The best Business Motivation & Self-Improvement eBooks: Reddit reviews

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Very little spillover. From what I've read, it didn't even impact his ability to memorize a string of random alphabetic characters. That said, people have done a lot with mnemonic techniques to accomplish amusing tasks like memorizing the order of 27 decks of cards in an hour, and some techniques there can be trained for a somewhat wider range of tasks.

Good self-help books are underappreciated. They can provide the push needed to us in critical moments of our lives, e.g. to overcome short-term pain / excessive risk-aversion when making an important decision, and let us change the fundamental frames / instill useful mantras into our lives, changing our trajectories significantly. These two self-help books definitely changed my life, providing both motivation and timeless advice:

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams

Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odd by David Goggins

I recommend these to all my friends and everybody who read them so far loved them (note that for max effect probably best to space them out and to first read Adams and then Goggins a few months later).

I'm not going to put details on the internet, but buy this book, read it, and understand that there are genuinely evil people in the world who will use these tactics against you: 48 Laws of Power. You cannot defend yourself against those people if you don't understand their tactics yourself.

Here's a summary of the laws: https://www.tke.org/files/file/The_48_Laws_of_Power.pdf

Read The Charisma Myth.

The equation that produces charisma is actually fairly simple. All you have to do is give the impression that you possess both high power and high warmth, since charismatic behaviors project a combination of these two qualities. “Fight or flight?” is the power question. “Friend or foe” is the warmth question.

To be charismatic doesn’t require that one be naturally outgoing, physically attractive, or need to change their personality.

Possible to be a charismatic introvert.

Three quick tips to gain an instant charisma boost in conversation:

• Lower the intonation of your voice and the end of your sentences.
• Reduce how quickly and how often you nod.
• Pause for two full seconds before you speak.

This may be outside of what you were originally asked for but Stoicism has been a life changer for me. https://www.amazon.com/Obstacle-Way-Timeless-Turning-Triumph-ebook/dp/B00G3L1B8K

I wish you well on your quest..

If you hate finance then you hate it. But in the future you should probably think what your options realistically are after graduation if you continue to major in graphic design.

I mean ironically I'm about to make a finance analogy, but think about it this way: how much are you paying for this degree and how much is your salary going to be realistically after graduating? How competitive is the market for entry level positions? Do you have any unique skills/ability that makes you more competitive compared to other people when you graduate?

You're still only a sophomore so you have plenty of time to make small bets on stuff that piques your curiosity (extracurriculars, electives, etc).

I would also seriously consider how strong your motivation is for graphic design if you let your mom get in your head about it.

Also give this a read if that line of thinking had you interested at all. The book is about a guy who interviewed/researched a bunch of people who were successful in spite of not following their "passion".

https://www.amazon.com/Good-They-Cant-Ignore-You-ebook/dp/B0076DDBJ6/

I don't think the Stoics would have specific advise regarding career other than making sure that your work contributes to the world, doesn't harm others or exploits them.

Here's my career advise:

• Read Cal Newport's So Good They Can't Ignore You
• Learn how to learn. Your career will change over time, you need to adapt.
• Do you research on what people with X degree end up actually doing. Most of the time, what schools advertise (either explicitly or implicitly) is not what you'll end up doing. I literally don't know anyone that works on what they went to college for, including doctors and lawyers.
• Think of experiments. How can you try a particular option quickly and cheaply? That way you'll know if it is worth pursuing. Don't spend all the time and money to get a law degree, to only then find out you hate doing the work of a lawyer.

For the nervousness, I recommend reading The Charisma Myth and practicing the concepts every chance you get - merely studying it doesn't do much for you. This is harder to do at the moment, but I was single when I read it and consciously tried to apply it by going on a date or two per week. I'm strongly introverted, but also managed to build the nerve to approach and chat with random people in bars, usually getting into the grove with the most approachable guy I see then building momentum to talk with women who looked like they wouldn't be annoyed by strangers (not everyone there wants to find a date/hookup or even talk to people besides their friends)

That sounds like it's only dating advice, but it was a fantastic way to consistently practice soft skills that help you be less nervous during stressful conversations where the person may reject you while appearing more likable and confident. All of that applies to interviews.

Alternatively, you could do meeting-ups or do things like D&D with groups of strangers on discord; however, I found dating to be the most stressful thing that I could expose myself to frequently. As a side effect, I met my wife and my second life partner doing this, we're polyamorous, as well as a few friends.

