My book reviews may be naive taking the benefit of doubt that I am at the infant stage of it! I have started reading a little late than I should have done, because till now I could have finished a few dozen more books. Nevertheless, it's better late than never. 

Now that I have read a few books and continuing to read more, new insights for life have emerged in my senses. I feel satisfied to pen down my evolving opinions here.

 I hope you would appraise this new section, and also suggest me some books which I can dive into. After all, books wash away from the soul, the dust of everyday life.




And as they say- 

"Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light."

If you are an author and want your book to be reviewed, drop an email at bookreviews@mansiladha.com.

(PS: the reviews expressed on my website are based on my personal reading experience, and do not intend to defame, derate or degrade the sale or the contrary for any book. I am not paid for writing the reviews, unless otherwise stated in the post.)

Saturday 7 November 2015

"I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination "
-Web