Clinton Skakun

“Read the best books first, or you may not have a chance to read them all.” – Henry David Thoreau

Since the beginning of 2009, I’ve read about 50 books on different subjects in the realm of self-help, business, time management, leadership, teamwork, relationships, blogging & social media and of course, finance.

Most people in my age group, (18-25) wouldn’t touch a book with a ten-foot poll. I find any kind of material on these subjects fascinating! How many more books will I read before next year? Most likely another 50-100. All the extremely wealthy people I look up to say they read at least 10-20 books a year. Most of the wildly successful people I know, read upwards from 40-50 per year. This is 500 by the end of the decade.

After being subjected to thousands of hours of material like this, and keeping such a commitment, you can’t possibly go on living without being effected in some major way.

From personal experience, I would say that reading has not only made me more knowledgeable but also it’s given clarity, a boat load of tools for personal change, and an understanding for “mysteries” in life most people repeatedly get wrong. Reading has given me an advantage over people who are in the dark about certain critical key areas. It’s a fact that you can’t out earn your personal development.

The following are 12 books that have changed who I am!

Believe me, this is a hard list. There are so many books out there that deserve to be on my top 12. And I’m sure within 3 years from now, I’ll have a whole new load of books to add to this list. Everyone who reads a lot has a top X list of books they feel have made a significant change in their life. Take Sid Savara’s list, The Best Personal Development Reading List. Sid has Og Mandino’s, Greatest Salesman in the World,  as one of his top reads. Or how about Vlad’s 6 Personal Development Books That Have Changed My Life. Many of the books on Vlad’s list are on mine as well. Henrik Edberg, a well respected blogger, has read 100’s of books and posted what he believes are the best of the best in the niche, 10 of My Favorite Personal Development Books. He has books by Wayne Dyer, Tim Ferris(author of 4-Hour Work Week) and Ekhart Tolle. We can cut down the time we waste on reading by finding the best of the best.

In time, we all create our own top 10, top 6, top 12 lists and eventually who we are and what we become rests upon what we constantly put into our minds.

1. The Magic of Thinking Big by David Shwartz

One of the first personal development books I ever read and continue to read to this day. Magic of Thinking Big teaches you how to change your attitude, think like a leader, build confidence and destroy fear. Magic of Thinking Big goes into everything from using a big vocabulary to dressing for success. A quick read that is simple enough to be understood by anyone at any age.

2. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

A thorough book of timeless principles covering priorities, empathetic listening skills, seeking first to understand before being understood, sharpening the saw. Covey talks about the importance of the inside-out approach and how centering your life around principles is a smart choice. One of the earlier of my personal development reads as well. A book that has helped me create a base for my philosophy for personal effectiveness and proactivity. Stephen R. Covey is probably one of the best authors in his feild. This book will change your view on life and prompt you take your priorities into careful consideration.

3. Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

If there’s one book you MUST read on wealth and finance, it’s Think and Grow Rich. Even though this book was first published over 70 years ago, the timeless laws will continue to live on for centuries. Think and Grow Rich was based on the Law of Success, a 16 lesson course that goes into much more detail then the actual Think and Grow Rich book. The only reason why I don’t put Law of Success above this book is because I haven’t fully read it yet. If you plan on accumulating wealth sometime in your life, Think and Grow Rich needs to become a permanent cornerstone in your personal library.

Once you start reading the first few chapters, it will be difficult to put down. Napoleon Hill brings up some of the most intriguing topics I’ve ever read. For instance, the concept of the Master Mind group, something which I had heard about before but not understood. I have to admit, one of the highlights of the book was reading the chapter on Sexual Transmutation. This was an eye opener and got me researching how to channel sexual energy into getting more accomplished in one day than I usually could.

Napoleon Hill explains multiple other techniques such as visualization to direct your subconscious mind in guiding you to create wealth in your life. One of the most amazing books, especially for being over 70 years old.

4. The Power of Focus by Canfield and coauthors Mark Hansen and Les Hewitt

Jack Canfield is a well known author of the Best-Selling and largely famous Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Canfield and coauthors Mark Hansen and Les Hewitt became instant heros of mine after I finished reading this. Why did I put this book on my top 12? Well, because it just about one of the best books I can honestly say I ever read. One of the most thorough peaces of material on goal setting, strength finding and staying focused. I have never read such an eye opening book on focus and discipline. Power of Focus is a book you may want to read and re-read, at least every year. This could very well be a complete success manual, even if you never read another book in your life.

