Books I Read During Cyclone Alfred

There is a blessing to not be hyper-connected via internet or mobile services for over a week and that is I get to catch up on my reading.  Ah the bliss!

Here are books that I read (or finished reading) in the past week:

Never Enough – From Barista To Billionaire by Andrew Wilkinson
Andrew shares his journey starting as a barista in a local café and realizing the value of being an entrepreneur to starting his own web design business and building that into a thriving multi-million dollar company.  He also shares the ideas he had that were complete failures and how the lessons he learned in the process helped grow his organization even more.

Andrew also shares how he and his partner Chris invested in their personal growth by reading everything they could about their heros Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger and how they took the lessons they learned and applied them to their businesses and acquisitions to great effect.

He also pulls the curtain back on some of the unhealthy habits he acquired when the money started rolling in and what he viewed of other multi-millionaires and billionaires with the ‘never enough’ mindset.

Ultimately, he discovered money for money’s sake is not enough and that it needed to be put to good use…you’ll have to read the book to find out what he ends up doing both with a once in a lifetime opportunity and how he puts his money to good use.

This book reminds me of another book that I read years ago and highly recommend called ‘The Billionaire Who Wasn’t - How Chuck Feeney Secretly Made and Gave Away a Fortune’ by Connor O’Cleary.  Chuck Feeney was one of the founders of Duty Free Shoppers. By 1988, Chuck was hailed by Forbes Magazine as the twenty-fourth richest American alive. But secretly Feeney had already transferred all his wealth to his foundation, Atlantic Philanthropies. Only in 1997 when he sold his duty free interests, was he outed" as one of the greatest and most mysterious American philanthropists in modern times.  He has donated to organisations and universities around the world including in many locations in Australia.

Love Pamela - Her new memoir, taking control of her own narrative for the first time by Pamela Anderson

I always find biographies interesting because you have a concept of a person from the media however it’s often a very different story behind the scenes.  Pamela Anderson is an icon of the 90’s epitomised by Playboy, Baywatch and Barbed Wire alongside her marriages to Tommy Lee and Kid Rock. 

But in her book she shows a very different side – a poet, an art lover, an avid reader of literature, a mother and activist. You definitely walk away with a very different impression of the person who is behind the image of Pamela Anderson…one where in this book, as she states, she takes control of her own narrative for the first time.

Zero Negativity by Ant Middleton (I listened to this on Audible)

Ant is an ex-special forces commando who shares his secrets to living with a positive mindset.  Every one of us, at one time or another, will have to face up to the challenges that come our way (like a tropical cyclone LOL). And there are two ways of meeting them: negatively, where blame is the answer, where other people are at fault, where you haven’t been treated fairly. Or positively, where you own the situation, learn and grow from it, and become a better person at the end of it.

I found this a great book to listen to this past week as it helps me to focus on gratitude and positive mental attitude to combat the feelings of anxiety and lack of control that have arisen due to Cyclone Alfred. 

What I also appreciated in this book was Ant’s integrity and transparency.  He doesn’t put himself forward as ‘his way is the only way’ rather he gives you some tools to help you become the best version of yourself.

The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins (I listened to this on Audible as well)

I’ve been guilty of giving my power away to other people for years so I was ready for this book!  In her simple, practical way Mel shares how two simple words and a reframe can help you stop wasting energy on what you can't control and start focusing on what truly matters: YOU. Your happiness. Your goals and your life.

Packed with research and practical tips to apply the ‘Let Them’ and most important, the second part to this theory – the ‘Let Me’ opens up simple strategies that can be applied to nearly every relationship you have…especially the one you have with yourself.

Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends Upon It – by Kamal Ravikant

I read this book years ago just after it was first published back in 2012 and I have recommended it to many of my coaching clients over the years.  It is only a slim book of around 86 pages so an easy read and I felt it was time for a revision.

It reminded me that loving myself is a practice like going to the gym – you’re not going to get great results if you only show up once.  The same goes for loving yourself, it needs to be a daily practice.  It might start off feeling rather awkward but one day you’ll catch yourself and realise that you really do love yourself and as that shines through it attracts others to you.

Simple yet profound. This book is one of my top 10 books of all time.

The Ultimate Coach by Amy Hardison

I heard about the Ultimate Coach – Steve Hardison – through a video I was watching before the cyclone (when I had power and internet…oh, the things we miss LOL) when someone mentioned working with Steve was the most life-changing and game-changing thing they had done.  So of course, I was intrigued.

Written by Steve’s wife Amy Hardison this book gives an insight into who Steve is as a person and what shaped him to become one of the most influential coaches of our time. 

Amy shares Steve’s philosophy on coaching clients and shares interviews from many of Steve’s client’s perspective.  While I haven’t participated in any Landmark programs, I have enough of an understanding to know that some their principles are based in Steve’s coaching however I believe that Steve has taken it to a whole new level.

There are some great ideas that can be taken away from this book and applied to anyone who is in the business of coaching others.

Trillion Dollar Coach - The Leadership Handbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg and Alan Eagle

Trillion Dollar Coach – what the??  I might hear you say.  Well, Bill Campbell definitely earned the title as he was the Executive Coach for many of the top CEO’s of companies like Google, Apple, Intuit and many many others.  Collectively his client’s companies have gone on to earn trillions of dollars thanks to his coaching and guidance.

Written by the ex-CEO and Chairman of Google, along with other luminaries this small yet powerful book with give you some phenomenal takeaways for anyone who runs a business especially with a team. 

My highlighter has gone wild on this book and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to grow their business, generate a more efficient team and decision making process or anyone who coaches others in business.  It’s a must read!  Take lots of notes!

The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth by John C Maxwell

I’ve long been a Maxwell fan having read his books on Leadership for the past 30 years – even had a whole series of VHS video tapes of his back in the day! 

In this book, John C Maxwell shares his 15 tried and true principles for maximin personal growth including principles like:

• The Law of Awareness: You Must Know Yourself to Grow Yourself
• The Law of Modeling: It's Hard to Improve When You Have No One But Yourself to Follow
• The Law of the Rubber Band: Growth Stops When You Lose the Tension Between Where You are and Where You Could Be
• The Law of Contribution: Developing Yourself Enables You to Develop Others

Each principle is unpacked and illustrated with stories along with practical advice on how you can apply this to your own personal growth.

It’s an easy read and packed full of tips to help you reach your full potential.

I'd love to hear what you've been reading and what have been your key takeaways from it.