The sun rises at 6 PM: Our book journey for December, 2021

From being born as a slave to one of the most sought-after philosophers in the world, Epictetus believed that to be a more reflective person, don’t just read books but show that through reading you have learned to think better.

We completed over 150 books in the month of December and we realized that as we present and discuss one book every day of the week, we are unintentionally building positive habits in all aspects of our lives.‍

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari‍

Robin Sharma

In The monk who sold his Ferrari, Robin Sharma entertains you with a fable of a successful lawyer seeking a meaningful and profound life. After surviving a heart attack, Julian Mantle, a very busy and successful lawyer from Harvard was reawakened to find his purpose in life. He traveled across India and the great Himalayas where he met the Great Sages of Sivana. One of the sages Yogi Raman narrates the story of a beautiful garden and a sumo wrestler. The story incorporates the Sivana System - leading a life of fulfillment. One of the elements of the Sivana System is positive thinking. Our thoughts affect our feelings and our feelings affect our day. Yogi says the trick here is the ability to command your thoughts. The second element of the Sivan System is purpose. Having a clear sense of purpose and goals drives you. The Sivana System also teaches you the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen which is based on the idea of continuous improvement. Another virtue of the Sivana system is having self-discipline and respecting your time. 

• Living each day like your last enables you to say no to things you do not want to do, and ultimately you do not end up wasting your time on unnecessary engagements.
• Sincerely praising your friends and family gives you a joyful and rewarding existence in return.
• Your thoughts determine your happiness. Practice The Heart of the Rose to keep your mind focused on positive thoughts.

Dopamine Nation

Anna Lembke

Be it behavioral addiction or substance addiction the rates of addiction are on a rise. According to data, 70% of deaths by addiction are caused by smoking, obesity, and lack of obesity. There’s also an increase in prescription rates of stimulants like Ritalin and Adderall, and sedatives like Valium and Xanax. While the human race is advancing and making to move to Mars, it’s an important question to ask why people are suffering from pain. The author mentions that although humans resort to entertainment or drugs to avoid feeling pain, the pain only gets worse. Addiction can cause pain. Dopamine or in common terms the ‘feel good hormone’ is a neurotransmitter that plays a vital role in the brain’s pleasure system. Lembke says, “Over time, with repeated exposure, that drug works less and less well. But they find themselves unable to stop, because when they’re not using, then they’re in a state of a dopamine deficit.” Lembke also gives us solutions. Studies show that moderate exposure to pain can make organisms more resilient. The pandemic has made us vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption of content online. Reading this book can help you find the secret of balancing a healthy lifestyle by combining the science of addiction with the wisdom of recovery. 

• There’s both pleasure and pain in the world. The catch is to find a delicate balance between the two.
• Telling the truth makes you feel better and establishes trust.
• It is important to realize that is impossible to attain high standards set by social media. They are marketing tactics to lure your attention.

Everyday Vitality

Samantha Boardman

We all yearn for stress-free days. Everyday Vitality reminds us that there are no stress-free days but mechanisms to deal and coexist with resilience during such days. Professor David Almeda categorizes people into Teflon people and Velcron people. While Velcron does not move ahead and remain negative and stuck in difficult times, the Teflon group is exuberant when the going gets tough. They are flexible and proactive. The author says that the difference between Velcron and Teflon people is vitality. The first step in cultivating vitality is to make conscious choices - the choice of seeing positives in your life, however big or small. Another source of vitality comes from connecting with people. Studies show that hikers find it less strenuous to climb hills with a group of friends than climbing alone, and people are likely to get less nervous about public speaking after a hug. The third way to build vitality is by challenging yourself by doing something new and interesting that gives you an abundance of knowledge and broader perspectives. 

• Observe the strengths of others and try to inculcate them in your daily life.
• Always engage wholeheartedly in a conversation. Focus and maintain eye contact. This type of communication is called Active constructive responding (ACR) and it helps the other person feel loved and reduces their stress.
• Make an exercise to pen down two good things that happened to you every day. It helps you build vitality amidst the daily chaos.

The 8th Habit 

Stephen Covey 

The world is changing constantly and we live in an era where we are exposed to a ton of information. Everyone wants to perform best at their jobs, but sometimes people and organizations fail to keep up with the pace. The trick here is to identify and stick to your inner voice, or what the author likes to call the 8th habit. To react to life challenges wisely, work on the four types of intelligence (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) and discover your strengths. Replace the “let’s wait and see” attitude with a “take action” attitude and take control of the challenges life throws at you. Your biggest freedom is the freedom to choose. So choose wisely on how to react and act to a challenge - take that step to resolve the issues between you and your boss. 

