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At the start of this year, one of the goals I set for myself was a book reading challenge.
It goes like this: Read at least two books per month
'Read' includes audio and includes the following sources:
- Traditional paper-based books - as available in bookshops or via Amazon for example
- Digital reader books - such as Kindle books and eBooks
- Audio books - such as those available via Audible and audiobooks.com
- Video streamed books - some classic self-improvement books are surprisingly available through YouTube
I will update this post each month with my progress, to share the material and also to hold myself to account 😉
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Why not share your reading challenges or recommendations in the comments section and then we can keep each other motivated...
January 2015
Book reading challenge goal status 2/2 - Yay!
The 4-Hour Work Week - Timothy Ferriss
Format: Audio Book
Key Idea:
This is a radical book that challenges the long-held belief that the traditional 9-5 is the only / best way to earn a living. Working in four hours a week (a metaphor), means we are free to do what we want to do with our lives and gives prominence to the term 'digital nomad'. Travelling the world, learning new things, serving others are all now possible to Tim Ferriss and his followers through a range of productivity hacks, remote working and 'muse businesses', among many ideas shared in this comprehensive resource-packed book.
The Property Voice Insight:
To live exactly in the mode of Tim Ferris as outlined in detail in the book may be at one end of the spectrum and therefore might not appear to be that 'realistic' to the masses...yet. I have no doubt that there is a tribe of 'digital nomads' that have adopted the advice and taken the plunge...I even know some myself! However, even if the ideal, as set out in the book, may at first appear out of reach to us, there are many aspects of the book that can be adopted into our lives to improve them and make us more productive. Virtual assistants, less frequent email-checking, 'dreamlining' and a lite packing list are just some of the take always that I am already adopting. If nothing else it should make us rethink how we work and allow us to reconsider our 'work-life balance' in a newly enlightened way.
Terrible Estate Agent Photos - Andy Donaldson
Format: Hardback
Key Idea:
Well...it's a book of terrible photographs taken by estate agents... 🙂
The Property Voice Insight:
Great for the reception / coffee table. Funny, stupid and downright bizarre at times...these were all photos taken to include in real property listings. Horses in doorways, upside-down photos, pictures of a neighbour's garden and images that would be more at home in an episode of CSI make for an interested...ahem...'read'. Oh, in a 'short month', such as January where I was hurtling down a ski-slope, it still counts toward my goal 😉