Book Review: You Can Achieve More: Live By Design, Not By Default by Shiv Khera

Title: You Can Achieve More

Author: Shiv Khera

Publisher: Bloomsbury India

ISBN: 978-9386349064

Pages: 296

Genre: Self Help

Source: Flipkart Review Program

Rating: 4/5

If you want to stand out, then you need to do something outstanding, stated by Shiv Khera, an author and motivational speaker.  He recently launched his new book you can achieve more under Bloomsbury publication.

With a strong message this book put readers onto the journey of inner self. Although, Shiv Khera has already marked a tremendous reach in this genre before, yet this book give you an insight to work on your life in an interesting way.

According to publisher, they have sold around four million copies of Khera’s You Can Win into sixteen different languages. Now Author comes with another work of wisdom—You Can Achieve More: Live By Design, Not By Default.

Basically this book talks about three pillars of life which need to be strengthen—Health, wealth and good relationships. If any one of the three goes missing, it would be hard to imagine a happy world around us. In this book Khera studies lives of many successful people and tried to decode the way leads to achievements.

With 23 chapters, this book covers topics that resonate with every person’s life. You can find many books about self help but this book you can achieve more effectively helps in learning not only the principals of success, but also in avoiding mistakes, it works like a mentor in life and helps in developing confidence with a rewarding path.

Sometimes, we feel left out in the race called life, I think this book can be your support system on that we can rely. Book is written in such talkative language it seems you are meeting with your trustworthy friend. And you really want to hear his life experiences, and share your own meanwhile. It feels really relatable to know about some famous personalities and the way they cope up things and emerged as a winner.

You can’t read this book in one sitting, this is not a capsule of success but it requires a practice, a slow reading on a daily basis. Best thing about this book is, it might work as a magic but it won’t ask you to take an appointment first.

Khera Says:

Most people see opportunities, but very few seize them—Often one of the most painful moments of our life is when an opportunity knocks on our door and we find ourselves unprepared.

If you are not willing to pay the price for success, then whether we like it or not, we will have to pay the price for failure, a price has to be paid, no matter what.

We need to cleary understand that success does not only depend upon special skills, formal education or superior intelligence.

Achievement do not come by default, they are first learnt and then practiced.

Life is funny, for as long as we are alive, we keep learning how to live life.  

When something bad happens, it can break you, define you or strengthen you.

Don’t make your mind a dumping ground for someone else’s trash.

Achievers realize pride in performance is not an act = it is a way of life.

Achievement lies in practicing excellence in the smallest details.

The different between doing right and doing almost right is same as the difference between being dead and almost dead, almost is not good enough. Nobody at the Olympics gets a gold medal for 99 percent achievement. Almost done is not done.

It’s a moral obligation for every honorable person to be prosperous because money in good hands does good and money in evil hands does evil.

All in all, this book doesn’t preach you like other books of this genre, but it gives you a different perspective to live a life. With logical explanations it encourages you like a mentor, and inspires you to do work towards excellence, nothing less.

If I have to select my favourite chapters from this book then I would suggest— Invest in Yourself, Choose Character, Finding Balance, Pride in Performance, The Wisdom Truth.

About Author

SHIV KHERA is the founder of Qualified Learning Systems USA. An Author, Educator, Business Consultant and a successful Entrepreneur, he is a much sought-after speaker.

He inspires and encourages individuals to realize their true potential. He has taken his dynamic personal messages to opposite sides of the globe, from the U.S. to Singapore. His 30 years of research & understanding has put organizations on a path of growth and fulfillment.

He is the author of 15 books including the international bestseller "You Can Win", which has sold over 3.7 million copies in 21 languages. His other books are creating new records. 

Book Excerpt : The Leader Who Had No Title by Robin Sharma

Title: The Leader Who Had No Title
Author: Robin Sharma
Genre: Self Help, Motivational
Source: Kindle Edition
Publisher: Jaico
Pages: 171
Ratings: 5/5

I read it somewhere that some people act and inspire while few are like mirrors they reflect, reflect the positivity, optimism and give doses of hope to those who needed the most.  Robin Sharma was one of them.  A man with powerful words.

This is not a kind of book, we read and forget.  We can learn something from it, every single day.  The lessons in this book are all about taking ownership of your life. It reminds us that we still have potential to conquer the world.

Here I’m sharing few quotes of his book.

·         I sometimes reflect on the fact that we generally take the people we love the most for granted. Until we lose them. Then we take long, silent walks and pray for a second chance to treat them the way they deserved to have been treated. Please don’t let that sort of regret infect your life.

·         Perhaps one of the best gifts my parents gave me was a love of learning, especially through books. Relentless learning is one of the main traits of an open and powerful person. And an obsessive and ongoing self-education is one of the greatest survival tactics to get through turbulent times.

·         I actually feel quite young. Age is just a state of mind anyway—a label the tribe uses to pigeonhole people and to place limits on all they can be. I choose not to govern my life according to labels

.

