What nonfiction book are you currently reading?

wingchun100

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The principles of AA should actually be applicable by anyone who recognizes any kind of "higher power". There would be an issue for those who don't see any kind of higher power (atheists, perhaps pantheists, etc.).

I guess that should be the question then: why is this higher power even necessary? Why not "wow, when I am drunk, I am a real A-hole who drives everyone away, I need to cut my crap?"

I guess since I have never been addicted to anything or known any addicts, I am not able to understand it all completely.
 

Gerry Seymour

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I guess that should be the question then: why is this higher power even necessary? Why not "wow, when I am drunk, I am a real A-hole who drives everyone away, I need to cut my crap?"

I guess since I have never been addicted to anything or known any addicts, I am not able to understand it all completely.
It's just part of their approach. I think the impact is in giving up control. For some addicts, their addictive behavior may be in part an attempt to control an area of their life that feels uncontrolled. There are other approaches that don't rely upon it, or find other ways to deal with that issue. It's a bit like martial arts in that way - there's no one "best" approach to recovery.
 

Jenna

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That is one thing I have never understood about AA and those kinds of groups. I mean, I realize they were founded by religious people...but if I am a Chinese Taoist alcoholic and I want to get better, why are you going to insist I need Jesus to get over it? Why can't it just be me realizing my addiction is hurting myself and everyone I love, so I need to get my act together?
Because if you could, as you say, get your act together (under your own steam), you would not need any addiction counselling or support, in which case, go for it. However, that suggest you are not addict and perhaps have a simple predilection. Addiction is extremely difficult for many to conquer. Faith in a higher power -of whatever variant that might be- is a proven enabler in helping addicts of any kind to recover and avoid relapse over the longer term. Wishes to you :)

Sorry for digression.
 
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Buka

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" From Darkness to Dynasty" by Jerry Thornton.

It's about the first forty years of the single most dysfunctional, professional sports franchise in U.S history.
 

JP3

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In rapid succession, the last three were, and in the last instance, is...

Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill;

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Dr. Steven Covey; and

The 5-Second Rule, by Mel Robbins.

All three are self-improvement books, which is a thing I've turned to lately. Can't hurt, eh!
 

hoshin1600

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In rapid succession, the last three were, and in the last instance, is...

Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill;

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Dr. Steven Covey; and

The 5-Second Rule, by Mel Robbins.

All three are self-improvement books, which is a thing I've turned to lately. Can't hurt, eh!

the number one guy you should know if you dont already is Jim Rohn. he has books but he is way better when you can hear his voice. he has lots of stuff on youtube.

how did you like Think and Grow Rich? it was ok but i felt is was dated. i had read so much other stuff before i got to that one its possible it just didnt have the impact on me that others would have if it was their first book of that type.

Steven Covey is good. he has some good stories about him walking across the Sahara desert.

i used to like to listen to Mel Robbins on her radio show.
 

hoshin1600

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my current reads....
Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche
The Gulag Archipelago, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
 

Flying Crane

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Pale Blue Dot, by Carl Sagan
And, since I'm back in school again, Introductory Chemistry, by Nicaldo Tro
Calculus by Stewart, (I can't remember the full title, nor the authors full name)
And Fundamentals of Physics, by Halliday and Resnick
 

JP3

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the number one guy you should know if you dont already is Jim Rohn. he has books but he is way better when you can hear his voice. he has lots of stuff on youtube.

how did you like Think and Grow Rich? it was ok but i felt is was dated. i had read so much other stuff before i got to that one its possible it just didnt have the impact on me that others would have if it was their first book of that type.

Steven Covey is good. he has some good stories about him walking across the Sahara desert.

i used to like to listen to Mel Robbins on her radio show.
I really enjoyed Think and Grow Rich. The self-coaching/self-improvement genre is new to me, so I was guided to it as a starting point by a friend. Certainly, it's dated, since it was written so long ago, but principles are principles, as we often discuss here. The Mel Robbins book is all about taking action and not hesitating... it's good book, and I've noticed that the tool she provides is a useful one for getting yourself out of your way. The 7 Habits book was my treadmill-distraction for the time it took for me to complete it. It really is a good book on improving the way I/you/we/us should operate on a daily/weekly basis to improve our level of personal productivity and avoid spinning wheels and going nowhere.

All good stuff.

And no... I do not envy the textbooks.
 

Gerry Seymour

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the number one guy you should know if you dont already is Jim Rohn. he has books but he is way better when you can hear his voice. he has lots of stuff on youtube.

how did you like Think and Grow Rich? it was ok but i felt is was dated. i had read so much other stuff before i got to that one its possible it just didnt have the impact on me that others would have if it was their first book of that type.

Steven Covey is good. he has some good stories about him walking across the Sahara desert.

i used to like to listen to Mel Robbins on her radio show.
Think and Grow Rich is definitely dated. The psychology it is based upon has some significant flaws. Still, a good read and some valid principles in it.

The only issue I have with Covey is that the principles in 7 Habits are for very high level people, in the way he expresses them. He didn't make some of them accessible to people further down in an organization.
 

Gerry Seymour

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Currently reading Standout - looks promising. A few others I keep picking up and reading a few pages in, but I can't seem to get engaged with much these days. That's odd for me.
 

Brian King

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https://www.amazon.com/SHOT-Healing-Hurt-Gene-Smithson-ebook/dp/B075DHWP14/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1510369405&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=shot+healing+hurt&psc=1

From the Amazon page -

“I was shot five times.

SHOT is part memoir and part how-to manual.


I was shot five times. I was cut open. I wore a colostomy. I was cut open again.

I was afraid.

These are my stories and these are the exercises I used to heal body and soul. It is my greatest hope that this book will inspire and assist others on their own journey of healing, both physical and emotional.

Life near trauma is brilliant. Don't waste the light.

This book is a story of survival and healing. The injuries in this case were bullet holes and multiple surgeries and emotional trauma. But the principles, exercises and stories apply to hurts of all sorts.

The book is for caretakers, survivors, patients recuperating from surgery and anyone who in curious to read an absolutely unflinchingly honest story of hurt, healing and redemption. This book will inspire you to grow.”


Gene is an acquaintance and Systema instructor who has an interesting story and insights that anyone can benefit from. This book is very readable and has some good descriptive drills, exercises and science within it. I do recommend that anyone read this regardless of experiences or expectations.

Regards

Brian King
 

K Williams

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Essential Bushcraft by Ray Mears.

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