My Top Three Reads of 2020

My Top Three Reads of 2020

My Top Three Reads of 2020

30

DECEMBER 2020

Samuel Osho

Do you remember shopping for Christmas as a kid? Everything in the store is screaming at you, “Pick me! Please, pick me!” If you’ve ever been to those crowded stores, you will agree that choosing a dress is not an easy task at all. Well, the decision paralysis ends when one of your parents intervenes, “Esther, pick this dress. It looks good on you.”

I was like a restless kid shopping for Christmas wear as I hunted for the top three reads of 2020. As I reflected on my journey in 2020, the voices of some authors stayed with me. The works of these authors moved me and their words found a space in my heart. It was either their stories that influenced my thoughts or their counsel that made my light shine brighter.

Brene Brown showed me how to lead from the heart as a leader. Clark’s Writing Tools helped me to become a better writer while Austin Kleon revealed ten ways to share my creativity with the world. These books made it into my top three because they made me become a better version of myself.

My Top Three Reads of 2020

1. Dare to Lead by Brene Brown, Ph.D.

Brene Brown is a research professor with over two decades studying courage, shame, vulnerability, and empathy. Her TED talk — “The Power of Vulnerability” — is one of the top five most-viewed TED talks in the world, with more than fifty million views.

Dr. Brown’s book, “Dare to Lead” is a treasury of abstract ideas in concrete form, capable of making daring leaders. I learnt how to embrace tough conversations within and outside the workplace. I loved how she defined courage, empathy, shame, resilience, trust, vulnerability, and transformational leadership. While defining courage, Dr. Brown wrote:

“The courage to be vulnerable is not about winning or losing, it’s about the courage to show up when you can’t predict or control the outcome.”

This definition resonated deeply with me — an offshoot of Theodore Roosevelt’s iconic quote popularly tagged “Man in the Arena.” It’s been a long time since a book tugged to my soul and gripped my heart. I could see myself on the pages of the book and ultimately, the path from my struggles into the light. Stories and insights from her research work with outstanding organizations provided varied perspectives on the subject of courage, fear, and vulnerability.

I picked up new tools: giving permission slips, delegating duties with clarity because to be “unclear is unkind,” asking my co-workers what help or support on a project means to them, and admitting the stories I make up in my head about people and situations. I also did a personal reflection and selected my top two values — faith and excellence — that serve as drivers for everything I do.

This is a book that every daring leader passionate about transformation should read. It will help you lead with grounded confidence.

2. Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark

Roy Peter Clark is a senior scholar at the Poynter Institute, one of the most prestigious schools for journalists in the world. He has taught writing at every level — to high school students and Pulitzer Prize-winning authors — for more than thirty years.

I have always believed that writing is a craft which means that it can be learnt. Clark’s book offers tools, not rules. This paradigm shift made the book highly engaging and easy to use for all classes of writers. The book addressed writing in different genres — fiction, nonfiction, poetry, essays, and technical reports. Clark shared more than 200 examples from diverse writers to reinforce the explanation of how the tools are used.

From the book, I learnt new techniques for making my writing pop and also got name tags for my favourite writing styles. I became more confident critiquing my work and offer advice to young writers. The tools taught me the art of X-Ray reading which is needed to understand the structure used by some of my favourite authors.

In Writing Tools, Clark shares decades of experience through fifty-five tools that writers can use daily. He advised against using all the tools at a time. Start with one and move to the other. In no time, you will have a full workbench and your writing will become more polished and effective.

Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” – Dr. Seuss

3. Show Your Work by Austin Kleon

Austin Kleon is the author of the bestselling book, “Steal Like an Artist.” Kleon in “Show Your Work,” unleashed ten revolutionary ideas that every artist can use to share their creativity with the world. It’s a concise book that you can finish easily in two days, but the ideas are so powerful that I kept coming back for more inspiration. Artist is a broad word used for writers, singers, actors, poets, graphic illustrators, sculptors and other creators of art.

