Hubbard, Fra Elbert "A Message to Garcia"

Hubbard, Fra Elbert "A Message to Garcia" - 1899

Another book that has been on my TBR list for ages and came out of hiding due to the Classics Spin.

When I started reading this, I knew why I hadn't been too keen on it. It's one of those "self-help", "holier than though", "if only everyone would read this, it would solve all the problems in the world" books.

I do understand the message. We all should do what our tasks are without having to be guided for every little thing. And I agree. But this kind of book doesn't help anyone. In a nutshell, a man called Rowan was supposed to be the true hero of the Spanish-American war in Cuba, because he accepted with no questions the order to carry an important message to Garcia. He didn't know how to reach General Calixto García, but he brought him the message nevertheless.

This may all be good in the military, to follow a task without questioning but in any job I had, my employers expected me to think and also tell them if their order was wrong.

Anyway, I'm glad this was such a short book, I doubt I would have finished it. It read more like political propaganda than the trial to help. I think this is terribly outdated and should definitely not be reprinted.

Quote: "The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one."

And then I found this on Wikipedia:
"The phrase "The graveyards are full of indispensable men" may have originated with Hubbard
He and his second wife, Alice Moore Hubbard, died aboard the RMS Lusitania when it was sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland on May 7, 1915."

From the back cover:

"A Message to Garcia has carried its simple message of hard work, integrity, and dependability to readers around the world for over 100 years. As one of the keystones of American self-improvement literature, this short celebration of the diligence and loyalty shown by one man is truly a life-changing classic that demands to be read again and again.

A Message to Garcia is an inspirational essay written by Elbert Hubbard. It was originally published as a filler without a title in the March, 1899 issue of the Philistine magazine which he edited, but was quickly reprinted as a pamphlet and a book. It was wildly popular, selling over 40 million copies, and being translated into 37 languages. It also became a well-known allusion in American popular and business culture.

The essay celebrates the initiative of a soldier who is assigned and accomplishes a daunting mission. He asks no questions, makes no objections, requests no help, but accomplishes the mission. The essay exhorts the reader to apply this attitude to his own life as an avenue to success. Its wide popularity reflected the general appeal of self-reliance and energetic problem solving in American culture. Its 'don't ask questions, get the job done' message was often used by business leaders as a motivational message to their employees."

Ruiz, Don Miguel Ángel "The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom"

Ruiz, Don Miguel Ángel "The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom" - 1997

I bought this book years ago. I don't remember what drew me to it but the fact that I didn't start reading it earlier probably says it all.

I'm not the kind of person who will feel better if you tell me that I will feel better if only I start to love myself. On the contrary, if you tell me a problem will be solved if only I looked at it differently, I will feel even worse because you tell me that I am the problem.

In general, I agree, if you are nice to people, they will be nice to you. Most of the time. But that is not a wisdom I need to read, I've learned that all by myself. And with some people, it just doesn't help. And if someone wants to be mean to me, there is no way this book is going to change that.

Anyway, I did not enjoy reading this book. It had less than 200 pages, so I carried on, hoping the big enlightenment would come at the end. Well, it didn't.

From the back cover:

"In The Four Agreements, bestselling author don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, The Four Agreements offer a powerful code of conduct that can rapidly transform our lives to a new experience of freedom, true happiness, and love."

Iyengar, B.K.S. "Light on Life"

 

Iyengar, B.K.S. "Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom" - 2005

This book was lent to me by a friend who loves yoga and thought it might be helpful for me. Well, if I have learned one thing from this book, it is that yoga is definitely not for me. I have followed classes decades ago and didn't like it much and I had just as much trouble following the thoughts of the author. I think I am too much of a modern person to find any sense in what the philosophy of yoga is telling me. Maybe I will chagne one day but I doubt that.

Nevertheless, the book is quite interesting. I have learned more about the thoughts and rules of Eastern philosophy and I appreciate that. But, as I said, it is not for me. In order to be successful with something like this, to really make it part of yourself, you have to believe in it. And I just don't.

Quotes I found interesting:
"When you have known pain, you will be compassionate. Shared joys cannot teach us this." and
"The power of science is the proof of our ability to project ourselves in space. But space without time is like muscle without brain."

