Aman Mittal's Blog, page 11
February 17, 2018
BOOK REVIEW: Succeed The Happionaire Way by Yogesh Chabria
Succeed The Happionaire Way by Yogesh Chabria Published by TV18 Broadcast Limited (CNBC TV18) on November 10th 2017
Genres: Nonfiction
Pages: 180
Format: Audiobook
Buy on Amazon
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Some say happiness is a state of mind. Many believe in that. I do too. It indeed is a state of mind but we all wonder how to achieve that state of mind, don’t we?
The happiness of an individual is reflected by aspects that are prior to us mortals. These aspects fall under few different criteria and a common ground between them is where the state of happiness lies. It is not something that is achievable because there is nothing to achieve. It is a state of mind that takes some practice and wilful mindfulness on daily basis. Thus, this is the message of Yogesh Chabria, a world-renowned leader in the field of human potential, new book: Succeed The Happionaire Way.
The book takes all those aspects I mentioned above into a deep consideration. The author describes pragmatic strategies along with subject matter which and they all are oriented towards a mutual goal, the happiness of the reader, reading the book. In-depth he talks about dreams and turning them into goals and how to shape yourself and the life you are currently living, to define a shape your own way. He then has defined is own terms such as DIG, HOPE (all are trademarked) and urges the reader to take action. You can follow along with the suggestions and the anecdotes from many lives he has observed or has been touched by, including his own.
This process is making an individual realize a sense of clarity in his mind and motivating him to continue on his ambitious journey is successful. Since the early days of human civilizations, we find a similar context in writings of Plato, Heraclitus, and Aristotle. Their manner of writing might be poetic or dialogues, but it is just their method. Chabria’s method is clear, simple, easy to absorb and understand. It seems his focus on more on the reader of the book.
He then talks on topics like emotional health, the art of relationships, and finally to be consistent in maintaining the balance of life. He even offers step by step guidelines on meditation for those who have never tried it. My favorite chapter in the book is on relationships of every kind.
I know there are many books in this genre but if you are looking for a clear, follow along, written in a smart and succinct manner, this one is for you and you should grab a copy straightaway.
5 out of 5!
The post BOOK REVIEW: Succeed The Happionaire Way by Yogesh Chabria appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.
February 16, 2018
Author Interview: Ashraf Haggag
Q. Hi Mr Haggag, and thank you for agreeing this interview. Tell us a little about yourself and your background?
I have spent nearly three decades in the corporate business world and I am currently working as a senior executive in the hospitality industry managing a group of hotels. With direct experience in many different aspects of business, including sales, marketing, revenue management, and administration. Having worked in Germany, the United States, Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, my global experiences have encouraged me to formulate my thoughts into written documents in business, management, history that I see may be beneficial to the younger generation. Eager to bring enhanced cross-cultural awareness to today’s business leaders.
Q. What led you to your book, “Legends over Generations”?
The deep admiration of the historical legends and masterminds of the various life aspects and how they have helped us grow better understanding of the world we live in was the core drive for drafting the idea of this book. In these Legends, we’ve seen inexplicable abilities that helped us define our existence and human life. Their names are engraved in the sands of time for their work in the welfare of mankind with different inventions that have made our lives easy, enjoyable and successful. The following chapters commemorate the greatest personalities we’ve ever seen who changed the world.
Q. What is the easiest thing about writing?
Identifying the core idea of the book and setting its overall structure is the easiest part for me. Once this is clear in mind, I can then go forward and draft down the main points that show and clarify the idea to my readers. Whilst I do this, I keep my target readers at the front of my mind.
Q. What motivates you to write?
Conveying the accumulative experience that I have gained throughout my academic career and the cross culture environment that I have been exposed to. Passing this knowledge to young generations who I believe are in need of such direction to help them accomplish their goals and enable them to face the everyday challenges that life brings.
Q. When did you decide that you want to be a writer?
Very recently, I reached a stage in my life whereby I realised that happiness for me, is giving back whatever knowledge I have accumulated over the years.
Q. What are your thoughts on good/bad reviews?
Having the fact in mind that there is no limit for us of learning something new, I take the bad reviews as a new guideline either to adjust my direction or to add something new that can help me produce and perform in a better way.
Q. What do you prefer: Pen or Computer? And how do you stay organised (any methods, systems, tools you use)?
Actually neither. My all-time go to is always a PENCIL HB2. This is the tool I feel most comfortable and relaxed with and it helps stimulate my thoughts.
Q. How do you relax?
When I see positive progress in accomplishing the preparation of my books, I feel relieved and satisfied.
Q. What would you have done differently if you could do it again?
For my first two non-fiction books, I would have created a more intense and structured marketing plan.