Artists struggle to share their works because of the expectations from fans and admirers; everything must be perfect. But Kleon advises artists not to wait until they are experts before they start sharing. It’s encouraging to know that amateur artists can share their imperfect works with the world, so they can find their voice in the process. Kleon drops the bomb:

“You can’t find your voice if you don’t use it.”

I totally agree with this quote. As a budding writer, you need to be fearless when sharing your flawed works with readers regardless of their expectations. That constant sharing spurs you to stay productive and receive feedback on your work.

Kleon advised artists to share their works but to refrain from oversharing. Kleon wrote:

“The act of sharing is one of generosity — you’re putting something out there because you think it might be helpful or entertaining to someone on the other side of the screen.”

The rule of thumb is to ask if what you are about to share is useful or interesting. If you have your doubts, just toss it into the trash can or hit “save as draft.” If you are scared of sharing your works with the world, this is the book you need for that push towards action.

Show Your Work

Conclusion

For a list of my favourite books, you can find them here

 

It’s your turn, please share with me in the comments section – what are the best books you read in 2020?

Do you have an idea that you would like to share with me?

My 5 Best Reads of 2019

My 5 Best Reads of 2019

My 5 Best Reads of 2019

28

DECEMBER 2019

Samuel Osho

Asides my love for writing, I am a voracious reader that devours books both for relaxation and education. Reading helps to relax tense mental muscles and amplify imagination, it’s also an avenue to gather information on a new subject. 

In 2019, I read more books than I have done in previous years, and I am excited to share some of my best reads with you. I hope you find these books inspiring. The books on my list were necessary not published in 2019; in fact, some are quite old, but they are still relevant in their respective fields. 

5 Best Reads of 2019

1. Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

Anne Lamott’s compendium of instructions on writing is a superb blessing for any passionate writer. The book uncovered some nuggets via personal stories blended with humour. 

Lamott insists that to become a superb writer, you have to write more and don’t judge your competence based on your first drafts. You will have terrible first drafts. The earlier you know that, the better for you. For storytellers, Lamott’s advice is to keep writing until you unravel the hidden gems – the profiles of your characters, the dialogue forms, the setting and many more. The book offered tasks you can do to warm your writing engines before embarking on the “big” writing project. 

To finish a story, if you need the help of experts on unfamiliar subjects, don’t hesitate to reach out. Get those conversations going, and the perfect words might just come to you. Lamott also emphasized the essence of joining writing groups and seeking constructive criticism from editors or writers that believe in you.

2. The Dip by Seth Godin

Success requires lots of dedication, hard work and resilience. Everyone knows that, but Godin introduces a new angle, which is knowing when to quit a project, a company, a relationship so that you can win in other things.

Godin describes those tough times before success as either a dip or a cul-de-sac. In a cul-de-sac, you recite the mantra of resilience and perseverance, but it’s a ploy to drain your energy and resources – it’s a dead end. While a dip mirrors the same climatic conditions you face in a cul-de-sac, except that it’s going to lead you to a bright side – things get better if you push hard enough. 

A dip is a shortcut to success and weeds out your competitors. Still, it takes intuition, wisdom and sometimes, data to know the difference between a cul-de-sac and a dip. If you spot a cul-de-sac early in your journey, quit the race, save your energy and resources for better ventures. That’s how you quit to win.

“What a blessing it is to love books.” – Elizabeth von Arnim

3. Zero to One by Peter Thiel

This is a must-read for anyone interested in today’s style of entrepreneurship and start-up business. Peter Thiel is a highly intelligent founder and entrepreneur with more than two decades of experience in pioneering innovative technologies. The book makes a case for the true meaning of technology and demonizes the word “globalization” as copying what others are doing.

Thiel goes deep into business secrets that every entrepreneur needs to explore before making entry into new and existing markets. The book contains logical arguments fit for discourse in our ever-evolving world. Although the book tilts towards collaboration between businesses and paints unhealthy competition as idiotic, it has answers for entrepreneurs in both monopoly and competitive terrains.