From the back cover:

"'As human beings, we all seek to reconcile the paradox of how to make our way upon the earth while striving for something more permanent and profound. So many seek this greater Truth in the heavens, but it lies much closer than the clouds. It is within us and can be found by anyone on the Inward Journey.' .K.S. Iyengar, whose teachings on yoga are followed throughout the world, reflects upon his lifetime’s experience (he is 89) on the yoga path. The structure of the book follows the different aspects of that path (from Freedom Awaits, through The Physical Body, The Energy Body, The Mental Body, The Intellectual Body, The Divine Body to Living in Freedom) and provides a learning framework for yoga as well as an invaluable discourse on life. A 'must have' for anyone who practises yoga or is interested in the teachings of the East.

B.K.S. Iyengar is a living legend and is considered to be one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world. He has been practicing and teaching yoga for more than 60 years. He has written many books on yogic practice and philosophy, and is best known for his books Light on Yoga, Light on Pranayama and Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Iyengar yoga centers are located throughout the world, and millions of students practice Iyengar Yoga."

Gates Gill, Michael "How Starbucks Saved My Life"

Gates Gill, Michael "How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else" - 2007

As a coffee lover, the title looked interesting. I really enjoyed the story of Michael Gates Gill, a highly successful entrepreneur turned looser turned Starbucks employee. Not only does he describe his unusual life, he tells a story of a company. After reading this book, I got the impression that Starbucks must be the best employer in the world. Of course, it is always easy to say anyone can find a job if you have one. And as a European I didn't think those benefits Starbucks offered were all that great, to us they are normal. But the author's life seems very interesting and he has a lot to tell.

From the back cover:

"In his fifties, Michael Gates Gill had it all: a mansion in the suburbs, a wife and loving children, a six-figure salary, and an Ivy League education. But in a few short years, he lost his job, got divorced, and was diagnosed with a brain tumor. With no money or health insurance, he was forced to get a job at Starbucks. Having gone from power lunches to scrubbing toilets, from being served to serving, Michael was a true fish out of water.

But fate brings an unexpected teacher into his life who opens his eyes to what living well really looks like. The two seem to have nothing in common: She is a young African American, the daughter of a drug addict; he is used to being the boss but reports to her now. For the first time in his life he experiences being a member of a minority trying hard to survive in a challenging new job. He learns the value of hard work and humility, as well as what it truly means to respect another person.

Behind the scenes at one of America's most intriguing businesses, an inspiring friendship is born, a family begins to heal, and, thanks to his unlikely mentor, Michael Gill at last experiences a sense of self-worth and happiness he has never known before."

Levine, James A. "Move a Little, Lose a Lot"

Levine, James A. "Move a Little, Lose a Lot: New N.E.A.T. Science Reveals How to Be Thinner, Happier, and Smarter " - 2009

An interesting book about how to lose weight and live healthier simply by moving more. I knew that before and I doubt that so many people will follow the advice because I think they knew that before, too.

From the back cover:
"Dr. James Levine, one of the country’s top specialists in obesity, says America suffers from 'sitting disease.' We spend nearly ten to fifteen hours of our day sitting–in cars, at our desks, and in front of the television. The age of electronics and the Internet has robbed us of the chance to burn up to 1,500 to 2,000 calories per day, leaving Americans less active (and much heavier) than we were thirty years ago. We are facing a human energy crisis.

What you need, according to this doctor’s orders, is to get moving, or nonexercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). NEAT is as simple as standing, turning, and bending. Research proves that daily NEAT activity burns more calories than a half hour running on the treadmill. Just by the very act of standing and moving, you can boost your metabolism, lower your blood pressure, and increase your mental clarity. It’s about using your body as it was meant to be used. Move a Little, Lose a Lot gives you literal step-by-step instructions for small changes that equal radical results:

• Give at the office - burn 2,100 calories a week just by changing your daily work routine.
• Hey, Einstein - just like the scientist who thought up his most famous theory while riding his bike, you can increase production of new brain neurons in as little as three hours.
• Tired of being tired - reduce fatigue by 65 percent with low-intensity NEAT workouts.
• Don’t forget - an Italian study showed active men and women were 30 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. "

Lindbergh, Anne Morrow "Gift from the Sea"

Lindbergh, Anne Morrow "Gift from the Sea" - 1955

This book has been described as "a meditation on the meaning of a woman's life or a woman's reflections on life, its stages, and its states, comparing them with the natural treasures of life in the sea."

It's a nice little book to meditate and think about where your life is going.

From the back cover:

"A modern-day classic: here are Anne Morrow Lindbergh's elegant and wise meditations on youth and age, love and marriage, solitude, peace, and contentment, as she set them down during a brief vacation by the ocean.

