William

Inspiring, focused on running

Revisado: 02-20-19

A passionate account of how humans have managed to continually improve athletic endurance, especially in marathon running. I had hoped the book would contain more distilled and generally applicable insights for everyday life. But still, it was a worthy and inspiring read, even for a non-runner, like me.

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This book stands out

Revisado: 02-15-19

Pink starts by establishing that traditional management methods, applied by leaders at work, home, school, or wherever, is not based on natural or scientifically proven laws of human nature. Instead, they are founded on taking basic observations about how people sometimes behave and applying them indiscriminately to all cases.

For example: People like money. So, the old theory goes, people will work harder and better if you pay them more money.

Pink explains that although increasing pay, for example, works sometimes, it does not work all or most of the time. Pink says that the most effective way to encourage harder, better work is more nuanced than simply pouring more money into paychecks or using some other carrot-and-stick approach. He then presents a better way to inspire success.

To sum it up, Pink outlines and details that we now collectively know a great deal more about human behavior and motivation than we did when traditional management techniques took root, in the 1800s. We now know that the most consistently effective management is mainly a matter of allowing and encouraging people to enjoy autonomy, seek mastery, and pursue a purpose. This applies to management at home, business, work, school, and in the community.

The book is very well organized and presented. Even the table of contents for the audiobook is formatted like an outline. The book ends with suggested exercises for people in various life arenas, a summary of everything it taught, and a detailed summary of recommended further reading.

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Relatable and well-seasoned with life lessons

Revisado: 02-11-19

What I like most about this book is that it's inspirational even for everyday people like myself and that is read by the author -- a real, and inspiring, astronaut. I appreciate the author's strong sense of humility and ability to translate lessons learned as an astronaut to regular life lessons.

This is the story of one astronaut's journey from boyhood to space boss (International Space Station Commander), and then into retirement. It's eye-opening and informative. It provides what seems like a realistic look into the lifestyle required to be eligible to go to space for space exploration and science, as opposed to just as a tourist. Years of discipline, endless detailed study of technical arts that never ends, excellent interpersonal skills, and the ability to be both a hero and a zero, day after day.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Audible return policy changed. it's now terrible.

Revisado: 01-22-19

Audible used to have an app that had a button which allowed you to return books like this one that don't sound good (poor grammar and editing, etc.). Now you need to call in and talk to a representative, and convince that person that you have a good reason for returning the book. This increases the risk of trying a book you're unsure of, but are willing to give a chance. If you're unsure of this book, then don't give it a chance. It reads like a docu-fiction, if that is a genra. It needs a strong introduction to explain what's going on. I was confused.

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Too much corroboration up front

Revisado: 12-19-18

The book was back-loaded with useful substance. It gets more substantive as you read on. I would have preferred it to be front-loaded. In other words, I would have preferred to find the formal advice all up front in an organized, complete structure. Followed by all the examples. Fortunately, the final third or so of the book presents the book's advice in a more condensed way than the first two thirds or so, which made me glad to have listened to the whole thing.

The big idea this book teaches us that if you want to get noticed, then you should become great at whatever skill/career you want to get noticed in. It goes on to teach a bunch of corollaries or sub-points to that same basic point. It follows each iteration of this pattern with a bunch of stories that corroborate its conclusion. Then, it restates its conclusion.

The simplest example of this would be a story that goes as follows:

"If you want to get noticed in acting, then you should become great at acting. Great actors enjoy lots of success. Tom worked really hard at becoming a great actor, focusing on *all* the elements of great acting, not just some of them. Then Tom got a yellow Lamborghini. Therefore, if you want to get noticed in acting, then you should become great at acting, like Tom."

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Fascinating, gripping, to be continued

Revisado: 08-06-18

The author creates a palpable world with relatable characters, but yet manages to stay in the fantasy realm. The book follows librarian Strange the Dreamer from infancy to adulthood, where he works as a satisfied librarian serving the elite thinkers of his time, of which he is not considered one. To his and others' surprise, he turns out to be much more than anyone could have imagined. The book ends on a cliffhanger, and even recites that it is to be continued. So if you are the type that does not like unresolved stories, and are someone who wants a full resolution in a single volume, this might not be the book for you. Nevertheless, even if you are that type of person, if you just ignore the final pages, you do get a full story.

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Worth Your Time

Revisado: 06-21-18

At 36 hours long, I can imagine how thick this book must be in print. But it is worth taking the time to listen to this rich, informative, inspiring, and eye-opening account of someone so influential and momentous in creating the U.S. government. Dramatic and tragic, it will keep you captivated if you're interested in national history, the founding fathers, the Constitution, banking, finance, law, war, public service, or charity. Some key lessons for me were that Hamilton was beloved by George Washington, shot to death by a standing Vice President, and forever vilified by his politically conniving, jealous, and pro-slavery foes, Presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and James Monroe.

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Excellent, inspiring, well-reasoned, too quiet

Revisado: 05-10-18

This book teaches you to quiet what isn't making you happy, and to live in the moment. You'll learn useful strategies, and gain valuable perspective. Narrator audio level is low, so you really need to turn it up to hear adequately.

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Listen for yourself, don't defer to critics

Revisado: 09-23-17

You can either let Hillary's most adamant critics discourage you from independent thought or hear and decide for yourself. But this is a worthy listen. Very informative.

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esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

A perspective worth hearing

Revisado: 08-09-17

A profound summary of the way "big data," life sciences, and philosophy/religion are intersecting to propel mankind into an unknown future of possibilities. Highly recommended if you, like me, are interested in, but don't have a personal grand theory of, the current states of science, philosophy, humanities, and religion.

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