Art of Listening

Art of Listening

   January 12, 2018       Hardik Gandhi

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Art of Listening

Listening is an art

I listen with my ears,

Eyes and heart

While addressing students of final year engineering, I asked them a question. My question was:

“You are driving a minibus. At first stop, 20 passengers get on the minibus. At next stop, 8 people get off the minibus and 10 people get on the minibus. What is the age of the driver?”

Some of the answers were — about 50, about 40, do not know as the age is not given in the question, like this, I received many wrong answers and then I repeated the question again and after that I received the right answer and that was their respective age.

One of my teachers asked once the following question:

If a black man marries a white lady and produces a baby, what will be the color of his teeth?

Everybody answered, of course, baby will have white teeth and teacher answered all of you are wrong as baby will not have any teeth at the time of birth.

Once one of the trainers asked a class following question:

Munna worked at a fish shop. His height was 5’6”, his waist was 36”. He worked 10 hours a day and earned 100 Rs per day. What did he weigh?

Everybody started calculating Munna’s weight by doing arithmetic and establishing relation between given digits. Then one person got up and said, “He weighed fish”. Ah! All students sighed. The question was not what his weight was; it was what he weighed!

While teaching the students of B.Tech 3rd year, I asked the question:-

A farmer has five stacks of wheat in one field and 11 stacks of wheat in another field. How many wheat stacks would he have if he combined them all into one field?

All students answered, “It will be definitely 16”. I answered, “All of you are wrong. The correct answer is one stack as these had been combined”.

Above questions and answers bring out the importance of active listening which is a structured way of listening and responding to others. It focuses attention on the speaker. Suspending your likes & dislikes are important to focus on the speaker. Active listening involves the following:

Observe — non-verbal behavior

Focus — Do not do anything else

Acknowledge — Acknowledge the message

Acronym of LISTEN is given as under:-

L — Look interested

I — Involve totally

S — Stay focused

T — Test your understanding

E — Evaluate the message

N — Neutralize your feelings

Every good conversation starts with good listening. It is pertinent to quote Stephen R Covey,

“Most people do not listen

With intent to understand,

They listen with intent to reply”

Hearing vs. listening:-

Listening and hearing are not the same. Listening is a conscious, active process with the mind. The Hearing is with senses.

Listening = Hearing + Focusing on message + Comprehending and Interpreting + Analyzing & Evaluating

We are given two ears but only one mouth because listening is twice as difficult as talking.

Active listening was given utmost importance in ancient India. Thew Vedas used to be called as “Shruti”.

Vedas were never printed as disciples learn by listening and chanting the sutras of the same. Intense active listening was practiced by all in day to day life in ancient India.

In Mahabharat, there is an interesting story of Abhimanyu. While he was in his mother’s womb, Arjuna explained the process of entering in the “Chakarvuh” (Labyrinth) to Subhadra (Abhimanyu’s mother). The listening was so intense and active that Abhimanyu while in womb had also learnt the same but unfortunately when he was explaining the process of breaking the labyrinth (Chakarvyuh), Subhadra was not awake and that had resulted very costly to Pandavas as Abhimanyu easily entered the Chakarvyuh formed by Kauravas but as he was not knowing how to break it and move out of it, he was killed. The story brings out the importance of active listening.

There is another story from Mahabharat itself which also brings out the importance of active listening. Krishna wanted that Dronacharya who was fighting a ferocious battle should be killed and therefore he requested Yudhisthir to announce “Ashwasthama hato naro va kunjro” i.e., Ashwasthama had been killed whether human being or elephant. Dronacharya heard the news of the death of his dearest son and stopped fighting and that is the time Dhristdhumn killed Dronacharya. This was the turning point of battle of Mahabharat.

In Vietnam War, the American army was fighting a fierce battle for capturing a post. It was a battle where they fought tooth and nail to capture the dominating piece of ground. They were fighting last man last round battle. They requested for reinforcement on Radio Telephony — “Send reinforcement on an Op-immediate basis”. But the person who received the message interpreted it wrongly as “Send five dollar six cents on an op-immediate basis” and reinforcement was not dispatched and American lost the operation and posts too.

Above stories gives the lesson, “Success of an operation depends on good listening capability”.

Somebody has rightly said;

“Speak in such a way

That other love to listen to you

Listen in such a way

That other love to speak to you”

10 steps of listening:

· Focus on being interested

· Start by asking questions

· Look for commonalities

· Tune in with all your attention

· Communicate you are listening with a nod

· Paraphrase what speaker says

· Validate the speaker’s emotions

· Maintain eye contact

· Let go of your own agenda

· Turn off the TV

Six Distinct Components of Listening:-

Hearing — Process of receiving sound or other stimuli

Attending — Focusing attention on external stimuli

Interpreting — The process of decoding the symbols or behavior attended to

Evaluating — The process of deciding the value of the info to receiver

Remembering — The process of placing the appropriate information into the short term or long term storage

Responding — The process of giving feedback to the source and/or another receiver

There is a difference between truly listening and waiting for your turn to talk. It is pertinent to quote Dean Jackson, “Listening is an art that requires attention over talents, spirit over ego, others over self”.