What takes any business from zero to one is doing what others are not doing – creating new solutions and not merely repackaging what others are doing. I love the part that delved into how to set up a mafia team for a start-up, how to distribute and sell a new product, how to build a company with a robust culture. 

4. I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

Ramit Sethi’s expert advice on personal finance is a brilliant place to start if you are bent on living a life of financial freedom. Management of personal finances requires one to take charge; don’t be reactive but be proactive. The book propels you to take necessary actions towards your long-term financial goals. You will learn the rules of optimizing my credit card(s) and how to enjoy the perks that come with it. 

The book shows practical ways to supercharge your negotiation skills and avoid unnecessary bank charges. It went deeper into practical strategies for investing and how to start immediately. Ramit shows how to create a conscious spending plan after looking closely at your monthly spending behaviour. And then the exciting part kicks in with using automation as a smart way of saving more money. 

 In the end, I enjoyed the comments on saving for a wedding, getting a prenup, buying a house and buying a car. I am more confident about my finances and equipped with the information to make better decisions.

5. Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Jean Greaves and Travis Bradberry

Greaves and Bradberry teamed up to create an instant supercharger for Emotional Intelligence. The book is a robust tool for anyone interested in learning about Emotional Intelligence and seeking practical ways of improving their Emotional Intelligence Quotient.

The introduction gives an eye-opener on how the emotional part of the brain continually overrides the rational part of the brain. It explains why the default response of human beings is usually a gust of emotions and not a series of logical and thoughtful reasoning. The scheme of emotional hijacking as many call it. 

The book further emphasizes the impact of High Emotional Intelligence on personal and professional pursuits. I learnt that Emotional Intelligence could be seen through four lenses: Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, and Relationship Management. Asides painting what it looks like being in the top or bottom percentile of each category, there were several daily practices you could start immediately to increase your emotional intelligence.

Conclusion

For a list of my favourite books, you can find them here

 

It’s your turn, please share with me in the comments section – what are the best books you read in 2019?

Do you have an idea that you would like to share with me?

How Active Reading Changed My Life: 7 Things That Happened To Me

How Active Reading Changed My Life: 7 Things That Happened To Me

How Active Reading Changed My Life: 7 Things That Happened To Me
12
NOVEMBER, 2017
Samuel Osho
You have heard that readers are leaders. You have heard that reading makes you intelligent. If you are a public speaker, you must have been told that reading makes you a better speaker. And I am pretty sure that writers must have heard a million times that reading makes their pens smarter. These assertions are true but there is more.

 

American novelist and 1954 Nobel Prize Winner in Literature, Ernest Hemingway once said, “There is no friend as loyal as a book.” From my personal voyage, I totally agree that good books are loyal friends and they keep the company of the wise. I love reading good books. Reading is an activity that refuels and rewires the brain.
When you read fiction books, you learn to live in the world of the characters and travel to new places. Reading a non-fiction book opens your mind to new insights from unique wells of knowledge that can make your life better. I have been married to good books for about a decade and the impact of reading in my life is mind-blowing.
To be honest, before engaging in active reading, I was that young lad who was inherently shy and always scared of criticism. I was helplessly battered by an inferiority complex and lacked the energy to sustain intellectual conversations with people.
Asides my school books, I was a complete novice and to make matters worse, I loathed movies. These three traits perfectly describe my personality before engaging in active reading:
  • Timid:
I was that smart but diffident kid that sits at the back of the class. Everything about me including my grades spoke eloquently except my lips. They were sealed by timidity. Provided the discussion is out of the spheres of science, I was a complete ignoramus. There was really nothing to say due to lack of exposure.
  • Lack of self-worth:
I lacked the dignity of believing in my worth as a person. Inferiority complex dealt with my personality and made me a fragile soul. I was that moody guy pummeled by the actions and inactions of others like a ball in a pendulum. I was a people pleaser and never believed in myself.
  • Terrible at communication:
Communication can be tough for shallow minds. The two most popular media of communication – writing and speaking, places a demand on your reservoir of knowledge and drains you. I was terrible at both writing and speaking and would always find a way of running away from them. Worst of all, I struggled with engaging in simple conversations because I was always afraid of making grammatical blunders. To earn a modicum of respect, I kept my mouth shut and watched others unleash their thoughts and ideas.
In 2007, shortly after graduation from high school, my Dad gave me a book, “You Can Make A Difference” by American author Tony Campolo. And that was the turning point! The book appeared to me as a mirror that showed all my flaws, weaknesses, pain-points and shortcomings.
 

