I listened the the audio version of this book. The book was long and upon completing the book I thought I have just completed an advanced class on economic. Greenspan really turned this book into a brain dump of his past experience as the Fed chairman. This book should be a must read for an Economic major student. I will probably go back and read the book over again.

In his early life, he was into music and baseball. He was familiar with lots of the baseball statistics – a telltale sign of his talents. He decided to go to school after deciding doing gigs is not good enough for him but he still enjoyed playing Jazz on his saxophone and clarinet.

One thing I admire about him is his ability to create a company (Townsend and Greenspan) from scratch and provide a consulting service to an industry. He is an entrepreneur, not an academia, in his own right.

Greenspan gave a pretty good explanation of the FOMC and Fed organization and how the system works to inject money or remove money from our system. I learned a little of how the politics works in that system.

Greenspan’s views on the past US Presidents were a little surprising. Starting from Nixon, he thinks Nixon’s dark side (bad attitude) toward all ethnics is an equal-opportunity one. He just has a foul mouth but a very intelligent man. Greenspan praised Ford’s calm and steady mentality and credited Ford’s contribution in de-controlling various industries that started US’s prosperity. He did not work with Carter much but did not think too highly of him. Greenspan thought Reagan had a lot of one-liner stories that communicated well to the people. But Reagan has no interest in the details. He gave Clinton high mark for his high intelligence and executing to all the economic reforms, thus enjoying our 1st budget surplus for a long time. But he attributed that to the global dis-inflationary force that created the stock market boom. He didn’t take responsibility for taking the interest rate too low to cause the stock market bubble though. Greenspan did not talk much about George W. Bush except for his reckless fiscal policy, probably for obvious political reasons.

The crisis of 1987 and the dot com bust and the 911 incidents were the crises he faced during his tenure as the Fed chairman. He went to great details on the decisions he made. He believed that he was very fortunate to be the chairman at the greatest disinflation time of our era due to the global forces (2 Billions work forces being joined by China, India, and Eastern Europe). But he warned that at sometime, this disinflation force will cease and the inflationary force will kick in. I believe we’re seeing the material supply inflation now but the labor force inflation will kick in later as the world labor force got brought up to full employment.

He spoke eloquently about creative destruction – how the old industries (telephone) got destroyed to make ways for new industries (mobile phones). This is necessary to maintain high level of productivity, thus sustaining the rate of growth for capitalism. Japan’s banking industry were not allowed to go through the creative destruction – not in the cards for Japanese culture. Thus it took Japan more than 20 years to clear out their mess.

Greenspan was amazed by how the communism collapsed so quickly and was able to try out market capitalism so quickly. It proves that Adam Smith’s invisible hand are working its magic. Central planning just doesn’t cut it. Through market capitalism the central government will gradually lose its power and grip over its people. Can the new revisionist communist (like China) handle the loss of its power base? It’s a slippery slope for them.

Greenspan emphasized that the essence of the market economy is the protection of the property right. I never thought about this being the fundamental building block of our free market economy. Does it mean that US has the competitive advantage over the other countries like China, which does not yet protect the property rights of the people. Will China improve or backtrack? Very interesting.

His prediction for the global economy of 2030: somewhat dire for Europe but promising for Asia. Risk of inflation after the global disinflation effect subsided may be one of those risk areas – it’s going to be the age of turbulence. In other words, the low-interest rate party is going to be over soon. Will the US economy be resilient enough the sustain all the shocks and turbulence? Fed’s job is getting tougher. Is he glad he has retired?

More than 10 years ago, I read this book casually. “Think and Grow Rich!” Yes, keep dreaming. Obviously, I didn’t think much of it. The examples were very old and I couldn’t quite relate to them. The new audio-book edition with the editor’s comments really brought them to light for me. Of course, having read lots of the self-improvement books, I came to appreciate how revolutionary this book was during its time of writing – 1937, right after the Depression. Indeed, this is a real classic. The pdf file
can be found here. Here is a nice video of Napoleon Hill on Youtube.

The 13 steps:
1. A burning desire (goal setting): burn your bridge of retreat. The 6 ways: 1) fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire, 2) determine what you intend to give in return (no free lunch), 3) set a date, 4) create a definite plan and being at once, 5) write them out on paper, 6) read your statement out aloud, twice daily. The poetry, “… For Life is a just employer, He gives you what you ask, But once you have set the wages, Why, you must bear the task. … That any wage I had asked of Life, Life would have willingly paid.” How true!