• Personal, leadership, and organizational habits are required to find the 8th habit.
• Take initiative and be responsible to better your circumstances.
• A good leader puts a vision together and helps others to do the same.

Never Split the Difference

Chriss Voss

Contrary to popular belief, hands-down we negotiate in every stage of our lives. From business settings to social exchanges, negotiation is a part and parcel of our lives and it requires certain skill sets, like body language, listening skills, and repetition. Coming from the maestro himself, FBI’s number one international kidnapping negotiator Chris Voss reveals the principles for successful negotiations through his world of gripping gang-infested scenarios. Information is key for a productive outcome from a negotiation. Maintain an amicable relationship with your counterpart, build trust, and then divulge useful details from them. The tone of your voice can also help you become a better negotiator and generate win-win negotiated agreements. A UCLA study shows that 93% of communication is non-verbal, and nearly 40% of it has to do with the tone of your voice. Place yourself effectively in negotiation with empathy - understanding and acknowledging your counterpart’s position and feeling (technique of labeling) is vital for a favorable outcome in the process.

• Establish a good rapport with your counterpart by engaging in active listening.
• Be thoughtful of the tone of your voice in a negotiation.
• Emotion and the art of negotiation go hand in hand.

Do What Matters Most‍

Rob Shallenberger, Steve Shallenberger

Are you always chasing deadlines? Do you feel that there isn’t enough time to tackle a to-do list? Luckily there is a secret sauce called Prioritizing which will help you manage this struggle. People experience task saturation on a daily basis. This happens when there is a lot going on and there is too little time to address it all. The author suggests creating a simple process to manage time effectively based on how the Airforce works. Pilots are trained to focus on the most critical instruments like airspeed and altitude. This is done by assessing yourself and your current approach to priorities. According to the author only 25% of the daily activity should be high stress and high priority. The rest of it should be high priority and low stress. It is important to get familiar with your priorities by forming a vision for each of your roles in life.

• Set annual goals that are measurable and achievable so you can boost productivity.
• Pre Weekly planning tools help manage your time more effectively.
• Schedule a specific time for each action item on the Pre-week planning list and review your priorities every morning.

What We Say Matters

Ike Lasater and Judith Hanson Lasater

In business competition and rivalry are seen as crucial factors in the creation of the best products and services. In the artistic field, competition is portrayed as a drama of creative geniuses pitted against each other in bitter feuds. Many famous artists have engaged in friendly rivalries, despite far more malicious fights among their supporters. Regardless of how the rivalry is portrayed, the personal development of artists depends the on respect of their peers. By influencing those in the same field, an artist can become more widely recognized and broaden their success. Most relationships experience some degree of asymmetry of power and artists are no exception.

• In friendships between artists, the older and more outgoing of the two tend to dominate but that’s not to say their influence isn’t reciprocated.

For example, Matisse and Picasso both profoundly influenced each other. Matisse also began to use Cubism in his work, he sacrificed color and began using sharp cutting lines central to Cubism.

• Dominant artists often inspired their traditional counterparts to work with great freedom.
• Pollock was a particularly dominant character who changed art forever. Relationships between artists supported the advancement of their fields.

Giants of modern art would not have made it as far as they did had they not formed relationships and rivalries with their peers.

The Power of Strangers

Ike Lasater and Judith Hanson Lasater

Wherever we look people are wary of strangers. Some are scared of people they don’t know or they are angry with them. Migrants and refugees are confronted with racism and xenophobia, and at home, polarization makes us sworn enemies even with our neighbors. Ever since people came together to live in settlements, outsiders are seen as dangerous agents of treachery and chaos. Rather than entering into a debate with people having contrasting opinions we see them as mortal enemies, fall into silos and grow further apart. The problems connecting with strangers are for many reasons:

• We assume strangers won’t like us much and we also underestimate them.
• We are not sure people want to talk to us and we actually won’t approach them.
• We are social creatures and we need continuous interaction and talking to strangers makes us feel happier and more connected. This simple talk triggers the release of oxytocin - the hormone central to social bonding.

The Dragonfly Effect

Jennifer Aaker, Andy Smith with Carlye Adler

In nature, the Dragonfly is the only insect that can deftly and quickly maneuvers in any direction in mid-air. This is achieved by using all of its wings beautifully in concert. Similarly, social change is enacted through four wings to produce astounding results. 

The Focus Wing: Look at your audience and come up with a goal that is actionable and clear. The goals must be humanistic, actionable, testable, and clear, and make the audience happy in order to support your cause.

