For One More Day

For One More Day - Mitch Albom

Mitch Albom, seems to have  'Death' as central theme in his books. His well known 'Tuesdays with Morrie' did, and so does this. Death not as difficult or morose but to bring out how "it is an end, so what are the chances we are missing out on when alive".

He explores here the question of what you would do if you had that chance to come back for one more day.......what would you do? 

Mitch is a devout believer in the power of love and relationships, and in this book delves into the relationship between a mother and son, one that seems to flit between real and ghost....haunting, magical....real.

Charley, a broken man, not invited to the wedding of his own daughter, wants to die...and then gets a chance to spend a day with his mother who died eight years earlier, and that's his chance to fix things he did wrong by his mother, and in process deal with his own ghosts.

Sapiens

A Brief History of Humankind - Yuval Noah Harari

This is one space I think 'brief' gets redefined.

What Yuval Harari does here is touch evolution from way way way back, and not as paleontology or archaeology or sociology.....but with Sapiens as center. It's an amazing macro level view of the journey.....how we've reached where we've reached. 

I heard that Harari did ten years of vipassana, a full month each year, before he wrote this book. Don't know how true or exaggerated that is, but I can clearly see why that would fit. Just the quantum and diversity of information that he has put together to create this tome, would need that kind of mind space.

The first two pages is the timeline, starting from 13.5 billion years ago when matter and energy appeared, down to 200 years ago of the Industrial Revolution, 50 years ago of the Scientific Revolution....onto the present.

I think I took a half hour or maybe even two days to just process those first two pages. It's the feeling you get when you're just stepping into the sanctum sanctorium of an old large church, an over whelming feeling that just takes you over. (I say church and not temple, because architecturally churches do that best)

One concept that seems to underlay it all is of the cognitive revolution, wherein man, rather Sapien created this reality or construct in shared imagination, which paves the way for each future evolution. And in that he brings out how so many constructs we accept as real are but creations from man's need for power and dominance at one end, and universality and convergence at another.......be it the economic system, system of caste, the institution of marriage, or even God.

While he's writing in full earnest about evolution of the Sapiens and the structures surrounding it, and you are engrossed in processing the complexity of the compression, there's humor that laces many an observation.......I had many a laugh aloud moment, especially as he inches closer home.

The chapter on the scientific revolution was electrifying in the connection and coherence he drew through it all. Columbus and Megallan and Amerigo Verpucci sprang alive from the ghosts of history text books to tell a tale of adventure and grit. Facets like cartographers creating maps with empty spaces, with an invitation to explorers to fill in was like out of a fascinating Sci-Fi novel....mind blowing stuff.

The Industrial revolution caught my fancy like a thriller novel, I was walking around with the book in my hand, through breakfast, lunch and dinner. Funny thing is there was nothing new. Yet when you read about something as simple as invention of electricity, how it changed lives, how in Mary Poppins even as late as in 1930 they yet used gas based street lamps, a lot of dots connect to create a wondrous story.

And those absolutely hilarious cultural quirks; like when aluminium was discovered, and how for decades it was more expensive than gold. In the 1860s Emperor Napolean commissioned aluminium cutlery to be laid out for his most distinguished guests. Less important visitors had to make do with gold knives and forks.

That said, I did find places in the book which seemed a tad opinionated, and perhaps didn't fit perfectly into the whole. For instance he seems to suggest that the shift from 'Hunters-Gatherers' to the Agricultural Revolution was detrimental to the Sapiens growth, he says that repeatedly, and then later in the book we have him say that the flux in human cultures does have a direction... it is moving towards unification.

How then can an agricultural revolution be not part of a unification direction. Felt like an aberration.

Anyways, that was one such thought.

In terms of pushing understanding of some seemingly unanswerable questions, the perspective is truly enabling...... and I'd say it's one of those direction changing books, where every once in a while you get to step back and reassess, and it's impossible to get the kind of vantage he provides in one place in 480 pages. Just for that, it's such a big wow !

It's not an easy read....  takes a lot of processing..........but for those up to it, totally worthwhile ! 