2. Faith (strong belief without the religious connotation): Develop faith, a state of mind that can be induced, by affirmation or auto-suggestion. The affirmation or auto-suggestion works by speaking into your sub-conscious mind. “Whether the statement be true or false. If a man repeats a lie over and over, he will eventually accept the lie as truth.” Self-fulfilled prophesy works both ways – use it to your advantage. Encourage the positive emotions as dominating forces and eliminate negative emotions. The book went into great details about an idea from Charles M. Schwab, with JP Morgan’s help that bought out Andrew Carnegie’s steel company and turn it into the US Steel Company. The merger nearly created so much wealth – synergy, in today’s term.

3. Auto-suggestion: This was covered slightly in the previous chapter. But it went into more depth. The three steps to stimulate your subconscious mind: 1) Repeat loudly the written statement of the amount of money you intend to accumulate, the time limit, the description of services/merchandise you intend to give in return for the money. 2) Repeat this program night and morning until you can see in your imagination, 3) Place a written copy of statement where you can see it night and morning.

4. Specialized Knowledge: “Knowledge will not attract money, unless it is organized, and intelligently directed, through practical plans of action, to the definite end of accumulation of money.” 5 ways to purchase knowledge a) One’s own experience and education, b) experience and education through cooperation of the “Master Mind Alliance.” c) Colleges and Universities, d) Public libraries, e) Special training courses. I would add “Internet” to f) nowadays. I often envy those Jeopardy winners who possesses so much general knowledge but now I feel sorry for them because probably the game shows are the only outlets for them to succeed in life. Hill emphasized that the main thing is the idea. Specialized knowledge may be found just around the corner – any corner!

5. Imagination: The desire is given shape, form and action through the aid of the imaginative faculty of the mind. Two forms of imagination: Synthetic imagination – combining old concepts ideas, and Creative imagination – original ideas, a faculty through which “hunches” and “inspirations” are received – tune into your “Infinite Intelligence” by communicating with the subconscious minds of others. Hill gave the example of a young preacher Dr. Gunsaulus received his one million dollars after his determination to get it within a week. “Ideas are intangible forces. .. They have the power to live on, after the brain that creates them has turned to dust.”

6. Organized Planning: 1) Faultless plans, 2) Have the advantage of the experience, education, native ability and imagination of other minds – your “Master Mind.” Keep replacing the plan if it does not work. Temporary defeat is a not permanent failure. “No man is ever whipped, until he quites – in his own mind.” The major attributes of Leadership: 1) Unwavering courage, 2) Self-control, 3) A keen sense of justice, 4) Definiteness of decision, 5) Definiteness of plans, 6) The habit of doing more than pair for, 7) A pleasing personality, 8 ) Sympathy and understanding, 9) Mastery of detail, 10) Willingness to assume full responsibility, 11) Cooperation – leadership calls for power and power calls for cooperation. Hill went into a lot of details about getting employment. In marketing your service, he talks about the QQS formula: 1) Quality of Service, 2) Quantity of Service (habit of giving your best), 3) Spirit of Service – habit of harmonious conduct. I like the way Hill characterizes the value of your brain – divide your annual income by the on-going interest rate. For example, if you make $100K per year at 5% interest rate, your brain is worth $2M. Of course, if your brain or ideas have a lasting value, the compounding effect could have an infinite value. How interesting! Hill then talked about 31 major causes of failures – a real downer. He suggests that we take annual inventory of ourselves – the 28 questions to ask ourselves every year. I would probably shrink them down the following 3 questions: 1) Have I given the best of myself in quality/quantity/spirit of my service to my customers/employers? 2) Have I used my time and money and channeled my energy efficiently according to my plans and toward my goals? 3) How and where have I improved myself in terms of my knowledge, my personality, and my work habits?

7. Decision (do not procrastinate): Make your own decisions or tap into your “Master Mind” – “opinions are the cheapest commodities on earth.” “Genuine wisdom is usually conspicuous through modesty and silence.” Hill gave examples of Abraham Lincoln’s decision to issue the Proclamation of Emancipation, and the 56 people’s decision on sign on America’s Declaration of Independence, risking their own lives. “Those who reach decisions promptly and definitely, know what they want, and generally get it.” “Definiteness of decision always requires courage.”

