Monday, April 9, 2018

Excerpts: 2 Books Down, 47 To GOjesseGO

It's been just about one month since my birthday gifts arrived, and I am through 2 books completely. Here are a few excerpts from the books that I noted along the way.

How Champions Think by Dr. Bob Rotella

Dr. Rotella uses golf as a vehicle for conveying his ideas. The book is full of golf analogies. This was one that struck me particularly as I was studying for part of the CPA Exam that I recently sat for.

He only knows he will accept the shot he is about to hit, find the ball, and go through the same routine for the next shot. He visualizes the shot that he wants to hit and makes all the necessary judgments about the club to use, the wind, the break of the green, and any other factors that might affect it. Then - and this can be the hard part - he trusts that his body can execute the shot. He turns off the conscious brain. He lets the subconscious - where the best control of fine motor skills can be found - governs his movements. He looks at the target, looks at the ball, and swings. He hit the shot without consciously trying to control his body. He play instinctively, athletically. 

Nervousness can disrupt all this. Nervousness prods the conscious brain to keep control of the proceedings because of fear. The performer is afraid that he’ll mishit a shot and humiliate himself on television or miss the cut and lose his playing privileges. If he succumbs to nervousness, he’ll let his conscious brain have control.

Moral of the story is learn what you need to as best as you can. At some point, it will be second nature and you have to trust your subconscious to guide you in the right direction. 

Let's say I tested it out this past Saturday when I took my exam. I'll let you know how that went and if we should rely on this method. Haha. 


The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

This came as a suggestion from 2 people, so it was atop my list of books to read. There are plenty of things that I agree with but also think that most of the advice and suggestions are not for everyone. 

Even still, I found a whole host of quotes that I really liked. Whether Tim Ferriss himself said them or it was something he quoted, it was worth it for me to copy it down for myself. 

All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it’s impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer.” - Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince

If you must play, decide on three things at the start: the rule of the game, the stakes, and the quitting time.” - Chinese Proverb

Just because something has been a lot of work or consumed a lot of time doesn’t make it productive or worthwhile.” 

Pride is stupid.” 

Don’t confuse the complex with the difficult. Most situations are simple - many are just emotionally difficult to act upon.” 

Until the question is clear - each term in it defined - there is no point in answering it. The “meaning” of “life” question is unanswerable without further elaboration… Before spending time on a stress-inducing question, big or otherwise, ensure that the answer is “yes” to the following questions: 

  • Have I decided on a single meaning for each term in this question? 
  • Can an answer to this question be acted upon to improve things?

“What is the meaning of life” fails the first and thus the second. Questions about things beyond your sphere of influence like “What if the train is late tomorrow?” fail the second and should thus be ignored. These are not worthwhile questions. If you can’t define it or act upon it, forget it.

So be bold and don’t worry about what people think. They don’t do it that often anyway.

Time without attention is worthless, so value attention over time.

Besides studying for the CPA Exam, I've had to relax my mind by reading. And just to keep things interesting and varied, I've also started and am in the middle of the following:


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