One Minute Book Review

A New Series called 'Knowledge Bites' where I talk about some of the models, concepts and theories that have captured my attention whilst reading that I have reviewed. In this week's episode I will be giving an introduction into 'Cognitive Dissonance Theory'. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oneminutebookreview/message

This week's episode of 5 Reason Friday is 'Outliers' by Malcolm Gladwell --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oneminutebookreview/message

Today I will be reviewing Deep Work: Rules For Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport. DEEP work is the ability to spend four or more, disconnected, undistracted & entirely focused hours a day practising new skills or generating high-level output while leveraging an expertise. In this book, Cal Newport describes how to become a practitioner of deep work and the impact it can have on your personal and professional life. This book is practical which is one of the reasons why I enjoyed it. The steps that Cal describes to go into a state of Deep work can prove beneficial as it has done for Bill Gates and Carl Jung to name a few. The book is supplemented by a brief PDF that describes some of the key themes and points Cal explains, and I have found this useful when implementing the strategies he outlines. This book is for those who want to increase productivity while also becoming a leader in their field. I rate this book five stars. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oneminutebookr

This week's episode of 5 Reason Friday is 'The Whistler' by John Grisham --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oneminutebookreview/message

March's book review recap includes: Zero To One by Peter Thiel Shoe Dog by Phil Knight A Birmingham Story by Ryan Sinclair The 80/20 Principle by Richard Koch Hooked by Nir Eyal --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oneminutebookreview/message

This week's episode of Five Reason Friday is 'Vagabonding' by Rolf Potts. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oneminutebookreview/message

Hooked is an in-depth analysis of how to build habit-forming products that allow for customer retention. Following the 'Hook Model' consisting of a trigger, action, reward and investment, product forming companies have a model to develop and market in our current system. The book centres on the 'Hook Model' explaining in detail how it can apply in the real world and how it has helped companies such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to amass such a large following. It goes onto explain habit forming in more depth developing on the 'Habit Loop' made famous by Charles Duhigg. It's a technical book, explicitly made for product developers, to create and distribute exceptional products. I enjoy reading about habit formation, so this book gave me insights that I didn't know before. If you have the same curiosity in habit formation, especially in business, then I highly suggest you read this book. I rate it four stars. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oneminutebookreview/message

In this weeks 5 Reason Friday, I will be describing the five reasons why you SHOULD read 'The Four Hour Work Week' by Tim Ferriss. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oneminutebookreview/message

The 80/20 principle centres on Alfredo Pareto's theory that 80% of wealth is in the hands of 20% of people. Koch explains that this percentage applies to multiple industries, markets and interests. The book gives detailed advice about the ways we can implement the 80/20 principle to achieve more by doing less. For instance, when analyzing individual happiness, it is common to find that 80% of happiness derives from only 20% of one's activities. Koch encourages readers to see that 20% across all areas of their life and implement them. I found this book incredibly informative and practical. It breaks down why you should be living the 80/20 principle day by day and the benefits to individual happiness of doing so. This book is a must-read in today's hectic environment when finding what is important personally and professionally can be hard. However, by adopting the 80/20 mentality, it can make it easier. There is no doubt this book is five stars. OMBR --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oneminute

In this weeks episode I will be discussing the 5 reasons why you should should Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oneminutebookreview/message

A Birmingham Story is a short narrative about some of the emotions that we face as humans at specific points in our lives. The feelings explored include trust, jealousy, anger and depression. It follows three characters, with differing circumstances, yet they have more in common than they initially thought. An argument eventually ceases their disagreement to shed light on how differing perspectives on the same situation causes misunderstandings more often than not. I have not read anything similar to this before. But, that does not take away from how much I connected with it. The themes addressed in the story do not get discussed openly enough, but the author does an excellent job telling his story while also explaining how these emotions have affected the characters. I can see the benefit of stories such as this as a medium for more discussion on mental health. This was a good read; I rate it three stars. OMBR --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oneminutebookreview/message

Today I will be reviewing Shoe Dog by Phil Knight. An autobiography of the man behind the establishment and growth of Nike, 'Shoe Dog' gives a first-hand look at its trials and tribulations from day one. I was impressed by the detail provided by the author. As such a large brand Nike seems so significant that one person cannot tell a story to define it. However, it is what Knight does exceptionally well in the book. At times it felt like reading fiction. The characterisation of the people that helped bring Nike to its current position, alongside the sadness surrounding Knight's personal life makes the reader emotionally invested in the story. As a fan of stories, sports and business separately, I have never read a book that intertwines all three so brilliantly. If you're a business owner, this book has countless pieces of wisdom. This book is for anyone who is a fan of great stories, sport and business, or all three! There is no doubt that this book is a five-star read. OMBR --- Send in a voice message:

