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I did a guest for Josh Hanagarne at The World’s Strongest Librarian, Heavy Hitting Ideas From Heavy Hitting Books, and one of the commenters, Carlon suggested Enchiridion by Epictetus so I decided to read and review it. You can get a free copy of Enchiridion on the internet and it’s a very short book so it’s easy to read. Enchiridion is simple wisdom about life.

One of the things I wanted to do on this blog is to review books off the beaten path that contains ancient wisdom, books that make you think. But, I have been reading a lot of more contemporary works. It struck me to do both so that I could compare and contrast the contents of books from yesterday with those of today to enhance the learning and user experience.

Epictetus, a Greek Philosopher was born AD 55. In Enchiridion, there are 52 ideas that we can apply to life. Epictetus advocates self-responsibility and self-discipline and he explains the difference between the things that are within our control, and those outside our control, the uncontrollable.  “The things in our control are by nature free, unrestrained, unhindered; but those not in our control are weak, slavish, restrained, belonging to others. Remember, then, that if you suppose that things which are slavish by nature are also free, and that what belongs to others is your own, then you will be hindered.” Knowing that distinction, allows us to stop trying to control the uncontrollable. I liked the idea of “Don’t be prideful with any excellence that is not your own” because so many people brag about the accomplishments of others, as if they had a hand in it.

As I am reading Epictetus, I am being reminded of books such as the Analects of Confucius and The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, which are filled with laws and ideas to live by. Please read the posts A Review of The Analects of Confucius and Review of The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. Here are 10 ideas that I extracted from the book.

10 Great Ideas

1. Do not be averse to things not in your control because you will surely be disappointed
2. If you are going to perform a task, first think about the nature of the task and how you are going to perform it
3. People are disturbed by things because of the principle and ideas they have about those things. For example, some people are disturbed by death because of their ideas and beliefs about death.
4. “Sickness is a hindrance to the body, but not to your ability to choose, unless that is your choice. Lameness is a hindrance to the leg, but not to your ability to choose. Say this to yourself with regard to everything that happens, then you will see such obstacles.” This is important today in the way we often view people with disabilities, they have a disability, they are not a disability
5. “Don’t demand that things happen as you wish, but wish that they happen as they do happen, and you will go on well” is a good one for me because I have a tendency to want to control things.
6. View your possessions as things you have been given to take care of for a time. Never say of anything, “I have lost it”; but, “I have returned it.”
7. “For another will not hurt you unless you please. You will then be hurt when you think you are hurt.”
8. Don’t tell, demonstrate
9. It’s none of your business what others say or think about you.
10. “Don’t wish to be thought to know anything; and even if you appear to be somebody important to others, distrust yourself”

I would like to further explore the idea of viewing your possessions as if they were on loan to you. One example he gives is people losing their estates should view the situation as “I have returned my estate.” This is a tough one, but would viewing the loss of of a home, your shelter, be easier if you decided that it was time to return it? Would it hurt less? What are your thoughts? There is much wisdom within the pages of Enchiridion, and though I understand many of his ideas, some of them are difficult to take even though it would make life easier. Many of the ideas go against the grain, including viewing the loss of a house as it being returned.

I recommend Enchiridion because it is not only filled with wisdom, but it goes against the grain so it takes us out of our comfort zone which can lead to innovative thinking. What ideas can you use from Enchiridion?

Keep the conversation flowing please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise for white papers, articles, fact sheets, anniversary booklets, you name it. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content. And if you cannot figure out which books to read for professional development, I am your WOMAN. I can assist you with that too. Visit my sales page for resources such as The Invisible Mentor Toolkit to assist you in acquiring wisdom from a distance.

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References: Compliments of Apture

Is good enough sometimes good enough?

Let me explain. Have  you ever revisited  work you did in the past to see how you have grown? What did you think about what you saw? Was it good enough or did you feel as if you could have done a lot better? Next month will be one year since I have been blogging, so I decided to see how much I have grown as a blogger. I decided to revisit Fairy Tales, What You Can Learn From Them, one of the first blog post I did, but also a review that I had some previously. What I discovered was that I still liked what I did back then. Good enough is good enough. Yes, I have made some changes to enhance the reader experience by using some of the tools that I am now familiar with.

Compare the old blog post with this one and let me know which version you prefer. In what ways can you make your work appear new? What new tools do you have to make the old new again?