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Compassion Raises Us Up Above Ourself.

Compassion Raises Us Up Above Ourself.

   January 11, 2018       Hardik Gandhi

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Photo by “My Life Through A Lens” on Unsplash

There is an appalling amount of real misery and suffering in the world. It is not far away from us. It lies at our very doors. All of us need a feeling of deep sympathy or sorrow for another who is stricken with misfortune, accompanied by the strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

Let your feelings be at hand, and feel and commiserate as soon as touched. Let your tenderest feelings come in contact with the miseries of the distressed as soon as ever they present themselves.

A feeling of their sorrows and weaknesses. A benevolence, which excludes no person, not even strangers or enemies, from its tender regards, which disdains no condescension, grudges no cost, in its labors of love! Inward pity and compassion to distressed objects, the most tender regard to persons in misery, and such compassion as is free from all hypocrisy and deceit is the need of the hour.

The heart, even more than the brain, determines you.

Real strength or weakness is closely linked with moral nature. One may have the beauty of Venus and the charms of Cleopatra, and another the figure of Adonis and still be void of “good” manners. Stand by the weak and defenseless. There is no nobler feature in anyone’s character than a determination to do this.

There is no good in a sour, misanthropic temper. None in rudeness, stiffness, and repulsiveness. None in violating the rules of good breeding.

Compassion prompts us to do good to all, to forget all national or sectional distinctions, and to aid all those who are in circumstances of poverty and want. It would be the most lovely and desirable principle on earth, and all, especially in their early years, should seek it. Nothing that a young person can gain will be so valuable as the feeling that regards all the world as one great family, and to learn early to do good to all. Be even to thy enemy in distress as kind, humane, and merciful. Let a young person have a large mental capacity, it will not weigh for much if that be all.

Compassion Heals.

All who are afflicted know how much it diminishes their sorrow to see others sympathizing with them. How sad would be a suffering world if there were none who regarded our griefs with interest or with tears! It would be miserable if every sufferer were left to bear their sorrows unpitied and alone and if all the ties of human sympathy were rudely cut at once, and people were left to suffer in solitude and unbefriended.

We owe sympathy to others because it is an effective means of contributing to their moral perfection, and because by withholding it we inflict on them a grave moral inquiry. We are tenderhearted or compassionate when we feel affection for someone else, when we look beyond our pain to see the pain of others. It not only lessens the misery of humanity but also unites humans to each other as to make them responsible for the good and comfort of one another.

While we differ in “opinions”, we should still treat each other kindly, that we should aid each other in necessity. A good thing done 3,000 years ago works now, and will work through all endless times and years. No good effort has ever been lost, or ever can be.

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How you can turn your ‘to do’ list into your quest

How you can turn your ‘to do’ list into your quest

   January 11, 2018       Hardik Gandhi

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‘To do’ lists can be deadening and demotivating. We all have things we have to do and some of those things are routine and don’t set the world on fire. But all too often we allow those things to take far too much time and energy. So what can we do to transform ‘to do’ lists so we don’t get stuck spending most of our time on the small, time-consuming stuff?

1. Think about your use of time

A great journalling exercise I did recently was to make a huge list of all the ways I spend my time. Then I divided the list into three groups:

• routine things that have to get done, but which are uninspiring and can multiply to take up lots of time ©
• essential tasks that use my skills and are enjoyable (B)
• the core goals that I’m most passionate about (A)

For me, the category C activities are things like emails and routine admin. This includes organising book launches, doing business accounts, buying train tickets etc.

I estimated I was spending around 40% of my time on category C activities. With another 40% on work, that left 20% of my time for family, relaxation, writing … How can core goals and values be so squeezed and thrive? Of course, they can’t. So the questions then became, what could I eliminate? What could I automate or streamline? And what could I delegate?

One of the things I noticed was that I was repeating the same information to lots of people in serial emails. I set about writing a series of information sheets for authors. These covered what to expect during the publishing process, information for launches etc.

They are all online and available for authors to download on a resource page.

We added an invaluable office manager to our team at Cinnamon Press. We employed a virtual assistant to do a routine task uploading competition details. And I started time blocking so that emails are all answered once a day. I batched other admin too, so I’m not wasting time going back and forth between different types of activity.

My category B is either work-related (editing and mentoring, for example). Category B activities are harder to limit in some ways as they are more essential and more enjoyable.

I love my work, but I don’t want to be co-terminus with it. Having supportive authors who help with these tasks makes a huge difference. I gain a lot from editing the work of others, but I’m also grateful to have trusted editors to delegate part of the process to.