Q. Something personal about you people may be surprised to know?
Working out for me is a must. Out of all of the workouts that I do, jogging is the greatest help in focusing my mind on the coming chapters and keeping me focused throughout my writing journey.
Q. Do you re-read books? One book that you would read again & again?
Yes definitely. I rarely re-read novels but I go back to my all-time business favourites again and again. Such titles include: Blue ocean strategy, Good to Great and Built to Last.
Q. Your influence(s)/ favourite author(s)?
Jim Collins
Q. Are you working on anything at the moment? When can we see your next work?
Yes I am. I am in the process of writing my fourth book which I foresee to have the title “The Bright and Dark side of the Greatest Empires”. The core idea for writing this book is to give a strong highlight on the evolution and the development of human behaviour starting from the early ages and the tendency of countries to acquire resources, land and economic influence outside their boarders in order to expand their size, power and wealth using military force.
The post Author Interview: Ashraf Haggag appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.
I have a new blog link
Confessions of a Readaholic is turning 5 this year as a book blog. For such an occasion and more flexibility over the control of my book blog, I decided to move this site to WordPress and have URL of its own.
The new URL is http://readingbooks.blog/
Do not worry rest is same (especially the content).
Thank you. 
February 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW: Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk
Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk Published by Harper Collins on 2009
Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Entrepreneurship
Pages: 161
Format: eBook
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads
Most of the Vaynerchuk books are like a personal pep talk. They’d be about money, hard work, work, and his majority focus is on passionate living. I have been following his vlogs on YouTube for months and that what lead me to read his books
Crush It! Why Now is the Time to Cash on Your Passion got published 7 years ago and tells you the story of how Gary, the author, coming from a ordinary background built his empire in Wine business, turning a local wine shop into a national industry leader by using tools like YouTube and other Social Media (basically Internet) platorms and thus originating his next Venture VaynerMedia. The book is only 140 pages so there is enough talk about his background and the methodology he used to turn his fortunes around.
The writing style is smooth and simple. Being nonfiction, the book covers what it says, gradually. If you have listened to this man speaking, he is very loud and at times make bold statements. I like that. What else I liked about his working style is that, there is no trash talk, he might be loud but he knows what he is saying and that his way to motivate and inspire others. In the book, he has included his gradual working process. Some of his analogies are known to the vast majority of readers but that is where the book comes in. Knowing something and implementing them, there is a line between the both. Few the tips offered by the author might seem outdated but keep in mind, the timeline has a role to play.
I recommend this book giving a read if you are into Vlogging or Blogging or starting a YouTube channel or want to read about Gary’s entrepreneurial journey.
4 out of 5!
The post BOOK REVIEW: Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk appeared first on Confessions of a Readaholic.
February 14, 2018
BOOK REVIEW: The Presentation by Anoop Anthony
Pages: 33, Kindle Edition
Published: 2018
The Presentation is a short story about the tragic modern life, on an individual who is leading a life in the corporate world but fate has something else in its book for him. Written elegantly by Anoop Anthony, it will put its reader to think hard about what they have got and how to start living instead of dying.
The plot revolves around Manoj and is kind of a short Ulysses since it covers almost a day in his lifespan. One of the most important days in his corporate life, as he likes to think. He works in a leading consulting firm and in six years has advanced immensely in terms of wealth. He has a wife and a kid whom he rarely gets to see or have a proper long conversation. Over the years, however, his health has declined after spending long hours in his cubicle. Doctors have given him a warning but he did not take it seriously, or he wanted too but to continue to generate the process of wealth, Manoj had to keep going. This tale is a realistic aspect of the dark side of the corporate world.
The characterization includes mostly about the protagonist. His wife has a role but a reader does not get any insight except to protagonist’s thoughts about her. The characterization is simple and easy to follow. More emphasis is given to the plot and the theme it successfully touches upon. The cost of success and failure in the brutal world. The writing is excellent. Very professional. Use of narrative voice works well with the progress of the plot.
There could have a more detailed sketch of the character and a bit more insight into the dark tale of the modern world. However, it is worth reading. Short read and won’t take much of your time.
4 out of 5
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February 12, 2018
BOOK REVIEW: The Assassinations by Vikram Kapur
Cover Rating: 5/5
The Assassinations, A Novel of 1984 written by Vikram Kapur is a historical fiction that deeply covers the riots that took place after a former Prime Minister of India was assassinated.
The complete plot takes place in New Delhi which was at the time (in 1984) a locus for the riots. The storyline follows the lives of two families who are engaged and affected in the historical event in a deep manner. Deepa is a Hindu girl who falls in love with Prem an ambitious son of a Sikh refugee. They both decide to get married with their families approval keeping aside their religious differences. Then the strike hits and changes both of their lives.