The Grab Attention Wing:  You need to be personal, unexpected, and visual to get the audience to listen to you and take action. You need to be personal, your communication needs to be unexpected and surprising. Next, you need to show rather than tell and if you want your campaign to be remembered you need to add an emotional note.

The Engagement Wing: You can get your audience involved by telling a story. Craft your message to address the needs and feelings of the audience. You need to care for your audience and finally find the right media for broadcast.

The Take Action Wing: Make it easy and fun for participants to take action. Make it easy for the audience to take action, show that you value their contribution, and make your program open and transparent to get more ideas from the audience.

The Art of Possibility

Rosamund Stone Xander

Fear of missing out is ever-present in our society. The culture of scarcity underpins all the fears. What if we adopted the attitude of abundance instead, a more meaningful way to live and transform our life by inviting possibilities in every moment. Life is built on assumptions. First, the human’s sense selects information, then the brain creates a simulation based on the information, and then the human experiences the environment as stimulated by the brain. Imagine a world where fear, scarcity didn't exist and a human can embrace everything and share it with others too. This place is called the Universe of Possibility, a realm of joy, invention, and compassion. If life is seen as an opportunity we can end the vicious cycle of success and comparison and transformation arises from making a difference and not being successful. In a team valuing every voice makes people shine. There is a door to possibility by embracing what is present. Being present doesn’t mean accepting injustice, it means paying attention. 

• Use passion to tap into the universe's abundant energy and let it flow through us every second of the day.
• Use your potential to spark possibilities in others.
• Find mutually beneficial solutions for shredding individuality.

Accessing the Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve

Stanley Rosenberg

In Rosenberg’s practice, he found that helping the Vagus Nerve function properly reduces the severity of many health problems which leads to a lesser need for prescription medicines. A well-functioning cranial nerve is crucial to healthy social engagement. Some of the evolutionary purposes of cranial nerves are:

• Polyvogal says there are 5 settings for our nervous system. They are relaxed states of social engagement, flight or fight response, immobilization with fear, immobilization without fear, and mobilization without fear.
• Activating the ventral vagus nerve can improve wellbeing and can help people suffering from various types of conditions have seen a marked improvement in their health, work lives, and social engagement.
• Rosenberg’s basic exercise for the vagus nerve has the potential to treat people with severe COPD, physical diseases, and psychological problems including autism spectrum disorders.

These simple therapies of Rosenberg can alleviate and treat the symptoms of severe diseases without pharmacy or surgery.

Listen Like You Mean It

Ximena Vengoechea

In our daily lives, issues crop up and we end up feeling distanced from our conversation partners. With conversations moved to our devices it is essential to learn to cultivate warmth, honesty, and face-to-face interactions. Approach conversations with the intention of really focusing on and engaging your partner. For empathetic listening empathy, humility and curiosity are necessary. Stay present in the conversation by observing yourself and your partners carefully, show your partner that you are genuinely interested in what he/she has to say and he will express more honestly.

• Identify what conversation your partner needs from you and then try to provide it or just provide a sympathetic ear and empathize. Deepen a conversation by connecting questions and understanding that will allow your partner the time to rebut, clarify, and correct your takeaways calmly and respectfully.
• Stay flexible and don’t force the conversation in a particular direction. A brief pause can work wonders for getting a conversation to go where it needs to. Politely and carefully redirect conversations that go off-track. Reminders like this help conversation partners share what might be uncomfortable.
• Be aware of the reason why conversation might become uncomfortable. Issues can be arranged when participants talk about cultural, gender, hierarchical, or emotional divides. Exit conversations that become too toxic or conflicting with your priorities, only retain the strength to listen and care for others when doing the same for yourself.

Sun Tzu and The Art of Business

Mark R McNeily

The world of Business is like a battleground and you need to strategize your way to victory. Sun Tzu wrote the art of war 2000 years ago but the wisdom and insights are still relevant today. Western culture defines business as one that gives shareholders a return on their investment whereas Asian culture views business as one that provides people with employment. For surviving and prospering in businesses the principles to be followed are:

• Capture your enemy's territory but don’t destroy it in the process. Damaging a market means draining it of its profitability.  Avoid your enemies' strengths and attack their weaknesses. That's the reason Japanese companies like Toyota, Sony, and Honda are dominating the global market as they identify that their American competitors are weak or manufacturing quality and they made high quality manufacturing their priority.
• Conduct in-depth research into your competitors. If you truly know your competitors, you need to figure their culture is. You need to uncover the values, beliefs, and assumptions that are driving their behavior.
• Speed compensates for the lack of resources. Being fast makes up for being small. This holds true in business, too. Engage your enemy at two places at once. Attacks should always be two-pronged and the true power of strategy comes from indirect attack.