I get huge satisfaction from teaching and mentoring, but sharing the load is also rewarding. I have no desire to cut the category B activities from my timetable, but a team can achieve much more than an individual. Once again, time-blocking enables me edit and mentor when I’m most focussed.

And I’m learning to say no. Loving my work does not mean I have to take on more and more until it overwhelms me. Greg McKeown asks:

Have you ever said yes when you meant no, simply to avoid conflict or friction? … the very thought of saying no brings us physical discomfort. We feel guilty. We don’t want to let someone down. … But these emotions muddle our clarity. They distract us from the reality of the fact that either we can say no and regret it for a few minutes or say yes and regret it for days, weeks, months or even years.

We all have the same amount of time each day, but how we use it makes the difference. We can spend a bigger percentage of our time on the important things if:

• we eliminate non essential activities (no one needs to be available to a phone or messages every minute of the day)
• streamline and/or delegate some of the routine activities
• use blocks of time for different types of activity so you focus on the important things first and one task at a time
• build a team to share the more essential and rewarding work
• don’t imagine we can do it all and learn to say no

These strategies have helped me shift from spending 40% of my time on the routine ‘to do’ list to around 20% and I aim to get that down further this year.

This frees much more time for editing and mentoring, but also for my category A activities. These include writing, travel, learning, family time and relaxation.

2. Think about why certain activities are important to you

We all have different goals, different category A activities that are more ‘quest’ than ‘to do’. It’s sad that the pace of life often relegates these to the ‘add-ons’ that we hardly have any time for. But the more passionate we are about these things, the less we will find excuses for not doing them.

As I said in recent post:

Your goals should be your passion and, if they are, then it’s no longer a matter of forcing yourself on by dogged willpower.

It helps to know why we we value certain activities over others. This is what Benjamin Hardy advises:

Think about what it is you want, and ask yourself this simple question:

What about ___________ is important to me?

If your goal is to work from home, then ask yourself the question:

What about “working from home” is important to me?

Your answer might be something like, “to have a more flexible schedule.”

You then put THAT into the previous question.

It’s good to go at least 7-questions deep into this exercise.

Don’t overthink it. Let the answers come and move on and you’ll find your thinking is much clearer than you imagined.

For me:

Writing is the most meaningful and transformative activity I undertake. It’s fundamental to how I reflecting on life and connect with others. Becoming a different story is my life’s work.

Travel puts me in unfamiliar places and situations. This in turn stimulates creativity, writing, thought and deeper work.

Family (including an extended family of close friends) makes my world make sense. These are the people who teach me to live from abundance rather than scarcity. These are the people who confirm for my that generosity is the key virtue.

Keeping fit facilitates other goals. I’m less than 5 feet tall and have a slow metabolism so to maintain my energy I need to be fit, of moderate weight, flexible and well-nourished. It’s about valuing my most basic resource: myself, so that I can give.

Personal development is also foundational to my goals. When my daily rituals, habits, learning, attention to values and relaxation are in harmony, the rest follows.

If we are clear about what matters most and why these things matter, we are more likely to live life as an exciting quest rather than a tedious to do list.

3. Think about building your life on values rather than ‘oughts’

When we face a long list of things we have to do, resistance sets in. Life becomes drudgery sustained by a diminishing supply of willpower. Even if we manage to achieve everything on the list, we’re not likely to take much pleasure of pride from it.

When we manage our time by eliminating, streamlining, delegating, sharing, time blocking and saying no, we find we have ‘more time’.

When we know what we are passionate about and why, we release energy that is much more effective than willpower.

And when we act from our deepest values rather than ‘oughts’ imposed on us from outside, then this energy increases beyond our imagining.

Living from values gives us this bigger vision. Living from values comes from intrinsic motivation rather than from something imposed on us.

As with goals, we will each have different value sets. But something I’ve found useful is to use a system attributed to Benjamin Franklin. He decided on thirteen key virtues and each week of the year would focus on one of them so that over the year he’d concentrate on each value four times.

I’ve written my values into a tiny book (less than two inches square) that I can carry with me. The first two for me are generosity and abundance. It was fascinating to spend time journalling to reach my list of thirteen. And starting each day thinking about how I can show that value in my life is much more motivating than starting the day thinking about a to do list. It doesn’t mean that there are no routine jobs to do, but it keep them in perspective.

4. Think about taking time out

When you know how you want to live and why; when you know the values your life rests on, life becomes a quest rather than a mundane list of demands on your time. This is exhilarating and motivating and it demands that we redirect our energy to what matters to us. How do we do that?

i. We need to take space to think

I’m currently rereading Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own —  it’s an important text and the idea that we need a dedicated space in which to write is essential. Over the last week I’ve set up a dedicated writing room in which to work. It has 23 years of past journals, all the books I’ve bought but still need to read, and important texts that have informed my current thinking. It’s a place I can go to think or write. If you can’t take a whole room, find a desk, a corner, any space that you can call your own and where you can think and write.

ii. We need to create a mindset that helps us to focus

Whatever your daily commitments, journalling morning and evening can make all the difference. Five minutes of writing about how you envisage your future. Five minutes of reflecting on how you have used your time, lived your ‘why’ or values, makes an enormous impact on how you see the world and interact with it. Take time every day to affirm and reflect and watch your world change.

