Mehdi

Elon Musk is one of a kind and his achievements are very impressive. His dogged determination to follow his believes despite the fact they are against conventional wisdom is inspiring. Elon Musk achievements within aerospace and auto industry are revolutionary and within this book shows non of this accomplishments shows up by luck... Elon fight hard to get where he is and within this book there are people such as his ex-wife narrating; how not only Elon could tolerate dramatic crises he could stay focuse on job in hand at the same time.
Elon believes adversities in his life made him who he is now, he also raised his concerned about lack of adversity within new generation in particular his kids.

Microsoft had quite an impressive journey within the last decade. Satya Nadella's wisdom and leadership style played significant role on Microsoft's turn around.

This book have a lot to offer when it comes to leadership. Satya not only shared his insight but also shared a lot from others within the Microsoft as well as the industry in large.

Futuristic thoughts around topics such as quantum computing, artificial intelligence and mixed reality are quite interesting. I really liked Satya's optimistic/realistic interpretation of these controversial topics.

Very informative book given the era of pandemic we are in. This book is taking a deep dive regarding 1918 pandemic as well as other epidemic throughout civilization; It is picturing what we know about different types of Influenza their pathology and epidemiology.

John Barry illustrates the horror humanity go through during 1981 pandemic and how close civilization come to edge of collapse. Within the conclusion author revels the inevitability of another pandemic based on scientific study and how unprepared we are.

This book covers history of the viruses, key figures that have major contribution for discoveries about the virus as well as historical events such as word war II and significant political and medical decisions that end up saving or losing a lot of life.

Phil Knight within his memoir take the audience for an adventures trip on 1960s. He describe the world the way that it was during that era. He also share his dream or so called crazy idea and walk you through how he make it happen.

I call this book as a classic for business and entrepreneurship book. He describe up and downs within his journey, his management style and transformation from nothing to enterprise organization. Phil Knight also share his personal life within his memoir as well as his relationship with his dad, mom, sisters, wife and his sons. He describe his life into the details when he used to live paycheck to paycheck, till he became millionaire.

All in all it is wonderful, educational and entertaining book which I had the chance to go though the audio book .

Kevin Kelly within “The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future” book walks the reader through disruptive technologies which revolutionize our life within last century. He starts the book with his first encounter of computer at 1965 when he was 13 years old and share his observation since then. Kevin Kelly covers interesting topics such as block chain, artificial intelligence, virtual reality and augmented reality as well as how they might shape human life in future.

This book would elaborate about optimism and pessimism as the title suggests and explain which one comes handy in different circumstances. Examples provided in the book is very interesting to illustrate the point.
Within this book author shows how can one change his thoughts/believes for better outcome and results when it's required. ABCDE(Adversity, Beliefs, Consequence, Dispute, Energy ) technique introduced within this book, is an interesting approach to deal with adversities in your life. Mentioned technique helps to have better awareness of our so called inner voice, analyzed them better and distract or dispute according to the type of adversity. Furthermore I like the part explained about the disputing negative thinking by analyzing Evidence, Alternatives, Implications, and Usefulness.

(I've been through only the audio part of the program.)

“If you can't tolerate your opponent you will be definitely be bitten by your opponent. if you treat your opponent as enemies you already lost at the beginning of the game. if you hang your opponent as a target and throwing dart at him every day you only be able fight this enemy not others. competition is the greatest joy, when you can't keep up with others and feels like bring you more and more ageny it must be something wrong with your competition strategy.”

Big chunk of this book is famous quotes and well-known parables. I have been through books within this category and style and I found this book superior to it's kind.
Neil Pasricha have categories all the quotes and parables nice way, he also share some personal stories and lessen learned form them. Sure he could find a way to improve his life and mind and he did a nice job to put together whatever helped him to reach where he is.

Ben Horowitz within “The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers” talk about the challenges to build and manage organization especially on fast paste technologies. At the beginning of the book Ben clarifies this is not recipe book and every situation needed to be dealt with differently.

Ben divide the CEOs to two groups; peace time and war time CEOs. Then he mainly focus on war time CEO's style and challenges, for one thing he believes majority of management books in the market have their content mainly on peace time CEOs or their experiences/styles during peace time. He strongly believes company need to be managed by war time CEOs during the war and behave totally differently in compare with peace time.