·         We all need to lead where we are planted and shine where we now find ourselves.

·         Embracing uncertainty is a precious gift. Most of us get so scared the moment we face the unknown. We shouldn’t, though. It’s really nothing more than the beginning of an adventure. And our growth coming to get us.

·         Remembering the shortness of life strips away all the distractions of life and reminds us what’s most important. Visiting your mortality reminds you that your months are numbered.

·         Each of us can make the decision to love the work we do and perform it so well that people can’t take their eyes off us.

·         I learned to love literature, great music, and beautiful art. I discovered life’s simplest pleasures are life’s most precious ones.

·         ‘Lucky breaks’ are nothing more than unexpected rewards for intelligent choices we’ve chosen to make.

·         Never play victim! It’s impossible to build a tribute to success on a foundation of excuses.

·         ‘Great spirits have always encountered opposition from mediocre minds.’ Just go do your work as well as you can humanly do it. The rest will take care of itself.’

·         “And if you stumble a bit along the way, well, that’s all part of the game. You learn to walk by falling. You learn to lead by trying. But every misstep brings you closer to the perfect step. And if people don’t quite understand what you’re up to, why let them bring you down? Great people construct monuments with the stones their critics throw at them, you know. And critics generally criticize you only because, at some level, they care. When they stop saying anything, it’s because you no longer matter to them. It’s when no one criticizes you that you should really be worried.”

·         Leadership really is about closing your ears to the noisy voices of others so you can more clearly hear the mission and call within yourself. Makes me think of the words of Dr. Seuss: ‘Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.

·         Most people hide in their shells when the going gets rough. They push away anything that pulls them the least bit out of their comfort zone. And sadly they also push away their chances of growth.  The brave eat their fear before their fear eats them.

·         The secret to moving through hard times is to just keep moving forward. The singer Joan Baez put it perfectly: ‘Action is the antidote to despair.’ In challenging conditions, just stay in movement.

·         Please start working on yourself today, because life waits for no one. It speeds along on its own merry way with your cooperation or without it. Don’t put off until tomorrow what you know must be done today. Tomorrow just might never come. That’s reality.

·         Communing with nature is yet another effective way to get your creative fire burning and keep you excited about achieving great things at work.

·         Do something every day to improve your lifestyle. You only live once, so why not enjoy it completely?

A Must Read and a Time worthy Book!

Author Info: 

ROBIN SHARMA is one of the world's experts on leadership and personal success. The author of eight major international bestsellers, including The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, his mission is to help people and organizations get to world class.

Book Excerpt : The Fifth Mountain by Paulo Coelho

Title:  The Fifth Mountain

Author: Paulo Coelho

Publication: Harper 

Genre: Motivational, Inspirational

Source: Kindle Edition 

Pages: 119

Rating: 4/5 

Paulo Coelho’s The Fifth Mountain is a quaint theme work. As I know him as a writer of motivational books who weaved essential life’s lessons into his extraordinary stories. The Fifth Mountain is different though. He fictionalized the biblical story of Elijah and a Jew.  Book is all about faith, trust issues regardless of religious convictions.  I don’t want to distort the skeleton of a book by précising the story but genuinely want to share few points which really make us think actually what  we are doing with our life.

·         “If god is all-powerful, why doesn't He spare the suffering of those who love Him? Why doesn't He save them, instead of giving might and glory to His enemies?”

·         “Here in this land there was once a river.” But the only thing that mattered about a river, its flow of water, would no longer be there to quench their thirst. Souls too, like rivulets and plants, needed a different kind of rain: hope, faith, a reason to live. When this did not come to pass, everything in that soul died, even if the body went on living; and the people could say: “Here in this body there was once a man.”

·         You have discovered how everything is simple. Having courage is enough.

·         This was freedom: to feel what the heart desired, with no thought to the opinion of the rest.

·         They had achieved everything they desired because they were not limited by the frustrations of the past.”

·         “Remember the good things you have done. They will give you courage.”

·         “What are you doing?”

      “I have nothing to do,” she replied.

      “Then learn something. At this moment, many people have stopped living. They do not become angry, nor cry out; they merely wait for time to pass. They did not accept the challenges of life, so life no longer challenges them. You are running that same risk; react, face life, but do not stop living.”

·         “All life’s battles teach us something, even those we lose. When you grow up, you’ll discover that you have defended lies, deceived yourself, or suffered for foolishness. If you’re a good warrior, you will not blame yourself for this, but neither will you allow your mistakes to repeat themselves.”

·         “A child can always teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.”

·         Until now only the children have been able to overcome what took place, because they have no past—for them, everything that matters is the present moment. So we shall try to act as they do.”

·         “And a warrior is always aware of what is worth fighting for. He does not go into combat over things that do not concern him, and he never wastes his time over provocations.