She helps us to see ways to reconcile our most deeply personal needs with obligations to family, friends, lovers, and work, ways to separate loneliness from replenishing solitude, and ways to find solace in the simplest of daily tasks.

Gift from the Sea is marked by a greatest and simple wisdom, lifting listeners out of the rush and worry of daily life and opening a path to inner peace and self-realization."

Wurtzel, Elizabeth "The Secret of Life"

Wurtzel, Elizabeth "The Secret of Life: Commonsense Advice for Uncommon Women" - 2001

I found this book in the library, it sounded funny. It wasn't. Just the ramblings of a woman who seems to be unhappy with herself and the rest of the world. The kind of woman you wouldn't want to be friends with because all she does is talk about other people. And she always knows better than everyone else. And if you follow her advice, you end up being as miserable as she seems to be. Or maybe I'm just not "uncommon" enough. ;-)

From the back cover:

"Though she might not always follow her own advice, Elizabeth Wurtzel knows certain things to be true: Doing copious amounts of drugs leads nowhere you want to be; trying to be friends with your ex is always a bad idea; if you can’t afford to hire a mover, you can’t afford to move; and always doing the best you can is always good enough.

Here are Wurtzel’s succinct and clever rules for living your best life. Fulfillment is within everyone’s reach. Grasping it takes enjoying your mistakes, being strong, and having opinions. Today’s woman should:

• Be Gorgeous. Make the absolute most of what you’ve got. Believe that you are gorgeous, and you will be. It’s the only trick that really works.
• Embrace Fanaticism. Harness joie de vivre by pursuing insane interests, consuming passions, and constant sources of gratification that do not depend on the approval of others.
• Use All Available Resources. Let the M.D.s and the Ph.D.s help you solve your problems so that you don’t become everyone else’s problem.
• Never Clear the Table at a Dinner Party Unless the Men Get Up to Help First. Cleanup should not be gendered. Change the world, one dinner table at a time. Hold a sit-in.

One of the fiercest, funniest, and best-known essayists of her generation, Elizabeth Wurtzel infuses this modest gem of a rule book with a sharp wit and a real candor."

Johnson, Dr. Spencer "Who moved my cheese?"

Johnson, Dr. Spencer "Who moved my cheese?" - 1998

I read this book ages ago, really liked it. It's a parable about two mice and two men who live in a maze. They all want the cheese but they all tackle the task differently. We can learn from their mistakes, see that it is important to stay alert. And to be flexible, very important!

I wouldn't say it helped me get organized but I thought a lot about who I would be, who other people would be, etc. There is also a children's version. My son (who was a lot younger at the time)  borrowed it from the library, it's easier and with pictures, but the same concept and quite nicely done for children.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2024.

From the back cover:

"Written by Spencer Johnson, coauthor of The One Minute Manager, this enlightening and amusing story illustrates the vital importance of being able to deal with unexpected change. Who Moved My Cheese? is often distributed by managers to employees as a motivational tool, but the lessons it teaches can benefit literally anyone, young or old, rich or poor, looking for less stress and more success in every aspect of work and life."

Chapman, Gary "The five Love Languages of Teenagers"

Chapman, Gary "The five Love Languages of Teenagers" - 2000

A friend lent me this book. I had never heard of the "Five Love Languages". It was interesting to read that everyone needs different kinds of affection. Even though you know this, it's very good to read about it in-depth.

Especially teenagers need a very different approach as anyone else. As a mother of two teenagers and a teacher at church, I know quite a few and have always found it better to approach them the way they approach you (though not as moody, hopefully).

This book has given me a much better insight and a lot of helpful hints on how to deal with people who are in their most difficult stage of their lives - somewhere between childhood and adulthood, not yet having left the former totally and not entirely joined the latter, either.

I would recommend this book to any parents of teenagers.

From the back title:
"At no other time have parents, teachers, and mentors been more desperate to find proven ways to reach teens. In response, best-selling author Gary Chapman presents The Five Love Languages of Teenagers -- practical guidance on how to discover and express the teen's primary love language. It is a tangible resource for stemming the tide of violence, immorality, and despair engulfing many teens today."

Gladwell, Malcolm "The Tipping Point"

Gladwell, Malcolm "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference"  - 2000

Why do some products sell better than others, why was "Sesame Street" such a success, why does certain behaviour spread like an epidemic?

