Accidental Genius

Accidental Genius: Using Writing to Generate Your Best Ideas, Insight, and Content (San Francisco, California: Berrett-Koehler, 2010)

The act of writing stimulates thought, so when you cannot think of anything to write, start writing anyway. – Barbara Fine Clouse, Working it out: A Troubleshooting Guide for writers.

Mark Levy in Accidental Genius teaches you how to use the process of writing to unlock the vast and valuable potential that is housed in your subconscious mind.

Mark teaches the concept of writing without inhibition and as fast as your finger can type or write. Through freewriting, the paper on which you write becomes the dumping ground for the content of your mind.

Writing is a good habit to have. Set some rules for yourself and then discover the genius in you through your writings.

Here are five things I like about Accidental Genius

  1. Try Easy – this is the process of telling yourself as you write that what you are writing about doesn’t matter and so you can be relaxed about what you write. When I tell myself to try easy, I know that the quality of what I am writing is not important at that moment. What is important is that I write. You get another opportunity to improve on your writing quality.
  2. Work against a limit – Mark believes that and I agree with him that setting a time limit for your writing session is very important. Many of us do our best work when we have a deadline. The time set by you is all you have and as such you write fast and furious to get as much down within the deadline.
  3. Getting a hundred ideas is easier than getting one idea – Again this is a quantity versus quality argument. With a hundred ideas, you become idea rich and from the one hundred you can refine, extend or combine you best to come up with the ones that are worth further investigation. If you are trying to get 100 ideas on paper, you also give yourself the room to experiment. You suspend judgement and suddenly ideas begin to flow.
  4. Holding a paper conversation – Imagine that you are sitting with someone you admire in your field and you are asking him or her questions and then you write down the answers. Mark advocates that you flesh out your characters before you talk to them. The more concrete you can describe your character, the better the quality of answer you will receive.
  5. Write your own rules – As a writer you need to have rules that guide your writing sessions. This will help you to be effective and consistent. The rules are yours and they are there to help you get the best out of your free writing sessions. So play around with some rules until you come up with what works for you.

Accidental Genius has twenty eight chapters so you will need to get the book to find out more. This is defiantly one of my all time favourite ideas to action and writing books. I am still working on my writing and freewriting has certainly helped me to get more out of my writing sessions.

Why not get your own copy of Accidental Genius today and start your freewriting today.

Taking Control of Money

Taking Control of Money – A Young Adults Guide To Financial Freedom (London: The Vine Media, 2014)

If you have not yet read Taking Control of Money: A Young Adult’s Guide to Financial Freedom, what are you waiting for? This book is packed with valuable information that can not only help keep you free of debt, but that can actually help you create your own wealth. It isn’t some gimmick where you buy “secrets to making money overnight” or anything of that sort, but rather a hands-on guide to truly taking control of your finances so that you can make money through savings and investments.

What The Book Has to Offer

Taking Control of Money is broken down into five chapters, also known as keys. Each key is another step towards establishing financial independence and creating wealth. The five keys are:

  1. Know the True Value of Your Money – In this section we examine things like compound interest, the things money can and cannot do, the time value of money, and how to spend more wisely.
  2. Take Charge of Your Financial Freedom – In this section we look at the many benefits of financial freedom and begin setting both long and short-term goals for achieving this freedom. We use the SMART system to make sure that goals are easily achievable and close out with a section on having a job versus owning a business.
  3. Budgeting and Planning Your Way to Financial Freedom – In this section, we look at the true benefits of honest budgeting and how it can be the biggest step towards smarter spending. We look at how to create your own budget and even offer a sample budget template for you to use. We also talk about various budgeting skills and mindsets, create a piggybank technique for saving money, and offer a savings and investment toolkit.
  4. Developing Financial Disciplines – In the fourth key, we examine the reasons behind most young adults’ financial problems and discuss how important it is to change your mindset when it comes to spending money. We look at the value of financial discipline when it comes to saving and spending before moving on to specific disciplines such as delayed gratification and a heart of gratitude.
  5. Creating Wealth – In the final key, we take a look at the path one needs to take in order to create wealth, such as seeking professional advice, eliminating debt, starting an emergency fund, and planning for retirement. We then take a look at how to get started as an investor before looking at the many different types of investments that you can make. We close with a wealth creation checklist.

As you can see, there are many benefits to reading Taking Control of Your Money. Far from another “get rich quick” type of book, this book is an honest look at the way young adults do and should handle their money. It is an essential tool for anyone looking to build wealth rather than continue spending beyond their means and is a solid investment in your financial future if you are willing to do the work and follow the steps outlined within the book’s pages.