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Showing posts with label Book Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book Reviews. Show all posts
Friday, September 25, 2009
113 Recession-Proof Money and Energy Saving Tips
Phew. It's finally done! I got my act together and put my list of 113 tips on saving money and energy into writing. Besides 113 short and concise tips on how to save money and energy the .pdf file contains useful additional links to free downloads and complimentary information. The 16 page ebook is absolutely FREE and can be immediately downloaded. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much I enjoyed writing it.
Please click on a Google ad before downloading this book. That's how I get paid. Thank you.
Please click on a Google ad before downloading this book. That's how I get paid. Thank you.
Friday, August 7, 2009
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Juggling a 17 month old toddler, a husband, a full-time job which includes commuting, hobby-blogging and of course maintaining a household makes me sometimes wonder how in the world can I keep all of this together.
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. It has sold over 15 million copies in 38 languages since first publication, which was marked by the release of a 15th anniversary edition in 2004. The book lists seven principles that, if established as habits, are supposed to help a person achieve true interdependent effectiveness. Covey argues this is achieved by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north" principles of a character ethic that he believes to be universal and timeless.
The chapters are dedicated to each of the habits, which are represented by the following imperatives:
Habit 1 - Principles of Personal Choice: Covey emphasizes the original sense of the term "proactive" as coined by Victor Frankl. You can either be proactive or reactive when it comes to how you respond to certain things. When you are reactive, you blame other people and circumstances for obstacles or problems. Being proactive means taking responsibility for every aspect of your life. Initiative and taking action will then follow. Covey also argues that man is different from other animals in that he has self-consciousness. He has the ability to detach himself and observe his own self; think about his thoughts. He goes on to say how this attribute enables him: It gives him the power not to be affected by his circumstances. Covey talks about stimulus and response. Between stimulus and response, we have the power of free will to choose our response.
Habit 2 - Principles of Personal Vision: This chapter is about setting long-term goals based on "true north" principles. Covey recommends formulating a "Personal Mission Statement" to document one's perception of one's own vision in life. He sees visualization as an important tool to develop this. He also deals with organizational mission statements, which he claims to be more effective if developed and supported by all members of an organization rather than prescribed.
Habit 3 - Principles of Integrity & Execution: Covey describes a framework for prioritizing work that is aimed at long-term goals, at the expense of tasks that appear to be urgent, but are in fact less important. Delegation is presented as an important part of time management. Successful delegation, according to Covey, focuses on results and benchmarks that are to be agreed in advance, rather than on prescribing detailed work plans. Habit three is greatly expanded on in the follow on book First Things First.
Habit 4 - Principles of Mutual Benefit: An attitude whereby mutually beneficial solutions are sought that satisfy the needs of oneself as well as others, or, in the case of a conflict, both parties involved.
Habit 5 - Principles of Mutual Understanding: Covey warns that giving out advice before having empathetically understood a person and their situation will likely result in that advice being rejected. Thoroughly listening to another person's concerns instead of reading out your own autobiography is purported to increase the chance of establishing a working communication.
Habit 6 - Principles of Creative Cooperation: A way of working in teams. Apply effective problem solving. Apply collaborative decision making. Value differences. Build on divergent strengths. Leverage creative collaboration. Embrace and leverage innovation. It is put forth that when synergy is pursued as a habit, the result of the teamwork will exceed the sum of what each of the members could have achieved on their own. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Habit 7 - Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal: Focuses on balanced self-renewal: Regain what Covey calls "production capability" by engaging in carefully selected recreational activities. Covey also emphasizes the need to sharpen the mind.
Taken from Wikipedia.com
Prices for a brand new copy:
BookCloseOut: $7.99
Amazon: $9.57
Barnes and Nobles: $10.36 Online price, $9.32 Member price
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, first published in 1989, is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. It has sold over 15 million copies in 38 languages since first publication, which was marked by the release of a 15th anniversary edition in 2004. The book lists seven principles that, if established as habits, are supposed to help a person achieve true interdependent effectiveness. Covey argues this is achieved by aligning oneself to what he calls "true north" principles of a character ethic that he believes to be universal and timeless.
The chapters are dedicated to each of the habits, which are represented by the following imperatives:
Habit 1 - Principles of Personal Choice: Covey emphasizes the original sense of the term "proactive" as coined by Victor Frankl. You can either be proactive or reactive when it comes to how you respond to certain things. When you are reactive, you blame other people and circumstances for obstacles or problems. Being proactive means taking responsibility for every aspect of your life. Initiative and taking action will then follow. Covey also argues that man is different from other animals in that he has self-consciousness. He has the ability to detach himself and observe his own self; think about his thoughts. He goes on to say how this attribute enables him: It gives him the power not to be affected by his circumstances. Covey talks about stimulus and response. Between stimulus and response, we have the power of free will to choose our response.
Habit 2 - Principles of Personal Vision: This chapter is about setting long-term goals based on "true north" principles. Covey recommends formulating a "Personal Mission Statement" to document one's perception of one's own vision in life. He sees visualization as an important tool to develop this. He also deals with organizational mission statements, which he claims to be more effective if developed and supported by all members of an organization rather than prescribed.
