2023 Reading: Summaries of notes & Excerpts of books (1) self-growth

While I confess that I love books, I must also admit that with changes in time and circumstances, it is easy to let passions die and interests fade…

Last summer, I was fortunate enough to meet someone who also enjoys reading, and she shared a tip with me: set a rule for yourself, and make sure you read at least one book per week. The tip seems very straightforward, however, if one actually tries to implement that, the result could be surprisingly great.

The following in this article will be some of the notes & excerpts I made last year – ensuring that I did learn something while reading/listening to the audiobooks (though not all of these are my actual opinions)

The power of habit

Willpower, self-discipline 

Notice, create, and enforce good habits 

Create and use crisis to one's advantage --time to change oneself as an individual or in one's team/corporation 

Habit and choice

追憶似水年華In search of lost time

不完全是紙醉金迷，不完全是平平無奇，孩子的天真，世界的美好迷茫和殘忍⋯⋯偶爾philosophical的句式，在長篇瑣碎裡流過，波瀾漸逝

向前一步lean in: women, work, and the will to lead

Sincerity (fake it till you have it)

Keep hand raised-- even if someone says that they are only going to answer one last question, it is still possible to have opportunities (ask questions) if one keeps the hand raised

Ask mentors concrete questions. Having mentors is important, but it's not urgent to define your relationships as mentoring--be grateful for the help encountered

孔明心書

善將者，必有博聞多智者為腹心，沉審謹密者為耳目，勇悍善敵者為爪牙

耳威以聲，不可不清；目威以容，不可不明；心威以刑，不可不嚴。

The 80/20 principle: the secret to achieving more with less

Who you work for is more important than what you do for work

It’s more impressive to know a lot about a little than to know a little about a lot

20% of Investments can return 80% of the profit—choose carefully

Determine the forces below the surface, use that to increase efficiency and gain 

Self-service provides choice and less cost

Simple is beautiful: management system, checkouts

Make products and services better to hook profitable clients: core customer group matters the most

In negotiations, build up many points that are not that important, and make them look very important, these points need to be represented to the other party as points that cannot be conceded, then in the closing stage, make compromises in the points that we know to be less important as exchange for the 20%essential part

The most essential time in a negotiation is often the last 20%

Mentors: mutual enjoyment, respect, shared experiences, trust, reciprocity

Life wealth: The 38 letters of Rockefeller to his Son 洛克菲勒寫給兒子的38封信

confidence, Be greedy/Be faithful to oneself/Don’t use excuses 

Be humble, hide your intelligence 

reduce negative thoughts

Knowledge is power only when it can be applied constructively 

Best way to close a deal is to emphasize that it’s a deal, emphasize what the other party gets 

Friendship built on business is better than Business built on friendship 

Choose your friends wisely: stay away from those who make you humble & trivial

Good leadership: show trust and respect 

The best way to find a good idea is to have many ideas 

To employees: warmth, respect, tolerance, valued, express gratitude from time to time 

Emotional Intelligence (Daniel Goleman)

Self-control is super important

Having anxiety can lead to more likelihood of making mistakes

Hope=believing you have the will and way to accomplish your wish, whatever it may be

Empathy

High synchrony —>build good relationships 

When angry, discuss the deed don’t be mad at the person 

When maintaining relationships, the Best way for complaints: when you did x, it made me feel y, and I rather you did z instead 

intellectuals and society

What produced Einstein’s relativity, other than Einstein’s own thinking? (诗人真的是朝代赋予的气质吗)

Critical thinking: proven strategies to improve decision-making skills

長期堅持嘗試新的事物並改善自己

The 7 habits of highly effective people

Understand first before you seek to be understood 

Self-fulfilling prophecy: People live up to the social mirrors surrounding them

Win win situation 

Production-capacity 

Emotional bank account: kindness, courtesy, keep your word, manage expectations(make it clear)