Horowitz illustrates his struggle on several crises he have been through and explained how he survived when the survival was against the odds. There are valuable stuff within the book ranging from what is good organization and what is bad organization, what is good manager/executive and what is bad manager/executive, value of feedback, how to layoff, how to hire and tones of other things that can come handy for entrepreneur or high level executives.

This book tell you loud and clear; be careful what you wish for if you are planning to be CEO or start your own venture. I have been through the audio book multiple times and gain a lot of insight from this book.

I just revisited this book after over a decade and I was flabbergasted, as if I'm going through a new book.

Paulo Coelho has illustrated the world and life in a short and exciting story. It is among the most inspiring book I have ever been through. And the audiobook performed by Jeremy Irons is by far among the best audiobooks.

One can learn a lot from this wonderful story. And it is worth being revisited after sometimes again!

Splendid memoir of Ed Catmull about Pixar, its culture and nice journey about how things solidified to an enterprise and well-known company from an startup. This book is full of invaluable lessens about leadership, management and nurturing creativity yet there it comes with such an smooth story type that one never get bored. Ed Catmull within Creativity, Inc walk the audience through his point of view in hindsight as well as main players within this venture.

The values of the company and it's people, and how they got evolved by time is astonishing. He articulates even though luck and randomness are huge factors in which could not be avoided, how culture, mindset, leadership and stewardship are playing invaluable role to build sustaining creativity and success within the organization in large.

Ed also discuss about nitty gritty of merger with Disney. How things could go sideways and how big players react to avoid the meltdown is also astonishing. This part demonstrates the fact that skill, passion and leadership could play important role to bring the merger to another level so called synergy rather than hold each other back. Learning from each other and sharing their successes as well as failures are mind blowing. Candor have been identified as one of the major factor on success of both organizations.

Ed Catmull also talk about Steve Jobs plenty of times since he was one of the major elements in which bringing Pixar to picture and make it the best in its industry. It's amusing the way he describes his first acquaintance with Steve Jobs as well as the way they deal along the way. I found it interesting how he describes Steve Jobs and why other people/employees could not digest him initially. He also illustrated so called the spiritual awakening of Steve Jobs during last stage of his life.

I have been through the audio book more than once and enjoy the book immensely.

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown is truly amazing book. Options and choices day by day getting wider and human being have to choose from essential few rather than trivial many, otherwise one could stuck on a hedonic treadmill and getting nowhere despite spending more time and efforts on non-essentials. Greg illustrated how important it is to say no to trivial many so we could focus on things that matter most. Setting priority has been clarified within this book with few pretty tangible examples. In short you could grasp how you could improve exponentially on things that matter most rather than improve a millimeter on thousand directions.

Yet this book is go beyond essentialism and setting priorities. The author took us on a brief journey on few common fallacies that one might fall pray of. He elaborates on sunk cost fallacy with few example, as well as endowment effect. Decision fatigue also has been described, with few suggestions how we could stay of it. This kind of fallacies could be a real bottleneck in one's life, without even notice them.

This book covers a wide scope, while stay focus on the main objective. There are plenty of well-known figures and books have been quoted, which illustrates the level of research and study performed on the subject. One might miss a lot of crucial points which has been discussed within this book, since the author made sure to stay on the subject. Though it looks like he repeating himself over and over again he is delivering brand new insights.

I have been through the audio book read by the author multiple times and I have enjoyed it immensely. I highly recommend this book to everyone. This is a book you might what to go through more than once.

Carmine Gallo have studies the best TED presenters and analyzed them to see what made their talk so attractive. This books give you another eye about presentation and public speaking. You might think brilliant presentation come naturally to people with skills and talents however within this book illustrate the fact that successful speaker rehearse their talk hundreds of times. Pretty helpful aspects, secrets, tips and tricks have been covered by author about public speaking and variety of techniques that worked in real life by remarkable people.

Selling your idea and communicating effectively within working environment as well as day to day life are other aspect that have been addressed in this book.

Gary Keller devote the majority of the content of this book on focusing on single task in hand and avoid multi tasking and he provide plenty of evidence and study results on the matter. He strongly believes multi taking doomed to mediocre results and one of the most important factor for success is focusing on task in hand.

Identifying the tasks that matter the most and turning it in to habit is another aspect which have been covered within the book. Gary believes discipline is not matter as much as conventional wisdom suggests, but keep repeating the most important task regularly till they become habit is a great deal. Being able to make anything to habit can have halo effect and can making habit development easier and easier on long run.