Falling In Love Again

I'm a trifle overwhelmed.... and that feels like understatement.

I think overwhelmed not just by the beauty of the experience that's been Ruskin Bond, but by a plethora of thoughts and feelings that it's surfacing.....not the least of which is how have I not read a Ruskin Bond before? (save a story here and there which was read to the children)

Realized I'd bucketed....I'd somehow bucketed him author of kids books. My bad :(

I don't know how he does it, but as I went through each story, it was almost like having spent that little time with him. It feels like he puts himself out there....as is, from his core. It's an amazing trait.

End of book, he felt like a new friend, one I'd like to spend more time with, one I'd want to know better. 

There's a sensitivity, an insightfulness...a subtle sense of humor that evokes a spurt of laughter at the most unexpected places. And a gut level honesty, an honesty that's core, yet he has this really delicate and fragile way he touches it, it's like a feather touch, and you feel he's at times not sure what to do with it, but touch it he will.

Reading him is like going on a journey. A journey through the mountains, the winds, the old mansions, pretty lakes, old trees....it's like living it.

I know I'm sounding overboard. But then, didn't say 'overwhelmed' for nothing :)

And his writing style, it's at one time as simple can be simple, and yet you'd want to use the term 'literary genius'. How?

To quote a couple of phrases:

"I looked up from my typewriter to see what at first I thought was an apparition hovering over me. She seemed to shimmer before me in the hot sunlight that came slashing through the open door. I looked into her face and our eyes met over the rim of the glass. I forgot to take it from her. 

What I liked about her was her smile. It dropped over her face slowly, like sunshine moving over brown hills. She seemed to give out some of the glow that was in her face. I felt it pour over me. And the golden feeling did not pass when she left the room. That was how I knew she was going to mean something special to me"

I also liked how subtle he can get, In one story, he (the main character) gets off at an odd station in the mountains based on impulse, and he makes up a story for why he's there, he creates a fictional character called Major Roberts (for who ever will ask)

Other: And what brings you to Shamli?

RB: I'm looking for a friend called Major Roberts

And towards end of story he writes:

"Tomorrow morning I would go, and perhaps I would come back to Shamli one day, and perhaps not. I could always come here looking for Major Roberts, and who knows one day I might find him. What should he be like, this lost man? A romantic, a man with a dream, a man with brown skin and blue eyes, living in a hut on a snowy mountaintop, chopping wood and catching fish and swimming in cold mountain streams; a rough, free man with a kind heart and a shaggy beard, a man who owed allegiance to no one, who gave a damn for money and politics, and cities and civilizations, who was his own master, who lived at one with nature knowing no fear. 

But that was not Major Roberts - that was the man I wanted to be. He was not a Frenchman or an Englishman, he was me, a dream of myself. If only I could find Major Roberts."

I'm wowed.

I'm not even a short story person, I like my books to continue for long...yet I've been, well, converted I guess :)

To now come to the book itself, it's a collection of stories. The Girl from Copenhagen, The Eyes have it, Love is a sad song, Binya passes by, Time stops at Shamli, We must love someone, and some more.

'A love of long ago' and 'Time stops at Shamli', are my favorite, made me almost (?) want to got to Shamli.

They are not as much love stories, as stories about love. Each story touching one of the 'myriad variations of romantic love - fleeting, intimate, joyous, heartbreaking....a range of feelings that are indubitably part of the infinite spectrum of love'.

Yay, for having met Ruskin bond......Well, I feel like I have :)

The Vine of Desire

Chitra Banarjee Divakaruni is at her best, exploring facets of intimate relationships.... through introspection, self analysis, assimilation and self discovery..... especially so of women. The Vine of Desire is a powerful narrative, delving deep into the minds and emotions of it's principal characters.

Anju and Sudha would be familiar to those who've read her earlier book 'sister of my heart', and would know how close, and almost psychic a connection the two cousins share.

