Reading…
Lately, I’ve been focusing on the first step on my new philosophy and approach to life: Reading.
As my dad begins to read all the books I buy from my new book-reading tribe, Borders (pretty good rewards program), every time he repeats the same notion, “This is a very important book.” Each and every book I get seems to be very important.
Let me just recommend some good ones I’ve read and am reading.
Made to Stick:
Why Some Ideas Die and Others Survive
I’ll write now what I wrote in the book itself after I finished: “This book changes your outlook on Da’wah”. It’s a book that breaks down the psychology of ideas, messages, etc. and why we remember them. Then, it introduces you to six elements for you to incorporate to make your idea “sticky”, or memorable. While it’s not a Muslim book, I think it should be required reading for Du’aat (people who give Da’wah, or invite to Islam). Muslims have a perfect message, but not always a perfect way of presenting it, and this book will help you clear that up. It’s awesome with so many examples; plus, they have different aids and things online to further your study in this area (see madetostick.com)
Rework
This is a new-business book. It rejects, basically, all past notions of what you thought business was and flips them around. While it does have some good content in it (and awesome illustrations on every other page), my only real issue is that the author curses once or twice. May not be much of a problem for most, but I just didn’t like it. But, overlooking that, the ideas are solid in changing your mentality, “reworking” it to tell you that investors, big business chairs, large meeting rooms and cubicles are most definitely not required for you to begin and sustain a business. There’s a guy reviewing it that goes as far as saying that he’d hire someone that read this book over someone who has a Master’s Degree in Business. A bit extreme, but it’s that good. What also attracted me to the book was their creative commercials, check them out at the bottom of their book page.
Linchpin
Are You Indispensable?
I’m still reading this one, but it’s gold. The author, Seth Godin, is someone I follow (on his blog and ebooks and videos). He’s a marketer. However, this book is bit different. This book reveals a new class of people, the artists and geniuses that share their talents with the world: the linchpins. He tries to get you to realize that your gift, your talent is most needed right now. In fact, the only way to have a secure job is to be a linchpin, someone that can’t be replaced because of the uniqueness they bring to what they do. Filled with inspiring ideas and motivating notions, this book definitely keeps you reading and wanting to begin producing. My dad, who I don’t even think finished yet, is already beginning to think of what new business he wants to open. This book was a gift to him, and my way of calling him a Linchpin in my life, indispensable.
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So, there you go. Some of the great books on my reading list. I have more, but still have to read them. Like I said, this is just a first step on my journey, and it’s where you should be too. I’m thinking of making a video on this whole “Read. Think. Produce.” thing; more people use it than I thought, they just use different names for it.
Note that a couple of the above books and many of the ones I read deal with marketing. The reason I love marketing so much is because, as stated in Rework, marketing is everything. It’s not a department or a simple degree. Every single one of us has a message we want to communicate, whether it be “Come to my event!” or “Mom, Dad, I wanna get married”. Knowing how to reach and connect with people is essential and useful in whatever you do, especially when you’re a Muslim.