Environment is crucial to our perspective and when we take control of it, things happen.,

iii. We need time in other environments

This is why travel is so important to me. It places me in unfamiliar places and stimulates creativity, writing, thought and deeper work. If you can’t leave the country, go for a long walk; swap houses with a friend for a week. Do something that shifts your perspective and in the unfamiliar situation you will find yourself having new thoughts.

In short

If you want your life to be a quest rather than a mere ‘to do’ list; and want to make a difference, there are a few simple strategies:

• think about your use of time — you have as much time as anyone else and it’s up to you how you use it.
• think about why certain activities are important to you — dig deep until you find what matters to you.
• think about your values and build your life around intrinsic motivation, not what someone says you ‘ought’ to do.
• think about taking time out, whether in daily journalling or unfamiliar environments that challenge you to adopt new perspectives.

When you begin to make these changes you’ll find life is no longer a mundane to do list, but a quest of your own making. Enjoy!

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How To Develop Amazing Confidence In All Aspects Of Life

How To Develop Amazing Confidence In All Aspects Of Life

   January 09, 2018       Hardik Gandhi

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Can You Feign Confidence?

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” — Helen Keller

In order to develop amazing confidence in aspects of life, you’ll need to relinquish the need for control and allow life to lead you where it needs to.

After all, confidence is a state of mind whereby your attitudes and beliefs correspond with your actions.

It appears in many forms, although you can easily recognise it in someone’s body language and verbal cues.

Life can impair your confidence during difficult times. Moreover, you may have faced hardships long ago which may affect parts of your present life.

“Confidence is a somatic memory of competence. Interestingly, research shows that even if we have an inflated sense of that earlier competence, it still serves as a resource of confidence now,” states Linda Graham MFT in Bouncing Back: Rewiring Your Brain for Maximum Resilience and Well.

You cannot feign confidence.

Perhaps for the short-term. But over the long-term, confidence must originate from within and be accompanied by a desire for self-improvement.

To develop confidence, take massive action frequently. It is no use sitting back hoping for things to change while doing little about it.

Action creates momentum and reinforces self-belief and the feedback from minor successes that contributes to lasting confidence.

Many believe a confident leader is an extrovert, one who is self-important although this is usually not the case.

Confident people have a high emotional intelligence (EQ) and are empathic, compassionate and modest. This flies in the face of what narcissists consider confident; one who is self-involved and regards their personal achievements over others.

It is sensible to cultivate a compassionate side and nurture it if you wish to gain confidence in life.

The Power Of Positive Self Talk

“All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure.” — Mark Twain

Your inner talk should reflect a success mindset because you get to be your own motivator and leader. It is vital to approach this with the right frame of mind, rather than exercising military-style motivation, which only works temporarily.

Setbacks and disappointments are inevitable in the game of life. Do not allow frustrations to impact your confidence, but accept them as feedback.

Successful people have overcome innumerable obstacles and prevailed.

“Confidence allows you to sail into the uncharted places, and meet up with those dragons without having to get burned,” affirms author Colette Baron Reid in Uncharted: The Journey Through Uncertainty to Infinite Possibility.

Be familiar with your internal dialogue. Look for possibilities within your failures, and I assure you there is something to be gained even in the direst conditions.

Successful people see opportunity in the bleakest conditions and take advantage of it, leaving no time to contemplate what might have been.

Confidence arises when you connect with your deepest intentions and pursue it vehemently.

You cannot help but grow passionately towards something you enjoy. The better you become, the more confidence you will gain.

This will flow into other areas of your life, so if you are confident in your career this is likely to reflect in other life zones.

Confidence means being content with your uncertainties and shortcomings. It involves working in partnership with these attributes but not allowing them to subdue you.

To build lasting confidence, develop a degree of focus, commitment and dedication. Find an unwavering commitment to see something through until the end.

Those who give up halfway, take a blow to their confidence because they reinforce a defeatist attitude. However, even if you fail yet see the task through to completion you’ll grow confident knowing you’re moving closer to victory.

Author Larry Weidel says in Serial Winner: 5 Actions to Create Your Cycle of Success, “The best form of confidence is the confidence that comes from achievement.”

An Unwavering Commitment

“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.” — Norman Vincent Peale

Self-confidence proceeds from pursuing goals greater than yourself and maturing into them. Whilst you may or may not succeed, the personal growth that takes place is paramount to the person you will become.

Ultimately, confidence appears as you inch closer to victory, rather than admit defeat.

