All Consuming : shantibraford

A story about "Ultra Marathon Man"

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:05:53 GMT

by Karnazes Dean

One of the best books I’ve read in a while.

Truly inspirational, but not in a touchy-feely fluffy kind of way. Simply because this guy is such a motherfuckin badass.

A story about "Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments"

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:45:49 GMT

Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments

by Alex Boese

An excellent book. Full of serendipitous knowledge you won’t find anywhere else, unless you go looking for it!

A story about "The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich"

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 16:44:45 GMT

The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich

by Timothy Ferriss

Tim Ferris is a badass. For veteran micro-entrepreneurs, some of this information may not be new.

But if you’re slaving away at a 9-5 and hate life, this book is definitely worth the purchase price.

Don’t expect instant success overnight though… building a lasting, sustainable & highly-automatable business takes time.

A review of "Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software" (rated 4 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 11:14:16 GMT

Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software

by Scott Rosenberg

This review pretty much sums up my thoughts as well:

http://gamearchitect.net/Articles/SoftwareIsHard.html

Short Answer: He Got Lucky

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 03:47:47 GMT

How I Made $2,000,000 In The Stock Market

by Nicolas Darvas

I was expecting to glean some wisdom from this little guy other than it helps to get really, really lucky on one stock.

After a string of semi-successes and semi-failures in the stock market, the author eventually leverages all he owns on a single stock, buying at around $45 – 60 a share.

It eventually goes up to $150+. This is how he got his start, I assume the rest is pretty similar.

Amazon Reviews let me down on this one. For a good discussion of “survivorship bias” read Fooled by Randomness. Nicolas Darvas could’ve just as easily lost it all on his one lucky bet & we’d have never heard of him.

Bad. Ass.

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Wed, 23 May 2007 17:04:27 GMT

Ultra Marathon Man: Memoir Of An Extreme Endurance Athlete

by Dean Karnazes

Dean is a friggin bad ass. Seriously, this guy is the most hardcore athlete you will read about in a loong time.

The pansies in the NFL, NBA, etc got nothing on Dean.

great read! (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 10:15:49 GMT

Adventures in the Screen Trade

by William Goldman

the best book on screenwriting out there!

not a “how to” but much more illuminating anyway.

A story about "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion"

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 11:55:13 GMT

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

by Robert B. Cialdini

Definitely worth a read… even if you consider (like myself) Psychology to be a very easy and straightforward thing to understand & know about, even without formal education/reading.

After reading this, you will look back on incidents in your life where you felt yourself cornered or coerced into a situation that just didn’t feel right. It’s likely that other people involved in the situation were using techniques (consciously or not) outlined in this book to influence you to behave that way. Enjoy!

A review of "Peopleware : Productive Projects and Teams, 2nd Ed."

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 11:50:52 GMT

Peopleware : Productive Projects and Teams, 2nd Ed.

by Tom Demarco

This is perhaps the best book on productive teams & project management that’s out there today.

After reading this, I actually ended up quitting a contract gig because I realized that there could be another way …

... a way described by Demarco & Lister in this book.

As a startup entrepreneur, if the teams I build and work with achieve even 80% of what is recommended in this book, we’ll be doing better than a vaaast majority of software development groups out there. Especially those at BigCos.

A story about "Extended Versions"

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Sun, 08 Jan 2006 04:19:03 GMT

Extended Versions

by Lynyrd Skynyrd

I must admit, I’m a little embarassed to own this.

Play Freebird, man!

A story about "SPIN Selling"

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 10:40:19 GMT

SPIN Selling

by Neil Rackham

I’ve read most of this book and it seems to really nail its niche.

Unfortunately, I don’t work in a group that sells large value contracts / items / products, which is what this book is all about.

It basically says, don’t try to ‘close’ so early in the process.

Closing early & often works well on small sales, but not large engagements.

A story about "The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything"

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 10:30:36 GMT

The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything

by Guy Kawasaki

A must read for startup entrepreneurs.

