34/50-2022) Speak with Impact - Shapira

 This year, my obsession with the Harvard Business Review got even worse. I mentioned before that I read all the “10 must reads” and “Guides” and almost all issues of the magazine. Moreover, I started listening to their podcasts: Idea Cast, Dear HBR, Cold Case and Coaching Real Leaders ( I will write a post about these podcasts). I heard about this book on the Idea Cast because the author was interviewed a couple of times on the show. Alisson Shapira is a Harvard professor, and in this book she talks about public speaking. On the line of books about public speaking, I bring here a summary of her book.

She starts telling her story and how the arrived at the pubic speaking business. She actually was an opera singer, so she really knows how to use her voice. She mentions how she was also interested in business and public speaking. After joining a Toastmasters Club, she decided to start a business teaching public speaking. The book brings many updated techniques of public speaking, very similar to Toastmasters actually. Basically the hints are the following: know your audience, dominate your topic, believe in yourself, adjust your style to the audience and the topic and practice, practice, practice. Honestly, I didn’t finish reading the book because I had to return it to the libray so I didn’t have time and I dragged the reading a little bit because it started to sound repetitive to me because I was part of a Toastmasters Club already and I had read many books and articles on the topic. Anyway, I recommend this book and other works from Alison Shapira for people interested in public speaking.

Title: Speak with Impact: How to Command the Room and Influence Others 

Author: Allison Shapira

Year: 2018

Pages: 231

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Speak-Impact-Command-Influence-Others/dp/0814439713/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=CjwKCAiA76-dBhByEiwAA0_s9dIWWsd9iMZlRN_pHqy1ZlSztUQAMDzFx6Dls5dtYaPK_ei52P8oVxoCjX8QAvD_BwE&hvadid=322163692318&hvdev=c&hvlocint=9061122&hvlocphy=1001552&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=4239538432467065490&hvtargid=kwd-663950608973&hydadcr=21934_10172291&keywords=speak+with+impact+allison+shapira&qid=1672262986&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjgwIiwicXNhIjoiMS4zNSIsInFzcCI6IjEuMTIifQ%3D%3D&sr=8-1

32/50-2022) The Sandler Rules: 49 adn 51 Timeless Selling Principles and How to Apply Them

 As I mentioned in the last post regarding my class with Nance Rosen, I received this book as a gift from her for being in her class. I really liked this gift, first, because who doesn’t like to receive gifts right? Second, because I love reading, specially sales stuff, which is exactly what this book is about. It’s a book originally from the 90’s, but it is very up to date, that is why it is called the “Timeless” rules of Sales. To be honest, I don’t remember all the 51 rules by heart, but some of the concepts are ingrained in my memory and will help me throughout my career in sales. Most of the rules I remember are in terms of self-confidence, transparency and understanding the client. The same for the first book, which was the 49 rules of Sandler. Nance also gave me t he original book because I asked her and I told her that I love reading and I offered to help her doing T.A. stuff in exchange. The next class, the brought me the copy and I was so happy, because I thought she would forget, especially because she is super busy and has thousands of students to take care of, so this was very nice of her. I recommend these books for people interested in the sales and business in general.

31/50-2022) Speak Up and Succeed - Nance Rosen

Nance Rosen was my professor at the course "Customer Relationship Management" at UCLA Extension in the Summer of 2022. I saw this book on the UCLA Anderson School of Management website book list when I was looking for books from the faculty to read. I didn't get the book at first because I didn't find it available at the UCLA Library, but when I realized that I would have the class with Nance, I immediately ordered the book before even I started the class because I wanted to get ready for the course with her.

The book is not completely up to date, but it brings a ton of good tips on public speaking, even the psychology of speaking in public and how to prepare for that. Since I have always been interested in public speaking, even after being part of the UCLA Anderson Toastmasters Club, this book was very good for me. It has nothing to do with the class with Nance, but it helps. In fact, a few of the concepts and techniques in the book were used in the class, and I was ready for that. It was good to read the book before the class started because that gave me an edge with the teacher also, she gave me other two books to read for free, it was super nice of her. I will write about the other two books in the next post.