Malcolm Gladwell knows it all, he introduces various concepts, all of them able to get a product, an idea, anything to the "tipping point" from which there is no return.

A review by George Stephanopolous said "A book for anyone who cares about how society works and how we can make it better". I couldn't agree more. This book belongs to those that really can change your life.

From the back cover:
"'The best way to understand the dramatic transformation of unknown books into bestsellers, or the rise of teenage smoking, or the phenomena of word of mouth or any number of the other mysterious changes that mark everyday life,' writes Malcolm Gladwell, 'is to think of them as epidemics. Ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do.' Although anyone familiar with the theory of memetics will recognize this concept, Gladwell's The Tipping Point has quite a few interesting twists on the subject.

For example, Paul Revere was able to galvanize the forces of resistance so effectively in part because he was what Gladwell calls a 'Connector': he knew just about everybody, particularly the revolutionary leaders in each of the towns that he rode through. But Revere 'wasn't just the man with the biggest Rolodex in colonial Boston,' he was also a 'Maven' who gathered extensive information about the British. He knew what was going on and he knew exactly whom to tell. The phenomenon continues to this day - think of how often you've received information in an e-mail message that had been forwarded at least half a dozen times before reaching you.

Gladwell develops these and other concepts (such as the 'stickiness' of ideas or the effect of population size on information dispersal) through simple, clear explanations and entertainingly illustrative anecdotes, such as comparing the pedagogical methods of Sesame Street and Blue's Clues, or explaining why it would be even easier to play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon with the actor Rod Steiger. Although some readers may find the transitional passages between chapters hold their hands a little too tightly, and Gladwell's closing invocation of the possibilities of social engineering sketchy, even chilling, The Tipping Point is one of the most effective books on science for a general audience in ages. It seems inevitable that 'tipping point,' like 'future shock' or 'chaos theory,' will soon become one of those ideas that everybody knows - or at least knows by name. - Ron Hogan"

Mandino, Og "The Greatest Salesman In The World"

Mandino, Og "The Greatest Salesman In The World" - 1968

A friend lent this book to me and said it was a great book that can change your life.

Well, it wasn't bad but it also wasn't one of the greatest books I ever read. I liked the links to the bible and the message but I don't think it changed my life.

From the back cover:

"Each generation produces its 'literature of power.' This type of writing literally has the power to change the reader’s life. In this tradition. In The Greatest Salesman In The World is destined to influence countless lives.

Here is the legend of Hafid, a camel boy of two thousand years ago, and his burning desire to improve his lowly position in life. To prove his potential ability, he is dispatched from Bethlehem by his master, the great caravan merchant, Pathros, to sell only one robe. He fails and instead, in a moment of pity, gives the robe to warm a newborn baby in a cave near the inn.

Hafid returns to the caravan in shame but is accompanied by a bright star shining above his head. This phenomenon is interpreted by Pathros to be a sign from the gods, and he gives Hafid ten ancient scrolls, which contain the wisdom necessary for the boy to achieve all his ambitions."

Pollock, David C., & Van Reken, Ruth "Third Culture Kids"

Pollock, David C. & Van Reken, Ruth "Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds" - 2001

"In this publication, the authors explore the experiences of those who have become known as 'third culture kids' (TCKs) - children who grow up or spend a significant part of their childhood living abroad."

If you live/d abroad with your children for only a couple of years or if you grew up in different countries or in a country different from your parents, this is the book to read. The authors examine the impact on children moving from their home country (1st culture) to another country (2nd culture) who generate a 3rd one. They look at the challenges of both moving to the new culture and returning to the old one. We found the book insightful and helpful, and it gave some practical advice on how to approach some of the challenges.

Everything in this book is so true for children of our international book club members. Maybe the culture shock isn't as large as if they moved from Asia or Africa to Europe or America. Or is it larger because you don't expect a huge difference between, for example, Germany and England or England and the Netherlands? We agreed that our children are definitely more independent, better equipped for living on their own.

We discussed this in our international book club in September 2007.

See more comments on my ThrowbackThursday post in 2023.

From the back cover:

"Third Culture Kids speaks to the challenges and rewards of a multicultural childhood; the joy of discovery and heartbreaking loss, its effect on maturing and personal identity, and the difficulty in transitioning home." 

The authors have set up a website for more information:
TCKWorld: The Official Home of Third Culture Kids (TCKs) 
An interesting blog: Language on the Move