The Algebra of Happiness - Book review

 The Algebra of Happiness Notes on the Pursuit of Success, Love, and Meaning 

If you’ve ever spent time people-watching, you’ll notice that most of them are in pursuit of something. At least on the outside. But everyone, including you, is in pursuit of something on the inside.

The Algebra Of Happiness 

It could be that you’re striving for success or love. Or maybe you’re at the point in your life where you’re searching for meaning in what you do and who you are. You want to live a fulfilled life and you want to find happiness.

The book, The Algebra ofHappiness: Notes on the Pursuit of Success, Love, and Meaning, can give you the advice that you need to find happiness and meaning in the important areas of your life.

The book teaches you how to understand failures, whether they come from yourself or from your family history. You’ll learn how to see those you look up to through the lens of understanding.

Using a witty bite-sized teaching style, the author shows you how to get what matters in life. It’s filled with takeaways such as spending time with those you care about. Expect your team members to work hard. Be a good friend.

Some of the disciplines in the book can be put into practice immediately to improve, not just your personal life, but your professional one as well. The author instructs readers to do certain tasks and explains the outcome of what happened in his personal life when he failed to heed that advice.

He imparts the wisdom of working hard and how that’s the barometer for building success. The book is a no-excuse method of helping you to land on the winning side of life.

Not only does the book teach you what to do to achieve success, but it warns you what not to do as well. The book is filled with life strategy steps that can show you not just how to have a career, but to have the one that you want - one that’s greater than the financial success that you originally imagined.

You’ll also learn why having a balance between your working life and your private life is important and how to obtain that. Challenges and successes are taught in four sections of the book.

The first section covers the formula for happiness and what your equation for that formula would be. In the second section, the book covers success from the viewpoint of looking at ambition, money and your career.

The third part of the book deals with love and relationships. It advises the younger generation how to see and find meaning in their personal and professional life. The fourth section of the book presents the possibility of happiness and explains that it’s your decisions that impact your life - especially when you’re young.

For example, if you work hard when you’re younger to take care of yourself physically, you’ll have a better, happier life. Reading the book will inspire you to gain a new perspective and help you understand the direction where you really want to go in life.

Surprising Strategies to Up Your Earnings and Change Your Life

 Secrets of Six-Figure Women    

Making six figures is a goal that many people have, but wonder if it’s really something that they can achieve. Building that amount of income is something that’s doable but you need to have a strategy in place.

It has to be one that can teach you how to level up your earnings so that you get to live the life that you dream of. Women who make six figures do so because of what they’ve learned about money and how to bring it in.

In the book, Secrets of Six-Figure Women: Surprising Strategies to Up Your Earnings and Change Your Life, the author takes the reader inside the secret to becoming a high earning woman.

What’s surprising about the book is that the secrets shared aren’t outlandish, never before heard strategies, but rather are based on common sense coupled with taking action.

One of the things that the book addresses is learning how to leap, how to say yes and let go of fear. This enables you to find the strength to achieve more than you believed you were capable of.

The book also touches on thehow to free yourself from the things that are holding you back - such as thework you’re doing or the career you’re in that doesn’t allow your abilities to flourish.

Some of the tips in the book teach readers how to let go of the relationships that aren’t working, as well as sharing why you should change the habits that keep your income stagnant.

Not earning what they have the potential to earn is something that many woman face. Some overcome it and do go on to achieve more - but it’s only because they stop looking around for something or someone else to the be the answer to their financial dreams.

In the book, one of the chapters goes into detail about those who are low earners and what criteria can impact your money situation. There can be a mistaken belief among some women that in order to make six figures a year, you must have a certain type of education or you must be someone who is extremely self-confident.

The author reveals that the truth is there are many women who earn six figures who don’t have a lot of education. Some of them aren’t as courageous as you might think. They’re just like you - normal women who have fought to overcome whatever challenges came their way.

When things got difficult, they didn’t quit. They kept on until they persevered. Women who earned six figures also had some common traits that women who underearned didn’t often share.

One key element portrayed in the book is that those who were six figure earners loved what they did. They weren’t stuck in jobs they hated. They chose a path that suited their passion and values.

Some of the stories shared in the book didn’t highlight women who came from great backgrounds and had never experienced financial or personal hardship. Women who overcame obstacles is one of the recurring themes in the book. If you want to change your financial trajectory, this book can certainly teach you how to do that.

 

The New Psychology of Success

 

Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

It’s easy to look at someone who works hard and is successful and believe that their success was brought on by the effort he or she gave. 

The New Psychology of Success

But the truth is that hard work is only a fraction of what can lead to success.

Your mindset is what matters most when you have goals that you want to reach. For anyone who wants to reach the top, you need to understand how your mindset affects your journey.

In the book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, you’ll gain the knowledge of how uncovering the power of mindset can enhance your life and help you achieve your ambitions.

The book delves into explaining how that there are two types of mindsets. You can either have a fixed mindset or you can have one that’s a growth mindset. Those who have a fixed mindset believe everything is yes or no, that there is no wiggle room, no maybes involved.