Anju gets married and moved to America. A miscarriage leaves her depressed and lonely and when she feels her marriage won't survive it, she invites Sudha to come and live with her. Sudha readily agrees, in the hope that life in America will find her freedom from a painful divorce, from an earlier boyfriend, and from her own deep conditioning. 

Complications start when Anju's husband, Sunil, gets dangerously attracted to Sudha, and then there are the complications of it's impact on a marriage already heading downhill. 

Each of them try to distract themselves by focusing on Sudha's little daughter Dayita, but there's no getting away from the inevitable moment of truth, when all lines heading inward get caught in a vortex of emotions....the clash of reality....then deflect, to each goes it's own way, away from the other,  as far away as they think they can.

Chitra's women are, as always, women of substance, seeking and finding identity and freedom... from relational controls, cultural bindings and their own conditioning. They are women you want to know.

Her style of writing in this book was so innovative and interesting. She uses letters. Each writing letters to different people....their mothers, aunts, friends, college submissions and even dead people . And it's through these letters that you see the stark differences between reality within, and reality without. Where the 'authentic' is either getting left behind or is in process of growth.

Her narrative is typically from each persons point of view which is such a refreshing take on perspectives. She also used  a style for a whole chapter of 'what I said was this' and 'what I wanted to say was this'. Again the tug of war between authentic and reality evident. Fascinating.

I enjoyed the reading, each moment getting more and more caught in the entangled vines she wove.... (Asha Latha ) Vine of Desire.... and it's left me hoping for more from Chitra.

Lost in Time - Namita Gokhale

A fascinating and wonderful read.

Made me feel like I was listening to a magical story.....on a rainy day, warm blanket, steaming cup of coffee, when anything can seem true. Couldn't help but pause to wonder at her wonderful style of writing,  the humor, the wildly imaginative mind, and the depth and profundity of story.

Lost in Time - Ghatotkacha and the Game of Illusions by Namita Gokhale.

A story on time travel, and a strange and intense friendship between a fourteen year old boy from Gurgaon, and Ghatotkacha, the first born son of the Pandavas.

Young Chintamani Dev Gupta, sent on on a bird watching camp at Lake Sat Tal, finds himself transported through a time portal to the times of the Mahabharata during the Dwapara Yuga, and meets Gatotkacha and his mother Hidimba, and an amazing friendship grows between him and Ghatotkacha. One that seems to be able to segue across any kind of difference.

"I am the rakshasa Ghatotkacha, born of the lord Bhimasena and the lady Hidimba. I rule over the hills and vale, jungle and stream, to protect the spirit of the forest and all who live in it"

Ghatotkacha  introduces himself, and the gentle giant, using a mastery of illusions and  rakshasa technology imparts some very simple and beautiful lessons, on love and the elemental forces of nature. And intertwined is Chintu's love for Ghatotkacha, the fascination for his time travel experience...... interrupted by cravings for Pizza and yearning for football. Wonderful stuff.

Was an absolute  joy to read !

The Untethered Soul

Reading this book was an experience.

When I read it the first time, I enjoyed it, appreciated it....but didn't really go gaga over it. However, because I hadn't taken notes, I went back to a browse within a couple of days, and it's then that I found it talking a whole different language....found myself so absorbed..it became an immersion.  

I kind of understood Deepak Chopra's blurb on the book:

 "Read this book carefully and you will get more than a glimpse of eternity".

I am compelled to start with a little excerpt from it's synopsis:

Who are you really? 

What would it be like to be free from limitations and and soar beyond your boundaries? Whether this is your first exploration on inner space or you've devoted your life to the inner journey, this book provides an intuitive answer to transform your relationship with yourself and the world around you.

Then there's a quote from Shakespeare at the very beginning, one which maybe gives you also why Shakespeare is a name revered even today.

"This above all to thine own self by true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man"

Michael talks of the voice inside our head. How it's narrative is what connects us to our world and buffers reality. It gets overactive when we're anxious, worrying or fearful. And even when we are at peace, doing nothing, it still talks.

He talks of becoming aware of the voice, a meta level awareness.