Unlimited Memory: How to Use Advanced Learning Strategies to Learn Faster, Remember More and be More Productive is free with an Amazon prime subscription for those that are interested in the "learning how to learn." resource.

Book recommendation that kind of answers your question in a very roundabout way

https://www.amazon.com/How-Fail-Almost-Everything-Still-ebook/dp/B00COOFBA4

> A combination of mediocre skills can make you surprisingly valuable

it is simply one indicator of a few you should use. among them, google (obv), your smart peers, professional opinions as well.

here's a book that taught me to not react with "i already know" kind of attitudes.

https://www.amazon.ca/How-Fail-Almost-Everything-Still-ebook/dp/B00COOFBA4

good luck man!

Not super sure if this will help, but my WS seems to be making progress dealing with spirals with IC teaching him self-soothing stuff (meditation, derp breathing, coming to me for reassurance, etc) plus the book Daring Greatly by Brene Brown. My WS has got a lot stewing around in his head so I can't tell you what it is in that book or what other things regarding shame hes thinking of.. but there is a section in there for "shame resilience."

She's got a lot of you tube videos and books that i don't know much about. But my WS said this Ted Talk: https://youtu.be/iCvmsMzlF7o was a good preview of the beginning part of the book he's reading. So you guys can check it out and see if theres stuff in there that seem like a good match for what can help.

> Is this a genius strat? Or maybe now an outdated idea?

Yes and no. When it comes to "Professional Services" this is something that works:

1. Read/Study this https://www.amazon.com/Good-They-Cant-Ignore-You-ebook/dp/B0076DDBJ6
2. Apply #1 to your business
3. Study your market/industry and come up with a superior service, and price it accordingly (expensive and worth it).
4. Study the competition especially:
   • The corners that they cut
   • easy/cheap things that a customer could do themselves but that the competitions charges
   • dirty secrets
5. Put together a marketing collateral with a "10 things to look for when hiring a [insert name of your professional service]" in this document highlight and explain the 3 aspects above (give away for free how someone could so some for themselves) and explain the best practices, and how to spot bad work.
6. Add the piece at #5 above with your quote
7. Do not discount. Ever.
8. When you lose a prospect due to price, follow up and say: at times things don't pan out, if your pick doesn't work out, do not hesitate to contact us and we'd gladly fix it. Of course fixing something is more expensive than doing it right the first time. And don't expect much business from this (quantity) but for the business that you get, it would be quality business. And you want those prospect to tell their friends/acquaintances: give this company a call, I should have gone with them.
9. Once you get a job, tell in advance your client that you will expect a testimonial from them at the end of the job, either in writing (yes, ink on paper like it's 1998) and/or video (like it's 2022).

This won't get your rich overnight but do this for a decade and nobody would be able to touch your customer base, and it would be a self-fulfilling business. As long as you're best in class.

Mic drop.

I wish this book had been around when I was your age: https://www.amazon.com/How-Fail-Almost-Everything-Still-ebook/dp/B00COOFBA4

I think this point in your life is the perfect time to read it and use some of the principals to orient yourself while you make plans for your next step into the future.

My college days started in the early 90's, so it's been a long time, and I'm not a biochemist, but I have a tip to share with you, and anyone else who is about to embark on the college journey: Learn memory techniques, if you haven't already. There are various sources on the subject. I like learning by reading. One easy book on the subject is Unlimited Memory: How to Use Advanced Learning Strategies to Learn Faster, Remember More and be More Productive

One other thing that may interest you, being a good visualiser, is the potential for developing mnemonic techniques.

If you have an amazon account, you can read the first few chapters of the following book for free ("download sample"), the exercise described in chapter five "use you car to remember" - about 3 pages of description - should give you a flavour of what is possible.

You can use this to make a lot of use of visualisation skills in an academic setting, mostly through an increased ability to memorise and recall lists.

Speaking about your business/niche specifically, you will learn more through experience than you ever will through reading or watching YouTube or taking online courses.

That said, there are a lot of skills you need as a business owner that don't have anything to do with the product or service you are selling. The one thing most new entrepreneurs don't realize is that you won't actually be spending all that much of your time doing the technical aspects of your business - or at least you shouldn't. As a business owner you also have to do the legal parts (setting up the business entity, getting insurance, navigating hiring/firing employees, etc), financial parts (setting up bank accounts, bookkeeping, reviewing financial reports, etc), advertising & marketing, customer service, even cleaning the toilets.