Book Review: Best-Loved Folktales of the World by Joanna Cole

Reviewed by Avil M. Beckford

When was the last time you ventured into the land of make believe? Best-Loved Folktales of the World by Joanna Cole allowed me to do just that. As an active reader, I was really engaged and found myself getting really annoyed at some of the characters. For example, I became so frustrated with Snow White because she kept on making the same mistakes over and over again, because she thought it would be different, she kept on getting fooled by the disguises of the evil step-mother. Why was I frustrated? Is it because her actions are a metaphor for life, my life, your life, where we seem to find ourselves in the same undesirable situations over and over again until we finally get it.

Some people may think it is a waste of time to read folktales, but for me, I thought it was very worthwhile because it reminded me of simple life lessons such as persistence pays, there is no need to be greedy because there is enough for all of us and instead of competing, why aren’t we creating?

Though Best-Loved Folktales of the World by Joanna Cole is nearly 800 pages in length, it is still appropriate for people with short attention spans because 200 folk tales are included. Because the stories are so short, and there are so many of them, the reader can start reading at any point in the book. You’ll find familiar tales you read as a child such as Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, Rumpelstiltskin, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves or unfamiliar ones such as East of the Sun and West of the Moon, Crab, Chelm Justice, Baby in the Crib, Salt, The Bunyip, and Faithful Even in Death. As an adult, you’ll approach these stories much different from the way you approached them as a child. You’ll view them with a different set of lens all based on your life experiences. You may find yourself sympathetic toward a character in a tale while you could be frustrated with characters in other tales because they keep on making the same mistake over and over again.

I enjoyed reading this book because I was introduced to stories from all over the world, the majority of which I had never heard about. And, it was amazing to find the same story with a different spin because of cultural differences, such as Rumpelstiltskin and Tom Tit Tot. The folk tales reinforce that we are not as different as we think. The author organizes Best-Loved Folktales of the World by regions and if you are like me, the first section in the table of contents that I rushed to was the Caribbean and was delighted to see an Anansi story from Jamaica among the 200 stories. There were other Anansi stories that originated from the Ashanti Tribe in Africa. For those of you who may not be familiar with the Anansi stories, Brother Anansi is a trickster.

Another good thing about the way the book is organized is the Index of Categories of Tales, which allows the readers to quickly see which tales are appropriate for children, wonderful to read aloud, have a moral, are for women and girls and so on. If you like drama, adventure, romance, mystery, horror or fantasy, there is a tale for you. After reading Best-Loved Folktales of the World, you’ll be reminded of the following:

• Share what you have with others because there is enough for everyone
• Persistence pays
• Operate with honesty and integrity: do not claim the work of others because the truth has a way of coming out and the consequences can be dire
• Asking for help shows strength
• Dream big
• Appreciate what you have instead of pining over what you don’t have

I recommend Best-Loved Folktales of the World by Joanna Cole because it’s not only a page-turner, but it allows you to tap into your inner child and have some fun. When reading Best-Loved Folktales of the World , read it not only in the context of providing entertainment, but also in the context of what lessons you can learn to apply to your life. So, take a step back in time and remember when….

Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentorand subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise for white papers, articles, fact sheets, anniversary booklets, you name it. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content. And if you cannot figure out which books to read for professional development, I am your WOMAN, I can assist you with that too.

Reference Credit:  via Apture

Link for the book is an Affiliate Link

Excerpt from March 2008 Ambeck Edge http://www.ambeck.com/newsletters/nl_200803.html

I received a complimentary copy of the Skinny on Success: why not you? If you are new to this blog, I reviewed a copy of The Skinny on Time Management on Monday (four days ago).

Reviewing the interview responses for my book Tales of People Who Get It, to become successful requires focus, passion and continuous learning. Most of us are looking for “the formula” for success, so we are always on the hunt.

The author of the Skinny on Success: why not you? Jim Randel states the goal for the Skinny On books as, “to do the reading for you, cull out what is important, distill the key points, and present in a book that is both instructive and fun to read.”

This book does not give you a formula for success, but gives you many explanations on why some people succeed and others don’t. It’s not going to tell you how to attain personal and professional success, so if that’s what you are looking for, this isn’t the book that will deliver.