Develop a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset advocates Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck. She states, “A remarkable thing I’ve learned from my research is that in the growth mindset, you don’t always need confidence.”

I spoke earlier of the need to cultivate powerful self-talk. This is a catalyst for the confident person because they prime their subconscious mind to be on the lookout for success.

Motivational speaker Tony Robbins believes that success leaves clues.

Referring to the fixed mindset, those who torment themselves because of previous failures focus on their faults instead of the lessons gained. This delays progress because attention is given to what is not working, which then becomes a person’s reference point.

True confidence stems from knowing yourself beyond the superficial likes and dislikes. You understand aspects of your character and manage your weaknesses while exploiting your strengths.

In Steven Covey’s acclaimed book, The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People two habits emerge essential to lasting confidence: Be Proactive and Put First Things First.

The proactive person takes charge of their life. They are accountable for their actions and make decisions based on the outcomes, regardless of whether they are successful.

To Put First Things First, manage yourself to the best of your ability and concentrate on what is important. Prioritise your day-to-day activities in the pursuit of your objectives with an unwavering commitment, notwithstanding impediments and roadblocks.

Remember, “Confidence is the belief that no matter what happens, you’ll find a way,” states author Larry Weidel.

Confidence arises when you overcome your limitations.

This requires conquering your fears so they don’t overpower you. What you give life to occupies importance in your mind.

I enjoy the wisdom echoed by author Bernard Roth in The Achievement Habit: Stop Wishing, Start Doing and Take Command of Your Life: “Make a pact with yourself to not use reasons unless you have to. This is actually an incredibly empowering position to come from. Be confident enough in your actions not to need to explain yourself. Trust yourself and act.”

With that premise, I invite you to find the confidence to live a truly amazing life with a powerful state of mind.

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Relentlessly Improving Is the Only Way to Survive

Relentlessly Improving Is the Only Way to Survive

   January 08, 2018       Hardik Gandhi

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These are the 3 areas to focus on in order to ensure your company’s success #ShortcutYourStartup

One of the greatest feelings an entrepreneur can experience is when his or her product or service finally gains traction and begins to gain product market fit. It takes an immense amount of effort and time to get to this stage, and you may be tempted to pause, reflect, and enjoy the moment.

Don’t.

This is the time when you should be putting your foot on the gas and trying to relentlessly improve. This is one of the things we learned running our company and something we talk a lot about in Shortcut Your Startup.

While the marginal improvements may seem smaller at this stage compared to the ones you faced when you were initially starting your company, the magnitude of their effects will now be greater.

To make this more palatable, consider the analogy on the power of compound interest, or what Albert Einstein (may or may not have) called “the eighth wonder of the world.” It’s well known that incrementally adding to your retirement account when you’re just entering the workforce in your 20s has huge ramifications on your savings when you retire 40–50 years later.

This same logic applies to the incremental decisions you make at your company — seemingly small improvements (and mistakes, too!) have huge effects down the road.

From our perspective as both the founders of VEEV and investors in companies like Pinterest, Lyft, Bonobos, and Warby Parker, we realize how crucial the small, 1 percent improvements can be to a company’s success.

We realize that these changes can be difficult to identify, so we have outlined 3 key areas to keep your eyes on:

• Your Team
• Your Product
• Yourself

Your team is your company’s most important asset. Always think how it can be improved.

It’s worth reiterating that your team is something that should always be focused on building a culture of improvement. Specifically, we cannot overstate the importance of hiring team members possessing an ownership-building mindset, which means that they have a vested interest in the company’s success and don’t solely focus on performing their daily tasks.

Next, consistently test your product. Adopt the mind of a customer: what could be improved to make your life easier?

Testing your product, your landing page, or your cart checkout page is often easier said than done. We recommend dividing the responsibilities into three parts. Assign somebody to own and oversee the test, another party to design the test, and a third one to analyze the results of the test.

Why? Clearly dividing responsibilities engages more of your team and sets the stage for your company to review its product more objectively and critically. Iterations are a necessary part of any business, and your team must have a systematic decision to implement and make sense of these tests. While these processes will help keep track of your business, we also must stress the importance of keeping track of yourself.

Finally, continuously focus on improving yourself.

If two of your goals are to improve your business and your team, it’s only natural that you pay attention to improving yourself. This is something that is always ongoing but is extremely worthwhile to pay attention to.

Know your strengths and weaknesses. Beyond that, realize how your strengths and weaknesses can affect your company. Part of your hiring strategy should revolve around hiring team members that complement your skillset. In addition to your strengths and weaknesses, seek to expand your network. While connections in your industry are important, consider how you can learn from others in a completely unrelated field, as invaluable lessons aren’t solely constrained to your industry.

In the end, launching your product, receiving favorable press, or reaching a financial milestone is no reason to let up on the gas — in fact, it is the time to keep pushing. This desire to constantly improve is a shared trait of successful companies.