8. Persistence(Will Power): How to cultivate persistence: a) Definiteness of purpose. b) Desire, c) Self-reliance (using self suggestion), d) Definiteness of plans, e) Accurate knowledge – “guessing” destroy persistence, f) Cooperation, g) Will-power – the habit of concentrating one’s thoughts upon building the plans, h) Habit – forced repetition of acts of courage. One must overcome the fear of criticism.

9. Power of the Master Mind: Power may be defined as “organized and intelligently directed knowledge.” The sources of knowledge: a) Infinite knowledge (next chapter), b) Accumulated experience, c)Experiment and Research. “Master Mind” is defined as “Coordination and knowledge and effort, in a spirit of harmony, between two or more people, for the attainment of a definite purpose.” By today’s terms, it would be “a synergistic team with complementary knowledge and experience” like Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Bill Gates and Paul Allen, and Larry Page and Larry Page And Sergey Brin. This is a way to multiply your brain power. On the power of positive emotions, Hill talks about “Money is shy and elusive; it must be wooed/attracted and won… Poverty needs no plan .. it is bold and ruthless.” I don’t think I ever personify wealth that way but I can see why.

10. Sex Transmutation (harness the sexual energy): Hill brought up the correlation of highly developed sexual energy to high achievement. The top 10 stimuli to human mind: 1) sexual expression, 2) Love, 3) Desire for fame, power, or financial gain, 4) Music, 5) Friendship, 6) A Master Mind alliance, 7) Mutual suffering, 8 ) Auto-suggestion, 9) Fear, 10) Narcotics and alcohol. “Genius is developed through the sixth sense.” Where do these “hunches” come from? 1) Infinite intelligence, 2) One’s subconscious mind, 3) The mind of other person, 4) From other other person’s subconscious mind. Hill cited several examples of great people driven by force of sex, Napoleon Bonaparte, Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, William Shakespeare, and etc. Hill also drew the conclusion that the majority of men do not succeed until age of 40 or 50, due to their tendency to dissipate their energies through over-indulgence in physical sex. “The average man reaches the period of his greatest capacity to create between forty and sixty.” I guess I still have hope. Hill mentioned a lot of stereotypes between the role of man and woman. I think they probably apply mutually these days.

11. Subconscious Mind: According to Hill, the subconscious mind is the connecting link between the finite mind of man and Infinite Intelligence. And emotionalized thoughts have direct influence on the subconscious mind. Thus, the following 7 positive emotions must be injected through auto-suggestion: 1) Desire, 2) Faith, 3) Love, 4) Sex, 5) Enthusiasm, 6) Romance, 7) Hope. They are against the 7 negative emotions: 1) Fear, 2) Jealousy, 3) Hatred, 4) Revenge, 5) Greed, 6) superstition, 7) Anger. Positive and negative emotions cannot occupy the mind the same time. One or the other must dominate. The subconscious mind is the intermediary, which translates one’s prayers into terms which Infinite Intelligence can recognize, presents the message, and brings back the answer in the form of a definite plan or idea for procuring the object of the prayer. I’m not sure Hill really meant “Infinite Intelligence” to be God. But it appears that Hill does believe man can tap on the God-like nature through the subconscious mind.

12. The Brain(a broadcasting and receiving station for thought): The intangibles, our thought, that our brain picks up cannot perceive through any of our 5 senses. All of us are controlled by forces which are unseen and intangibles. Hill goes into the power of telepathy.

13. The Sixth Sense: Hill extracted the sixth sense using meditation through mind development from within. By studying his heroes like Edison, Emerson, Darwin, Lincoln, and etc., Hill could role play each role and have for himself the “invisible counselors” or his “imaginary cabinet.” This is pretty cool. It’s like having internal debates as he takes on various opposing roles.

In the final chapter, Hill talks of the 6 basic fears that might block your success: Fear of 1) poverty, 2) criticism, 3) ill health, 4) loss of love of someone, 5) old age, 6) death. Fears are nothing more than states of mind – subject to control and direction. Hill had the cures for each of fears. He also addressed the 55 famous alibis (excuses). Hill’s parting message: “If we are related, we have, through these pages, we have met.” Indeed.

The last few chapters on Master Mind, Sex transmutation, Sixth Sense, the Brain, the Subconscious Mind, in my view, are the ways Napoleon Hill deployed human’s creativity. These are the unique ways you tap on your own internal creative intelligence. I can see why this book was and has been a classic. Each area can be expanded and elaborated in several books.