The book is very inspirational, and if you do not know the stories of  many well known successful people, you’d be surprised to discover the hard work they put in to attain success. You seldom find overnight successes, you find more overnight successes, that were 10 years or more in the making. After you read about the deliberate practice and persistence of some of these people, you’ll realize that you too can achieve success if you’re willing to put in the hard work.

Randel looks closely at many books on success, and gives a bit more focus on Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers: The Story of Success, Geoff Colvin’s Talent is Overrated and Daniel Coyne’s The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Talent isn’t enough to become successful, persistent practice is essential. (Click here to see my article, “Creating Your Signature – Journey to Becoming a Master, which includes the steps to take to become an expert.”)

He mentions research by Professor K. Anders Ericsson referenced in Outliers that states that it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill, which equates to 10 years. To support that figure, Michael Masterson, an uber successful entrepreneur, internet marketer and copywriter suggests that, “To achieve mastery, you will have to continue to practice that skill for a total of 5,000 hours. Virtuosity is extremely rare. You can’t get it simply by practicing. You must also have a natural gift. Even then, you must practice at least 10,000 hours to achieve it.”

Five Great Ideas

1. The key to success is deliberate practice and repetition
2. The potential for greatness lives inside all of us
3. Every successful person has experienced setbacks
4. People, even the ones who love you, have their own dreams so you have to go after the life you want, with passion
5. The more you persist, the better you get

Characteristics of Successful People

1. Willingness to act
2. Prepare for adversity
3. Take steps to maximize probability of success
4. Take action
5. Combat fear of failure
6. Develop mental strength
7. Optimistic – see the glass as half full
8. Hardworking
9. Persistent
10. Believe in right and wrong

When I read the title of the book, The Skinny on Success: Why not you? I wasn’t sure of what to expect. Having written a book that includes information on success, I could relate to the information in the book. One of the questions that I asked the 34 interviewees for my book Tales of People Who Get It, was, “In your opinion, what is the formula for success?” And for the interviews for this blog I also ask for the definition of success.

I recommend The Skinny on Success: Why not you? and I suggest that you also review some of the interviews on this blog, and focus on the responses to the questions about success, including the one about the steps people took to arrive at success in their careers. How do the responses relate to the information in the book. Remember, do not ever read in a vacuum, connect what you’re reading to what you already know.

I also wanted to mention that I appreciated all the books that Jim Randel referenced to write this book because I learn about some books that I otherwise would not know about.

Books Mentioned

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live, Martha Beck

The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, Ken Robinson

Now, Discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham

The Road Less Traveled, 25th Anniversary Edition : A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth, Scott Peck

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck

Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell

Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else, Geoff Colvin

The Talent Code: Greatness Isn’t Born. It’s Grown. Here’s How., Daniel Coyne

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey

Losing My Virginity, Richard Branson

Life You Imagine: Life Lessons For Achieving Your Dreams, Derek Jeter

The Creative Habit, Twyla Tharp

The Principles of Psychology, William James

Wake Up and Live, Dorothea Brande

Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise for white papers, articles, fact sheets, anniversary booklets, you name it. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content. And if you cannot figure out which books to read for professional development, I am your WOMAN, I can assist you with that too.

Note: All book links are Amazon Affiliate

Photo Credit: via Apture

I received an advanced copy of The Skinny On Time Management: and other life challenges and a regular copy of  The Skinny On Success by Jim Randel in the mail to read and review. I had never heard about the Skinny On series until someone contacted me to find out if they could send me copies in the mail. Proper time management is critical for personal and professional success, and most of us are looking for that magic bullet that catapults us to success.

Today, I am reviewing The Skinny On Time Management, and on Friday,  The Skinny On Success. I have been keeping up with the interviews but have not done as many book reviews/summaries as I’d like, so this is an attempt to correct that. One of the objectives of The Invisible Mentor blog is to present interviews of highly successful people and to do book reviews/summaries.

The stated goal of the books in the Skinny On series “is to do the reading for you, identify what is important, distill the key points, and present them in a book that is both instructive and entertaining.” Randel’s definition of time management is simply, “how you use your time” and he adds, “if you are using your time to create the life you want, you are practicing effective time management.”

The author honored his commitment as stated in his goal for the book. In The Skinny on Time Management he conducted extensive research, distilled the key points and presented them, which is evident in the many books and other resources he mentioned and summarized. The book is structured as a one-hour presentation with slides that often look like comic strips to be entertaining. It is packed with tons of information that will assist you to manage your time and be more productive. He includes tips on how to stop procrastinating as well as tips on how to improve your memory. You get information that you wouldn’t expect in a time management book.

