Make Your 2007 Goals Work

December 29, 2006 · Comments

It’s great to have goals, but it’s even better to have tools to accomplish them. Here are some books I think are useful to equipping yourself for a better chance at your goals.

The 8th Habit- Steven Covey

The first part of this book is exceptionally helpful. It’s a re-working of the 7 Habits, but into a format and method that was much more understandable and useful to me (and I’m a big fan of the other book). Why is this useful? Because it shows you some important ways to “frame” your thoughts:

  • A compass guides you to your “true north.” A map is just a static interpretation of the territory.
  • Work on your circle of influence; shy away from your circle of concern (that which you can’t control, but which worries you).
  • Decide what matters most, and then execute against that decision.

Getting Things Done – David Allen

This book is hands down a very important book for people who just can’t find their way to getting organized. If you work through this book, find your best way to adapt Allen’s methods, and execute against them, you will see immediate improvement. I promise you that.

The 3 Hour Diet- Jorge Cruise

It’s not that this book is perfect, but Jorge Cruise does a good job of 1.) Making things accessible for people who aren’t necessarily into eating well by nature, 2.) Making things feel down to earth and real.

I pair this book often with a much more scholarly work by Dr. Andrew Weil – Eating Well for Optimum Health (which is a great book, but a little sloggy- I recommend the DVD for this one):

Winning – by Jack Welch, and Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance- by Lou Gerstner

I am not a businessman. I’m a little too touchy-feely and “out there” to qualify for a good business type. All the more reason why I try to read good books by brilliant business minds, whether or not I agree with their methods. It wasn’t until reading these two books that I started to better understand how a business has to think. I don’t subscribe to all their views, but I get it. And that’s important. If you don’t know the language of the people around you, you will easily fail.

Magazine Subscriptions

The trick to magazines, I’ve come to learn, is that they’re a monthly (sometimes weekly) reminder to take a look at the things you’ve set as your goals. I subscribe to Wired, Business 2.0, Fast Company, Men’s Health, and Wizard (a comics magazine- hey, that’s for fun!). I used to also get Trail Runner, but I haven’t been running trails lately.

Magazines are a way to keep your head on the things you’ve set for your goals. I’m sure you’ll have good suggestions for others that might match your own 2007 goals.

Books I’ve Missed or Need

I haven’t found a personal finance book that felt “real” to me. The books I’ve read suggest my finances are in great shape, and I just need someone to tell me how to open a 401K. I need the book that says, “Boy, you’ve REALLY messed up. And now here’s what we’re going to do.” Something tells me Christopher S. Penn of the Financial Aid Podcast has some recommendations here.

I also don’t usually recommend a specific book on spiritual strength. I guess it’s personal to me? Or rather, your faith or spirituality might not match mine. But I wonder of Jon or Michael or Rob have any suggestions?

What else do YOU recommend? We’d love to know. (Include links if you want, or just mention the title and the author, so people can search them.)

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  • Poverty. Hmm. That's a tricky one because you have to understand WHY you've got the issue. Are you making too little or spending too much?
  • Chelsea
    Have you ever felt alone in the dark with your eyes wide open? Poverty seems to have a grip I can't break free of. I don't know where to begin.
  • Backpacker Magazine and GQ are on my list, because I need to know how to dress both on the trail and off.

    The only personal finance book I've ever read is "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", which taught me to buy assets instead of liabilities (i.e. every product featured in my magazines). For someone with little knowledge about personal finances, I found the book to be a good 101. I should also mention the blog that recommended the book, Blueprint for Financial Prosperity, which is a great source of useful financial information for people like me.
  • I second the Artist's Way- this defiitely put me on the road to greater creativity and helping me get out of my own way. I love the marcus Buckingham Don Clifton Discover Your Strengths books, and for finance books, Motley Fool is good, Neale Godfrey, and frankly, asking anyone you know and trust who is doing ok about how to get out of the mess. After I took a bankruptcy course in law school, the importance of finances and being creative with how you manage your money to optimize it's outcome was really brought home.
    I'm enjoying Wikinomics; Tom Friedman's book, "The World is Flat" along with The Long Tail were great for giving me a sense of what is coming in the near future, but the slam dunk is the discovering your strengths book, by far.
  • jon
    here's a post with some of the recommendations I have. http://levite.wordpress.com/2006/12/29/books-pa...
  • Ed M
    I would add the books, writings, and audio clips of Jim Colins. Jim Colins writes about business and more so what makes great businesses great and how to make a good company great. I heard Jim Colins speak at a company planning meeting and his ideas resonated with the company I was working for at the time.

    His website has a lot of information and can be somewhat overwhelming as I find it a little unorganized; actually just not summarized as to where to start. So I would recommend either the books or the audio clips.
  • I'm totally digging the new LifeHacker book by Gina Trapani (http://www.lifehackerbook.com) which has already changed the way I work every day on the computer and life.

    Another must read to me if your looking to get your creative juices going in the next year (which I know you are) is The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron (http://www.theartistsway.com). It's a bit "flufy" at times but worth it.

    I subscribe to the same magazines as you with the addition of Wired and Rolling Stone in there. I've found that Men's Health is a great inspiration every month. I also got my wife a subscription to Women's Health which in turn helps me. Plus you'll have fun looking at it. I promise. *grin*
  • I love magazines too. Check out Imbibe at: http://imbibemagazine.com It won't help you "get things done," but it will help you find fun new coffees, beers, and wines to enjoy during that oh-so-precious downtime.
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