Mind Chi (copy)

A monster has been created! I had so much fun in the business book section last week that I stayed a full two hours looking over titles and scanning content. What I pulled out to read is Mind Chi: Re-wire your Brain in 8 Minutes a Day by Richard Israel and Vanda North.

Mind Chi according to the two authors is an act of changing negative energy to positive energy. The reader is to use the B.E.A.T. method. The person takes whatever issue they face destructively within their body, emotions, actions, and thoughts (BEAT) and changes them to positives. It takes two minutes per section for a total of eight minutes.

For example, let us say I am having trouble meeting goals. For one minute I analysis my body and determine that I am burned out, my back aches and I lack concentration. Using Mind Chi, the second minute will be used resolving the problem by being more responsive, doing yoga or taking pills to be pain-free, and preparing my body to be ready for action. Obviously, these are all concepts in my mind. It takes longer than two minutes to do stretching exercises like yoga.

Moving on to step two and my emotions, I do not achieve my goals because I feel hopeless, sad and stressed. Not really, but I play along. So, I am looking to change these emotions to enjoyment, buoyancy and eagerness. How many of us really take into consideration our feelings when meeting a task? Alas, I do not want to mow the yard because I feel stressed during the process. The real reason being I am lazy which leads us to step three, actions.

Instead of meeting my goal, I am actively talking on the phone or wasting time with lower priorities. I should be planning ahead and completing little tasks towards the goal and managing my time more wisely. Remember this exercise is happening in two minutes and all in my head.

The final step involves checking my thoughts. Am I dragging my feet because I do not see the reason for the goal or maybe I think it is unattainable no matter how much effort I spend? My thoughts should be moving forward for the greater good, or enjoying the challenge, or even realizing I will get satisfaction in the completion when obtained.

Mind Chi provides 50 BEAT maps for common issues in business such as sales, communication, training, health, and management skills. I think it will be useful in my running, too. Maybe one day, I can Mind Chi to a faster me.

Mind Chi (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2011/10/mind-chi-copy.html

Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus (copy)

Business books are a dime a dozen. Seems like every week one is released to great hoopla and then lost among the hordes of others sitting on our shelves. In short – business books sell but have a limited life span.

I have become quite attached to the short and sweet versions in this category. Who has time to really delve into Collins’ Good to Great when I can cover the basics reading Blanchard’s One Minute Manager in an eighth of the time?!?

Along with being short the gimmicky format stands out. A busy boss needs information quick and the gimmick usually adds to her retention of the material. Three examples that come to mind in this gimmicky sub-genre of business are Peanut Butter and Jelly Management by Komisarjevsky, Fish: A Remarkable Way to Boost Morales and Improve Results by Lundin, Paul and Christensen, and The Back of the Napkin by Dan Roam.

The Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus by the employees of Walk-the-Talk has it all. Choked full of useful information and in a cutesy but effective format, this book can be read in one sitting.

Busy bosses can lament with Santa Claus as he relates the perils of one day delivery. “There are workers to lead, letters to read, orders to fill, processes to manage, stuff to buy, stuff to make, standards to maintain, new technologies to adopt, skills to develop, elf problems to solve, and reindeer droppings to scoop (although I delegate that one).”

There are eight secrets amongst the eight chapters such as chapter 6, “Share the Milk and Cookies.” Be sure your employees realize the difference they are making in the company. Santa, the elves, and the reindeer all have a part in the “big ‘making people happy’ picture.” One way is to reward those who do a good job with verbal praises and letters of gratitude. Santa says make, “‘attitude of gratitude’ one of your most important workshop values.”

Other secrets include: “Build a Wonderful Workshop, Choose Your Reindeer Wisely, Listen to the Elves, Get beyond the Red Wagons, Find out Who’s Naughty and Nice, and Be Good for Goodness Sake.”

As a boss your mission may not be “making spirits bright,” but then again, maybe it should be.

Leadership Secrets of Santa Claus (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2011/10/leadership-secrets-of-santa-claus.html

Girl's Guide to Homelessness (copy)

As I read Brianna Karp’s memoir, The Girl’s Guide to Homelessness, I am struck by her understanding of the word homeless. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines homeless as having no home or permanent place of residence. Karp owns a recreational vehicle (RV) that was bequeathed to her from her dad’s estate. She also owns a truck to haul the RV from Wal-Mart parking lot to Wal-Mart parking lot.

Technically, Karp has a home. She has a roof over her head. She has shelter from the elements. She is able to place her stuff such as books, toiletries and food within its rooms. She can lock the door and drive away for supplies. She is drawing unemployment and blogs on her own laptop during the day at Starbucks.

One could argue that the RV is not a permanent place because she moves it around. How many of your friends have sold their homes and moved into an RV to see the world? They see the RV as a home. They take showers in another location possibly, but still call the tin-can home.

Now, I admit, I am only a third of the way through the book. She may end up spending a night or two on a park bench and for that I will take back everything I said, but somehow I doubt it.

Karp is part of an elite group if she is truly homeless. She states on her blog by the same name as the book, “I am an educated woman with stable employment and residence history. I have never done drugs. I am not mentally ill. I am a career executive assistant – coherent, opinionated, poised, and capable. If you saw me walking down the street, you wouldn’t have assumed that I lived in a parking lot. In short, I was just like you – except without the convenience of a permanent address.”

I bounced my ideas off a co-worker who is also reading the book and she said, “But I like her.” I like her, too! Heck, I love someone that pulls herself up by the boot straps. Karp was sexually abused by her father and physically and mentally abused by her mother. She deserves better.

I just get an uneasy feeling knowing Karp will profit from the book. Why shouldn’t she? She did write it while homeless and looking for a job. Read that last sentence ironically. What about those truly homeless who need our support? What will happen to uneducated minds that might see her choice as an alternative to everyday life? Is this really something one wants to glamorize?

Girl's Guide to Homelessness (copy)

http://maggiereads.blogspot.com/2011/10/s-i-read-brianna-karps-memoir-girls.html