The book doesn’t have a Table of Contents, though it is divided into two parts which are essentially:

Part I: How You Spend Your Time
Part II: How to Effectively Use The Hours You Have for Maximum Benefit

He recommends that you keep a time journal for a week so that you can analyze it and see where you can make adjustments by spending less time on unproductive activities, therefore creating time for more important tasks. I appreciated the idea of Batching, where you combine or aggregate similar or complementary activities to save time. He did a good job of summarizing the salient points from many books that he thinks are germane to better time management. Two such summaries are important techniques for effective time management from Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress Free Productivity and  teach yourself to speed read from Triple Your Reading Speed.

Here is Jim Randel’s summary for improving what he calls your effectiveness and time potency:

1. Discard (practice decluttering and do not hold on to stuff unnecessarily)
2. Make immediate decisions
3. Create filing systems (when working on a project keep all resources related to that project in one place)
4. Select specific times to respond to calls/emails
5. Use a watch with a second hand display
6. Carry a note taker
7. Learn to scan
8. Ask for help
9. Finish a task in one sitting
10. Move on (let go) – what’s done is done

5 + 2 Great Ideas

1. Time is your most valuable commodity
2. Time management is about choices
3. Be aware of how you use your time, decide what you need to accomplish, choose the most important actions to take to achieve your goals, prioritize them and complete the most important activities first
4. Practice the 80/20 Rule: Figure out which 20 percent of your actions yield 80 percent of your results
5. When you try to do more than one task at a time, you do none well
6. Create routines so time is not wasted (Have a place for things so that time is not wasted looking for stuff, plan the menu for the week so time is not wasted everyday deciding what’s for dinner, have an exercise schedule so you do not have to decide each day if you are going to the gym)
7. Be proactive instead of reactive: take actions that move you closer to your goals instead of activities such as reading emails and checking voice messages.

Books Mentioned

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch

The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal, Jim Loehr & Tony Schwartz

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, David Allen

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey

How to Get Control of Your Time and Your Life, Alan Lakein

Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time, Brian Tracy

The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential…in Business and in Life, Leo Babauta

The 4-Hour Workweek, Tim Ferriss

Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long, David Rock

Triple Your Reading Speed, Wade E. Cutler

Jim Randel also recommends a YouTube video of Randy Pausch’s presentation on time management. For those who may not know, Pausch is known for The Last Lecture, and he died from pancreatic cancer. To view the video click here.

Though I did not like the way The Skinny on Time Management was presented, I heartily recommend it for the reasons why I did  not like it. You can tell from the information provided that it is well thought out and researched. Jim Randel distills the information and presents what he thinks is important and holds the reader’s hand every step of the way. I felt like the author was spoon feeding and thinking for me. I am very detailed oriented and like to think for myself. Now having said that, I appreciated that he included the books that he used in his research so that I can go back and sink my teeth into them.

Hey what can I say, I am a square peg and have my share of quirks.

Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content.

Note: All book links are affiliate links
Photo Credit: Yahoo via Apture

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• Randy Pausch – The Last Lecture (myventurepad.com)

Over the weekend I read several versions of the fairy tale Beauty And The Beast. I am rewriting the story from the perspective of the beast. What I like about this task is that I have never read the story told from the perspective of the beast, so I have some room to be creative with the story. How might you approach your work from a different perspective and mindset?

Having read so many versions of the story can create a dilemma if I allow it. In one version, Beauty’s father the merchant had three sons and three daughters, in most of the versions there were only three daughters. In one version Beauty asked for a red rose, in another she asked for a white rose. In one version, there was a mirror that Beauty could look in to see her family was doing and that’s how she noticed that her dad was ill, and in other versions, her dad wasn’t ill and there was no mirror.

In life you have many choices and it’s up to you to choose well based on your unique situation: your experience, other information that you might have access to and so on. Information is doubling rapidly and there is no way you can absorb it all. Make a choice and stick to it. If you didn’t choose well, choose again and look at potential lessons. Reading all the different versions of the story wasn’t necessarily a bad thing because I decided to stick with one version and work from there.

In my research work, I have often read many reports on one event or topic, and doing that allowed me to fill in the gaps, because of the reference point the writers decided to focus on. So what lessons have I learned, from reading Beauty And The Beast?

