This is like a scientific explanation/version of the “Blink” book by Gladwell, although I think Gladwell tells better stories. I like all the explanations about the dopamine and the internal debates within our brain between amygdala (emotional brain) and prefrontal cortex (logical brain). When confronted with complex problem (more than 4 variables), it may be better to trust the amygdala, which is good at tapping on our past failures/experience. Too much logical thinking/analysis by prefrontal cortex could get us bogged down by complexity, like in the poker game.

I especially like the explanation about how one is fascinated by seeing a certain product he likes. The release of dopamine gives the person the urge to buy until the prefrontal cortex jumps in to analyze the situation and perform a cost/benefit analysis. Without this balance force, we could be buying a lot of things we cannot afford, as some out-of-control American shoppers with overdrawn credit cards often do. The use of credit card, as a form of delayed pain, also helps to silence the warning from our prefrontal cortex.

To facilitate good check and balance, one must practice thinking about how we think. The ability to tell whether the arguments are emotional or logical could help break the deadlock in indecisiveness. The surprising thing I learned is that our emotional brain is a better-evolved part of our brain. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to make complex decision with many variables. Somehow our emotional brain has distilled our past experience into “gut feelings” or “sixth sense” that cuts through many levels of complexity.

The use of the flight simulator allows the pilot to gain experience and train the decision making process without too harsh of a consequence, like crashing a plane. Perhaps, we should all be playing with life simulator in our young age to help us making better decisions in our life.

This is an excellent book. It adds a lot to my understanding of how our brain works and help explain why people behave in certain ways.

It’s hard to imagine for old timer like me to think a free product can be any good. If it’s any good, why would anyone give it away for free? Well, the new electronic media have near-zero marginal cost. Therefore, giving away these free are not too costly, thus the dawn of the new “free” economy.

The author, Chris Anderson who also wrote “The Long Tail,” gave a pretty convincing set of arguments that the new “abundant world,” as opposed to the “scarce world” we were more familiar with in the 20th century, presents a new set of challenge to producers of “contents” or “IP (intellectual property)” to derive value and thus charging the users for money. The new generation, especially those from China, are not going to pay for contents because they can easily transported in “bits” over the internet and they have more time than money, but they’re willing to pay for something physical (“atoms”) or experience (like a concert). Giving away free music, contents are the new way to maximize the reach to the maximum number of audience. The best you can do is probably to charge 5~10% of the audience for the “premium” versions, because they have more money than time. Another way is have ads subsidize the cost but this is getting increasing difficult as ads are not as effective. (Google ads remains the king of ads because it’s directly related to people’s interest at the time of the search.) The other way is to give away the first one free and charge the follow-on products once the large audience base has been built up.

Though the book is a bit long and repetitive but it’s worth listening to on audio. It teaches you how to make money off “free” goods in this new world of “abundance.” This is a scary time for most knowledge workers as a lot of our results and efforts can be easily moved from one place to all over the world through Internet very quickly and “freely.” We need to learn to adjust to the new pricing model and take advantage of it. Living with “abundance” can be hard.

This is Jim Rohn at his best. Such a concise book containing so many words of wisdom.

The 5 key words
1. Fundamental: “Success of no more than the natural consequence of consistently applying the fundamentals of success to life.”
2. Wealth: Wealth that comes form the conversion of effort and enterprise into currency and equity.
3. Happiness: freedom from the negative children of fear such as worry, low self-esteem, envy, greed, resentment, prejudice, and hatred. A way of interpreting the world and its events and having values in balance.
4. Discipline
5. Success: making your life what you want it to be.

The 7 strategies are:
1. Unleash the power of goals: Four great motivators: a. recognition, feeling of winning, family, benevolence (charity). Long range goals: Ask yourself, “What do I want to do, be, see, have, go, and share? Write down time horizon to achieve. Pick one from each category of 1-yr, 3-yr, 5-yr, 10-r goals and describe in details what you want and the reasons.

2. Seek knowledge: Capturing the treasures of knowledge. Gain wisdom through personal reflection on journals weekly, monthly, yearly, and through learning from others by books and tapes, by listening to the wisdom and folly of others and by observations of winners and losers.

3. Learn how to change: “To have more than you’ve got, become more than you are.” “Unless you change how you are, you’ll always have what you’ve got.” “Better is not something you wish; it’s something you become.” Seasons of life: Winter: a time to grow strong. Sprint: a time to take advantage. Summer: a time to take care, protect what you’re created. All good will be attached. All values must be defended. Fall: a time to take responsibility, reap the results of our springs and summers. Eliminate self-imposed limitations: procrastination, blame, and excuses. “You can change all things for the better when you change yourself for the better.”

4. Control your finances: 70/30 rule: 70% on essential and luxury and the 30% on charity, capital investment, and savings.

5. Master time: Learn to say “no” by saying “No, I don’t think I can. But if that changes, I’ll give you a call.” When you work work, when you play play. “Don’t start the day/week/month/year until you have it finished.”

6. Surround yourself with winners: “It’s easy to remain mediocre. All you need to do is spend major time on minor things with minor people.” “Spend more time with the right people.”

7. Learn the art of living well: 2-quarter attitude. “Be happy with what you have while pursuing what you want.” “The good life is not an amount; it’s an attitude, an act, an idea, a discovery, a search.”

“Resolve” – promise yourself that you’ll never give up. Why not? Why not you? Why not now?

I listened to the audio book version of “This I Believe” book, which was narrated in most cases by the original authors of the essays. Very enlightening to hear people’s stories and how they became what they believed. Some of them are funny: be cool to the pizza delivery dudes; it’s a practice of humility and forgiveness. Some are American patriotism like forgiving some young foreign visitors tab when they ate at a restaurant more than they could afford. Some are in parenting: believing in handing off the world to our next generation in a better form than we received it. There is one essay on believing in their parents who believed in them. Some are about optimism: believing in a better days ahead. Some believed in religion and some believe in non-religion.

There are several essays from famous people like Bill Gates, Jackie Robinson, Helen Keller, and etc, though the audio quality of the older essays (due to reproduction from the old “This I Believe”) were poor and hard to understand.

Overall it was a treat to hear the diverse beliefs from a diverse set of people and their stories. This brings up the interesting question about what I truly believe.What do I believe? I believe we only live on this earth once and we ought to give it our best to learn, enjoy, love, and be loved and make the world a better place than we found it.

This is book is highly recommended.