I have listened to the audio book twice and read the book once over. I believe I have learned how to tap on these powers to take myself to the next level. After all, according to Hill, my creative life has just begun…

This is a great book recommended by the author of “4-hr work week” book. This book is almost like a modern version of the “Think and Grow Rich,” although I feel this book is a bit more practical.

1. Believe you can succeed and you will.
3 guides to acquire and strengthen the power of belief: 1) Think success, don’t think failure. Think “I will win.” 2) Remind yourself regularly that you are better than you think you are. Never sell yourself short. 3) Believe Big.

2. Cure yourself of excusitis, the failure disease. 4 common forms of excusitis: 1) “But my health isn’t good.” 2) “But you’ve got to have brains to succeed.” 3) “I’m too old.” 4) “I attract bad luck.”

3. Build confidence and destroy fear. Practice the following: 1) Action cures fear: Isolate your fear and then take construction action. 2) Put only positive thoughts in our memory bank. Simply refuse to recall unpleasant events or situations. 3) Put people in proper perspective. People are more alike than they are different. Get a balanced view of other fellow. 4) Practice doing what your conscience tells you is right. 5) Make everything about you say, “I am confident.” Like a) Be a “front seater.” b) Make eye contact. c) Walk 25% faster. d) Speak up. e) Smile big.

4. How to think big. 1) Don’t sell yourself short. Concentrate on your asset. You’re better than you think you are. 2) Use the big thinker’s vocabulary. Use big, bright, cheerful words. Use words that promise victory, hope, happiness, pleasure. 3) Stretch your vision. See what can be, not just what is. Practice adding value to things, to people and to yourself. 4) Get the big view of your job. The next promotion depends on mostly how you think toward your present job. 5) Think above trivial things. Focus your attention on big objectives.

5. How to think and dream creatively. 1) Believe it can be done. When you believe something can be done, your mind will find the ways to do it. Believing a solution paves the way to solution. Eliminate “impossible,” won’t work,” “can’t do,” “no use trying” from your thinking and vocabularies. 2) Don’t let tradition paralyze your mind. Be receptive to new ideas. Be experimental. Try new approaches. Be progressive in everything you do. 3) Ask yourself daily, “How can I do better?” There is no limit to self-improvement. 4) Ask yourself, “How can I do more?” Capacity is a state of mind. 5) Practice asking and listening. Big people monopolize the listening; small people monopolize the talking. 6) Stretch your mind. Get stimulated. Associate with people who can help you to think of new ideas, new ways of doing things. Mix with people of different occupational and social interests.

6. You are what you think you are. 1) Look important; it helps you think important. 2) Think your work is important. 3) Give yourself a pep talk several times daily. Build a “sell-yourself-to-yourself” commercial. Remind yourself at every opportunity that you’re a first-class person. 4) In all of life’s situations, ask yourself, “Is this the way an important person thinks?” Then obey the answer.

7. Manage your environment: Go first class. 1) Be environment-conscious. 2) Make your environment work for you, not against you. Don’t let suppressive forces – the negative, you-can’t-do-it-people – make you think defeat. 3) Don’t let small-thinking people hold you back. Jealous people want to see you stumble. Don’t give them that satisfaction. 4) Get your advice from successful people. Your future is important. Never risk it with free-lance advisors who are living failures. 5) Get plenty of psychological sunshine. Circulate in new groups. Discover new and stimulating things to do. 6) Throw thought-poison out of your environment. Avoid gossip. Talk about people but stay on the positive side. 7) Go first class on everything you do. You can’t afford to go any other way.

8. Make your attitudes your allies. 1) Grow the “I’m activated” attitude. Results come in proportion to enthusiasm invested. Three things to do to activate yourself are: a) Dig into deeper. When you find yourself disinterested in something, dig in and learn more about it. This sets off enthusiasm. b) Life up everything about you: your smile, your handshake, your talk, even your walk. Active alive. c) Broadcast good new. No one ever accomplished anything positive telling bad news. 2) Grow the “You are important” attitude. People do more for you when you make them feel important. a) Show appreciation at every opportunity. Make people feel important. b) Call people by name. 3) Grow the “service first” attitude, and watch money take care of itself. Make it a rule in everything you do, give people more than they expect to get.

9. Think right toward people 1) Make yourself lighter to life. Be likable. Practice being the kind of person people like. This wins their support and put fuel in your success-building program. 2) Take the initiative in building friendships. 3) Accept human differences and limitations. Don’t expect anyone to be perfect. Don’t be a reformer. 4) Tune in Channel P, The good thoughts station. Find qualities to like and admire in a person, not things to dislike. Think positive thoughts towards people – and get positive results. 5) Practice conversation generosity. 6) Practice courtesy all the time. 7) Don’t blame others when you receive a setback. Remember, how you think when you lose determines how long it will be until you win.

