From the category archives:

Book Reviews

Odds and Ends

by Stephen Mills September 1, 2010

Roy Baumeister is a well known and respected academic psychologist who has done a lot of researched and published a large number of journal articles. I am familiar with him from reading some of his work on willpower. He has published a brilliant new book called Is There Anything Good About Men?: How Cultures Flourish by Exploiting Men. I read a lot of the same old rehashed stuff, but every once in a while I come across something truly original; it is so refreshing to encounter something new. Dr. Baumeister has developed what he calls a radical theory on why men and women are different. Whether you agree with him or not, and I found his work persuasive, you have to love an original and in this case courageous thinker. Highly recommended.

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Books to Consider

by Stephen Mills August 24, 2010
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Hamlet’s BlackBerry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age – This is a really good book about what it means to make use of the advantages of the connected digital world without suffering all the disadvantages.  I highly recommend it as probably the most balanced treatment of the good and [...]

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Is Being Organized Worth It?

by Stephen Mills July 20, 2010
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The argument is basically that organization is inflexible and resistant to new information, changing circumstances, and unexpected events. On the other hand messy systems are flexible and allow more creative connections of apparently unrelated information.

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Your Brain On the Internet

by Stephen Mills June 20, 2010
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Deep and reflective thinking seems to be disappearing and I think it is in large degree a result of changes brought about by Internet. If it is still there it is being overwhelmed by the shallows. Writers no longer write what they think, they write what they hope will rank in Google. Despite all the touted diversity of the Internet, obsession with Search Engine Optimization often takes priority over content. Google is funneling us into the narrow and boring land of the common.

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Would You Rather Be Right or Be At Peace?

by Stephen Mills June 1, 2010
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Do you prefer stress or happiness? That may sound like a no-brainer, so let me ask it another way. Do you prefer being right or being at peace? So many of us are determined to be right, and we defend our positions with the skill of a lawyer and the stubbornness of a mule. If you’re good at this you may get to continue to be right for years and everyone will know it, but the cost is your peace of mind.

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Books You Might Want to Read

by Stephen Mills May 23, 2010
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I cannot say enough good about Columbine by Dave Cullen.  Simply an outstanding book and an engrossing read.  Highly recommended! Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Uncovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence–and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process is a heartwarming and ultimately sad story of the famous African Grey [...]

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Master Your Workday Now by Michael Linenberger

by Stephen Mills May 11, 2010

Master Your Workday Now!: Proven Strategies to Control Chaos, Create Outcomes, & Connect Your Work to Who You Really Are is a really good book. I rate it five stars. Check out Steve Pavlina’s review on Amazon; he gives it a huge thumbs up. Pavlina spends most of his review describing Part I of the book, but Parts II and III are also really well done. Amazon is currently offering a 48% discount.

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Change Made Simple – Direct the Rider

by Stephen Mills March 4, 2010

In this article we discuss the first of the three main components of the process – Direct the Rider. Directing the rider is all about providing clarity to yourself or others. It’s about solving specific problems and taking specific actions instead of trying to boil the whole ocean.

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Change Made Simple – Overview

by Stephen Mills March 2, 2010

Switch is an excellent book with very practical advice that is made as easy to follow as you can imagine for such a broad and complex topic. I really loved this book. I bought the book at a Barnes and Noble. When I was checking out, the sales clerk said “The whole world needs to read this book”.

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Doing Great Work

by Stephen Mills February 27, 2010

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” — Steve Jobs

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