Habit 3 - Principles of Integrity & Execution: Covey describes a framework for prioritizing work that is aimed at long-term goals, at the expense of tasks that appear to be urgent, but are in fact less important. Delegation is presented as an important part of time management. Successful delegation, according to Covey, focuses on results and benchmarks that are to be agreed in advance, rather than on prescribing detailed work plans. Habit three is greatly expanded on in the follow on book First Things First.
Habit 4 - Principles of Mutual Benefit: An attitude whereby mutually beneficial solutions are sought that satisfy the needs of oneself as well as others, or, in the case of a conflict, both parties involved.
Habit 5 - Principles of Mutual Understanding: Covey warns that giving out advice before having empathetically understood a person and their situation will likely result in that advice being rejected. Thoroughly listening to another person's concerns instead of reading out your own autobiography is purported to increase the chance of establishing a working communication.
Habit 6 - Principles of Creative Cooperation: A way of working in teams. Apply effective problem solving. Apply collaborative decision making. Value differences. Build on divergent strengths. Leverage creative collaboration. Embrace and leverage innovation. It is put forth that when synergy is pursued as a habit, the result of the teamwork will exceed the sum of what each of the members could have achieved on their own. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Habit 7 - Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal: Focuses on balanced self-renewal: Regain what Covey calls "production capability" by engaging in carefully selected recreational activities. Covey also emphasizes the need to sharpen the mind.
Taken from Wikipedia.com
Prices for a brand new copy:
BookCloseOut: $7.99
Amazon: $9.57
Barnes and Nobles: $10.36 Online price, $9.32 Member price
Thursday, August 6, 2009
First Meals
Have you ever thought about cooking for your baby instead of buying baby and toddler foods? At least that way you know for sure, what is in your baby's food. And needless to say, it is very inexpensive. The importance of learning how to eat right and which foods to choose can not be stressed enough. The earlier we start to make healthy food choices, the better it will be.
I was turned on to cooking for my son by the owner of my son's day care who had been cooking for her own daughter and she gave me the book "First Meals - Recipes little kids can sink their teeth into." The book is filled with fast, healthy and fun foods to tempt infants and toddlers and needless to say, I was immediately hooked.
Annabel Karmel does a wonderful job to provide the reader with information about how to wean your baby and how to prepare meals for different baby/toddler ages. One of the most valuable lessons I learned is to cook in batches. I designated one day a week to cook all of the foods and then froze them. Ice cube trays are just the right size for each portion for the first 12 months. Another handy tool is of course some basic food processor or blender.
The book is well structured and divided in chapters based on age groups starting from 0 all the way up to 7 years.
One simple baby breakfast my son enjoys up until today is
Banana Yoghurt Muesli:
Mash 2/3 of one ripe banana, add 2 tablespoons of whole milk plain yoghurt and 2 tablespoons of baby rice powder (can be any grain powder for that matter).
And another one of my son's favorites is
Avocado with Cottage Cheese:
Mash 1/2 of a ripe avocado and mix with 1 tablespoon of small curd whole milk cottage cheese.
That's how simple it is. Well, other meals can be cooked in advance and frozen. Here are just a few of the most delicious recipes:
Fish with Carrots & Orange Juice
Annabel's Pasta Salad
Fruity Chicken with Carrots
California Chicken
Baby's Bolognese
A wonderful recipe book for the little ones!
Additional reading suggestions by the same author:
I was turned on to cooking for my son by the owner of my son's day care who had been cooking for her own daughter and she gave me the book "First Meals - Recipes little kids can sink their teeth into." The book is filled with fast, healthy and fun foods to tempt infants and toddlers and needless to say, I was immediately hooked.
Annabel Karmel does a wonderful job to provide the reader with information about how to wean your baby and how to prepare meals for different baby/toddler ages. One of the most valuable lessons I learned is to cook in batches. I designated one day a week to cook all of the foods and then froze them. Ice cube trays are just the right size for each portion for the first 12 months. Another handy tool is of course some basic food processor or blender.
The book is well structured and divided in chapters based on age groups starting from 0 all the way up to 7 years.
One simple baby breakfast my son enjoys up until today is
Banana Yoghurt Muesli:
Mash 2/3 of one ripe banana, add 2 tablespoons of whole milk plain yoghurt and 2 tablespoons of baby rice powder (can be any grain powder for that matter).
And another one of my son's favorites is
Avocado with Cottage Cheese:
Mash 1/2 of a ripe avocado and mix with 1 tablespoon of small curd whole milk cottage cheese.
That's how simple it is. Well, other meals can be cooked in advance and frozen. Here are just a few of the most delicious recipes:
Fish with Carrots & Orange Juice
Annabel's Pasta Salad
Fruity Chicken with Carrots
California Chicken
Baby's Bolognese
A wonderful recipe book for the little ones!
Additional reading suggestions by the same author:
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| Super Foods for Babies and Children ($6.99) | Lunchboxes ($4.99) |
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