Surely you are joking Mr Feynmann - Review

Mr Feynmann is a nobel-prize winning physicist. He has written a book about his experiences in life called Surely you are joking Mr.Feynmann. Even though there is one single narrative through all those stories, the book is a absolute page turner. He talks about his childhood experiences, his student experiences, his experiences as a teacher. Each story is witty and you just want to completely read it. 


He is an absolutely versatile person and apart from being a full time physicist, he was a samba player, tumba drums player, lock picker, language learner and an accomplished painter. His life in an example of what you can achieve if you play with whatever you are passionate about. 


The book also contains learning moments about how to understand science, how to stand for your word and how to be passionate and witty. 


I am very very impressed with the stories that I completed them in one straight reading. It is a really amazing book which will surely increase your interest in science. If you are not interested, you will surely be left laughing. You will not be disappointed with this book at all. Happy reading.

Never Eat Alone - 1

This time, i will be back with the summary of the book - Never Eat Alone - by Keith Ferrazi. After How to Win Friends And Influence People, this is the most recommended book about building relationships. So he we go..

Being a part of the club: 
There is a separate mindset for people who are able to have better relationships. You should genuinely care about the other person. So the first part of the book is about the mindset. 

Reciprocity is the gussied-up word people use later in life to describe this ageless principle. I just knew the word as "care."

By being connected, you can ask for help, you can give help and help each other all the time. 

Until you become as willing to ask for help as you are to give it, however, you are only working half the equation.


Dont keep score:
 Don't expect these to be transactions. Just because you did something doesn't mean you should expect something from them. You will get help when needed.

Whats your mission:
Understand what you are trying to achieve. Then try to see who in your network can help you reach there soon.

Build before you need:
You cannot build something just when you need it. You have to build it before you need it.

Be Audacious:
The fact is everyone will feel embarrassed to ask. But you have to do it anyway to get what you want. And more often than not people are happy to help. Find a model whom you can learn from, learn speaking from toastmasters, get involved, get therapy ( talk about your negative emotions) and just do it.

Don't be a networking jerk:
 Don't schmooze or gossip, because one day or the other everyone will find out you are not trustworthy and will not tell anything important to you and then you will not have anything to gossip.
Be transparent, which helps people to contribute.
Treat people under you well. Have an opinion and say it. Share with the world what you have.
Don't be overly efficient. The author tells a story of how he used to hire helpers to sign and send new year greetings, and finally his friend telling him that he got three cards all signed by a different person.
So the aim is to make friends not just send letters or greetings.

If you're not making friends while connecting, best to resign yourself to dealing with people who don't care much about what happens to you.

How to live on 24 hours a day - Summary

An excellent short old book for making the most of the time for employed people with 9-5 type of schedule. Read online at manyread.net here

These are my notes from the book.

1. Time is limited for everyone.
2. We have equal time. We don't have credit and we can't have debts of it.
3. Simply begin. There is no waiting, just simply begin.

Let me principally warn you against your own ardour. Ardour in well-doing
is a misleading and a treacherous thing. It cries out loudly for employment;
you can't satisfy it at first; it wants more and more; it is eager to move
mountains and divert the course of rivers. It isn't content till it perspires.
And then, too often, when it feels the perspiration on its brow, it wearies all of a sudden and dies, without even putting itself to the trouble of saying, "I've had enough of this."

4.

If a man
makes two-thirds of his existence subservient to one-third, for which
admittedly he has no absolutely feverish zest, how can he hope to live fully
and completely? He cannot.
One of the chief things which my
typical man has to learn is that the mental faculties are capable of a
continuous hard activity; they do not tire like an arm or a leg. All they want
is change--not rest, except in sleep

5.
Audit your day for the time you are not in office and consider it as another day. Accept you are not that tired at that time and choose to do something at that time if not everyday atleast once in two days. Keep them sacred very very sacred.

6. Don't think it is easy so plan for the misgivings of human nature. But try to keep it. Train your mind because thoughts are the root of everything.  Read a passage of epictetus and marcus aurelius and meditate on it

9.Get interested in arts or reasoning or anything and follow it up daily. In other words, get interested in something out of your zone daily.

I have two general suggestions of a certain
importance. The first is to define the direction and scope of your efforts.
Choose a limited period, or a limited subject, or a single author. Say to
yourself: "I will know something about the French Revolution, or the rise
of railways, or the works of John Keats." And during a given period, to be
settled beforehand, confine yourself to your choice. There is much pleasure
to be derived from being a specialist.

10. Beware of becoming a prig, or becoming a slave to your schedule or taking on too much or reading without digesting or reading something which you are not interested in.