 The first two chapters talk of the what of the book, of which here are some excerpts:

Awakening Consciousness:

"To be aware that you are watching the voice talk is to stand on the threshold of a fantastic inner journey. If used properly, the same mental voice that has been the source of worry, distraction and general neurosis can become the launching ground for true spiritual awakening"

"Consciousness is pure awareness. When you contemplate the nature of self, you are meditating. That is why meditation is the highest state. It is the return to the root of your being, the simple awareness of being aware"

Experiencing Energy:

If Consciousness is one of the great mysteries in life, Inner Energy is another.

"Creating thoughts, holding onto thoughts, recalling thoughts, generating emotions, controlling emotions and disciplining inner drives, all require a tremendous expenditure of energy.

This energy is sometimes there and sometimes not. When you are mentally nd emotionally drained, even food can't replace the energy lost.

Conversely, if you look at times when you were in love, or excited and inspired by something you are so filled with energy, you may not even need to eat.

This is an energy you draw from the inside. It is distinct from the outer energy source. It is always available to you.

The only reason you don't feel it all the time is because you block it. It flows through several energy centers in the body. For instance, the heart is an energy center we are very familiar with , one we intuitively know. When you are hurt you close it and energy can't flow. And depending on how closed you are, you either feel disturbance or lethargy. Energy needs openness and receptivity. 

And that is a choice. You can train yourself to keep it open, under normal circumstances our state of openness is left to psychological factors. The only thing you really need to feel are enthusiasm, joy and love.

Can you feel that within you.

Can you make it happen irrespective of external triggers. If you can stay open no matter what, you get for free what everybody else is struggling for, love, excitement, enthusiasm, energy.

The more you stay open, the more the energy flow can build. At some point, so much energy comes into you that it starts flowing out of you. You can actually feel it. What is more, the energy affects other people, people can pick up on your energy, and you are then feeding them with this flow.

You can even affect the health of your body with your energy flow.

This energy can heal.

Yet this is not as simple as it sounds, as we are filled with energy blockages from a very long time. Patterns that cannot make it through you, are pushed out of the forefront of the mind and held until you are prepared to release them. You have a choice. You have to decide if you want stored pain blocking your heart and limiting your life. Alternative is to be willing to let it go when it gets stimulated, it only hurts for a while and then it's gone.

Your reward is a permanently open heart. Set your eyes on the highest state.

Our survival instinct, earlier used extensively physiologically is now turned towards defending psychologically, the fight to defend our self concepts. 

Ultimately if you protect yourself perfectly, you will never grow. Life stagnates when people protect their stored issues.

You can start in the present. Your center of consciousness is always stronger than the energy that is pulling on it. You just have to be willing to exercise your will. Not as a fight or a struggle. Feeling the energies of fear, jealousy or attraction don't make you pure or impure. They just are. Don't think you'd be free if you just didn't have these kinds of feelings. It's not true. If you can be free even though you have these kinds of feelings, then you're really free.....because there will always be something. You need to learn to be centered even through them.

With practice you will see that the types of events that would have destroyed you in the past can come and go, leaving you perfectly centered and peaceful. No matter what events take place in life, it is always better to feel and let go, than to close. 

After you've put years and years into this process, and learned to let go no matter how deep the pain, you will achieve a great state. 

You will then be free to explore the nature and source of your true being - Pure Consciousness.

The rest of the book is in essence the 'how' of it. He eventually talks of the 'tao' from 'Tao te Ching' one of the deepest of all spiritual teachings.

Chapter by chapter, 'The Untethered Soul' walks you through your relationship with your thoughts and emotions, helping uncover the source and fluctuations of your inner energy. It delves into what you can do to free yourself from the habitual thoughts, emotions, and energy patterns that limit your consciousness.

With a paradoxical simplicity and profundity, the book opens the door and shows a path, to a life lived in freedom....the freedom of your innermost being.

What The Harry Potter Series Did

That we still see press on Harry Potter, that Dhruva can still watch reruns of Harry Potter, that he will still dust and clean and keep the books with care....they all say something huge about Harry Potter.

