Tag Archives: Books

Posted on

Book Review: Do The Work by Steven Pressfield

Reading is an important part of my growth and development as a leader and entrepreneur. Much of my reading comes from recommendations from blogs I follow, friend and books I am currently reading or have read.

Where do you get your reading list from?

Do the work by Steven Pressfield.

On the field of the self stand a knight and a dragon. You are the knight. Resistance is the dragon ~ Steven Pressfield

“Do the Work” is a book that helped me move from my position of inertia to completing my first blog and many other projects. The book is designed to coach you through a project such as writing a book, starting a new business venture or a philanthropic enterprise from conception and seeing it through to finish.

Resistance

Steven Pressfield gets strait to the point of telling you that you will need to overcome resistance and get out of your own way if you want to accomplish anything as an artist or an entrepreneur.

According to Pressfield, there are three forces aligned against you in your pursuit of your dream as an artist or entrepreneur. These are:

  1. Resistance, which is fear, self-doubt, procrastination, distraction, timidity, perfectionism and the list, goes on.
  2. Rational thought.
  3. Friends and family.

And I quite enjoy reading through the list of eleven activities that commonly elicit resistance as see myself engaging in these activities and actually feeling the resistance. I will only mention the first three, as you will need to read the book for a comprehensive list.

  • The first is the pursuit of any calling in writing, music or creative art.
  • The second is the launching of any entrepreneurial venture or enterprise for profit or otherwise.
  • And finally any diet or heath regime.

Solution

The fear of failing will hold you back. Rational thought will paralyses you as you over analyse, over plan and over research your project. Friends and family will offer well-meaning advice clouded by their own vested interest at maintaining the status quo.

The bulk of the book is all about Pressfield’s solution, which is to “Do the work”, just get on with it. Of great value for me are his tips on the need to:

  1. Start before you are ready
  2. Suspend all self judgment
  3. Pull the trigger and ship it.

The book is filled with stories and personal experiences, “Do the Work” is a must read for you budding entrepreneurs, artists and anyone with a dream of making a change in his or her own life and in the lives of others.

Challenge

Here is my challenge for you this week. What project have you been thinking about doing for a long time? What is holding you back?

I doesn’t matter up to this point what has been holding you from getting started on your ideas. All that matters now is for you to get on with it. Do the work. Decide on your next step and get on with it.

Make the effort to overcome resistance at every stage and see the project through to finish. You need to know that its not just about starting, its also about finishing. If you can’t finish, all your work is for nothing.

Have you read this book? Why not leave a comment on its impact on you.

Posted on

Book Review: Management in 10 Words by Terry Leahy

There is no silver bullet that will hit the bull’s-eye of a successful life or business. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. But there are simple truths which, combined with hard work, increases the chance of success. ~ Terry Leahy

Management in 10 Words

Tesco is the largest supermarket chain in the UK. For every £1 spent on groceries in the UK, £3 is spent in Tesco. Terry Leahy spent fourteen years as CEO of Tesco and oversaw its expansion from groceries into everything from electrical goods, clothing and mobile phones. As at the writing of this review, he is no longer CEO but he has taken the time to put down his thoughts on management into a book

Humble Beginnings

I find  ‘Management in 10 Words‘ to be an inspiring, simple and practical book because Leahy takes me on a journey that starts from his humble beginnings in a council estate in Liverpool. We pass through his early days in Tesco as a marketing man. He ends up as the chief executive and proceeds to grow the company into the largest retailer in the UK and the third largest in the world.

This gives you and me hope. With plenty of heard work, persistence and a bit of luck you can achieve success in your carer or business. Yes luck. You do need the lucky breaks to get ahead. But being in the right place at the right time is not enough. Luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity. Preparedness is you playing your part in readiness for the opportunity that will surely come your way.

Success Princples

Success depends on what lies deep within us. If you spend your life never daring to go where your hopes and dreams might take you, you will end your days deep in a dark valley of frustrated hopes, looking at what might have been. ~ Terry Leahy

There are a lot of success principles to learn from Management in 10 Words. Here are a few

  • Embrace failure as an opportunity learn. Misfortune and mistakes may knock you back, but keep on moving.
  • Deliver value that exceeds what your customer or client is paying for.
  • Welcome competition. It brings the best out of you.
  • Keep things simple. It will make you more creative and innovative.
  • Be a person of your words because, Trust is the bedrock of leadership.

Be Ambitious. Do not be trapped by your past.

This book very much encourages you to be ambitious, and to persevere in the pursuit of your ambition. Terry has a clear message to those who think or say to themselves ‘I can’t achieve my ambitions’, or believe that they have a disadvantaged background or up bringing. Do not be trapped by your past or be a prisoner of your background.

The past is just that – Don’t let it limit your future ~ Terry Leahy

Most of the book is made up of the 10 guiding principles that helped Terry on his way to the top. These principles are simple enough to be applied by you and I to our small or large teams, small or large businesses or simply as guides to live by.

Management in 10 Words

  1. Truth
  2. Loyalty
  3. Courage
  4. Values
  5. Act
  6. Balance
  7. Simple
  8. Lean
  9. Compete
  10. Trust

Set down your bias against the largest supermarket in the UK that is probably responsible for the closure of many small businesses. Read this book and learn from a true leader and business giant. Well done Terry.

Question: Have you read this book? if not why not get a copy and tell me what inspires you in the book? If you have read it why not let me hear from you by leaving a comment below.