5. Men are From Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray

You might wonder why I list a relationship book as one of the best personal development books I’ve read. Well, because everyone who lives and breathes should read this over and over, own a copy and review it on a yearly basis. John Gray published Men Are From Mars almost 20 years ago and since then has been recognized as the “relationship guru.” Gray reveals some major differences between men and women in their communication and how major disputes and confusion can arise when we’re not aware of these differences. This is not a book on being a “pick-up-artist.” To be honest, relationships are ten times more important than one-night-stands. Pretty much all of us generally have an idea of how to get what we want as far as sex goes. Most of us are poor when it comes to relationships, of any kind.

Half way reading through Men Are From Mars, it dawned on me. If only they’d teach this to kids in High School. If only we were educated to handle relationships (add finance on top of that), education would be worth something.

Men Are From Mars is not only for couples. It can also be a helpful guide to understanding the differences between men and women and what each want and how they go about getting it. This is a great guide for every day life, and the work place, even for solving disputes or for better communication. If you don’t read another book on relationships, this is a good one to start with.

6. Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley

Who are the rich, what do they look like? The Millionaire Next Door is a revelation of who rich people really are! For the most part, the book focuses on Self-Made Millionaires. Millionaire Next Door left me both, shocked and inspired. Stanley presents some surprising data revealing the real lives of the every day millionaire.

7. Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker

Another must read for wealth accumulation. T. Harv Eker’s 17 lessons of the difference between the rich and poor. “Rich people are committed to being rich. Poor people
want to be rich.” Eker explains that the definition of Poor and Rich people in the context his book are people who Think Rich and Poor.

8. Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Like, Think and Grow Rich, Win Friends and Influence People is another work of art published over 70 years ago that survived the test of time. Carnegie is known as the grandfather of all people skills, a well deserved reputation held long after his death. “Dale Carnegie had an understanding of human nature that will never be outdated.”

I’m not going to tell you what Win Friends and Influence People covers or give you a run down. There are more online reviews on this book than most people have braincells. Carnegie has had a life long lasting effect on millions of people in the world for the past 70 years. This should be one of the first books you read as far as people skills are concerned.

9. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki

My brother-in-law lent me Rich Dad Poor Dad when I was 17 and it inspired me to start building businesses. Though this book is simple, to the very depth of the word, it’s a book that should be a requirement for every child to read before they reach High School.

10. Built To Last by Jim Collins

If you’re serious about business at any level, whether you’re an MBA student, or just a regular Joe getting into entrepreneurship, this is a sound read. Jim Collins has authored other Best Sellers like From Good To Great and How the Mighty Fall. I suggest this as a good start to learning and researching the key factors in business longevity and what keeps successful giants successful over many centuries.

11. 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class by Steve Siebold

Mental toughness is the base of all great achievement and performance. Steve Siebold packs 177 lessons of high performing world-class individuals at all areas of life, whether sports or business, into this one invaluable masterpiece. 117 Mental Toughness Secrets is a road map for correct and clear thinking in your path to high performance and achievement in all areas of life. In short, Steve Siebold has created a profound and inspiring manual to mental toughness and higher thinking.There are few books out there that have the privilege of being an equal.

12. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell

Seriously, John C. Maxwell has published so many winning books on leadership, decision-making, ethics and everything else a leader should know that it’s hard not to put more of his books up here. The 21 Irrefutable Laws, The Law of the Lid, The Law of Navigation, etc, are the stepping stones to every great leader. Once you read 21 Laws, start on more of Maxwell’s books. Everything he writes has never failed to inspire me. His passion and love for teaching and leadership, and for helping other people change their lives shines through his work. Leaders at all levels and in all positions can benefit from his invaluable and unforgettable lessons on solid leadership. What did I learn from 21 Laws? Strong leadership is not an overnight process, it’s not a decade long process, it may even take you 30 or 40 years to develop yourself as a strong leader.

Concluding Words

Once I started getting into reading really good books I noticed something. My outlook on life, my thoughts, my attitude and the compass of my future, very slowly, started shifting in a new direction. Until a little while ago I never realized the profound impact this has had, not until I listened to something John C. Maxwell said about how books have changed his life, the way he thinks, talks etc etc. Zig Ziglar said, “if you don’t like your output, change your input.”