 

I perceived so strongly in my heart that Campolo had me in mind when he wrote the book because it did not only talk about my challenges but also offered solutions to them. He showed me why I felt inferior to others, why I always chose to follow the crowd and why my lips were sealed. Before I got to the last page, my inferiority complex encountered a natural death and I was free.
 
What happened to me? Just a book? Yes, one good book brought liberation to my soul.
 
And what was the next thing I did? I searched for more books and read voraciously. At that time, I had a very close schoolmate who lived two blocks away from my house, he was an addicted reader that consumes all manners of books in print. We became very close friends and made reading one of our hobbies.
 
That’s one single decision I have come to eternally cherish. Reading became my strongest addiction. Anyways, I am very proud of it even though I have earned funny names like bookworm and nerd.
 
After reading Campolo’s book, I pounced on novels and found a special taste for thrillers and science fiction. In the novels of Michael Crichton and Robin Cook, I learnt about topics such as medicine and public health.
 
While rummaging through novels by John Grisham, I understood the meaning of words like subpoena, probono, affidavit, and other legal terms. I was intrigued by the problem-solving instincts of Dr. Watson’s fictional character, Sherlock Holmes, and fascinated by the solutions of Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot in Agatha Christie’s mystery novels.
 
Reading books made boldness surge through my veins; it was like putting on a switch in my brain. Let me show you some of the things that happened to me when I started reading actively:
7 Amazing Things That Happened To Me

1. Increased Concentration

Reading good books sharpened my ability to concentrate on tasks and get them completed. It takes a lot of discipline and concentration to pick a book and finish reading it. When I started active reading, phones and tablets with social media were not in vogue. Grabbing a book was my way of getting entertained.

Now, it’s more difficult to read a book because of the multitude of distractions here and there. My concentration levels increased because of reading. You just need to sit and concentrate, one book at a time and it gets better.

2. Increased Vocabulary Bank

New words will be your friends if you are an active reader. My vocabulary bank increased with the daily deposit of new words, new phrases, and new statements. I also saw how these authors used these words which informed my use of new words in my conversations with people.

3. Better Writer

I became a better writer after giving myself to reading. After delving into active reading, it influenced my writing skills positively. Writing became easier because I had access to a plethora of words that aptly describe my thoughts. Above all, reading makes it possible for you to know the minds of other successful authors and you can explore their writing styles.

4. Better Speaker

In speaking, you communicate what is within you to others. It can be exhaustive and could be an arduous task if you don’t know what to say. Active reading made a better speaker out of my timid frame. With reading, I consistently filled my reservoir of knowledge with the insight of others.

Hence, I could engage more people in inspiring conversations without burning out. The inspiring words of American poet, Ralph Wado Emerson comes to mind: “If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.”

5. Access To Solutions

My adventure with books went beyond corridors of novels to the front porches of non-fiction books. Books are treasure troves. No wonder, American entrepreneur, Walt Disney opined that “There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on treasure island.”

Reading of biographies, autobiographies, and self-help has shown me on numerous occasions that one can find help in books. If you are persistent enough, you can find solutions to your challenges in a book. In books, I found ways of becoming a better speaker, I learnt the rudiments of financial literacy and ultimately, how to be the best version of myself.

“Ordinary people have big TVs. Extraordinary people have big libraries.” – Robin Sharma

6. Increased Imaginative Power

When you read beautiful novels that are works of ingenuity and creativity, it has a magical effect on your brain. On several occasions, I try to create the scenes of the stories that I read in books. This is an activity that trains your brain and mind to use the power of imagination. In the realms of imagination, I don’t only create new things but I also birth them.