If you focus on your product, your team, and yourself, your odds of success will increase dramatically! We talk more about this in our book, Shortcut Your Startup. Join the conversation!

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18 Books Everyone Will Be Reading in 2018

18 Books Everyone Will Be Reading in 2018

   January 07, 2018       Hardik Gandhi

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The most productive, wealthy and highly efficient people devote at least 30 minutes a day to reading. If it works for them, it could work for you. You can make 2018 your best year yet.

These are the books many people will read to get better, smarter, improve how they think or change how they work. They are books I am most excited about. This year, make a better resolution: Read more books.

From high-profile names to lesser-known authors whose books are worthwhile reads, the list below is a roundup of 18 titles coming in the first half of the year to consider adding to your bookshelf.

1. The Origins of Happiness: The Science of Well-Being over the Life Course by Andrew E. Clark,‎ Sarah Flèche,‎ Richard Layard,‎ Nattavudh Powdthavee,‎ and George Ward

“The Origins of Happiness is a wonderful book. It presents a new look at what causes human well-being, and carefully analyzes the policies and programs that can enhance it.” — Ed Diener, coauthor of Happiness: Unlocking the Mysteries of Psychological Wealth

“The most significant contribution of The Origins of Happiness lies in its integrated approach to life satisfaction over the life cycle. The authors combine cohort studies, longitudinal panels, and cross-section surveys to provide fuller perspectives. No one else has done this in such a systematic way.” — John F. Helliwell, University of British Columbia

2. Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts by Annie Duke

Poker champion turned business consultant Annie Duke teaches you how to get comfortable with uncertainty and make better decisions as a result.

By shifting your thinking from a need for certainty to a goal of accurately assessing what you know and what you don’t, you’ll be less vulnerable to reactive emotions, knee-jerk biases, and destructive habits in your decision making. You’ll become more confident, calm, compassionate and successful in the long run.

3. Firestarters: How Innovators, Instigators, and Initiators Can Inspire You to Ignite Your Own Life by Raoul Davis Jr,‎ Kathy Palokoff (Author),‎ and Paul Eder

The heart of the book features stories about successful entrepreneurs, CEOs, organizational leaders, and forward-looking thinkers from a variety of professions. They describe the factors and conditions that ignited their lives and helped them become achievers.

“Add this book to your library! Firestarters gives you a smart new way to achieve positive behavioral change that will improve your life and the world around you.” — Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times–bestselling author of Triggers and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

4. Your Best Year Ever: A 5-Step Plan for Achieving Your Most Important Goals by Michael Hyatt

“Your Best Year Ever is full of compelling, real-life stories of average people who have achieved extraordinary results. Please take my advice and only buy this book if you want to be able to look back in twelve months and say, ‘Now that was my best year ever!’” — John C. Maxwell, author, speaker, and leadership expert

“Generous goals work (if you write them down) and powerful books work (if you read them). Michael Hyatt has created a fun, fast way to find your dreams and then turn them into reality.” — Seth Godin, author, Linchpin

5. When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing by
Daniel H. Pink

Timing, it’s often assumed, is an art. In When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, Pink shows that timing is really a science.

“Pink should change many people’s understanding of timing with this book, which provides insights from little-known scientific studies in an accessible way… By the book’s end, readers will be thinking much more carefully about how they divide up theirs days and organize their routines.” — Publishers Weekly

6. Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

In his most provocative and practical book yet, one of the foremost thinkers of our time redefines what it means to understand the world, succeed in a profession, contribute to a fair and just society, detect nonsense, and influence others.

“The most prophetic voice of all . . . [Taleb is] a genuinely significant philosopher . . . someone who is able to change the way we view the structure of the world through the strength, originality and veracity of his ideas alone.” — John Gray, GQ

7. Sharp: The Women Who Made an Art of Having an Opinion by Michelle Dean

“I have to recommend Michelle Dean’s Sharp: The Women Who Made an Art of Having an Opinion, a delicious cultural history that comes out in April. It brings together some of the most influential social critics of the 20th century, including Dorothy Parker, Mary McCarthy, Hannah Arendt, Susan Sontag and Joan Didion, and shows how these glamorous iconoclasts forged their singular careers. Dean makes the convincing argument that women’s voices―if not necessarily feminist ones―did far more to define the last century’s intellectual life than we realize.”―Michelle Goldberg, New York Times

8. Great at Work: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better, and Achieve More by Morten Hansen

“In this groundbreaking book, Morten Hansen delivers on the genius of “and:” rigorous and relevant, research-driven and well-written, empirical and empowering, timeless and practical, full of big concepts and useful tips. Hansen’s work is truly distinctive in the genre of professional effectiveness, and a tremendous contribution. This is a book I will read more than once, and reference forever.” — Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, co-author of Built to Last and Great by Choice

9. The Motivation Myth: How High Achievers Really Set Themselves Up to Win by Jeff Haden

Haden shows us how to reframe our thinking about the relationship of motivation to success. He meets us at our level — at the beginning of any big goal we have for our lives, a little anxious and unsure about our way forward, a little burned by self help books and strategies that have failed us in the past — and offers practical advice that anyone can use to stop stalling and start working on those dreams.