It’s impossible to dive into the minds of authors like Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins, John C. Maxwell and not become effected in some way, shape or form. This list proves, there is no one book you should read. Hell, read ‘em all! Maybe you read an entire book, and only learn a few new things…but you learn one thing that changes your life forever.

“Show me the books he loves and I shall know the man far better than through mortal friends.” – Dawn Adams

“We live in the age where text is one of the most common methods of communication. The people who know how to communicate the best are the ones who put into practice each technique in proportion to their effectiveness.” – Clinton Skakun

As a Gen-Y, I can text and use computer chats pretty fluently…and almost always get my point across. And as a Gen-Y I wish I could say the same about my verbal communication skills. Why is it that I can write fairly good blog posts but I find myself stumbling over words when trying to explain the same topic? One word…practice. What we don’t practice we loose.

I’ve been writing this blog for about 2 1/2 years and within that time period my writing communication skills improved by 40-70%. This is good considering I used to leave much to be desired in the writing department. And even if my writing isn’t still that great, I could give two flipping bricks what a English teacher would say about my writing now days. I can be the judge of that. These days I can spit out 3-4 posts without barely any effort, just pure inspiration. Once I get going I just keep going. But let’s take a closer look at other mediums, for example PodCasts and Vlogging, two methods of blogging that I’ve never delved deeply into.

Not only can using other forms of blogging, such as podcasting and video blogging, allow you to reach larger audiences but it can also develop some of your personal and professional skills if you’re still a relatively new blogger like me.

How can this help you out personally. Let’s take a closer look at some of these observations:

• Videos create curiosity and allow you to get a clearer point across by using tone and body language.
• People will fall in love with your videos before your text. Video, being a medium that reveals a lot of personal traits that people are curious about.
• A lot more people are using YouTube to find subjects of interests instead of blog articles. Videos are quick and to the point.
• People like to know you’re human, and even if you’re not a great speaker, many people prefer seeing you in a video instead of text.
• Most of our human relations skills depend on us expressing ourselves verbally and physically. We spend too much time already texting, e-mailing, chatting, blogging etc.

I’m seriously considering adopting a video blogging project onto my plate and posting less on this blog. Why don’t you consider doing the same thing? If the idea of 1000’s of people seeing you in video strikes fear into you, just view it as a way to expand your comfort zone. Also, it will improve your verbal skills therefor making you a better speaker giving you the basics to deliver powerful speeches.

A fact of life: “Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong.”

Monday morning’s common theme: “I can’t get to the important stuff today…too much stuff to do.”

Ever have an entire week of doing nothing but putting out fires, solving other people’s problems and working on a pile of stuff that never seemed to get done? At the end of the week nothing really important got done…but hey, at least your bills are paid, your toe nails are clipped and you’ve just cleaned up all the spam that collected in your inbox. If this sounds familiar, it’s only because everyone who is responsible for their own work has experienced it 50 times a week.

The problem is not that we don’t have time. We have more than enough of it! The problem is the value we place on the myriad unimportant stuffs.

If you break your typical day up, what percent do you really spend on truly productive tasks? 80%? 60%? 20%? 10%?

In my experience, you can break all work-related activities into three categories:

1. Truly productive
2. Indirectly productive(e.g. education, planning, tracking)
3. Busywork/Urgent (e.g. the last signature you forgot at the office, paying bills, fixing the car, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”)

To stay healthy and alive we need to balance all of these out. That said, each has a priority. #1 should get the highest priority(say, 5-12 of the most productive hours of the day), #2 should get moderate attention(30mins-3hours a day), #3 should be made last priority whenever possible and rushed as possible (one hour MAX).

I got sick of stacking all of these categories together each week and only getting #3’s done. As you might expect, I always felt behind. If you’re not careful #3 will suck you in every time. So you have to be CAREFUL! This is how I plan my days now:

I left he biggest space for A. A is IMPORTANT tasks. Things like, making sales, getting leads, writing up business, sending invoices, MAKING MONEY!!! Other personal development goals can be added to this quadrant as well. For example, working out, or anything else that you have planned for the long term. B is for URGENT or LESSER IMPORTANCE tasks! Your goal is to keep this quadrant as EMPTY as possible! These are of course, things that cause you to spend time and/or money and all those things that “can go wrong and do go wrong”–Murphy’s Law again! C is the INDIRECTLY PRODUCTIVE quadrant! Work in this quadrant, while not as pressing to get done like quadrant A, can be EXTREMELY productive. C covers mostly education, planning, activity tracking and goal setting. While C is one of the most productive categories, working on this alone of course will not be enough. Plans need to be undertaken, thus the need for A.