A fixed mindset causes the type of thinking that labels people as being one thing and not another. For example, a fixed mindset sees that a person has talent or they don’t, that you can have intelligence or you’re dumb.

The drawback is that this kind of thinking leads to the belief that success is only available to some and not to everyone. They believe that there are the can do types of people and the can’t do.

The book teaches that when you have a fixed mindset, the preconceived ideas that you have can limit your success. The reason is because you think that what will be is a foregone conclusion.

Other people can run a business and make six figures a year, but not you. Usually that reasoning follows with some sort of excuse or label such as, “I can’t achieve success in this area because I’m not as smart as the competition.”

People who have fixed mindsets shy away from trying new things that could change their lives or businesses. They like to do things a certain way and don’t see the potential in themselves.

They often experience jealousy, anger or bitterness when their business colleagues reach the success they want to have but haven’t gone after. The book teaches that a growth mindset believes that one doesn’t have to be born with talent or skills or intelligence.

How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

 Extreme Ownership 

Complimentary Post by Socialvibes / Medium 

Nothing you want will just fall into your lap. When you want something in life, you take action. 

Extreme Ownership

Every successful person understands that concept. But there’s another concept that can help you get what you want out of life.

It’s what some might refer to as a rather hard truth. And that is that you must take ownership for what happens in your life, including in your business. By taking ownership, you can achieve the dreams that you desire.

In the book, Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win, the two authors are former U.S. Navy SEALS who understand what it means to keep going when others quit.

The book is clear about one thing and that’s the fact that you are responsible for your life. Whatever happens or doesn’t happen is no one else’s responsibility or fault if something doesn’t work out the way that you wish it had.

How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win, the two authors are former U.S. Navy SEALS

If you’re someone who wants to be a success or you want to run a successful business, you can use the guidelines in this book to set that journey in motion. The book will show you how you can develop the character it takes to lead a business.

It also teaches you what it means to be a leader and what your obligations will be. The chapters in the book are divided by three main parts. The first part deals with the hard truth about leadership that can be difficult to face — such as accepting responsibility when something goes wrong.

Regardless of what happened, the book teaches that leaders step up and shoulder the responsibility for the action and make it right. It also covers not placing blame at the feet of those who work for you or at the feet of those you lead.

In the book, you’ll discover how the art of communication can effectively help a business succeed and steer you away from mistakes. When there’s praise to be had, the book teaches that the ones you lead should share in the end result rather than you taking all the credit.

You’ll also learn how you can boost your team performance. By following the principles taught in the book, you’ll learn how to differentiate between tasks that need to be done immediately and those that can go lower on the list.

You’ll learn about making decisions and turning those decisions into action steps so that you’re not engulfed by your to-do list. You’ll discover how to strategize and how that can help your business — but you’ll also learn the art of being accepting to change when necessary.

Some of the top points of the book include learning how to remain dedicated to the outcome of your goals until you achieve success as well as how to stay strong when others don’t believe you can do it.

Essentialism lifestyle, You Only Hold On to The Things That Help You

 

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

If you’re like most people, you live a life of expectations and pressure. You strive to do your best in the areas of your life that matter the most to you. You want healthy, loving relationships.

You want a financially rewarding career that you enjoy. But in the midst of all the striving, you end up feeling like you’re spinning your wheels. You feel like you have a lot of forward motion, but no real movement.

Your productivity isn’t at the level where you want it to be. You feel like you’re running from sunup to sundown and not really making a whole lot of headway. The problem is that you’re wasting too much time on stuff that you shouldn’t be.

In the book, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, the author teaches how you can streamline your life and start only doing what really matters. Unlike a lot of self-help advice you’ll find, the book won’t show you how to find the time to add more to your plate, so you create an overly complex task list.

Essentialism 

Instead, it teaches you the true meaning of being productive. You’ll discover that time is a precious commodity and you don’t need to know how to manage it. What you need to know instead is how to value the time that you do have.

You’ll learn that you’ll end up doing less, but accomplish more. The book shows that by developing an essentialism lifestyle, you only hold on to the things that help you — the things that are meaningful.

If you’ve ever gone through your home and cleaned out stuff that you no longer wanted or given away things that you felt were weighing you down, the concept is like that. But instead of getting rid of stuff, you’re getting rid of behaviors and learning how to do what’s important.

You’ll stop feeling like your life is mired in chaos, like you’re trying to get to the bottom of a never-ending to-do list. You’ll discover why less is actually more when you stop trying to do everything and be everything.

The book will show you how to figure out what your priorities are and concentrate only on those things. Part of the book covers the art of doing less. Instead of aiming to finish twenty things, you’ll learn how to do only a handful, but to focus on that handful and do it to the best of your ability.

This way, you’re not spreading your talent, skill or mental energy as thin as you once did. The book teaches that you should stop trying to take everything onto your shoulders and instead, do what you’re good at. A key element of the book is on learning how to understand when something truly needs your attention and learning to let go when it doesn’t.

