The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - A Review

This book is proof positive that greed for money is the root cause of all evil. But I'm not sure whether this is really about a bunch of guys who sat down one day in college and planned for world domination or what they saw were plenty of opportunities to make money.

An Army of Davids: How Markets and Technology Empower Ordinary People to Beat Big Media, Big Government, and Other Goliaths - A Review

Interesting treatise on a growing social and economical trend. An empowering read for those who could not voice out their discontent before. Technology has now given them a loudspeaker.

Click: What Millions of People Are Doing Online and Why it Matters - A Review

Excellent read and yet disturbing on two aspects.

Increasingly, we are becoming too comfortable "bearing our souls" online whether through search engines, blogs etc. Whilst on our part, these activities are seemingly anonymous, we have on the other hand, marketers ever willing to exploit this new knowledge to peddle their wares. To take the analogy Tancer used in his book, it's like being in a confessional, and aside from the penance issued by the priest, he's also selling this bunch of other products that might help.

The other aspect is that the growing dependency on technology to answer our deepest questions, may cause us to isolate ourselves from others. We could get to comfortable getting our answers online as opposed to communication and lively discourse with others.

Buy-Ology: How Everything We Believe about Why We Buy Is Wrong - A Review

Thank goodness neuromarketing is still in its infancy. Despite Lindstrom's assertions that it's all for the good, that once marketers can make sense of what's in our heads, better products will get produced, it still sounds Orwellian...and the various methods deployed to play with our subconcious, persuading us to buy? Such technology in the hands of despots and dictators and unscrupulous marketers is enough to give me the willlies.

The Pirate's Dilemma: How Youth Culture Is Reinventing Capitalism - A Review

Brilliant. Insightful. A great account of modern-day piracy. A clarion call for all to embrace the pirate within us. Mason makes the term 'pirate' cool.

The part I found most profound was how marketers nowadays are quickly latching on to the latest fad/'in-thing" as a way to connect with their consumers which I think is a terrible thing to do (and this coming from an ad person). That latest fad or craze could've have become part of modern culture but instead it becomes commercialized. Instead of endearing the brand to its target audience, it only succeeds in making itself look like someone who's trying too hard. And horror of horrors, not "real".

The Obvious: Everything You Need to Know to Succeed - A Review

Reading The Obvious, I could not help but think how familiar all the tips were. Aside from being obvious, they were logical and more importantly, practical.

I especially like the part about biz-speak. Being from the advertising industry, I confess to being guilty of 'weaseling'. And here's an excuse for doing so (not reason) : Everybody else at work are doing it. We try to cushion the things we say in business, because we think that the recipient cannot handle the cold, hard truth.

Or worse, to give the impression that we're smarter, or the better Agency because we're using the latest business terms which are currently the flavor of the month. And it's all semantics, really.

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions - A Review

An excellent read. Yet another economics-type book that I'm picking up lately when I would not go near one years ago in college, even when it was required reading.

Easily readable, the experiments themselves were entertaining. The one particularly illuminating was the 'hot' and 'cold' experiments, results of which were alarming.

While irrational behaviour could, one might say, be expected in matters involving relationships or matters of the heart, what is disturbing to me, as a marketer, is how it is being exploited in commerce.

The 4-Hour work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich - A Review

Liked the concept of the book. But some of the advice given is impractical. I live in one of those developing countries. So outsourcing tasks to India at those hourly rates, is frankly, on the steep side

Plus, finding that compelling product and the necessary marketing activities required to support the product, is time-consuming as I have just realised since I'm thinking of starting up an online business as well. It feels like I've gotta quit my job so that I'll have more time for my business. Hardly a 4-hour Work Week.

StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup's Now, Discover Your Strengths - A Review

Took the test and discovered the 5 strengths that I should be leveraging on. But I found the questions asked and the results a bit questionable.

The developers of the test assumes that those taking the test have complete and truthful knowledge of themselves. Several times during the test, I did wonder whether my responses were really accurate. Were they really a true reflection of me?

Another quibble is the online offerings. Yeah, I signed up to take the test. But the results and action plan available online were mere regurgitations of the book, spliced and put together according to the results! I do not see any added value of signing up on the site other than taking the test and the results and action plan to me seemed like an anti-climax.

The Irresistible Offer: How to Sell Your Product or Service in 3 Seconds or Less - A Review

One of the best and different marketing books I've read. 

Succinct, to the point, very easy to understand. He doesn't waste time using complex marketing terminologies (which most books tend to overuse in poor attempt of appearing intellectual). Definitely not yawn-inducing.

While most of what he advised in his book would seem like common sense, I think there is no harm in stating the obvious because sometimes, we completely forget about common sense. I know I do and I blame it all on the years of training in school and at work acquiring 'specialized' knowledge that only serves to impress, manipulate, confuse and more often than not, do not really make sense.