·         “A warrior accepts defeat. He does not treat it as a matter of indifference, nor does he attempt to transform it into a victory. The pain of defeat is bitter to him; he suffers at indifference and becomes desperate with loneliness. After all this has passed, he licks his wounds and begins everything anew. A warrior knows that war is made of many battles; he goes on.

·         “Tragedies do happen. We can discover the reason, blame others, imagine how different our lives would be had they not occurred. But none of that is important: they did occur, and so be it.

·          “Take advantage of the chance that tragedy has given you; not everyone is capable of doing so.”

Really a worth read! 

About the Author - 

Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian author, who is known globally for his inspirational writing. He has received various international awards and his books have sold over 85 million copies and have been translated into several languages. Some of his other renowned works are The Alchemist and Eleven Minutes.

Book Excerpt : The Dalai Lama's Cat : David Michie

Title: The Dalai Lama’s Cat

Author: David  Michie

Publication: Hay House

Genre: General Fiction

Source: Kindle Edition

Rating: 4/5

Past Days .. I was reading ‘ The Dalai Lama’s cat ‘ and  learnt something from it .. I just wanted to share it . Worthwhile I think …!

“It is good, very good, to acknowledge a problem with anger,” he continued.

“I’ve been high strung my whole life,” she said.

“Sometimes we know we need to change our behavior. But it requires some sort of shock for us to realize we must change. Starting now.

” “Sì.” Mrs. Trinci gulped down another wave of tears.

“But how?”

 “Begin by considering the advantages of practicing patience and the disadvantages of not practicing it,” the Dalai Lama told her.

 “When one is angry, the first person to suffer is oneself. No one who is angry has a happy, peaceful mind.”

Mrs. Trinci looked at him intently with red-rimmed eyes.

“We also need to think about the impact on others. When we say hurtful things we don’t really mean, we can create deep wounds that can’t be healed. Think of all the rifts between friends and within families, divisions that have led to a complete breakdown in the relationship, all because of a single angry outburst.”

 “I know!” Mrs. Trinci wailed.

 “Next, “Next, we ask ourselves, where is this anger coming from? If the true cause of anger is the fridge or the gas or the lack of raspberries, then why isn’t everyone else angry at these things?

 You see, the anger isn’t coming from out there. It’s coming from our mind. And that is a good thing, because we can’t control everything around us in the world, but we can learn to control our own mind.”

                    ……………………………………………………………

Book Excerpt : Levels of Life by Julian Barnes

Title : Levels of Life
Author: Julian Barnes
Publisher: Random House
Genre: Literary Fiction
Source: Kindle Edition
Pages: 74
Rating: 5/5

Books are the real saviour. They heal us. Reading a book is like exploring a new world which is hidden behind those beautiful words.

Past days, I read a book “Levels of Life by Julian Barnes “.

Frankly speaking, it was hard to enter into it but in the end that book left me speechless, spellbound with Teary-eyed. This book is all about Photography, Ballooning and most importantly love, grief, Pain, variety of emotions and Silence. No, I’m not going to summarize it because it would kill that magic or you can say I don’t have that much sensible vocabulary To express it. 

It is a ‘Must Read Book’ especially for those who have lost their loved ones and suffered a lot. Here I want to share few catchy lines of this book, Beyond our imagination.

-Money couldn’t have saved her so what good was money.

-What doesn’t kill us making us stronger !

-Grief snatches the breathe from you, makes stomach turn. Cuts off the blood supply to  the brain

-She was alive in my memory

-If she was anywhere she was within me.

-Let’s concentrate on the essential.

-Dreams are more reliable more secure than memory. in dreams she arrives  looking and  acting like herself. Dreams are always a source of comfort.

-I could not kill myself because i would also be killing her. she would die a second time.  So the question arises how am I to live. I must live as she would have wanted me to.

-I still think of Sara everyday of life. Every hour of the day.Someone is dead may mean they are not alive but that doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. So I talk to her constantly. This feels as normal as necessary.

-I keep alive our lost private conversations.Her voice calms me gives me courage

 The paradox of grief. I have survived what is now four years of her absence. It is  because I have had four year of her presence. she always answers when I talk to her.

-I always miss her on some occasion .no silent sleepy presence. no hand in mine.

-She exists not really in the present not wholly in the past but in some intermediate tense  the past present.

-Sorrow is a kind of rust on the soul. which every new idea contributes in its passage to  scour away

-The image is lost for ever , available only for memory turned into anecdote.

-I live alone the habit grows

-The cure for loneliness is solitude. Marianne moore advises

-Pain shows that you have not forgotten. pain enhances the flavor of the memories , pain is  a proof of love ,if it didn’t matter it wouldn’t matter.

-There are moments which appear to indicate some kind of progress when the tears the  daily unavoidable tears stop.

-When possessions can be disposed of.

-You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed…’ 

 P.s. – Read It, Feel it and Breath It.