1. Things are seldom what they seem (a very common lesson)
2. Always try to dig beyond the surface
3. Open up yourself to new experiences
4. Put your family first
5. Be yourself! You can zig even if others are zagging (Beauty was unlike her selfish sisters)
6. Circumstances change so change with them and don’t get left behind
7. Be compassionate
8. Listen to what your heart is telling you
9. Happiness is not far away, it is within you waiting for release
10. In everything, give thanks

Buy a book of fairy tales or borrow one from the library and read the tales from the perspective of an adult. What lessons have you learned?How might you apply those lessons to your life?

Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment. Many readers read this blog from other sites, so why don’t you pop over to The Invisible Mentor and subscribe (top on the left side) by email or RSS Feed. I created a Mini Learning Toolkit and you can grab a copy by clicking here.

For your research and writing needs, consider my firm Ambeck Enterprise. Since I am the best kept secret you may not know this, but I have over 15 years research and writing experience. I KNOW content.

Note: All book links are affiliate links
Photo Credit: Yahoo via Apture

I decided to review The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper because it was one of  21 books that Ted Nicholas  read that changed his life. Ted Nicholas, a very successful entrepreneur and copywriter, has always stressed the importance of continuous learning. I like to read some of the books that accomplished people read to better understand them.

The Little Engine That Could is a children’s book, but its timeless  lesson teaches us what we can accomplish when we believe in our ability. It brought home the belief “nothing ventured, nothing gained.” Because it’s a children’s book, it’s a very easy read and takes about 10 minutes to read.

The book is about a happy train that is loaded with toys of all kinds for children as well as some food stuff. On the way it breaks down, and it becomes very concerned about all the children who will not be able to play with the toys and eat all the goodies. Soon a train comes by and some of the toys cry out for help, but this “shiny new engine” is very self important, and a snob and remarks, “I pull you?  I am a Passenger Train. I have just carried a fine big train over the mountain, with more cars than you ever dreamed of….”

Another train came along and once again, the toys shouted for help, but the train shouted back that it was a freight engine. “I have just pulled a big train loaded with big machines over the mountain. These machines print books and newspapers for grown-ups to read….” Once again the toys felt let down. Another train chugged along, this time “an old and tired” looking one. The toys cried out for help, “But the Rusty Old Engine sighed: “I am so tired. I must rest my weary wheels.”"

The toys were very saddened and cried. Next a little blue train came along and once again the toys begged for help and explained their situation. The train explained that it was used only for switching trains in the yard. “The very little engine looked up and saw the tears in the dolls’ eye. And she thought of the good little boys and girls on the other side of the mountain who would not have any toys or good food unless she helped.”

Despite its small size, the little blue engine repeated the mantra “I think I can” over and over again and pulled the train over the mountain. When they arrived at the destination, The Little Blue Engine repeated “I thought I could. I thought I could….”

Five Great Ideas

1. We are our brother’s keeper
2. No one succeeds alone
3. Persistence pays
4. What would happen if we decided to succeed?
5. What would happen if we let others know that we believed in them?

This book reminded me of Dorothy Brande’s book Wake Up and Live, where she reveals that the formula for success is to act as if it were impossible to fail. Could we move mountains if we acted as if it were impossible to fail? This is a great book that teaches the simple lessons that “if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again” and believe in yourself.

Please keep the information flowing and leave a comment. If you reached this blog by search engine, please consider subscribing.

Related Post

The Uber Successful Make Time for Reading, Do You?
Could you Move Mountains, if you Acted as if it Were Impossible to Fail?

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A few weeks ago I did a favor for someone and they didn’t say thanks, which ticked me off. Originally I was going to charge him but he couldn’t afford to pay, since he needed the information badly,  I gave it to him for free. I was complaining to a friend and she instructed me to let it go because another person will do a kind deed for me. I think the thing which irked me the most is that he behaved as if he could afford my service, and when I realized that he couldn’t, I gave it to him and he then behaved as if the service wasn’t valuable. I took my friend’s advice and let go.

But, while going through book reviews I wrote a few years ago, I came across the review of Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments by Kent M. Keith. I really needed to be reminded of The 10 Paradoxical Commandments. This post is as much for me as it is for you. We (myself included) should never do things expecting gratitude or praise in return. Please let me know what you think.

