The sun rises at 6 pm: Our book-journey for July, 2021

The sun rises at 6 pm: Our book-journey for July, 2021

Lena Dunham had said, “Let’s be reasonable and add an eighth day to the week that is devoted exclusively to reading.” 

Since we can't do that, we fiercely protect our 6 pm to exclusively read good books with our good companions. Books have allowed us to travel way more than our passports. Take a look at what we treasured this month and see what we cherished. The top three takeaways from each of the books we read in July for our book club:

Your Brain is Always Listening‍

Daniel G. Amen

These hidden forces are always listening and responding to your brain, and unless you understand and deal with them, they can steal your happiness, ruin your relationships, and harm your health. Dr. Daniel Amen teaches you how to spot dangerous dragons and equips you with the tools you need to defeat them in Your Brain Is Always Listening. You can stop feeling unhappy, mad, scared, or out of control by using these practical techniques and start feeling happier, calmer, and more in charge of your own future. 

• Dragons from the past that elicit the most terrible feelings in you.
• Dragons of Negative Thought that attack you, causing worry and depression.
• They and Them Dragons, persons in your life who have their own dragons fighting yours.
• Dragons of Bad Habits that raise your chances of being overweight, overwhelmed, and underachieving. ‍

Team Genius

Rich Karlgaard

Team Genius demonstrates to managers and executives that the planning, creation, and management of exceptional teams does not have to be a black art. It includes colorful reports on the latest scientific research, captivating case studies, and great storytelling. It looks at answers to key questions that could determine whether a company succeeds or fails. Rich Karlgaard and Michael S. Malone provide thoughts and real-life examples from their careers as journalists, analysts, investors, and globetrotting entrepreneurs throughout the book, meeting successful teams and team leaders to show some "new truths":

• The ideal team size is one person less than what managers believe they require.
• The largest performance increases come from cognitive diversity—but only if you know what it is.
• How to find the "bliss point" in team closeness and increase productivity by three times.‍

59 Seconds‍

Richard Wiseman

Richard Wiseman, a best-selling author and psychologist, had grown increasingly dissatisfied with the self-help industry and its snake-oil remedies. He has devised a no-nonsense response to their ineffective programs by bringing together a very varied spectrum of scientific evidence. Wiseman outlines the new science of "rapid change" and describes how these quirky, sometimes counterintuitive techniques can be seamlessly incorporated into your everyday life with clarity and infectious enthusiasm, using tips and tricks straight from the latest scientific journals and his own original research. 

• Write your own eulogy.
• Get more likable by your occasional mistakes.
• Trap liars by asking for emails.
  

Linchpin

Seth Godin

Have you ever discovered a shortcut that others have overlooked? Have you come across a novel approach to resolving a conflict? Have you made a connection with someone that others haven't been able to contact? Even just once? Then you have what it takes to become necessary by overcoming the barriers that prevent others from succeeding. Seth Godin is one of the few authors who has had such a long-term impact and worldwide reach. He's educated countless readers how to create amazing goods and communicate compelling ideas. He focuses on the person in Linchpin, explaining how everyone can have a huge impact inside their organization.

• Don’t let your fear stop you- make the choice , be a Linchpin.
• Pour emotional labor into your job and make it a platform for your art.
• True artists get stuff done- they ship.‍

The Magic Of Big Thinking‍

David J. Schwartz

David J Schwartz's classic lessons, first published in 1959, are just as potent today as they were then. This book will not only inspire you, but it will also provide you with the tools you need to transform your life for the better, starting right now.

• Think right towards people.
• Think like a leader.
• Make your attitude your allies.
  

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R. Covey

Author Stephen R. Covey proposes a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach to tackling personal and professional challenges in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Covey provides a step-by-step approach for living with justice, honesty, service, and human dignity—principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the knowledge and power to take advantage of the opportunities that change creates—with profound insights and pointed anecdotes.

• Be Proactive – Principles of Personal Vision
• Begin with the End in Mind – Principles of Personal Leadership
• Put First Things First – Principles of Personal Management
  

Losing My Virginity

Richard Branson

Richard Branson is a global legend whose immense riches and industry-leading business models have made him a global figure. His incredible journey has sparked debate, and now Branson himself has revealed his story in his biography, 'Losing My Virginity.' This work is written in an interesting tone and follows a great narrative style. Richard Branson has built unusual businesses and made them profitable in front of the world. He has a distinct life philosophy that sets him apart from the crowd. Branson recounts his first 43 years of life, including all of the pains and tribulations he endured.

• Don’t feel bad if you haven’t been born and bred as an entrepreneur.
• Always look out for the next thing, but take it one adventure at a time.
• The number one skill you should practice is creativity.
  