LITTLE THINGS THAT CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE…AND MAYBE THE WORLD

Make Your Bed

If You Want to Change the World, Start Off by Making Your Bed — William McRaven, US Navy Admiral 

New complimentary repost by Socialvibes with New  Image 

Based on a Navy SEAL’s inspiring graduation speech, this #1 New York Times bestseller of powerful life lessons “should be read by every leader in America” (Wall Street Journal).

On May 17, 2014, Admiral William H. McRaven addressed the graduating class of the University of Texas at Austin on their Commencement day.

Taking inspiration from the university’s slogan, “What starts here changes the world,” he shared the ten principles he learned during Navy Seal training that helped him overcome challenges not only in his training and long Naval career, but also throughout his life; and he explained how anyone can use these basic lessons to change themselves-and the world-for the better.

Make your Bed 

If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed.

Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World

There are certain lessons in life that can help you succeed. You can enjoy personal development satisfaction by learning them.

The book, Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life…And Maybe the World, explains what the lessons are and how you can put them into practice.

One of the lessons is to begin your day by finishing a task such as making your bed. The reason behind getting the day started by doing something is because once you finish the task, you gain a sense of accomplishment.

But more than that, it also sets the frame for the day. You start out productively and you’ll be productive throughout the day. The author also talks about not trying to be an island as you’re living your life and trying to achieve your goals.

Those who learn the power of teamwork or having someone that you can count on, reach their goals faster and are more successful in what they set out to do. One chapter of the book covers what to look for in others when it comes to success networking.

Just because the person seems to be the smartest or the most obvious choice doesn’t mean it’s the right choice. The true way to measure a person is by how they’re able to handle the situation.

Because there are no equal roads to achieving success, it can often seem like life is unfair. Instead of bemoaning that fact, the book teaches that it’s best to keep on trying and to keep going.

Sometimes, you can try harder than your competitor to accomplish something and you won’t make it — yet the other person will. It’s not because you’re not as accomplished. It’s just because stuff happens.

Failure is often game over for some people. Once they fail at something, they decide the task can’t be done and they give up. The book teaches that instead of letting failure be the thing that stops you, let it be what empowers you on to greater success.

If you apply the failure as a lesson, it can be used to improve your life rather being a problem. Something that might cause you to hesitate is taking bold chances. But that’s exactly what you must do, according to the book, if you want to see change happen.

Get ready to move forward in boldness without a safety net to catch you. Along your journey in life, you’re going to encounter those who will try to stop you. They’ll say or do something to try to get you to turn away from your goals.

You have to stand strong, dig in your heels and refuse to turn back.

The book teaches that there will be times when you’ll face hardship, but you have to remember to keep on going even through the rough patches.

Admiral McRaven’s original speech went viral with over 10 million views. Building on the core tenets laid out in his speech, McRaven now recounts tales from his own life and from those of people he encountered during his military service who dealt with hardship and made tough decisions with determination, compassion, honor, and courage.

Told with great humility and optimism, this timeless book provides simple wisdom, practical advice, and words of encouragement that will inspire readers to achieve more, even in life’s darkest moments.

The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

 The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph

For some people, encountering an obstacle is an opportunity to learn, to grow, and to get stronger. But for other people, it’s a stopping point. They can’t get past the obstacle. They don’t know how to go over it or around it, so they just quit, sometimes turning around when they’re right on the cusp of success.

Often, it’s the obstacle that’s the exact way to success and in the book,

The Obstacle Is the Way: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials into Triumph, the author teaches how to have the right mindset for when troubles do hit.

The book goes into detail about what it takes to keep on trying even when you’re faced with failure. It shows you how to change your thinking so that you can gain the right perspective when trouble hits.

But more than that, it gives you the realization that you do have the strength to keep on moving through the obstacles. The book presents the art of developing stoicism in your life and gives examples of times in history when others were faced with obstacles, but persevered.

You’ll learn how to develop a no excuses mindset, and that life isn’t being unfair when trials hit because trouble happens to everyone. Instead of allowing the troubles to hinder you mentally, the book shows how you can learn to view what seems like the end as a new beginning — even while you’re going through the fire of your situation.

If you feel like you’re trapped, like you just can’t put another foot forward, you can benefit from reading the book and following the advice that’s taught in it. You won’t learn how to think things are great, but will instead learn how to face problems head on until you conquer them.

The book is divided into three parts. The first part is perception. It’s followed by action and then by will. In the part that deals with perception, you’ll understand that the stuff that happens to you is sometimes out of your control.

You’ll discover how to direct your attention to the problem at hand without letting your emotions take over — regardless of how angry or disappointed you are. In the part dealing with action, you’ll discover how you can stay the course and how continuing to try is the most important thing no matter what hasn’t worked so far.

The book will teach you that if you hang in there, you will reach the end. In the third part of the book, it shows you how to remember that whatever you’re facing isn’t forever. You’re going to get through it.

In this part, the book talks about making peace with what’s happened — even if that thing isn’t a good thing. One thing the book teaches that’s important for both life and career success is that while you can’t help what has come or will come your way, you can help how you handle it. You get to define whether it’s a quitting point or an opportunity to become even stronger.