Title: Speak Up! & Succeed How to get everything you want in meetings, presentations and conversations

Author: Nance Rosen

Year: 2019

Pages: 262

Link: https://www.amazon.com.br/Speak-Succeed-everything-presentations-conversations-dp-0978607864/dp/0978607864/ref=dp_ob_image_bk

30/50-2022) Beyond Coffee - James Beshara

 Beyond coffee is a book about alternatives for coffee. It was written by a guy who created a drink that serves as an alternative to coffee called Magic Mind. He created this drink because he developed a heart problem after consuming too much coffee while working in the Silicon Valley as an entrepreneur in the Silicon Valley. He created Magic Minds as a substitute for coffee because he had to reduce his intake of caffeine per his physician’s recommendation. The book itself is about many elements and substances found in nature that are good for the health but that are not very popular but are becoming a trend now, such as nootropics, mushrooms, etc. The book is like the result of research that the author made to create magic mind. Magic minds is a small energy shot, in these small 4 ozs bottles, made of matcha, so t[‘s green and very strong. I tried it myself because they sent me ads on my email and one of their sales people contact me to sponsor my podcast with Magic Minds. They started sending me these drinks for free in exchange for me to promote them on the Co-opcast. It was good because I was able to try the drink and attest that it is really good, because it helps you cut down on coffee consumption and other bad drinks that are not good for your health like sugary energy drinks etc. I think the effect of the drink is more on your habit than in the elements in the drink itself. After you start drinking it, you start to become more productive because you believe that the drink is acting on your brain as coffee, giving you more energy and helping you focus and concentrate better on your work, at least this is what they advertise about the product. It worked for me  short term but they stopped sponsoring the podcast so I stopped taking it. I even signed up for their subscription program for a couple of months but then I realized it was too expensive for my budget so I had to cancel it for good. But I still recommend for you try the drink and see it for yourself. They changed the formula and brought more flavors apparently. I see a lot of these natural energy shots everywhere now. The trend is growing and |I think they will go far with this product. As from the author of the book, he always sends updates about his creations. U recommend the book if you are interested in changing your diet and understanding better the benefits of certain drinks and substances.

Title: Beyond Coffee: A Sustainable Guide to Nootropics, Adaptogens, and Mushrooms

Author: James Beshara

Year: 2012

Pages: 88

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Coffee-Sustainable-Nootropics-Adaptogens-ebook/dp/B07YSX9GYD

11/50-2022) Daymond John Books

 I think I posted here already about my passion for the TV show Shark Tank. After watching and rewatching I started to sympathize a lot with the Shark Daymond John, the only black shark for several seasons, owner of Fubu and many other businesses. As I watched the show, I noticed that Daymond always saw opportunities where no other shark had seen. Most of all, he created opportunities for small business owners that started from nothing and had big trouble trying to set up their businesses, usually humble people, minorities and people who would never have another chance if it wasn’t for him.

I had read books by Lori Greiner, the woman shark owner of CVC and many other business, after my professor at UCLA Extension had suggested me, and other books or articles about Mark Cuban and Robert Herjavec. I never tried to read Daymond’s books at first because usually they were pricier on Amazon, but I think I found the books for a lower price on Apple Books, so I got them all for like $5 each, or $8, $9. I was impressed with Daymond’s story. I could totally relate to his story. I didn’t know that he started from vey humble origins. I can totally relate to that, because some of the things he did before he had money I did as well. He ventured around businesses ideas similar to Airbnb and Uber even 20 years before these business existed. He rented rooms at his house to make extra money and he drove a van riding people around New York to make some extra buck. He also worked as a waiter at the Red Lobster, until he finally found his golden idea, selling t-shirts in front of stadiums after games and concerts. That was when he created Fubu. The rest is history. I totally recommend the reading, it worth it. Any of the books, the are all very similar. I think my favorite is “The Power of Broke”, the first one I read. Go for it! I hope one day I will have the chance to meet him and maybe even do business with him. Who knows…

10/50-2022) Dude Making a Difference - Bamboo Bikes, Dumpster Dives and Other Extreme Adventures Across America

 I think this was the best book I read in 2022. I was very lucky to have found this book. It is literally life changing. After reading this book you realize that you can choose to either be part of the problem or of the solution. It’s all in our attitude. I had the chance to meet the author in person even before I had read the book. I watched Rob Greenfield’s TED Talk at UCLA. He was wearing his famous “trash suit”. (go watch his TED Talk here to know more:   ) I went to this event by luck. I wasn’t planning to go. I didn’t buy the tickets, but I was on campus and I decided

to stop by and see if I could get in and it was the best thing I done! The talks were amazing. Seriously. Life changing. I will write more about them here. But this one by Rob Greenfield won the prize. Not by chance it was the last talk of the day. It was impressive. This guy is a hero. He biked from San Francisco to New York in a bamboo bike, not eating or drinking any industrialized food or drink. Not even using any electricity, he slept in the nature most of the times, in the open air, under the sky, bathing and drinking from lakes and rivers. It’s a beautiful story. I totally recommend. It will inspire you!