The Art of Asking

Amanda Palmer

Amanda Palmer is a rock star, a crowdfunding pioneer, and a TED speaker who knows a thing or two about asking. She performed as a live statue dressed in a bridal gown, asking for money from thousands of onlookers without saying anything. She was not ashamed to seek her audience for help when she first started out as a singer, songwriter, and musician (and slept on their couches while touring). This is the narrative of a twenty-first-century artist grappling with the new laws of exchange, both on and off the Internet. The Art of Asking will cause readers to reconsider their own perspectives on asking, giving, art, and love.

• Accepting someone’s help doesn’t just help you, it might help the giver too.
• Asking is a two-way street – there’s always the possibility of a no.
• Make friends, not customers.
  

Delivering Happiness

Tony Hsieh

Do you think I'm crazy? At Zappos, the online company with annual gross merchandise sales of over $1 billion, it's all routine business. Zappos was acquired by Amazon in a deal valued at over $1.2 billion on the day of completion, after debuting as the highest-ranking newcomer in Fortune magazine's annual "Best Companies to Work For" list in 2009. Through Link Exchange, Zappos, and other companies, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh offers the various lessons he has learned in business and life, from beginning a worm farm to running a pizza business. DELIVERING Pleasure is a fast-paced, down-to-earth book that demonstrates how a totally different kind of corporate culture may be a powerful model for attaining success—and how focusing on the happiness of people.

• Deliver WOW through service.
• Be adventurous, creative, and open-minded.
• Build a positive team and family spirit.
  

The Myths of Creativity

David Burkus

How to break through the most prevalent creative fallacies in order to develop truly new strategies We often associate creativity with the ancient muses: divinely inspired, unpredictable, and bestowed upon a select few. However, when our professions require us to be creative on the fly, we must come up with new and helpful ideas to keep our companies competitive. The Myths of Creativity debunks the myths surrounding the creative process. David Burkus exposes the erroneous assumptions that hold us back and shows us how anyone can embrace a practical, reality-based approach to identifying the best new ideas, initiatives, procedures, and programs, based on the latest research into how creative individuals and organizations achieve.

• Creativity is not an exclusive resource for only certain people to access.
• Creativity depends on the ability to connect different types of knowledge in the brain.
• Creativity is often ignited when the innovator is constrained. 

The 4 Hour Workweek

Tim Ferriss

Forget about retirement and the rest of the deferred-life plan–no there's reason to wait and plenty of reasons not to, especially in these uncertain economic times. The 4-Hour Workweek is the plan for escaping the rat race, experiencing high-end globe travel, or generating a monthly five-figure salary with no management.

• A 4-step guide to achieving the lifestyle you want.
• System reset.
• Being time-efficient.
  

Becoming

Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and captivating women of our time, with a life filled with meaning and success. She helped construct the most inviting and inclusive White House in history as First Lady of the United States of America—the first African-American to do so—while simultaneously establishing herself as a prominent advocate for women and girls in the United States and abroad. “Becoming”  is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has consistently defied expectations—and whose narrative inspires us to do the same. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has consistently defied expectations—and whose narration inspires us to do the same.

• Be your own independent person.
• You can do what you determine for - you just have to word that extra hard which no one else would do.
• Community and people first.
  

Leaders Eat Last

Simon Sinek

Imagine a world where almost everyone is motivated to go to work in the morning, is trusted and respected during the day, and returns home feeling fulfilled. This isn't some far-fetched fantasy. Great leaders today create settings in which people naturally work together to do extraordinary things in many successful firms. Simon Sinek discovered that certain teams trust each other so much that they would practically lay their lives on the line for each other in his work with businesses all around the world. Other teams are condemned to infighting, fragmentation, and failure, regardless of the incentives supplied. Why? During a conversation with a Marine Corps general, the solution became evident. He explained, "Officers eat last." Sinek stood there watching as the most junior Marines were served first and the most senior Marines were seated at the rear of the line. Great leaders sacrifice their own comfort—even their own survival—for the welfare of those in their car, which is symbolic in the dining hall but deadly serious on the battlefield.

• The true definition of leadership is taking care of those in our charge.
• Great leaders offer those in their charge a safe environment.
• To inspire action in others, good leaders offer a purpose or a cause.
  

Never Eat Alone

Keith Ferrazzi

Do you wish to advance in your career? Ascend the rungs of personal success? Keith Ferrazzi, a professional networker, argues that the trick is in reaching out to others. Ferrazzi learned early in life that what separates extremely successful individuals from the rest is how they use the power of relationships to benefit everyone. Ferrazzi lays out the particular processes he uses to interact with the thousands of colleagues, friends, and partners on his contacts list, people he has helped and who have benefited him, in Never Eat Alone. Ferrazzi's counsel has only become more esoteric since the publication of Never Eat Alone in 2005, thanks to the advent of social media and new, collaborative management approaches.

• Relationships don’t disappear like cake, they grow like muscles.
• Start building your network now, not just when you need it.
• How you spend time with people matter a lot more that how much time you spend with time.
  