If you really want to change your mindset and start thinking more like an entrepreneur and less like an employee, read The E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. On the financial side of things, read Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs.

Without knowing more about what type of business you want to start, I really can't offer much more advice than just get started.

That's why Scott Adams has a book about how "goals are for losers" and he recommends focusing on the process instead.

With goals, when you're still working towards it you feel like a loser and then when you reach it, you feel empty.

Instead he says to have processes that will make your life better and your focus should be on doing it. Doing the c25k will make your life better by making you healthy. The real win here is not reaching 25k, it's sticking to doing something that makes your life better by making you healthier.

Here's the book if you're interested : https://www.amazon.ca/How-Fail-Almost-Everything-Still-ebook/dp/B00COOFBA4

I would recommend reading Cal Newport's book So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in Your Quest for Work You Love.

Kindle version (which can be read in any browser) is just $2.99 right now.

That's great feedback! It's logical and is something concrete you can work on.

Check out this book I found helpful a while back. Especially the part about warmth.

You've landed on one of the best brain hacks available.

Ever feel stuck on the couch and don't want to get up? Make the smallest of movements towards getting up. Wiggle a finger. A small action toward what you want to do starts a chain of movements toward more actions. This point is raised in How to Fail At Almost Everything and Still Win Big.

You may listen to a lot of tech podcasts and hear them talk about other brain hacks. Atomic Habits is recommended often. This book came out a bit after How to Fail at Almost Everything. Expands on the example in that book and fleshes it out in a more complete system.

I've been thinking about your post and wanted to say more. I am pretty smart, and I say this not to brag but to explain. My IQ has served me well in some ways, but boy, it's no guarantee of success. Many people less bright have done much better with their lives. This is because much of life is not about being smart, but about having other abilities and virtues. I'd have done far better if I'd had more discipline, patience, "stick-to-it-iveness," better habits, more social graces, etc.

The world has many people who have done well despite not being smart. The core secrets include lots of boring, old-fashioned advice:

• Study in school, and keep studying for your whole life. Keep your brain active by reading. I'd recommend any good non-fiction books about anything that interests you: history, psychology, etc. Even fun/trashy fiction is better for your brain than TV.
• Don't do drugs or commit crimes.
• Develop good habits about food, exercise, etc.
• Get married and stay married. Don't have kids until that is well-established.
• Save and invest your money.

I'd especially recommend this self-help book: How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams. It's an easy and fun read with lots of good advice, especially about systems (as opposed to goals) and the value of a "talent stack."

Best of luck!

The best tool I've found for memorising large numbers / number sequences is the Major System. I learned about it in the book Unlimited Memory (which is well worth a read) by Kevin Horsley.

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life by Scott Adams.

It's not specifically about work-life balance but an interesting read.

I would also recommend reading So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport. Here is an introduction to his ideas: Cal Newport: "Follow Your Passion" Is Bad Advice [video].

Try this book... - https://www.amazon.com/How-Fail-Almost-Everything-Still-ebook/dp/B00COOFBA4

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Lots of good relatable ideas.

Scott Adams (Dilbert creator) has a great book on this subject.

How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life

He has some amazing insights and I've had similar experiences in my life. It doesn't just build character it is also how we improve. Fear of failure is the biggest thing keeping people from being truly successful. Instead they settle on a comfortable level of risk and typically sell themselves far short of their potential.

Cartoonist Scott Adams (Dilbert) had this problem and he couldn't draw anymore. He was told it was incurable, but he cured himself of it.

You can read about in one of his books ... I think it was in "How To Fail At Everything And Still Win Big".

Hi I recommend reading "how to fail at everything and still win big" https://www.amazon.com/How-Fail-Almost-Everything-Still-ebook/dp/B00COOFBA4

You are still young so you have plenty of time to suceed and you will see that what looks like failure can be useful down the road. Practice the law of attraction https://www.reddit.com/r/lawofattraction/wiki/usefulposts enjoy :)

I suggest looking into the techniques that memorization champions utilize. They focus less on repetition and more on how they digest information. You can check out some books like Unlimited Memory or Moonwalking with Einstein.