The characterization is the core of this novel. Each character has their own traits and displays different emotions for the reader to observe and feel. When the author tells the story of Delhi in 2004, the last part of the novel which represents the present, as a reader it was astonishing for me to observe that the most underrated characters in the novel are being sympathetic about their own past and each other. This is a gem and a rarity. Not many writers explore each and every character in their work.
To give life to such a sensitive topic with plot and characters is a job well done by Vikram Kapur in this novel. Written in third person narrative voice, I am glad I read it.
4 out of 5!
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February 10, 2018
BOOK REVIEW: Work that Matters by Maia Duerr
Published: December 26, 2017 by Parallax Press
Cover Rating: 5/5
Maia Duerr’s new book is all you want to read before this year ends. Why? Because her book holds that element of getting you enthusiastic to start the New Year with an authentic perspective of how to keep living and do what you want to do.
After having multiple jobs in her life and feeling trapped by her intuition of what she wants to do and struggling in the wage slave economy, in this book, Maia advices on how stop living a meaningless life. She defines that a career for an individual is an expression of one’s life and its core intention, we must take necessary steps that are practical enough with vivid reality we are all part of. Work That Matters: Create a Livelihood that Reflects Your Intention is all about that. Author starts from some pragmatic tips like being self-aware with some well known mindfullness practices, shares her own vision and experience with them and concludes in first few chapters how highly beneficial they are when adapted as a habit.
Work is one of the primary vehicles for expressing our deepest selves.
When I picked her book, I wasn’t so sure that it will have such a deep influence over me. Well there I said it. Her words are soothing, pragmatic and visionary in terms of creating livelihood and fill all the gaps by doing what you want to do for living rather than what you do not. In this book, she has covered anecdotes from own life and few others like her and do provide tools to create a joyful work that embodies love and compassion for self. In the book, she examines emotional, psychological and cultural barriers to create work as the driving force of one’s life, after wandering through a dozen jobs in a period of a decade. She does provide few steps that I would not call it a roadmap, but it does make sense and entitled under “Liberation-Based Livelihood”.
The writing style is smooth, with steady in pace and I’d recommend the only way to get something out of this book is to read and be self-aware about what you are reading. Some of the pragmatic tips she provides are really helpful if one decides to constantly mingle with them. This is one of the greatest wisdom holding book I have read this year. The perfect audience for this book are freelancers, digital nomads and the person who want to pursue a career opportuinty on their own terms.
5 out of 5!
February 9, 2018
Author Interview: Priyanka Baranwal
Q. Hi Ms. Priyanka, and thank you for agreeing this interview. Tell us a little about yourself and your background?
Hello, Amandeep! My pleasure to be here again. I am Priyanka from Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh (India). I currently live in Kuwait. I am an author, and a blogger; love to play guitar and do some poetry as well. My hobbies are traveling, reading, jogging, and watching movies.
I have two books to my credit – It’s Never Too Late and the latest, The Shadow of Darkness. Both books are being received well by the readers.
Q. What led you to your book, “The Shadow of Darkness”?
My first book – It’s Never Too Late. ‘The Shadow of Darkness’ is actually its sequel but a complete story in itself.
In It’s Never Too Late, I have shown how my protagonist, Maya, suffers a great deal by the hands of two sadistic criminals. In the process, her five year old daughter, Sejal, too gets harassed. Later on, Maya was able to release her clutch on the past but for little Sejal, it was impossible. She just could not leave behind the horror of the night! She was afraid of strangers, could not go outside and play, skipped school for months, protected her new doll fiercely while she was supposed to be playing with it, had hard time in eating and digesting food. In short, Sejal’s childhood was spent under the constant gaze of trauma.
In my first book, I put focus on Maya and magnified how with mental power, you can overcome physical strength. But for Sejal, I had to tell her story. How could you not show a little girl’s trauma in growing years? And that’s how the idea of ‘The Shadow of Darkness’ was seeded. But why the term childhood trauma?
Childhood trauma is an invisible monster, it never leaves you. A child can grow but the trauma memories stay intact and affect the person in so many little and different ways that if help is not offered on time, the person in conflict may have to live with the painful memories forever. Although those memories do not go away completely yet with help on time, it certainly gets easier to deal with upcoming challenges.
The book also focuses on love and hope. It’s hard to overcome traumatic memories. The help and support of family and friends can open up new possibilities of healing and a bright future.
First book talked about crimes against women. Second one is about another sensitive issue – Childhood Trauma and creating a meaningful life despite of all the darkness.
Q. What is the easiest thing about writing?
Thinking about it! Getting those thoughts on paper is the hardest. 
Q. What motivates you to write?
Daily life.
Q. When did you decide that you want to be a writer?
When I saw my first book in hands. That day I felt there are chances this process could go on forever.
Q. What are your thoughts on good/bad reviews?
To stay prepared for both.