Guess it's aptly put by Oprah Winfrey “The greatest thing Harry Potter has given the world, is the freedom to use our imagination” 

Thanks to dhruva, I've myself watched reruns multiple times, and with my usual habit of writing stuff down, I found a bunch of notes from it the other day. It's after all so true that there's nothing you can't learn from.

From  Aldus Dumbledore, an accepted source of wisdom:

"It is our choices Harry, that show us what we truly are, far more than our abilities"

"Dark and Difficult times lie ahead. Soon, we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy"

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live"

"To a well organized mind, death is but the next adventure"

“Words are in my not-so-humble opinion, the most inexhaustible form of magic we have, capable both of inflicting injury and remedying it.”

One from Sirius Black

“If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals” 

One from Hermione

I love the courage and gumption of Hermione and this one when she's letting it all out to Ron who she's in a relationship with, brought out the smile

"Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn't mean we all have " 

One from Severus Snape

He's a favorite, but frankly he became one more because he's Dhruva's favourite I think, He was Dhruva's favourite right from the beginning, and I'd wonder at why or how Dhruva could like such an ambiguous and gray character (showed me I was more judgmental than I thought) 

Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Snape, and found his eyes were full of tears.

Dumbledore: "After all this time?"

"Always," said Snape.

Inner Engineering - A Yogi's Guide To Joy

'Inner Engineering - A Yogi's Guide To Joy', by Sadhguru

Having done the three day 'Inner Engineering Course' of Isha Yoga, I thought the book would largely consist of what was spoken off in the course. 

In fact you'd think he'd have someone write the book out of his sermons and talks, but you open the first page, and you know it's all him. Not just in terms of the depth and clarity, but the wit and paradoxically, irreverance too, (the very first chapter is titled 'The four lettered word') and the energy of the book itself. 

Though he says it's not a self help book, it's a book filled with insights and awareness, including the sadhna (practice) needed to gently get you onto a path of conscious evolution, and one that is based on the premise that it is possible for the human being to consciously evolve.

He says, unlike biological evolution, which happens without your conscious participation, spiritual evolution can happen consciously. All it takes is willingness.

It's structured and scientific in approach, he breaks it down into the physical body, the mind, the energy body and the spirit, and talks of what it takes to align and find synergy to evolve on the spiritual path.

The quality of our lives is determined by our ability to respond to the varied complex situations that we encounter. If the ability to respond with intelligence, competence, and sensitivity is compromised by a compulsive or reactive approach, we are enslaved by the situation. It means we have allowed the nature of our life experience to be determined by our circumstances, not by us.

The walls of self-preservation that you build for today are the walls of self-imprisonment for tomorrow. Boundaries that you establish in your life as a protection for yourself today will feel like constraints tomorrow.

In that sense it's also a book of psychology, as it talks of turning inward, rather than outward.

Yoga is not about being superhuman; it is about realizing that being human is super, says he.

Deepak Chopra says it nicely - ‘Inner Engineering is a fascinating read, rich with Sadhguru’s insights and his teachings. If you are ready, it is a tool to help awaken your own inner intelligence, the ultimate and supreme genius that mirrors the wisdom of the cosmos’

I recall one meditation workshop of Sadhguru's I'd attended years ago, and one of the things that stayed, is the simple analogy he used to talk of the relevance of a tool. He said, if you want to open a box that is screwed shut, you need the right tool. If you decided your hands are enough, or use the wrong tools, you will not only spend much longer at it, you will likely damage both your hands and the box in the process. The most efficient way is to use a screw driver. With a screw driver, it will seem like magic. 

While in the workshop he was talking of meditation as the tool to turn inward, I'd say this book offers several insights and tools, should we be willing,  to walk the path of conscious evolution, and walk the path in exuberance and joy.

The Road Less Travelled

The first time I picked up this book, a few years ago, I couldn't get past the first few pages. Had found it kind of high handed and preachy. 

Today I devoured it. Guess also a clear indication of how big a part 'readiness' plays in connecting into a book, especially one that talks of inner self. 