In today's episode of "5 Reason Friday", I will be discussing why you SHOULD read 'Astrophysics for People in a Hurry', by Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Reason 1: Introductory Reason 2: Informative Reason 3: Thought-provoking Reason 4: Historical Reason 5: Progressive --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oneminutebookreview/message

Zero To One describes how to build efficient start-ups from scratch to build a better future. The future as depicted by Thiel is one which we are in control. The book looks in depth at how to properly plan and execute a start-up that can be as impactful as it is successful. Thiel explains the importance of preparing for the market while making sure the foundations of the start-up are solid before securing constant funding. Knowing little about start-up culture, I enjoyed Thiel's candidness when describing the harsh realities of establishing a start-up. I particularly enjoyed the parts where Thiel emphasises that we are in control of the start-up. Regardless of the market conditions, competitors or funding, if the business has the right balance between intellectual capacity and purpose, it will succeed in the long-term. This book is for anyone wanting to know the ways we can contribute to making the future better. I rate this book four stars. OMBR --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oneminute

Hello, I am your host Aun Abdi and welcome to the monthly One Minute Book Review podcast, where I break down in more detail the books that I have read and reviewed in the previous month. In this months episode, I will be discussing Supermind: How To Boost Performance and Live A Richer and Happier Life Through Transcendental Meditation by Norman E. Rosenthal, The TB12 Method by Tom Brady, 12 Rules For Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B.Peterson, Crushing It by Gary Vaynerchuck, The Martian by Andy Weir and Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oneminutebookreview/message

The Martian follows the main character Mark Watney, as a space accident leaves him stranded on Mars, while his crew members escape. The book details his impending doom as Mark tries to find the best method for his survival, with the story, following his trials and tribulations along the way. What I liked about this book was the author's use of Mark's first-person perspective. Chapters in the book were broken down into log's which followed Mark's journey and survival efforts during his time on Mars. The humour that the author puts into the characterisation of Mark makes the story compelling as the reader is surprised by the optimism that he shows in the face of adversity. The author's use of technical knowledge regarding equipment used in space travel elevates the narrative as well as the storyline. I enjoyed reading this book as it had a right mix of humour, optimism and hope. I rate this book four stars. OMBR --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oneminutebookreview/message

This book is a follow up to Gary's bestseller 'Crush It' released in 2009, which defined how everyone can cash in on their passion. 'Crushing It' is an update to that book including testimonials from people who had successfully implemented principles in 'Crush It', to build successful businesses. Gary includes what he believes to be the eight essentials in developing a company that can influence. Examples of the eight include intent, attention and the most important... content. Like 'Crush It' this book looks forward to the future and the tools businesses can use to grow and gain attention. The most significant device being voice recognition using Alexa voice. This book brings a lot of practical value for anyone wanting to build a sustainable business by leveraging social media to their advantage. I would suggest readers begin with his previous book 'Crush It' before moving onto this book. That being said, it's still a great read on its own. Five stars. OMBR --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/

Today I will be reviewing the TB12 Method by Tom Brady. Brady arguably one of the best athletes in the world, describes in this book how he obtains peak performance on and off the field. The book centres on pliability, which is the daily lengthening and softening of the muscles as a way of injury prevention and longevity for not only athletes but everyone. Brady's method also describes how maintaining balance is crucial while making sure nutrition and hydration are maintained to reduce inflammation. I was drawn to this book as I am interested in learning new physical training programmes and I like Brady's emphasis on using resistance bands to supplement strength and conditioning. The book promotes his products at numerous times, and it felt that I wasn't reading an educational book but more an advertisement. For fitness fanatics, there might be some value in the book, but for everyone else, I suggest typing in resistance band training and nutrition in google and learning that way. I rate this book three stars

Super Mind: How to Boost Performance and Live a Richer and Happier Life Through Transcendental Meditation. Rosenthal explains how we can improve our state of mind by practising TM placing us into a super-mind state of consciousness. This book confused me. I was expecting a 'how to' into how I can perform TM and implement it into my life. Rosenthal during the book explains all the life-changing aspects that TM has but without actually revealing how the reader can achieve it. The author recommends to sign-up for a TM practitioner, however many of us want an introduction before committing long-term. There is little space dedicated to how we can approach learning TM individually, which surprises me. The way it was written left little to the imagination as well as it contained, name-dropping mostly and examples of how TM is life-changing. I don't doubt this, but I was expecting a lot more from this book. I rate it two stars. OMBR --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oneminutebookreview/message

Monthly recap of books reviewed on One Minute Book Review Channel OMBR --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/oneminutebookreview/message