Here are The 10 Paradoxical Commandments, which are an excerpt from Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments, Kent M. Keith:

The 10 Paradoxical Commandments

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centred. Love them anyway.
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
3. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.
7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
9. People really need help but may attack you if you help them. Help people anyway.
10. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway

If you have never read Anyway: The Paradoxical Commandments by Kent M. Keith, pick up a copy today, it’s an easy read. The story goes that “The Paradoxical Commandments,” which was first written as a poem had hung on the wall of  Mother Theresa’s  children’s home in Calcutta, India.

What are your thoughts about The 10 Paradoxical Commandments? Let’s keep the conversation flowing, please comment.

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Russell Herman Conwell, a lawyer for about fifteen years until he became a clergyman, relates a story told to him by an Arab guide. The story intrigued Conwell so much, that he subsequently used the theme as a basis for his many speeches.

According to the story, as told by the guide, while Conwell was travelling down the Tigris and Euphrates rivers with a party of English travelers, there was a farmer, Ali Hafed, from ancient Persia now known as Iran. Ali Hafed was very wealthy. He owned a very large farm with orchards, grain-fields, and gardens. He was wealthy and contented.

One day, a Buddhist priest visited Ali Hafed. During the conversation, this wise priest from the East told Hafed about diamonds. The priest told Ali Hafed that if “he had one diamond the size of his thumb, he could purchase the county, and if he had a mine of diamonds he could place his children upon thrones through the influence of their great wealth.” Ali Hafed heard all about diamonds, and how much they were worth. Though Hafed’s situation hadn’t changed, he went to his bed that night feeling poor and discontented because of envy and greed.

Ali Hafed decided that he wanted a diamond mine, and the next day he rushed to see the priest and asked where he could find diamonds. He explained to the priest that he wanted to be immensely rich. Hafed sold his farm, collected the money, left his neighbour to take care of  his family, and went off in search of diamonds.

Hafed wandered around Palestine and Europe until he ran out of money. He was in rags, feeling wretched and now truly poor. He stood on the shore of a bay in Barcelona, Spain and when a great tidal wave came rolling in, he threw himself in, and was never seen again.

Meanwhile back at the farm, one day the new owner picked up an unusual rock about the size of an egg and placed it on his mantle. A few days later, the same old priest visited the farm and immediately realized that the unusual rock was indeed a diamond. The priest and the new owner rushed outside to the place where the owner found the unusual rock. That day, they discovered the diamond mines of Golconda.

Ali Hafed had been standing on his own “Acres of Diamonds” until he sold his farm.

In Acres of Diamonds, Conwell relates countless stories of people who went in search of what they already had. For example, a farmer in Pennsylvania sold his farm for $833 and went to work for his cousin in Canada, collecting oil. Shortly after, the man who purchased the farm found oil worth millions of dollars.

Common Sense Ideas

1. Each of us is right in the middle of our own Acres of Diamonds, if only we would realize it and develop the ground we are standing on before charging off in search of greener pastures
2. Opportunity does not just come along – it is there all the time – we just have to see it
3. In life, when we go searching for “something,” we should know what that “something” looks, smells and tastes like so that we can recognize it when we find it
4. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side
5. Before we give up what we already have, make sure that what we’re getting is better than what we already have
6. Your family comes first, they are part of your support structure and will help you through the most difficult times

Whenever I read Acres of Diamonds, for some reason I am reminded of the biblical Parable of the Prodigal Son. The Prodigal Son was much wiser because he at least had the common sense to return home and beg forgiveness.Your diamonds are not in far-away mountains or in distant seas; they are usually in your own back yard if you will take the time to look for them.”

What are your feelings toward Ali Hafed? Do you sympathize with him? How might you apply this story to business? We always think that the grass is greener on the other side, but it is seldom that case. In what instances could the grass be greener on the other side? I have thinking about this question for some time, but in the context of problem solving, so look out for a post that deals with that.

Let’s keep the conversation fluid, please leave a comment. I am ready to grow this blog, if you find The Invisible Mentor Blog useful and educational, please encourage your contacts to subscribe.