Scott Peck is a psychiatrist and writes from his own experiences. The back cover says 'This book is a phenomenon. Continuously on the US bestseller list for five years. It will change your life'.

The book while emphasizing traditional values and discipline, also has some deep insights in terms of relationships, growth and spirituality.

Scott says 'Most large problems we have are the result of not facing up to earlier, smaller problems, of failing to be 'dedicated to the truth'. The great mistake most people make is believing that problems will go away of their own accord.

Confronting and solving problems is a painful process which most of us attempt to avoid. And the very avoidance results in greater pain and an inability to grow both mentally and spiritually.

This lack of responsibility will damage us in other ways. Scott references Eric Fromm's book 'Escape From Freedom', which looked at people's natural willingness to embrace political authoritarianism and how when it comes down to it, we shy from real freedom and responsibility.

He also talks of loving relationships, and delves rather deeply into describing an emotion which most have said cannot be adequately defined. We tend to think of love as effortless, the freefall of 'falling in love'. While it may be mysterious, love is also effortful; 'love is a decision ', the desire to love is not itself love. 'Love is as love does.'

A nice line from the book: “Love is the will to extend one’s self for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth”

Why this cannot be termed as a typical self help book, is because it gives no quick fix solutions to reach bountiful joy. Peck states that psychological change is necessarily slow, and suggests ways in which facing our difficulties, and suffering through the changes is what enables us to reach a higher level of self understanding.

I personally loved his section on spirituality, and how he connects psychological growth into the spiritual realm. He discusses, for instance, an experience that is not referred to in modern psychology at all: 'grace'. A surprise burst of peace, gratitude and freedom, Peck feels it the highest point of human experience. 

And in this context he moves into the Jungian concepts of collective unconscious and synchronicity, which occur in grace.

While I borrowed and read the book, I like it enough to want to make it a part of my personal library, a book I would want to reread at some point.

A Search In Secret India

An honest and fascinating read.

Paul Brunton can be called an adventurer, a spiritual seeker, a mystic and a writer. One who gave up his career in England to become 'one of the twentieth century's greatest explorers and writers of the spiritual traditions of the East'. He seeks with a zest and focus that's exemplary, and absorbs with a sceptical (scientific) filter that brings out the honesty and cognitive appeal of his findings.

A Search in Secret India is his journey around India, living among yogis, mystics, and gurus, a search for that one authentic yogi. He writes of each experience on his search, some of whom he found convincing, some in part, others not at all. He writes of his search ending in Arunachala, which draws him again and again, and of the strange peace and tranquility which comes with self knowledge (enlightenment) when he meets and studies with the great sage Sri Ramana Maharishi.

This was in 1935 when Ramana Maharshi was not yet well known, not even in India, leave alone the world. In fact it is said that Paul Brunton is one of the first who brought out the spiritual and philosophical facet of India to the world. 

His elucidation of his experience with Ramana Maharshi can itself be a whole separate book, for the detail and sublimity with which he writes. He writes of how when he sat before him, all his painstakingly articulated questions would disappear, how he would be drawn into a meditative trance without effort, how he puzzled over how Ramana Maharshi was reading his thoughts. It's a fascinating account, especially given the context of his search across the length and breath of the country.

Also, my reading of the book has an interesting story.

A while back I met one of my uncles who I knew used to travel to Tiruvannamalai, to the Ramana Maharshi's ashram on regular basis. As I was asking him about it, he mentions this book saying I should read it. I determine to go buy it soon as I can, and imagine my surprise when I come home and find not one, but two copies of the book in my very own book shelf. It was like the book had sought me out much earlier, but I hadn't been ready. 

Your Erroneous Zones

This is one of Wayne Dyers early books, from the 70's. While a lot of his later work weaves around the metaphysical or spiritual realm, this one is pretty much a self help book in the strict sense...one on attitudes and attributes....and you almost get to see his own journey. 

At one point I even found myself reading with a little hesitance and skepticism..... everything just sounded so familiar and known. (I've read lots of his later books)

But that's the aha from this book.

I read through. And as I read, I realized all over again how reiterations speak, not as much from what's written but more from your own space of readiness. 