10. The Truth Machine: The Blockchain and the Future of Everything
by Paul Vigna,‎ and Michael J. Casey

Casey and Vigna expose the challenge of replacing trusted (and not-so-trusted) institutions on which we’ve relied for centuries with a radical model that bypasses them. The Truth Machine reveals the empowerment possible when self-interested middlemen give way to the transparency of the blockchain, while highlighting the job losses, assertion of special interests, and threat to social cohesion that will accompany this shift.

11. The Future of Humanity: Terraforming Mars, Interstellar Travel, Immortality, and Our Destiny Beyond Earth by Michio Kaku

The #1 bestselling author of The Future of the Mind traverses the frontiers of astrophysics, artificial intelligence, and technology to offer a stunning vision of man’s future in space, from settling Mars to traveling to distant galaxies.

Formerly the domain of fiction, moving human civilization to the stars is increasingly becoming a scientific possibility — and a necessity. Whether in the near future due to climate change and the depletion of finite resources, or in the distant future due to catastrophic cosmological events, we must face the reality that humans will one day need to leave planet Earth to survive as a species.

12. Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI
by Paul R. Daugherty,‎ and H. James Wilson

Based on the authors’ experience and new research with 1,500 organizations, the book reveals how companies are using the new rules of AI to leap ahead on innovation and profitability, as well as what you can do to achieve similar results.

It describes six entirely new types of hybrid human + machine roles that every company must develop, and it includes a “leader’s guide” with the five crucial principles required to become an AI-fueled business. Human + Machine provides the missing and much-needed management playbook for success in our new age of AI.

13. Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys’ Club of Silicon Valley by Emily Chang

In this powerful exposé, Bloomberg TV journalist Emily Chang reveals how Silicon Valley got so sexist despite its utopian ideals, why bro culture endures despite decades of companies claiming the moral high ground (Don’t Be Evil! Connect the World!) — and how women are finally starting to speak out and fight back.

Drawing on her deep network of Silicon Valley insiders, Chang opens the boardroom doors of male-dominated venture capital firms like Kleiner Perkins, the subject of Ellen Pao’s high-profile gender discrimination lawsuit, and Sequoia, where a partner once famously said they “won’t lower their standards” just to hire women.

14. Willpower Doesn’t Work: Discover the Hidden Keys to Success by Benjamin Hardy

“If you want to get more done, don’t worry about willpower — focus on motivation. Challenging the dominant view of self-control as a muscle, Benjamin Hardy reveals that productivity is really about clarity and commitment.”―Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take

“In an age when few people think deeply about life, Benjamin Hardy is the exception. Read this book if you want to be better.”―Jeff Goins, bestselling author of The Art of Work

15. Strength in Stillness: The Power of Transcendental Meditation by Bob Roth

“Transcendental Meditation is the single most important reason for any success I have had in my life. Bob Roth’s Strength in Stillness masterfully distills the essence of this technique so that anyone can understand how it works — and why they should learn it.” — Ray Dalio

“My wife and I love Bob. He’s really helped us and our son, Oscar, who was a stressed, anxious kid. Now I see him blossoming and owning the things that make him unique. In many ways, Bob saved him during a difficult time.” — Hugh Jackman

16. The Career Manifesto: Discover Your Calling and Create an Extraordinary Life by Mike Steib

“Mike has long been a sought after mentor and revered manager, and for obvious reason: his practical, inspirational, no-nonsense advice works. This is the book that I will give to all of the motivated professionals that come through my door with questions about how to achieve their career, and life, aspirations.” — Jesse Haines, Director of Marketing, Google

17. Big Potential: How Transforming the Pursuit of Success Raises Our Achievement, Happiness, and Well-Being by Shawn Achor

In his highly anticipated follow-up to The Happiness Advantage, Achor reveals a better approach. Drawing on his work in 50 countries, he shows that success and happiness are not competitive sports. Rather, they depend almost entirely on how well we connect with, relate to, and learn from each other.

Just as happiness is contagious, every dimension of human potential — performance, intelligence, creativity, leadership ability and health — is influenced by those around us.