Q. What do you prefer: Pen or Computer? And how do you stay organised (any methods, systems, tools you use)?
Computer, of course. Because of the daunting process called Editing. Writers have to edit for so many times that if it wasn’t for computers, the impending apocalypse would have doomed the earth ages ago.
Thankfully, the technology helps us to save trees and earth.
In line with organizing my writings, I always have an outline of my story. Till this time, I had the beginnings and the climaxes nailed right into my head before I started writing both of my books. It was the part between them that I had to work on munificently. In fact for ‘The Shadow of Darkness’, I had even hired a professional editor to fine tune the manuscript.
For my blogs (I have two – one in Hindi and another in English), I pick a topic and lace around ideas to make it work for readers. I love blogging. I’d also like you to write a post for me since your blog is much appreciated.
Q. How do you relax?
Relax? Let me cherish the word for a second for it’s hard for me to do this exact thing these days. Now that my book is out, I work seven days a week. If I am not typing, I am always thinking what next? If I am not thinking, I am typing my next move. If I am neither typing nor thinking then I am probably dead.
Fortunately, I have a family who plans a fun movie night, cooks Maggi for me, takes me out, fights and talks with me, and motivates me. Every week I cook special dishes to get them into thinking that I am the best ally they can ever imagine. Some friends here invite us over for dinner and day outs and vice versa. You see! Even if I don’t plan, I have lovely people around who love me unknowingly and fuel me enough to keep going.
Q. What would you have done differently if you could do it again?
Nothing, I guess. Because life is not a story on computer where you can press Undo and do the magic. And if you can’t change anything really then why to fret over which part sucked?
It’s better to look ahead than to refocus the fuse of the past.
Q. Something personal about you people may be surprised to know?
I am not sure what can surprise the one reading this. May be this interview being given by a yet-to-be-a-bestseller author to oh-so-famous blog?
Q. Do you re-read books? One book that you would read again & again?
Nope. With due respect, I have not re-read any book till to this date. There is always another, more inviting than the one I just finished. But the finished ones stay in my heart in the ways they have managed to touch me as a reader, inspired me as a writer, and fuelled the dedication to do something grander every day.
What can be the other best option to relive a book again and again if not this?
Q. Your influence(s)/ favourite author(s)?
Influence/s is a better query to answer. My father is on number one. It’s because of him that I believe in giving my best. It’s because of him that I am a writer today. It’s because of him that I am happy today. He is super proud when he learns my books are doing well. He encourages me to keep practicing on my guitar which is a big deal for me, his concern. It’s his genes that push me to give the best beyond my best.
My mother and my husband. They are my strongest pillars and the best Exit plans. Whenever I feel cornered by an issue or something, they are the ones I usually turn to. Each day, they make me realize the wonders and magic of relationships through the way they love and care for me.
My son. He is my life. He gives me the energy to go on.
Paulo Coelho. One day, I want to meet him in person. His writings are such a huge influence on me.
Q. Are you working on anything at the moment? When can we see your next work?
Yes. Third one is in the progress and you will get to see it when I find a good publisher.
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February 7, 2018
BOOK REVIEW: Fragments by Heraclitus
Written around twenty-five hundred years ago, Heraclitus declared that energy is the essence of the matter, that everything becomes energy in flux, in relativity. Fragments if a form of collected writings by the Greek, since the title and the context of the book both suggest that.
Many consider Heraclitus one of the earliest philosophers and his writing is the only piece that conveys that. The text surviving for almost 2500 years, there must something about it. His writing style is unique, his way of conveying the wisdom is one of its kind. Reading these passages are soothing and they enforce the reader to think about for a very long time. The basic consideration that Heraclitus takes into is the mankind and everything that falls under its nature. He talks about nature and the cycle of the universe in proses.
My favorite point of his writing is that he has put enough emphasis on the inner self. I think that is why Heraclitus is considered a master of many modern-day philosophers.
Applicants of wisdom do what I have done: inquire within.
Many of the ideas he speaks about are familiar to us. It is just another way of reminding ourselves the simplicity of life. If you decide to pick this book and try to observe the wisdom, I hope you find what you are looking for.
It is a quick, short piece of writing that you can read in an hour. The amount of wisdom it owns and offers is the reason why one should consider reading it.
The habit of knowledge is not human but divine.
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February 6, 2018
First review on My Book
Rayne Anderson is a fellow blogger. She is getting started on her book blog: Rayne Reads. She has been kind and generous enough to leave a review after reading my book: A Blogger’s Manifesto.
I want to thank Rayne for her time, effort and hope she gained something from the book.
Thank you, everyone, for buying the book. I hope you enjoyed it as well. If you’d like to say a few words, please provide your feedback here on Goodreads.com
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