Father Fiction... Things that made me think

95% of prison inmates are men
85% of these are from fatherless homes
      I hadn't heard this stat before, I think the first stat is more shocking than the second.  What makes men more corrupt than women?  Is there some other reason for this stat?
What are your thoughts?


There will always be a reason to feel sorry for ourselves. And sometimes it really is appropriate to grieve something terrible that has happened in our lives. But we also have to move on; we have to set ourselves free from the trap of self-pity.
      

Earn What You're Really Worth... Things that made me think

Work 2 hours extra each day, read for an hour a day, listen to audio books daily, work through lunch, volunteer for everything and maintain the relationships in your life. 
       And for the other  minutes in my day I guess I'll sleep.

He would mention in different ways that All the top executives in the world do...  All the top 1% of money earners have this characteristic...
       I presume he interviewed all of them

The Brothers Karamazov... Things that made me think

Even though this was fiction there were some interesting things about it

Translated by Contance Garnett - this was another thing that was mentioned every chapter.  It was translated into English at the turn of the 20th century.
       It made me think about how few words we use these days.  Some words have been lost to history.
       Words I need to use: Supercilious, nary, tarry and base.

There were many different characters and the author went deep inside the mindset of at least five.
       Did Dostoyevsky associate himself with all of them in different ways?
       What was his motivation for writing this?  It can't have been just a story because most of it ins't story

Buyology... Things that made me think

A $7 million dollar project with huge results and the future of marketing.

       Why haven't I heard of this before?

We are a highly over stimulated culture.  Part of our brains shut down because of excessive advertising. 

       I wonder if people would be more observant if they were put somewhere without images constantly bombarding them.  

I wonder how my brain would betray me if it were tested?  HGTV, food network maybe I just dislike these by principal rather than viewing displeasure.

100 people in each test.  People are put in a MRI machine.
       n=100 really isn't a great sample size for n experiment.  Also if I was out inside an MRI machine for an hour and told that if I move the whole thing has to start over again, I think it might affect my emotions slightly.  

Rain: What a Paperboy Learned About Business... Things that made me think

The dinner table is the first place where children experience negotiation, meeting new people learn manners, ask questions, learn the art of conversation.  
       That dinner table we bought could be a good $50 investment.  Its tough working nights and trying to eat together but its probably worth it.

Referrals are powerful marketing tools.
       I have a business idea brewing at the moment that would benefit a lot from this.  In a small town where everyone knows everyone its probably even more key.

Parables are so good for remembering things.  I remember way more of Rain's stories than the business principals the were talked about afterwards.

He goes off on a bit of a tangent presumably to justify his pursuit of money.  Saying that the 'killjoys' got it wrong, 'The correct line is - The love of money is the root of all evil'.
       He could have at least got the quote right, it might even have got his point over better.  'The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil' - 1 Timothy 6:10

The 4-hour Work Week... Things that made me think

4 hours of work per week?
       I'm sure he spent a lot of time writing this book.  Either he doesn't count as work or he outsourced the project to one of his many VAs.

The book did really make me think about goals in life and what would I do if I didn't have to worry about money.  The picture of flying over rainforests on a hanglider made me stop and think that I would love to do some interesting things with my wife and son but it really takes planning and effort to even do fun things sometimes.

Thinking about goals I realized that this even takes effort to really make goals that will mean something when you achieve them.  I think too many of mine involve golf.  

Let me know some goal ideas  

Creating a World Without Poverty... Things that made me think

Why am I reading this book?

Inside the Jihad... Things that made me think

He talks a lot about his strategies of how to take down people he is following and how the French and British secret services don't do a very good job.  Also his stories seem to go all his way, he escapes situation and passes through places that other wouldn't.
    Are all his stories true?  Yes this is an autobiography but there is no one to verify any of it.

    Where is this guy now?

Total Money Makeover... Things that made me think

"97% of 65-year-olds cant write a check for $600"
      I think its easy to think about retirement as a time of relaxing and playing golf but it seems like this isn't reality for most people.

"49% of Americans could cover less than one months' expenses if they lost their income"
      Good reason for an emergency fund.  Buffer against debt.

"If your mortgage payment is $900 and the interest portion is $830, you will pay that year around $10,000 in interest. What a great tax deduction! Right? Otherwise, you'd pay $3,000 in taxes on that $10,000. But who in their right mind would chose to trade $10,000 for $3,000?"
      I dont know many people who pay cash for a house.  How bad are mortgages really?  Thoughts anyone?