7. Exposure

With books, I traveled to new places, I learnt about the cultures of other people and I embraced new perspectives about life. I discover new routes of thinking and that is a form of education. Reading exposed my mind to many things that were intellectually stimulating and heightened my curiosity.
I began to ask many questions and find answers to them. I was not surprised when the German-American author, Dr. Seuss Giesel said, “The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you will go.”
In conclusion, developing a habit of active reading will make you stand out amidst your peers and it’s the secret of highly effective people. It’s one of the smartest ways to speed up your personal growth along your career path or areas of interest. Read like your life depends on it and you will be handsomely rewarded by life. According to Worldometers’ counter based on statistics published by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), over 2.2 million new book titles have been published in 2017. That’s huge! In this new week, grab a new book and read. Active reading equals active learning!
Which book are you reading now? Which book is your next catch? Let me know in the comments section below. I am currently devouring Kiyosaki’s updated edition of Rich Dad Poor Dad which was published in April 2017.

How To Be The Best Version of Yourself Without Burning Out

How To Be The Best Version of Yourself Without Burning Out

How To Be The Best Version of Yourself Without Burning Out

22

OCTOBER, 2017

Samuel Osho

The reason why you will empty your pockets to acquire a milligram of diamond and trample on a tonne of molded clay is because your instincts are configured to appreciate value. The stark reason why you place printed papers called currencies in vaults and dump another random paper in the sitting room for everyone to see is value.

 

You are your most valuable asset. Your life, your mind, your brain, your body, and your skills are the most valuable things you have. In this fast-paced world, your ability to grow, to learn, to become better is unlimited. Simply put, you can be the best version of yourself if you are willing to make the investments. In fact, it is a rule of thumb in personal development as clearly stated by American bestselling author Brian Tracy that anyone interested in a lifelong success should endeavor to invest at least 3 percent of their incomes into their lives for deliberate learning.
Every human is like a script or a slate. What people get to celebrate is the value you add to that script. It is not how old or archaic the script is, it is a matter of how valuable it is. Hence, it is a struggle to move up the ladder of success when you fail to constantly add values to yourself. When you experience promotion in your place of work, it is simply an appreciation for the worth of the value embedded in you.

 

Anyone who embarks on the journey of life racing like a deer without restraints but forgets to constantly increase his value is aiming for a catastrophe; it is a race to embrace disgrace. It will lead to a burnout.
Therefore, it is highly imperative to explore ways by which you can add more value to your life without experiencing a burnout. I will share three habits of highly valuable people that have been proven to yield bountiful results over the years.

 

The Three Super Habits

Read Good Books

One of the smartest ways of standing out of the crowd in your chosen field is to read good books. Reading good books is probably one of the cheapest ways to garner knowledge. Some of the world’s highly successful people have one common habit – reading. The world’s richest man, Bill Gates, reads an average of 50 books every year. Another shining star in the billionaire’s club, Warren Buffet is a chronic reader, he once confessed that in the early days of his career, he spends 80% of his day reading. That’s huge! The list of lifelong bookworms is endless – Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, and Charlie Munger but they seem to be some of the world’s smartest investors and inventors.
One of my mentors once shared with me that the first thing he consults when faced with a challenge is a good book that offers a proven solution. Good books provide answers to your questions; they offer comfort amid chaos. When you have answers to the questions of your colleagues and clients, you become “the chief consultant.” As a result, you ultimately become outstanding in performance and effectiveness. That’s the way to be the best.

