The World's Best Book Summaries
What were Amazon’s earliest innovations? Which innovations failed and which went on to be huge successes? 2002 marked the year that Amazon would start focusing on innovation. They launched a web service, revamped their website, created a search engine, rolled out the predecessor to Prime, and released the first Kindle all within two years. Here’s how Amazon’s innovations began.
Do you need to turn your life around? Are you headed in the wrong direction, or just feeling stuck and spinning your wheels? Hal Elrod was at rock bottom. Then he turned his life around by committing to a personal growth and development plan that ultimately became the Miracle Morning routine. The Miracle Morning and the story behind it provide inspiration for you to turn your life around as Elrod did. Read more to learn the inspiring background to the Miracle Morning.
Why should you avoid an anxious-avoidant relationship? Why do relationships between anxious and avoidant attachers often fail? What signs should you look out for? When anxious attachers and avoidant attachers get into a relationship, conflict is inevitable. In the best case, the relationship is a rollercoaster ride, and in the worst cases, the relationship leads to abuse. Keep reading to learn why anxious-avoidant relationships should be given a wide berth.
How can dealing with rejection be a positive thing if rejection makes you feel bad? Why does rejecting some of your options make you happier? In a culture where you’re expected to be open to all new experiences, it can be difficult to learn to say “no.” However, when you learn to reject some of your options, and deal with rejection from others, you’ll actually be happier. Keep reading to learn why dealing with rejection is beneficial.
How does your environment influence your personality? What can you do to restructure your environment for success? Your environment—the people you surround yourself with, the clothes you wear, the neighborhood you live in, and the food you eat—shapes you into the person you are. If you want to become more successful, the first thing you need to do is to change your environment on all three planes: physical, social, and internal. Here is how you can recondition yourself for success by changing your environment.
Is micromanagement always a bad thing? Can overseeing every little detail of employees’ workflow ever be good? Micromanagement is a common practice in modern workplaces. Most of the time, micromanagement is toxic in that it hinders employee performance. However, there are occasions when micromanagement is the way to go. Here’s why managers think they must oversee every detail and when that can actually be helpful.
Are you always honest in your relationship? Do you ever tell small lies to avoid discomfort? Why is being agreeable actually detrimental? When your partner asks, “do I look good?” the obvious answer would be, “yes.” But what if you actually think their polka dot shirt clashes with their striped pants? Do you tell them? Yes, because honesty in a relationship is more important than agreeableness. Keep reading to find out why honesty in a relationship is more important than peace.
What is The Effective Executive about? What can you do to increase the effectiveness of your organization? In his book The Effective Executive, Peter Drucker argues that effectiveness derives from a set of five practices anyone can learn rather than from unique talents or charisma. Drucker’s five effectiveness practices are as follows: 1) manage your time, 2) focus, 3) make a unique contribution, 4) maximize your strengths, and 5) make sound decisions. This article examines how Drucker’s ideas on effectiveness hold up today and how others have built on them.
Can you learn from others’ mistakes? Why is it so important to view errors as investments? Part of building antifragility is being able to make errors and be stronger for them. But you don’t actually have to make all the mistakes yourself. You can learn from others’ mistakes just as easily, and improve upon their strategies. Keep reading to find out how to learn from others’ mistakes.
What are the main causes of unhappiness? Why do you need to understand what causes unhappiness before you can be happy? In his book Flow, Csikszentmihalyi says that there are two main causes of unhappiness. First, our universe is a harsh place to live in—we have to weather disasters, diseases, lack of resources, etc… On top of that, solving challenges doesn’t eradicate them forever—something new will always come up. Here’s what Csikszentmihalyi says we need to understand about unhappiness.