Leaders should possess 5 key qualities and avoid several others. The 5 qualities a leader should possess are Wisdom, courage, humanity, sincere and strict and to avoid are recklessness, hesitancy, and compassion.

What We Say Matters

Ike Lasater and Judith Hanson Lasater

How often have you been in situations where you said something and instantly wished you could take it back? What We Say Matters saves you exactly from that. It guides you to communicate with compassion, openness, and honesty. Right speech is progressive speech. Indulge in truthful, but harmless speech for the wellbeing of everyone involved. To truly engage in open communication, take a moment of introspection to determine your and others’ feelings. Lastly, the authors highlight empathizing with oneself to understand one’s true feelings and requirements. Because empathy may be a virtue, but self-empathy can be wisdom. 

• Observation is non-judgemental. Combine observation and feelings to make a nonviolent statement of truth.
• A fundamental step toward fruitful communication is empathy.
• Do not hesitate to express your feelings.
  

Power Hour

Adrienne Herbert

How many times have you said, “I want to pursue my dream, but don’t have enough time?” Adrienne Herbert’s Power Hour is a handbook on how you can transform your life by devoting the first very hour (the Power Hour) of your day to accomplishing things you’d love to be a part of your life. In an interview, Herbert candidly says, “You owe it to yourself to pursue a life you love.”  The book insists you reclaim a single hour of your day for yourself. During this power hour take action to pursue your passions. To boost your mental and physical health indulge in physical activities and ensure you get a good amount of sleep for your emotional wellbeing. Identify and develop relevant social connections during this hour to accelerate your learning and growth. As the saying often goes - Your habits determine your future - the author encourages us to develop powerful habits to make the most of our time and energy. Determine and add friction to your bad habits to make it more difficult to resort to them. 

• Getting up an hour earlier can transform your life. 
• There is no better time than now.
• Replace a limiting mindset with a growth mindset. Failure is an opportunity to learn and survive.

Digital Marketing Strategy

Simon Kingsnorth

More than half the world’s population now uses social media and the odds are your customers are among them. Naturally, digital marketing has become more important today than ever. Social media is all about community, communication, and connecting with your audience. It can present both opportunities and challenges for your business. Following the victory of the Dutch against Mexico in a soccer game, a disastrous tweet by the Netherlands-based airline company KLM said: “Adios Amigos”. It was a brand fail and the tweet was received with much criticism. KLM immediately apologized to gain back its reputation. When done right, content marketing can serve to be a major game-changer. Coke’s ‘Share a Campaign’ was a huge success because they personalized it and made you feel special. This personalization is the crux of content marketing. However, there’s a caveat attached to it. Personalized content requires companies to accumulate more data about consumers raising a concern of privacy among them. 

• People buy your ‘why’ and not your product. It is important to define the purpose of your business and the value of what you are selling. 
• SEO keywords are your key to prominent positions among search results.
• Analyze your paid ads with the right metrics which helps to identify which campaign works best for which audience.

Safe People

Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend

We all seek meaningful relationships. And yet it’s an easy mistake to make wrong choices of relationships in love, work, or friendships. Safe People is a guide to finding good people in all kinds of relationships. There are various kinds of ‘unsafe people’ - the colleague at work who pretends to be your best friend until you realize that they criticize everyone and everything or the ex-boyfriend or girlfriend who broke your heart but whom you can’t stop thinking about. They are damaging and often lead to disappointment. Luckily there’s a way to recognize them and save yourself from despondency. Observe their interpersonal traits. Notice how they operate in relationships - do they avoid closeness instead of connecting? Are they self-centered and give your secrets away? Do they confront you and remain consistent? Do they condemn your flaws? Do they make you guilty all the time? All these are big red flags that can drain you mentally, spiritually, and physically. However, if you think you're the unsafe person in the relationship, there’s still hope to ameliorate the situation - ask for help, acknowledge your needs, rebel against yourself, ask for feedback, forgive and forget, and always give back to people. 

• There are no perfect people, including yourself. You have to make conscious efforts to become a ‘safe person.’
• It may be tempting to hold onto toxic relationships that lasted a lifetime. Be present.
• Be around, safe people. They guide you towards a better life.
  

Dusk, Night, Dawn

Anne Lamott

How do we get through the dark times of our lives and see the light at the end of the tunnel? The easiest and the most obvious place to start is with yourself. Accept your shortcomings and embrace your imperfections. Absolute perfectionism is toxic and will leave you frustrated and anxious. Take one step at a time and be optimistic. Love yourself and the world around loves you back. Forgiving yourself and others is an important aspect of life. Be willing to forgive people by being more understanding, tolerant, and patient. With each forgiveness, you reach a zenith of calmness and peace, leaving the chaos of the world behind.