 

Books can change your life. Huffingpost contributor, Himay Zepeda, authored an article that enumerated 7 ways books can change your life. He shared passionately about how reading good books can add confidence, self-knowledge, humility, empathy, and joy to the life of a voracious reader. In fact, American author, Anna Quindlen wrote a book titled “How Reading Changed My Life” to show the world that reading has the power to change lives.
Conclusively, the smartest people read good books. Smart people look for shortcuts and reading is a way of condensing timeframes. They don’t just have a pile of books on their shelf but they read and practice the new things they learnt. Knowing more increases your earning power and sets you up to be the best.
Action Point: Surf the net and look for books that can broaden your horizon in your chosen field. Buy them, get a comfy place, get a marker and start reading. 

Take Online Courses

Education is no longer locked in classrooms or serving a prison term behind university gates. Technology is constantly removing all the obstacles that hinder access to quality education. The Internet is a treasure trove of resources that can enhance your competencies in any chosen field. Education just got cheaper with the availability of different online learning platforms. If you can’t afford college and university tuition fees, you really don’t need to break the bank to gain mastery of some certain skills. The Internet can be your teacher even if all you have is YouTube.

However, asides from YouTube, the emergence of massive open online courses (MOOCs) is a gamechanger that has the capacity to positively impact the learning experience of Internet users. The popular MOOCs include the following: Udacity, Udemy, Teachable, Skillshare, Shaw Academy, EdX, Coursera, FutureLearn, Class Central, iVersity and much more. These sites serve as homes to a host of courses ranging from data analysis to human resource management to programming to photography to fitness. Using a keyword search, you can find one or two courses that will add more value to your life and career. Majority of these courses are self-paced which means you can take the classes at your convenient times.
Action Point: Visit at least three out of the digital learning websites mentioned above and register for a course that really resonates with your passion.

 

“I constantly see people rise in life who are not the smartest, sometimes not even the most diligent, but they are learning machines.” – Charlie Munger

Find Mentors

English Mathematician, Isaac Newton, has this to say about mentoring: “If I have seen farther than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” In a world where everyone claims to be self-made, mentoring is gradually fading away and it is one of the profound ways to forge ahead quickly in life. Your mentors can be your role models but not all your role models are your mentors because mentoring requires an active relationship between both parties. Mentoring creates a channel for the smooth exchange of ideas and insights between a mentor (usually an expert) and a mentee (a young professional).

 

In addition, it is possible for you to have more than one mentor, you can have mentors for different areas of your life. You can have a leadership mentor that helps in building your leadership skills. A tactical mentor can assist in improving your entrepreneurial skills so you can make better decisions as a business owner. A spiritual mentor can be of great help in ensuring you have a sound spiritual and emotional health. There are some classic examples of mentoring or “apprentice pairing” that we often overlook and they are as follows:
  • Socrates mentored Plato.
  • Aristotle mentored Alexander The Great.
  • Thomas Edison mentored Henry Ford.
  • George Wythe mentored Thomas Jefferson.
  • Benjamin Graham mentored Warren Buffet.
  • Steve Jobs mentored Marc Benioff.
  • Larry Page mentored Marissa Myers.

 

 

Unfortunately, mentoring is becoming unpopular because people think they can handle all the pressures alone. They are too proud and think they don’t need the help of anyone. Some even think it is a sheer waste of time and efforts. Some just loathe the idea of staying accountable to someone else. You can learn many things that are absent on the Internet from an experienced mentor. Mentoring is a support system when it seems like everything is going haywire. Don’t carry the burden alone but seek help by finding a suitable mentor.
However, to maximize mentoring, you must be willing to step out of your shell, be proactive and ready to invest in a healthy and active relationship. Do your personal homework before asking questions. Ask questions only when you are genuinely not clear on what step to take.
Action Point: Get a mentor in your chosen field today. If you find it difficult to locate one, use online services such as MicroMentorAllen Mentoring, Envelop, Mogul, and iMentor. Connect with a mentor today and add more value to yourself. 

 

 

Roll up your sleeves, lace your boots and take a deep breath as you add values to yourself – a value added is a step closer to success. Read good books, enrol for online courses and find inspiring mentors.
Let me know your thoughts, which of the three action points do you want to implement right away? How has any of the three action points helped you in the past?

 

Pin It on Pinterest