10. Get the action habit 1) Be an “activationist.” Be someone who does things. Be a doer, not a ‘don’t-er.’ 2) Don’t wait until conditions are perfect. They never will be. Expect future obstacles and difficulties and solve them as they arise. 3) Ideas alone won’t bring success. Ideas have values only when you act upon them. 4) Use action to cure fear and gain confidence. Do what you fear and fear disappears. 5) Start your mental engine mechanically. Don’t wait for spirit to move you. Take action, dig in, and you move the spirit. 6) Think in terms of now. 7) Get down to business – pronto. 8 ) Seize the initiative. Be a crusader. Pick up the ball and run. GET IN GEAR AND GO!

11. How to turn defeat into victory. 1) STudy setbacks to pave your way to success. 2) Have the courage to be your own constructive critic. Seek out your faults and weaknesses and then correct them. 3) Stop blaming luck. Research each setback. 4) Blend persistence with experimentation. Stay with your goal but don’t beat your head against a stone wall. Try new approaches. Experiment. 5) There is good side i every situation. See the good side and whip discouragement.

12. Use goals to help you grow 1) Get a clear fix on where you want to go. Create an image of yourself 10 years from now. 2) Write out your 10-year plan. Put down on paper what you want to accomplish in your work, your home, and you social departments. 3) Surrender yourself to your desires. Set goals to get more energy. Set goals to get things done. Set goals and discover the real enjoyment of living. 4) Let your major goal be your automatic pilot. 5) Achieve your goal one set at a time. Regard each task you perform as a step toward your goal. 6) Build 30-day goals. Day-by-day effort pays off. 7) Take detours in stride. 8 ) Invest in yourself. Invest in education. Invest in idea starters.

13 How to think like a leader. 1) Trade minds with the people you want to influence. 2) Apply the “Be-human” rule in your dealings with others. 3) Think progress, believe in progress, push for progress. Think improvement in everything you do. Think high standards in everything you do. 4) Take time out to confer with yourself and tap your supreme thinking power. Managed solitude pays off. Use it to release your creative power.

I utterly enjoyed reading this book. The ideas are very well thought out with good examples and the organization of the book is superb. Love the outlines. The teachings make a lot of sense to me. I think I ought to practice these. Perhaps, I have not been thinking big. There is still a lot of potential left in me. Let’s see how it would pan out. THINK BIG!

I picked this up from the library. I thought I could learn a few things from the abundant tips.

1. I came to appreciate how much trouble people in the extreme cold weather have to deal with, like frozen pipes, heating, ice dams and etc. Also, I’ve seen all the potential water/moisture issues associated with a basement. Not a good idea to buy a house with basement.

2. Concrete payment repair: Need to shape the concrete crack so that it’s wider at its base than its top to help the patch stay in place.

3. Reminding me to drain the hot water heater regularly (recommended monthly) to lengthen the life of the water heater. I just did this and it created such as mess!

4. The “healthy house” chapter gave a few tips on reducing allergy triggers like replacing air filter frequently, maintain good ventilation. Watch out for the VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) associated with new furniture purchases or constructions – off-gassing.

5. Clean up moisture quickly to avoid mold build up – maintain relative humidity of 30~50%. Use 1 part bleach and 4-part water to make a mold removal solution.

6. Use of graphite powder or talc to lubricate squeaky hardwood floor sounds like a good idea. I might give it a try.

7. For replacing mesh on a screen door – it’s a good idea to use 1 clamp at each corner to keep the mesh in place. I tried to do this once without the clamps and it wasn’t easy. Good tip.

Not bad to pick up a few tips after spending just a couple of hours on the book.

I listened to this audio CD from Dan Kennedy: “Motivation Marketing: How to effectively motivate your prospects to buy now, buy more and tell their friends too.”

These are the five buttons to push to motivate people to buy:

1. To be connected and loved. We all want to be connected and be part of community. Like the “Cheers” song, “we will want to be go where people know our name.”

2. Get something for free or at a bargain price. “Free” always catches people’s eyes. “Sale” is the next best thing.

3. Magic bullet/potion/formula to get rich or solve our complex problem. Certain “diet” can help us lose weight and solve our weight problem.