The Great Formula: for Creating Maximum Profit with Minimal Effort - A Review

I didn't quite like this as much as The Irresistible Offer: How to Sell Your Product or Service in 3 Seconds or Less. Nonetheless, he does elaborate the Great Formula further, a topic he introduced in TIO.

And here's the thing. TGF is actually the 2nd Glass. Or for those who have read MindControlMarketing.com: How Everyday People are Using Forbidden Mind Control Psychology and Ruthless Military Tactics to Make Millions Online, it's the 3rd Glass. And that's what great authors do, they offer you the 2nd Glass if you buy into the first book which is actually the TIO.

And to take that even further, by not giving away everything in your initial TIO, you open up an opportunity for your 2nd Glass and 3rd and 4th and so on and so forth.

Think and Grow Rich - A Review

I had seen this book in stores for the longest time. Never picked it up. Maybe I thought his name was strange.

Anyway, the title got quoted many times in all these financial and marketing books I've been picking up a lot lately. And one fine day, at a book warehouse sale, it jumped out at me.

And I'm glad I did pick it up. Had I read it years ago, I would not have been in the right frame of mind to accept the learnings within.

Although the book was published at the tail end of the Depression, it is still relevant and some areas do resonate with the economic events currently occurring.

The Power of Your Subconscious Mind - A Review

This reads like a something about nothing. An all fluff self-help book that I've been avoiding all these years.

My cynicism is of course, the problem. Since this is the year of trying new things and keeping an open mind (for me), I am pleasantly surprised by the logic presented in this book. This is of course, after I've told my conscious mind to go easy on the criticism.

Logic. Common sense. That is essentially how a self-help book sells itself. And how the old me would have protested and said "I'm not learning anything new from this book". And would've felt cheated at the end of the read.

The Attractor Factor: 5 Easy Steps for Creating Wealth (or Anything Else) from the Inside Out - A Review

This book is about clearly knowing what you want, ask for it from Infinite Intelligence/Universe/God and then, let it go. In a nutshell.

The part that I'm not entirely comfortable about is the clearly knowing part. I, for one, do not know for sure that what I want is really what I want. As humans, we have the unenviable ability to fool ourselves. We can have conversations with our inner selves until the cows come home, and we can still not arrive at a truthful outcome.

The book, while reading it, allows one to be filled with hope that the answers one is looking for are just in the next few pages. And that's how I felt.

Make Your Money Work for You: How to Grow Your Investment Dollars - A Review

I am completely lost when it comes to understanding finance. Never liked it much in school. But this book really made investment much, much easier to understand. The examples of calculations are well-explained. The different types of investments are well defined.

A very good book for newbies on financial assets investment. The only thing was that it was Singapore market-skewed. Would've like a Malaysian version.

Nevertheless, a really good book, in my opinion.

Cashflow Quadrant: Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Freedom - A Review

An expanded version of Rich Dad Poor Dad, in my opinion. A lot of common sense.

Rich Dad's Advisors: Guide to Investing In Gold and Silver: Protect Your Financial Future - A Review

Reads like a Nostradamus prophecy which unfortunately may well turn out to be true. And how catastrophic it would be for all of us.

While the metals may be the hottest ticket yet, unfortunately not everyone can really afford it. As one reviewer has mentioned, Maloney makes it sound so easy when it's not.

This is the gripe that I have with writers like Maloney. They make a complex topic like gold and silver investment so fascinatingly simple that when a simpleton like me wants to really get into it, I stumble at the deep knowledge required to actually make this work.

But it is a good book. It tells the history of money and the metals and how metals always wins.

A Conundrum

I have spent the last few weeks….studying. Studying the following :

• What sort of Internet business should I get into?
• What sort of knowledge should I accumulate to enable running such a business? 
• What are the various methods out there that the experts (i.e. successful Net-preneurs) have used?

Reduce Pain or Increase Pleasure

It’s the only reason why anyone does anything, including when buying stuff whether products or services or knowledge.

It’s because of this inherent human trait that business comes into existence. And why there are zillions of sales people out there selling stuff that can either reduce your pain or increase your pleasure.

There is no easy way out.

There is no easy way out to making money. We all know that a 9-to-5 job is hard work.

But what about other alternatives? There’s plenty of other opportunities of making money. But what it all boils down to is that in order to get money, somebody else has to give money.

Are you asking the right questions about business?

Today, a 9-to-5 job is no longer a secure position to be in. I don’t even want to get started on that.

So, I started something else. A business of my own. Several, actually.

Have I been wrong all this while?

A little over a week ago, I found myself having dinner with this creative person....why I said yes, is another post altogether.  

Illuminating is what I can say as a result of that dinner. Whilst the chap's dinner conversation is infinitely long-winded, tiresome and entirely self-absorbed, there were some nuggets to be gleaned from said conversation....although one can hardly call it a conversation if it's completely one-sided.

Other Great Books Worth Reading!