In addition will power described as another key ingredient to be able to focus the most important tasks. He demonstrate a full study result done with small kids and the kids destiny in hindsight. Gray clarify that will power is finite and need to be managed efficiently, otherwise we ran out of will power on non important tasks.

Time boxing, success list rather than to do list, saying no to non important things and lots of other good advise are provided within the book. In my eyes if you have been through few other self improvement books you might find almost all the points within this book repetitive.

“The First 90 Days” by Michael D. Watkins is a great book in #leadership and #management fields. This book is a fantastic source for first time managers up to C levels. How to strategize the transition as well as put a framework in place within organization in order to help and mentor the employers for their transition and assist employees to leap from a strong functional performer to cross-functional management roles.

Although the focus of the book is on transition from one role to another or one company to anther there are plenty of useful pragmatic approaches have been illustrated within this book. Michael explain about the importance of securing early wins and avoid early losses to build momentum and credibility.

The author introduced a model call STARS (startup, turn around, realignment and sustaining success) and elaborate the difference when it comes to transition. He discusses about when need to used offense versus defense, how to define “A priority” items and how to overcome to resistance to change, how to build personal credibility and people perception especially within the first 90 Days of your transition. This book teaches how to think like organizational architect. How to deal with technical, political, and cultural problems as well as being a change agent and create coalitions have covered into the details.

The author strongly believes Darwinian leadership (sink or swim managerial culture) is unproductive for the employees as well as organization in large. He illustrated his points with several tangible real-life examples and shared the result of several studies to support his points. This book helps to accelerate the transition period and reach to breakeven point earlier which helps the individuals as well as the organizations reach to their goals much faster and avoid unnecessary failures.

This book raises profound questions and addresses them with logical and spiritual insights that differ from traditional religious perspectives. It revolves around three key principles: joy, truth, and love. I highly recommend approaching this book with an open mind, as it has the potential to bring a sense of calm and clarity to your life, helping you reach your goals.

The author acknowledges that the content may be a product of his imagination, but he encourages readers to consider the impact it can have on their lives. He poses the question: Does it make your life better? If so, accepting it can be transformative; if not, challenging it is worthwhile.

Throughout the book, several notable points are made, such as the communication style of God being through thoughts and feelings rather than words. It highlights the importance of inner guidance and personal experience as the ultimate source of truth. The book presents the concept that humans were created by God, who in turn created the rest of the world.

One thought-provoking idea is that life is not solely about discovering oneself but also about actively creating oneself. It emphasizes the significance of both knowing and experiencing. The theory of relativity is explored, suggesting that one cannot fully understand what they are until they understand what they are not.

The book also touches upon the power of emotions and advises against judgment. It suggests that condemning or judging others will ultimately affect oneself and encourages seeking change or supporting those who are creating positive change.

The concept of desire as the driving force behind creation is introduced, differentiating it from need, which God does not possess. It challenges the notion of seeking external solutions and emphasizes the importance of leaving one's current state to find what is already within.

Enlightenment is portrayed as the realization that there is nowhere to go, nothing to do, and no one to become other than the true self in the present moment. It underscores the idea that heaven is found in the here and now.

The book explores the dynamics of resistance and attention, suggesting that what is resisted persists while what is acknowledged eventually fades away. It delves into the idea that God's greatest moment is when individuals recognize that they do not need a separate entity called God.

The qualities of a true master, leader, king, teacher, and God are examined, highlighting the importance of empowering others and serving them, ultimately creating leaders and gods in their own right.

The concept of right and wrong is explored, challenging the notion of objective truth. It emphasizes that judgment is a human characteristic, not a divine one.

The book presents a vast perspective on God, stating that God is a child of another and that human perception of ultimate reality is limited, while the truth is boundless. It suggests that God is the energy of imagination, creation, and everything in between, encompassing the first thought and the last experience.

In conclusion, ‘Conversations with God: An Uncommon Dialogue, Book 1' invites readers to contemplate thought-provoking ideas about spirituality and the nature of God. It challenges conventional beliefs and offers a unique perspective that can inspire personal growth and self-reflection.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy read by Stephen Fry is unique master piece emerged from works of two capable artist. Douglas Adams have pretty unique sense of humor which I had the pleasure to be acquainted with for the first time. I had no expectation what so ever from this book since I had not a pleasant experience from science fiction books in this nature. However I found the audio book performed by Stephen Fry quite amusing and entertaining.