Title: Dude Making a Difference - Bamboo Bikes, Dumpster Dives and Other Extreme Adventures Across America

Author: Rob Greenfield

Year: 2016

Pages:  275

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Dude-Making-Difference-Dumpster-Adventures-ebook/dp/B0195OPNLC/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=Cj0KCQiAwJWdBhCYARIsAJc4idAR5JEKbVPWZAe9ubJObpbHx5AW-ys98JNblkh_BwCduwsWJTFmzfwaAlK4EALw_wcB&hvadid=409985312368&hvdev=t&hvlocint=9061122&hvlocphy=1001552&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=11171479761022508079&hvtargid=kwd-193517719012&hydadcr=1749_11259286&keywords=dude+making+a+difference&qid=1671837055&sr=8-1

9/50-2022) Shoe Dog - Phil Knight

 I had seen this book before in many places. I received the suggestion from Amazon and Apple Books a couple of times but I was never interested in the NIKE story. I think this time I just gave up on resisting to try this book and I gave it a try. In fact, I remember why I tried this book. I was in a phase when I had discovered the access to the UCLA library, where I could borrow any book available at any university library in the U.S. so I was ordering hundreds of books every month just to try and see if I would like to read them. At that time, I was going to the library almost everyday. Specifically the Rosenfeld Library, or Management Library at UCLA Anderson. Well, I tried may books and I didn’t like most of them, so I finally tried this book, “Shoe Dog” by Phil Knight himself and I don’t regret doing that. 

This book was one of the best books I read in 2022. The way it is narrated, in first person, and with a tone of humor and personal approach by Phil Knight can conquer even those readers not interested at all in this type of books. Phil Knight tells his story since he was born until nowadays with Nike being one of the most valuable companies in the world. All started with a school work he had to do at Stanford when he studied there. He created a business plan to import shoes from Japan and sell in the U.S. focusing on runners. The rest is literally history. Phil Knight is a true entrepreneur. Despite all the difficulties and all the negative feedback he received from people around him, he persisted and in the end he built the number one show brand in the world: Nike. I totally recommend the reading. Start now!

Title: Shoe Dog

Author: Phil Knight

Year:  2016

Pages: 399

Link: https://www.amazon.com.br/Shoe-Dog-Memoir-Creator-English-ebook/dp/B0176M1A44

8-2022) The Spanx Story

 I saw this book on the list of books included in the Kindle Unlimited plan and I decided to read it because I was curious about Sarah Blankly story after she became a shark in the TV show Shark Tank. I was a little aprehensive to read this book because usually books included in the Kindle Unlimited plan are not the greatest but this one worthed the time. It is a short story and it goes right to the point of how Sarah Blankley created Spanx and became one of the richest women in the world. After reading her story I realized that her trajectoy brought her there. She was meant to achieve this huge success, in whatever she would do, because she started early and always had an entrepreneurial mindset, since she was a teenager baby sitting children at the beach during the Summer. She came up with this idea of women's underwear that fits better, and it is so simple, but no one has ever thought about it before. In a sexist world, she had to persist a lot to get bought in, because in a male dominated world, no one wanted to listen to hear. But in the end, her idea and her efforts spoke by themselves. People started to buy. And she expanded very fast to become a household name. Worth the reading for anyone interested in business, marketing, entrepreneurism or even feminism. 

\

Title: The Spanx Story

Author: Stephanie Wetzel

Year: 220

Pages: 144

Link: https://www.amazon.com/Spanx-Story-Underneath-Incredible-Storybook/

7-2022) Good is the New Cool - Afdhel Aziz and Bobby Jones

 I learned about this book at my course "Strategic Social Impact" with Prof. Misha Kouzeh. The authors had a first volume that is like an introduction of companies with a purpose. This second volume is more developed and more profound. They analyze examples of companies like Patagonia and Unilever that have been putting large amounts of money into environmental causes not only because consumers are now more conscious of what they buy and the impact on the environment but because it is the right thing to do. The book is a long reading, not very dynamic, repetitive at some times, especially if you read the first volume, but it worths the try if you are interested in sustainability and social impact.

Title: Good is the New Cool

Author: Afdhel Aziz Bobby Jones

Year: 2016

Pages: 304

Link: https://www.amazon.com.br/Good-New-Cool-Market-Like/dp/1082711039