Click on the links below for electronic complimentary copies of Acres of Diamonds by Russell Conwell. I recommend Acres of Diamonds because of its timeless moral.

http://emotional-literacy-education.com/classic-books-online-c/acrdi10.htm

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/rconwellacresofdiamonds.htm

Photo Credit: Flickr “Dreaming of Diamonds” via Apture

I have been buried deep in The Mentor’s Spirit by Marsha Sinetar as I work on evolving The Invisible Mentor concept. While reading, I came across some great ideas that I’d like to share with you. Ms. Sinetar uses the term mentor spirit in the same context that I use the invisible mentor. My refined definition of an “invisible mentor” is a unique leader we can learn things from through their books, presentations, interviews, speeches and other information products.

Mentor spirit is that “productive, liberating power that heartens us to develop a bit of poetry in our self-leadership and grow into our best selves, who we were born to be…the almost anything that deepens  our sense of the sacred or our understanding or transmits a kind of gladness about life itself.” Mentor spirit could be a book, ideas, art, nature and so on.

If you are interested in getting mentored, Sinetar suggests you do the following:

1. Participate with organizations that mentor, and learn from them
2. Don’t crowd those you admire in a starstruck or exploitative manner
3. Find formal groups legitimately chartered to provide professional support

Traits of Great Mentors

• People lover
• Empathetic and non-judgmental
• Authentic
• Life lover
• Have sound judgment
• Think independently and divergently
• Have definite purpose
• Have good humor
• Reliable
• Honorable
• Set boundaries for self and others

Why Invisible Mentors (Mentor Spirits) Are Important

• People who we never meet can mentor and influence us
• Can lead us to our deepest most intimate truths
• Productive liberating spirit that allows us to be the people we were born to be
• Help us to amplify our internal voice
• We can learn from them how to live and thrive

Miscellaneous Great Ideas

• Productive mentors insist that their proteges become autonomous
• Learning continuously evaporates fear of change

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin

By Benjamin Franklin

A few days ago I posted a blog titled “Benjamin Franklin in 10 Tweets,” and thought it would be a great follow-up to have today’s post. I reviewed The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin for Ambeck Edge in November 2004 and recommended it with reservation because it was so difficult to read. Four years later, in 2008, I read The Autobiography and Other Writings (Penguin Classics), and found it was easier to read the second time around. Here is the original book review, and the sections highlighted in red are new information that I have added to the review.

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is an excellent book, but very difficult to read. It is written in old English and not structured in a way that you would expect. It took three attempts for me to finally read it through. To read this book and get the most from it, you need to set aside at least two hours. This is not a book to read in 15-minute time slots, and you’ll need an open mind when reading it.

The effort you make in reading this book is well worth it. Even though the information in this book was originally recorded in a manuscript in the 1700s, it’s timeless, and reaffirms that there are no new ideas. You will come away feeling richer. There are many lessons you can learn from reading this book. I am amazed at the way he used information to educate the masses.

Franklin wanted to introduce what he called a public subscription library, but when he tried to get the subscriptions, people objected and were reluctant to participate because it was “Franklin’s project”. He immediately learned that it was often more important to relinquish control of a project to benefit humanity if doing so would make it be accepted.

In the book, Franklin talks about his 13 virtues, which he tried to integrate into his life – temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity and humility. He chose a virtue and focused on it for the entire week. Benjamin Franklin wanted to be morally perfect, but found perfection to be elusive. He realized that being perfect wasn’t possible, but he was glad he tried because he was a happier and better man after trying. Some of the virtues may not make sense in today’s world, but it is still worth thinking about. In May 2009 while I was reading The Analects of Confucius, Confucius outlined precepts to live by which reminded me of Franklin’s 13 virtues.

Franklin was also an excellent time manager, accounting for every minute in the day and would never go to bed without first examining his day. As I am revisiting this book review, I am reminded of Socrates‘ famous quote “The unexamined life is not worth living.”

Benjamin Franklin, inventor, printer, publisher, business owner, franchiser, master of strategic alliances, fundraiser and so much more, gives new meaning to the terms “Jack of all Trades” and workaholic.

Five Great Ideas

1. Develop a Code of  Conduct for the way you live and work, so that when situations arise you know how to respond
2. Provide useful information to your clients
3. After making the first $1 million, it is easier to make the second
4. Before going into partnerships, develop contracts with clearly defined expectations and exit clauses to protect all involved parties
5. History is filled with mistakes, learn from them

I recommend this book with reservation because even though it’s so difficult to read.

Related Posts

Benjamin Franklin in 10 Tweets
What Does This Benjamin Franklin Quote Mean to You?
The Analects of Confucius

Excerpt from  Ambeck Edge, November 2004