18. The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business: Make Great Money. Work the Way You Like. Have the Life You Want by Elaine Pofeldt

“Read The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business to learn strategies you can start using now to build a high-revenue business that gives you the freedom to lead the life you want. Pofeldt will convince you that you have more power to do so than you think!” — Stew Friedman, author of Total Leadership and Leading the Life You Want, practice professor of management at Wharton, and director of Wharton Work/Life Integration Project

“In an era when freelancing, small office/home office, and one-person businesses are exploding, Elaine Pofeldt has written a definitive guidebook for any would-be entrepreneur who is looking to brainstorm, grow, sell, and succeed.” — Gene Marks, CPA at the Marks Group PC

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15 Master Classes By Some of The World’s Top Experts

15 Master Classes By Some of The World’s Top Experts

   January 06, 2018       Hardik Gandhi

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Garry Kasparov, Serena Williams, James Patterson, Christina Aguilera, and others . . .

Note: If you decide to purchase anything, using the links below, you’ll be financially supporting the Personal Growth publication. Thanks for your support.

Garry Kasparov Teaches Chess

At age 22, Garry Kasparov became the youngest world chess champion. After beating Bobby Fischer’s peak rating, he outranked his fiercest competitors for over twenty years. Through detailed lessons, including his favorite openings and advanced tactics, you will develop the instincts and philosophy to become a stronger player.

Serena Williams Teaches Tennis

Serena Williams, the world’s #1 ranked women’s tennis player and winner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles, teaches you tennis and reveals the secrets of her game. This is as close as you can get to a private lesson with one of the world’s greatest tennis players.

James Patterson Teaches Writing

James Patterson, the author of 19 consecutive №1 New York Times bestsellers, reveals his tricks of the trade for the very first time. In this course, he guides you through every part of the book writing process.

Herbie Hancock Teaches Jazz

Join Herbie at the piano as he shares his approach to improvisation, composition, and harmony. Gain access to 10+ original piano transcriptions, including 5 exclusive solo performances.

Steve Martin Teaches Comedy

One of Steve’s first gigs was at the drive-in movies. When the audience liked a joke, they honked. In this class, Steve shares insights from performing for cars and humans over a 50-year career spanning sold-out arenas and blockbuster films. Learn how to find your voice, gather material, develop an act, and take your comedy to the next level.

Frank Gehry Teaches Design and Architecture

At 19 years old, Frank Gehry was a truck driver taking sculpture classes at night school. His vision for what architecture could accomplish went on to reshape city skylines, and the imaginations of artists and designers around the world. Now this master builder invites you into his never-before-seen model archive for a look into his creative process.

Judy Blume Teaches Writing

Judy Blume broke the rules. Her refreshingly honest children’s books were banned by hundreds of libraries — and loved by generations of readers, who bought 85 million copies. In her first online class, the award-winning author teaches you how to invent vivid characters, write realistic dialogue, and turn your experiences into stories people will treasure.

Annie Leibovitz Teaches Photography

Annie was the first woman to be named chief photographer at Rolling Stone. In her first online class, Annie shows us that what makes a picture stunning isn’t the gear or technology — it’s the story. Annie teaches you her philosophy on photography — how to develop concepts, work with subjects, shoot with natural light, and bring images to life in post-production.

Samuel L. Jackson Teaches Acting

For the first time, the Oscar nominated star teaches how he creates memorable characters, powerful performances, and a long-lasting career. Learn to master auditions, analyze scripts, and find the truth in every role you play.

Gordon Ramsay Teaches Cooking

This is Gordon Ramsay like you’ve never experienced. The seven-star Michelin chef takes you into his home kitchen to learn everything from kitchen setup and buying the freshest ingredients to constructing unforgettable dishes. In this MasterClass, you’re not just learning recipes, you’re learning how to take your cooking to the next level.

Dr. Jane Goodall Teaches Conservation

Dr. Jane Goodall teaches how you can conserve the environment. She also shares her research on the behavioral patterns of chimpanzees and what they taught her about conservation. You’ll learn how to “act locally” and protect the planet.

Aaron Sorkin Teaches Screenwriting

Aaron Sorkin wrote his first movie on cocktail napkins. Those napkins turned into A Few Good Men, starring Jack Nicholson. Now, the Academy Award winning writer of The West Wing and The Social Network is teaching screenwriting. You’ll learn his rules of storytelling, dialogue, character development, and what makes a script actually sell.

Stephen Curry Teaches Shooting, Ball-Handling, and Scoring

Join Stephen on the court in his first-ever online class as he teaches you how to improve your shooting mechanics, and leads you through ball-handling, footwork, and scoring drills. Then see the game through Stephen’s eyes as he analyzes NBA game footage to help you elevate your basketball IQ.

Christina Aguilera Teaches Singing

Christina teaches you how to expand your range, find your voice, and master the techniques that have earned her six Grammy Awards. You’ll learn warm-up exercises, breath control, vibrato, her signature growls, and hear Christina break down her biggest hits.

Werner Herzog Teaches Filmmaking

When the legendary director Werner Herzog was 19, he stole a camera and made his first movie. 70 films and 50 awards later, Werner is teaching documentary and feature filmmaking. You’ll learn storytelling, cinematography, locations, self-financing, documentary interview techniques, and how to bring your ideas to life.

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