When there's a fund of good stuff in there, it's about parsing through to that one or two sentences which will strike home for you. A trigger which opens a whole new thought process. 

The book is in essence a method towards personal mastery and effective choice making. And in the process breaks through a lot of myths and preconditioning that our society and system imposes on us.

While I'm not going through each of the erroneous zones he speaks of, here are some of the questions he puts out ( and there's chapters to talk about each):

• Do you believe that your mind is your own? Do you own your own feelings?

• Are you motivated from within rather than from without?

• Are you free from the need for approval? Needing approval is tantamount to saying "your view of me is more important than my own opinion of myself"

• Do you set up your own rules of conduct for yourself?

• Have you eliminated all dependency relationships?

• Are you free from ever feeling guilty?

• Are you a doer rather than a critic?

• Are you free from the desire for justice and fairness?

• Do you welcome the mysterious and the unknown?

• Can you grow your own roots?

• Can you give and receive love?

• Can you enjoy spontaneously without having a plan?

• Are you treated by others the way you want to be?

• Are you motivated by your potential for growth, rather than a need to repair your deficiencies?

The effort is to move away from a lot of the 'shoulds' and 'oughts' that we have, and answer as many of these questions as we can with a Yes. The real choice is whether you decide to be personally free or remain chained to the expectations that others have of you.

The book is aimed at eliminating any 'worms' or 'blinders' that may be keeping you from beautiful new experiences, and to discover and choose your own directions.

The One Minute Manager

'The One Minute Manager' by Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson, is, as said by the Tag Line.... The Short Book That Has Big Results.

                                

And sure enough, it's a slim and crisp book.......with powerful content. It's a management book of three basic elements, in essence, to enable people to be in the flow. 

1) Goal Setting: Let people clearly know what their goals are

Write out your goals on a single sheet of paper, something that can be read within a minute, and read and reread them every once in a while to know your behavior matches your goal.

2) Help People Reach Their Full Potential...Catch Them Doing Something Right

People who feel good about themselves...Produce Good Results.

Tell people right from the start that you are going to let them know how they are doing. Praise people immediately, and be specific in telling them what they did right.

Let them know how good you feel about what they did right....pause to let them 'feel' how good you feel about what they did. 

3) Reprimand when there's a mistake

We are not just our behavior, We are the person managing our behavior.

Reprimand immediately, and be specific. Tell people how you 'feel' about what they did wrong and in no uncertain terms. Let them feel how you feel.

But also right away let them know that the reprimand is of their behavior and not about them; let them know you value them. Realize that when the reprimand is over, it's over.

Those are the three principles.

I also like the analogy he uses when asked to explain why this management method works. The author, Ken, explaining it to a listener:

Ken: 'One night, I was bowling and I saw some of the 'problem employees' at work from my last organization. One of the real problem people, whom I remembered all too well, took the bowling ball and approached the line and rolled the ball. Then he started to scream and yell and jump around. Why do you think he was so happy?'

Listener: 'Because he got a strike, he had knocked down all pins'

Ken: Exactly. 'Why don't you think he and other people are that excited at work?'

Listener: Because, he doesn't know where the pins are. I get it. How long would he want to bowl if there were no pins?

Ken: Right. Now you can see what happens in most organizations. I believe that most managers know what they want their people to do. They just don't bother to tell their people in a way they would understand. They assume they should know. Never assume anything when it comes to goal setting.

It's like having the pins up when the bowler goes to roll the ball, but there is a sheet across the pins. So when he rolls the ball, and it slips under the sheet, he hears a crack but doesn't know how many pins he's knocked down. Plus there's a supervisor standing behind the sheet.

And when he knocks down two pins, and typical supervisor will tell him, 'there are eight you missed'

Doesn't work like that. The topmost motivator for people is Feedback on results. "Feedback is the breakfast of champions" Goals Begin Behaviors and Consequences Maintain Behaviors.

The book is said to have sold more than 13 million copies and has been translated into 37 languages, so while seemingly simplistic, there must be something to it.