Stephen Fry is a fantastic actor which illustrates his skills and arts within this book. Imaging the science fiction seens are way easier and enjoyable the way Stephen Fry read or better to say play the book. I have listen to plenty of audio books, this book is among the most enjoyable ones (another was The Alchemist read by Jeremy Irons).

Douglas Adams style within the Hitchhiker's Guild to the Galaxy caught me by surprise. He decorated his science fiction novel with hilarious circumstances, conversations, and pretty ridiculous and funny analogies especially when you least expecting them. (e.g.: .... He had an odd feeling of being like a man in the act of adultery who is surprised when the woman's husband wanders into the room, changes his trousers, passes a few idle remarks about the weather and leaves again. )

This audio book experience suggests good readers make the book interesting and exciting. I am not sure I would like the book as much if read by any other author.

I've been through the BBC radio 3 audio version of the book. It have amazing sound effects and each character narrated by different person. It's short and sweet novel. However it seems this version of the audio book look a bit different from the original version.

Interesting book illustrating what is economics and how the real world looks like. Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner got together and come up with this crazy idea of writing a book describing crazy behavioral economics. They expose pretty insane questions and made them so interesting and amusing for the reader to follow, and look into the world and surrounding with another set of eyes.

Conventional wisdom has been discussed in to the details within this book. How it has been introduced, and how misleading it can be within the society. There are plenty of data analysis and study resulted has been provided to articulate the issues.

Causation vs correlation also has been demonstrated in to the details. What people believed can be causation of an incident has been proved to be just correlation in hindsight, with pretty nice examples.

Another accept of the book are the crazy questions exposed by the authors, such as; which one is more dangerous swimming pool or gun for a kid in a house?, why drug-dealers are living with their parents?, what are the relationships of existence of many books in the house and smartness and success of a kid?, is abortion lower the rate of the crime? All these questions have been discussed in to the details. The more the question is analyzed the more interesting it get.

I came across Culture series within Elon Musk's favorite books and I decided to give it a try and stated to go through the audio books. Iain M. Banks lost me within outer space among unknown creatures, drouns, artificial supper brains and things in that nature within the first 5 books. I had nothing to say but admitting I'm lost, confused, etc.

Iain M. Banks caught me by surprise on the 6th book; Inversions. There was no sign of technology, aliens and smart drouns. I found Inversion as a nice and smooth story which decorated by a bit philosophy. The main story is about a female doctor and the story narrated by his assistance. Despite the fact that it is unorthodox for king having foreign female person as his doctor it happens to be within this fable that she is the king's physician.

There are up and downs within this novel, Iain M. Bank take you through wars, love, intelligence debates and lots of more within this parable. There is a lot to learn and experience within this book and I am going to give it another shot in future.

Yet it is a mystery for me what happen that out of sudden this series diverted. What is the relationship between this book and the fist 5 books. And where Iain M. Banks going to take me within next books in the series.

Very interesting book in entrepreneurship area. Derek Sivers share his 10 years entrepreneurship journey in an hour or so. He explained how he stumbled on multimillion entrepreneurship business venture and elaborate his utopia and ideology.

“Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Practice and principles” by Peter F. Drucker is insightful and complex book. Peter F. Drucker have elaborated innovation and Entrepreneurship in granular level within several industries. This book deserve to be studied multiple times in order to grasp fraction of what Peter F.Drucker covered here.

This book was recommend by a friend of mine and I'm not big fan of Stephen King. I have watched The Shining movie and I decided to give On Writing audio book a try.
Stephen King's memoir starts with author deep connection of personal life, childhood, carrier, as well as his works. There are good advice lay around this book for those that would like to start writing their novel. The author illustrate his points by example from his own works as well as other famous works.

This book meant for Stephen King's fan, and folks with novel writing interest. You still some about writing in general and enjoy the professional writing if you are not in the above category.

Pretty interesting book with rich literature. This book walking you though basic personal financial management by several simple though exciting parable. Teaching the value of hard work and how to make your job your friend rather than enemy. Sharing successes and failures to give the reader realistic idea how one can succeed and avoid failure . I have been through the audio book more than once and I enjoy the tails every time.