Time constraints

1. A, Truly productive — Spend 5-12 hours a day
2. C, Indirectly productive(e.g. education, planning, tracking) — Spend 30mins-3hours a day
3. B, Busywork/Urgent (“Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”) — 1 Hour MAX

Energy constraints

1. A, Truly productive — Most productive hours of the day, Morning(depends on individual…for most it’s 8am-5pm)
2. C, Indirectly productive(e.g. education, planning, tracking) — More relaxed time of day
3. B, Busywork/Urgent (“Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”) — Last grabs

Productivity Myths

• If you want something done right you have to do it yourself. No!!! Actually, delegation is the best thing in the world. Teach people to do things that you’re better off not doing.
• Haste makes Waste. Procrastination is the cause for all of my “waste.” Getting stuff done fast is the wave of the future, don’t you know…
• I don’t have time to join a gym. If you don’t take care of your health now, you’ll be paying to get it taken care of later…by a medical specialist.
• There’s just not enough time in a day. As many times as I’ve said it myself, it’s just not true. It’s called the Parkinson’s principle, if you DID have any extra time you’d find a way to fill it, waste it or forget it. Your time gets sucked in by what you make priority.
• I’m going to loose 20 LBS, make $10,000, run for mayor and win this week. Maybe if you’re some type of crack junkie that’d work, but quantum leaps don’t create habit as well as constant consistent action does. Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could perform at a consistent level for 5 months, 5 years, 15 years. You would out power everyone, and all you’d have to work on is being consistent.

Productivity Facts

• “Everything that can go wrong, WILL!” – Murphy’s Law. I’ve planned a lot of perfect weeks, but never had a week where everything went as planned. Everything that can go wrong will. And you can use that knowledge to your advantage.
• The 80/20 rule We tend to spend 80% of our time doing things that only bring 20% results. Highly productive people spend 80% of their time on 80% of productive tasks.
• Every 10 minutes spent planning is 2-7 hours saved a week. If you know what you’re going to do ahead a time, you won’t have to decide when you get there.
• Work expands to fill time.Give yourself 16 hours to do a days work, and you’ll most likely get the same amount of work done as a 8 or 12 hour day. 4 hours is often spend thinking about it, another 4 is spent getting distracted and the last few hours are racing to make up for lost time.
• Hofstadter’s Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter’s Law.

Now quit reading posts like this and go out and do something!!!

Courtesy of Philanthro Media

Can the web allow your local business reach the greatest number of potential clients?

Just a few years ago when we needed to find a phone number of a business, where did we turn? You guessed it! The Yellow Pages. And as well as that worked five or ten years ago, it’s not working as well in the information age we live in today. While traditional advertising is still a great solution, new statistics prove that consumer local online search usage is growing more and more rapidly each year.

A few quick facts about online search…

• The recession is forcing business owners to find new, more cost effective solutions for advertising and marketing. Many of them are turning to the web!
• According to Internet World Stats, Internet user growth has climbed 140% from 2000 to 2009 in North America!
• comScore data shows from February of 2007 to February of 2008 local business searches increased by 76% and Kelsey Group estimates that 20% of all online web searches have local intent.
• Forrester Research estimates $917 billion worth of retail sales in 2009 were “Web-influenced” in contrast to $155 billion of consumer goods sold online in the same year.
• Matt Ackerson, from CenterNetworks, in early 2009 said: “The future of the internet will become more locally focused.”

What should these facts mean to you? Right now it’s easier than ever to launch and promote your own website! The opportunity the web has to offer is skyrocketing! The number of people using the web is greater than ever before. More and more people are using online search engines to find local businesses, and most exciting news is that…nearly half of these searches have a buying intent!

“Our company is currently expanding and looking for business in the local communities of Southern Alberta. We believe that there are many business owners out there that, when enlightened to the facts, would be willing to say YES to the web and its benefits. While the web isn’t a new idea, it’s obvious that there are still many businesses owners that need to hear about the benefits we offer. We serve Calgary, High River, Okotoks, Strathmore, Black Diamond, Nanton, the Foot Hills and Southern Alberta!” – Learn More Here!