• Avoid perfectionism, self-hatred, and egotism. Be kind to yourself and learn to love yourself.
• Start your day with something that makes you happy - a bowl of cherries or perhaps a beautiful morning walk.
• Find hope in the worst of circumstances. A life full of fear is not worth living.

Hood Feminism

Mikki Kendall

Maya Angelou said, “Each time a woman stands for up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.”

Be it on social media, news channels, or celebrity interviews, feminism is a talk of the town everywhere. But does the act of feminism do justice to the idea of feminism? Are the actions inclusive of the underprivileged? In her book Hood Feminism, Kendall Mikki questions mainstream feminism. Policing and law help but racial bias in law enforcement must be addressed for real change. The book throws light on why feminism is a concept for the elite and how it too often reassures only white women. Unfortunately, this disparity is real. Consider the Missing White Women Syndrome which is still prevalent in America - according to a study, news outlets covered missing white women significantly more often, more than everyone else, and unfortunately media and policing have a long history of hurting than of helping.

Broke Millennial

Erin Lowry

This question’s for millennials. Have you ever been in situations where you scratch your head every month-end wondering where all your money has been spent on? If yes, grab a cup of coffee and binge-read on Erin Lowry’s Broke Millennial right now. The book sheds a light on how we can control our finances and live a life beyond the monthly paychecks. Life can be unpredictable and a bad financial situation can occur to anyone, anytime and so it’s important that we learn to manage our money, one step at a time adding to big results in time. People have different relationships with money and even though there are no one-size-fits-all solutions, Lowry suggests two practical methods to get a hold of your transactions - cash diet and tracking every last penny. Cash diet is basically replacing card payments with cash because research shows that people tend to spend less when they transact in cash compared to swipes. In one of the instances, Erin says, “Getting a handle on your finances is often the difference between a life of fulfillment and a life of frustration.”

• Do not depend only on your monthly paychecks. Find side hustles to save enough money for future use.
• Keeping a tab on your finances can help you identify unnecessary expenses and avoid them in the future.
• Budgeting percentage prompts you to accumulate money in your emergency funds and savings, which can help you keep the boat afloat during tough financial times,

The AI Economy

Roger Bootle

In AI Economy, author Roger Bootle highlights the economic backdrop of artificial intelligence. AI is the fourth industrial revolution and is transforming the world. One of the main fears lingering around the working class is that AI will replace their jobs. Bootle asserts that there is truth in the fact that some jobs like that of cashiers, grocery baggers, and other redundant and low-skills work may get replaced by robots. The brighter part is that the World Economic Forum estimates that 12.4 million jobs will be created by 2026 in the USA and these are related to building and maintaining robots, and other jobs that involve personal interactions such as customer services, guidance, and advisory will rise. Humans always are in a quest to attain work-life balance in their lives. With automation and other developments in AI, humans might find more time to engage in their hobbies and other meaningful activities. But it also depends on the working culture. 

• It is a fact that there will be an impact on employment. But robots and automation are costly and there will still be smaller companies preferring cheaper human labor.
• An AI-powered society can result in a rise in economic inequality due to changing nature of work.
• There is a need to transform the current education system and make time for in-depth, personal lessons rather than restricting learnings in classrooms. AI should be lifelong learning.

Shapers

Jonas Altman

A global Gallup study found that 85 percent of the world’s one billion full-time employees are disengaged from their work. People are eagerly waiting for weekends to slack off work. Apart from the big economic impact caused every year due to employee disengagement, people are vulnerable to burnout if they have no enthusiasm for the job they are doing. The pandemic has proved that people could work from anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, many companies still prefer a 40-hour workweek in traditional office environments and are often rude to employees. People are the most important resources, and their productivity is boosted if they find meaning and value in their work. Companies who align with their values in real tend to attract the best employees, performance vise and ethics vise. Tolerate mistakes and failures from employees. Google for example has a ‘moonshot factory’ where people can actively try out their ideas. They tolerate failure and firmly believe that failures lead to innovations.  As employees, Set strong boundaries between working and non-working hours. Do not work consistently. Taking short breaks in between or meditating reboots your productivity for the rest of the day. 

• Hierarchical organizational structure is inefficient as it can miss out on innate creativity and point of view, limiting the growth of employees and ultimately the organization.
• Shape your work. Do not let your work shape you. 
• With the rise of technology including robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence, working environments are constantly changing and employees need to be constantly improvising.