Also check out the free manifesto outlining its ideas, available at ChangeThis.com.

A story about "Werner Erhard The Transformation of a Man: The Founding of EST"

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 10:28:29 GMT

Werner Erhard The Transformation of a Man: The Founding of EST

by William Warren Bartley III

It’s interesting to read how the founder of EST (eventually became the Landmark Forum) came about developing his program. (they’re called Large Group Awareness Training programs by some)

But basically… he read a lot of personal development material by people like Napoleon Hill and Maxwell Maltz.

Also studied things like Zen Buddhism, etc.

Eventually he combined all this into a weekend course that went on to become EST and the Landmark Forum.

A story about "The Book of Five Rings"

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 10:24:23 GMT

The Book of Five Rings

by Miyamoto Musashi

Kind of the Japanese version of ‘Art of War’, only more succinct and geared for the individual as opposed to state rulers.

A good read.

A story about "The Portable Nietzsche (Viking Portable Library)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 10:21:36 GMT

The Portable Nietzsche (Viking Portable Library)

Nietzsche kinda sucks you in.

If you are not very religious and are more of a realist / nihilist (even if you don’t know what that means), I can see how Nietzsche could almost become an areligious “religion” for some people. ... that and the whole ‘God is dead’ thing would tend to piss off the Church.

If you are tempted to adopt Nietzsche’s writings as your de-facto nihilist ‘religion’, I would advise also looking into Zen Buddhsim (Alan Watt’s writings, specifically).

Zen is (imho) very much nihilistic / scientifically-based (like Nietzsche), only it takes a much more positive outlook on life.

A story about "The Bell Jar: A Novel (Perennial Classics)"

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 10:16:36 GMT

The Bell Jar: A Novel (Perennial Classics)

by Sylvia Plath

I picked up a copy of this in NYC at a Goodwill when I was living there for a month, trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.

Having gone through a similar stage in my life (down times, existential crises, etc.), finally having read this was a cathartic experience.

I’d also recommend A Million Little Pieces and Catcher in the Rye (probably read this, eh?) if you enjoyed The Bell Jar.

A story about "The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal"

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 10:06:44 GMT

The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal

by Jared Diamond

Not as good as Guns, Germs & Steel but still worth a read or a skim-through.

A story about "Psycho-Cybernetics, A New Way to Get More Living Out of Life"

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 10:05:24 GMT

Psycho-Cybernetics, A New Way to Get More Living Out of Life

by F.I.C.S. Maxwell Maltz

I had heard about this book a while ago.

The name has always put me off. I believe that’s why it hasn’t persisted and gone on to become a Great Classic like “Think and Grow Rich” for example.

But the ideas are solid and just as applicable today as they were 40 years ago.

Despite the goofy sounding name, it’s really all based around Psychology, self-image, etc.

I actually didn’t slug through the whole book but instead picked up some audio CDs with Dan Kennedy on there as well.

A must-read for small biz starters (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 10:02:06 GMT

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It

by Michael E. Gerber

This book is a must read for anyone who wants to start their own small business.

It may not be for the high-tech startup types… but has some valuable lessons for just about everyone relating to starting & growing a business.

A story about "Time Tactics of Very Successful People"

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 09:59:35 GMT

Time Tactics of Very Successful People

by B. Eugene Griessman

Actually read this before reading David Allen’s ‘Getting Things Done’.

In many ways, this book has tips that Allen’s does not, since GTD is more of a system as opposed to a list of specific tactics.

All in all, worth a read.

One of my top all-time favorite reads (rated 5 stars)

nobody@allconsuming.net (shantibraford) — Sat, 07 Jan 2006 09:57:46 GMT

Into the Wild

by Jon Krakauer

I wish I had the courage to take off like this guy did with nothing but the clothes on my back and the change in my pocket.

Now, dying out in the wilderness like that wouldn’t be so cool.

Surprisingly thorough considering he used a pseudonym the entire time he was on the road, and of course, you can’t go wrong with Krakauer.