To Sell is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others

Daniel Pink

To Sell Is Human takes a new look at the science and art of selling. Daniel H. Pink draws on a wealth of social research for his surprising ideas, much as he did in Drive and A Whole New Mind. He discloses the new ABCs of persuasion (it's no longer "Always Be Closing"), explains why extraverts don't make the best salespeople, and demonstrates how providing a "off-ramp" for people's behaviors can help them achieve their goals. Pink discusses the six successors to the elevator pitch, the three guidelines for understanding another's perspective, the five frames that can make your message more clear and powerful, and much more along the way. As a consequence, you'll get a perceptive and practical book that will revolutionize the way you see the world and transform your work, school, and home life.

• Modern pitches need to  be short and engaging.
• Borrow techniques from improvisational theatre to use in your sales.
• To successfully move people, make your efforts personal and purposeful.
  

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Dale Carnegie

Dale Carnegie's tried-and-true guidance has helped countless people achieve success in their professional and personal lives. How to Win Friends and Influence People is one of the most groundbreaking and timeless books of all time. People will instruct you on: Six techniques to win people around to your point of view, Twelve ways to persuade people to change their minds, Nine strategies to convert people without causing resentment.

• Encourage others to talk and listen carefully when they do.
• If you can’t avoid an argument , then disagree as gently as possible.
• Set the bar high and the people will strive to meet.
  

When Breath Becomes Air

Paul Kalinthi

Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer at the age of 36, just days before completing a decade of training as a neurosurgeon. He was a doctor treating the dying one day and a patient fighting for his life the next. When Breath Becomes Air follows Kalanithi's journey from a medical student contemplating what makes a virtuous and meaningful life to a neurosurgeon working at the center of human identity - the brain – to a patient and a new parent. In the face of mortality, what makes life worthwhile? What do you do when your life is thrown into disarray? What does it mean to have a child as your own life is coming to an end? Despite the fact that Paul Kalanithi died while writing this deeply emotional book, his words continue to serve as a guide for us all. When Breath Becomes Air is a life-affirming essay on facing our mortality and the doctor-patient connection, written by a great writer who has been both.

Where Good Ideas Come from: The Natural History of Innovation

Steven Johnson

Steven Johnson discusses the value of creativity in his book Where Good Ideas Come From. He discusses the seven key elements that drive true innovation. The author analyses the creative hotspots throughout history, from the Renaissance to medical advances and social media, Darwin to Freud. He demonstrates how we may all understand the secrets of inspiration by recognizing where and how patterns of creativity develop. 

• Great innovations emerge from environments that are partly contaminated by error.
• Collaboration is at least as important as a driver of innovation as competition.
• Innovation thrives on reinventing and reusing the old.  

10% Happier

Dan Harriss

Dan Harris felt he needed to make some changes after a nationally broadcasted panic attack. He found himself in the middle of a crazy journey involving a disgraced pastor, a mysterious self-help guru, and a slew of brain scientists, despite being a lifelong atheist. Harris eventually realized that the source of his problems was the very thing he thought was his greatest asset: the incessant, insatiable voice in his head, which had propelled him through the ranks of a hypercompetitive industry, but had also led him to make the profoundly stupid decisions that had prompted his on-air freak-out. 10 percent Happier takes readers on a journey through the strange corners of America's spiritual landscape, from the far reaches of neuroscience to the inner sanctum of network news, and leaves them with a takeaway that could truly transform their lives.

• Manage your ego to manage your life.
• Use Meditation to achieve mindfulness and manage your ego.
• Accepting your negative emotions will tame your ego.
  

‍Digital Minimalism

Cal Newport

Minimalism is the skill of determining how little is just right. This concept is applied to our personal electronics in the form of digital minimalism. It's the secret to living a focused existence in a world that's becoming increasingly noisy. We're surrounded with digital minimalists. They're the pleasant, peaceful people who can carry on extended discussions without looking at their phones. They can lose themselves in a good book, a woodworking project, or a morning run. They can enjoy fun with their friends and family without feeling compelled to document it. They keep up with current events yet aren't overwhelmed by them. Technology is neither good nor bad in and of itself. Rather than allowing it to use you, the trick is to use it to promote your aims and ideals. This book will lead you in the right direction.

The Little Book of Sloth Philosophy

Jennifer McCartney

The constant drive to be happier, live better, sleep deeply, and eat thoughtfully can be tiring, from cleaning and Hygge to living Lagom. However, the year of the sloth is finally here to provide the perfect remedy - welcome to the year of the sloth. Mindfulness in activity is exemplified by sloths. Contemplative, thoughtful, relaxed, and concentrated are all words that come to me when I think of you. They defy the rat race and society's constant pushes to be more productive, and they don't give a damn about how many steps they've registered on their fitness tracker. They're fantastic creatures, not to mention utterly adorable. They're long-limbed, a little shaggy, and a bit wide-eyed.