4. Make our dream come true. (Aspiration marketing). We need to elevate beyond ordinary reason for buying. For example, the dream house or dream vacation on the beach.

5. Fear or security. We’re afraid of missing an opportunity – “sales ends by xxx day.” It could be the fear of negative consequences like a fire for buying hazard insurance.

Robert touched on some of the on-line marketing method like using Google adword as small classified. I’ll probably read the book of the same title sometime later. It seems interesting enough.

The title of the book was very appealing; it’s been in the top 20 list for a while. I read this book while on vacation for three weeks while traveling in Taiwan. The message strikes a chord. At first, the author sounds like a spoiled brat advocating people to become the new rich (NR), re-thinking what you’re doing and to use the time to travel around the world. I am still skeptical but I did learn a few things from the book about re-thinking what I’m doing day in and day out and perhaps apply some of his elimination/automation techniques to free up some time to re-align my own career and to achieve to the best of my capability. I’m not sure I want to pack up my bag and start “vagabonding” but I certainly should slip in more vacation time to “see” the world.

The author offers the DEAL method: D (definition), E (Elimination), A (Automation) and L (Liberation).
For the “Definition,” the author threw away the standard time management techniques and went into something more fundamental on why we even spent the time to do the tasks. Some of the suggestions are standard: like 80/20 rules, Parkinson Law (tasks are expanded to fill the time: keep a time limit on any task, especially delegated tasks), and batching (group all similar tasks together for higher efficiency). But the other suggestions are a little uncommon, like “do not multi-task” (not efficient), “selective ignorance” (this may sound irresponsible and is sure less stressful) , “non-finishing” (don’t feel obligate to finish things if it doesn’t serve your goal), “selective meetings” (keep the sharp focus of meetings to reach agreement, anything else can be done on emails. Use the “puppy-dog close” (reversible) to get away with anything).

In the Elimination category, the author offers ways to delegate tasks to “virtual assistants” taking advantage of the global outsources from India and China. Evidently, there are quite a few things you can offload to the your virtual assistants like shopping for gifts, basic researches and etc. When working with your delegates, use the “criticism sandwich” – sandwich the criticism between complements.

On Automation, the author offers a few ideas on how to put on income autopilot. 1) Pick a niche market, 2) Brainstorm product ideas (able to put benefits in one sentence, costs $50~$200, takes 3~4 weeks to manufacture, explain in FAQ’s, 3) Resell, license or create. He suggests one becomes an expert in order to sell ideas by 1) joining trade org, 2) read 2 ~3 top allies boards, 3) give free seminar, 4) write article and join profnet.
Of course, the hardest part is to come up with some profitable ideas that meet the above criteria. Putting them in autopilot should be easier once the market has been identified.

On Liberation, the author debates about the meanings of life, which I wholeheartedly agree, i.e. to love, to be loved and continued learning. He also offers ideas how to maximize your dollars while traveling.

Overall, the income ideas seems interesting and plausible. I’ll probably give it a try. But my main take aways are around the “elimination” and delegation of tasks. Reading this book while vacationing for 3 weeks in Taiwan really gives me different perspectives. It allows me to step back and see how deep I have been in this rat race. Shouldn’t we all step out once in while and smell flower and see all the beauty in the world? After all, we only get to live once. It would be so good to travel, explore and soak in all the cultures. I probably cannot handle the lifestyle of vagabonding but doing this once a while is rather refreshing.

Most of the book contents are similar to other time management tools. My main take-aways:

1. Your time is more valuable to you than you imagine if we go by the author’s calculation method that the time wasted may be our “productive” time. And our productive time is a relative small percentage of our working hours. The author has a formula to calculate the actual productive time. It’s probably in order of 20~30% of our working hours.

2. Lots of traveling tips, like having people to travel to your site, as most of time wasted for a professional like Dan Kennedy’s are the wasted time in the airport, plane and the sick time after the travel. Be selective on your decision to travel and make the best of the travel time.

3. The book seems to be a hodge podge of notes from his “productive” writing or talk shows. It is not as organized as it should be.

4. Do the important stuff that drive toward your goals. Packing a nice boxes, as in his example, may not the important work to drive you toward your goals.

5. His advocate of using FAXes seems to be out-dated but he’s very careful not to have people rob him of his productive time, especially office time. He recommends to stay out of office and work from home but I don’t think this works for a manager who need to oversee the people.

Making good use of the productive time is the key message here. Since the book is relative short, it’s probably a productive use of my time.