Learning Journeys is a powerful and enlightening book. Though it’s focus is primarily on helping people become better mentors and leaders, it’s much more - it’s about self-discovery and personal growth.

A number of chapters make up each section. Beyond sections on leadership and mentoring, there are ones that cover:

• Seeing Yourself As Others Do
• Developing Self-Knowledge
• Unlearning What You Thought Was So
• Pain Is a Great Teacher

Forty-one different authors contributed to this book; all of whom are noteworthy experts on these subjects and who come from business, consulting, and academia. Individual contributors include Stephen Covey, Dave Ulrich, and Spencer Johnson.

Learning Journeys is an inspirational compilation that can be described as a mini-Ph.D. course in life, learning, and self-discovery. It will resonate powerfully with people who are introspective and who are by nature interested in self-development and life long learning.

This book is a gem.

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Never Eat Alone is a tremendous self-help book that is a must read for any career minded executive interested in knowing how to manage their career to much greater effect. There are some minor issues with the book, but the good outweighs the shortcomings by such a degree that I don’t even want to mention them for fear that they may detract from the brilliant points it does make.

In this high-speed world we live in, there is a clear need to market and brand ourselves in a manner that was unthinkable just a decade ago. The speed of change, the uncertainty of our times, and the precarious nature of jobs, make networking and contact management a crucial skill set.

Written in a fluid, easy to read style, this book provides solid advice. As often happens when a book is full of creative ideas, it can spur readers to think up original ideas of their own. And that makes this book even more powerful.

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Fierce Conversations is an exceptional self-help book on developing better communication skills. This book is written by Susan Scott, a Seattle based communications consultant who advises and counsels companies and their executives on how to vastly enhance their communication skills, thus leading to improved productivity, operational effectiveness, and overall human relationships.

This book is an easy, yet powerful read, that provides simple and effective tips that can noticeably improve the communication skills of anybody interested and willing to work on them.

Though a strong tool for enhancing personal communication skills, I think it’s most powerful in a business or corporate setting where there is a constant need to successfully interact with, influence, and lead diverse groups of people.

Unfortunately, the subject of communication skills is one that many people feel is important for others, but not themselves. Why? Most people erroneously consider themselves to already possess excellent communication skills. Do you want proof? How many resumes do you receive that mention “mediocre communication skills, but working to improve them.” I’m sure you’ve never seen that line before.

Nearly 85% of the resumes I receive claim excellent or even exceptional communication skills. We all realize that no where near 85% of the population possesses excellent communication skills, but most of us wrongly assume we’re in the small group that do possess such skills.

In terms of career development, improved leadership skills, and increased effectiveness dealing with other people, there is no single skill as important as how well we communicate.

Fierce Conversations offers great advice and many helpful tips and exercises. This is a great book for anyone interested in developing stronger communication skills and thereby enhancing, not only their leadership and mentoring skills, but their overall career as well.

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By any stretch of the imagination, this classic book on spiritual enlightenment is not a business book, but it could be. Why? Because, it has the power to create clarity and focus about oneself and the world around us, including the business world. Perhaps there is no greater epiphany than truly understanding that all of our power rests in seizing the moment. The only power we have is in the moment, in the now, and the second a moment as has passed our ability to act in that instant is gone forever.

For most of us, the past and the future act as psychological chains that hamstring our life. We cannot change the past and we can not live in the future, we only have “now”, this instance, to act. The key is to make every moment count by living fully in the “now” and thereby creating a better past and preparing a better future.

The Power of Now is a fascinating, inspirational, and enlightening book that has the potential to change the way you live your life. But it’s not for everyone. While its lessons are powerful, to many people it may be too out-there. However, for those people who are able to connect with its message, it can be life altering.

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