Brendon Burchard is the expert on the “expert” industry or the guru of gurus. I was first attracted by his motto: live fully, love openly, and make a difference. I have subscribed to his email newsletters for a year now and found him to deliver consistent value to his subscribers and his “students.” Although I have not attended any of his seminars, I found this book to be very comprehensive and helpful. He paints a very good picture of what it takes and how to become an expert, and the associated benefits and potential financial rewards. It’s very encouraging and valuable to anyone who wants to become an expert of his/her chosen field. Highly recommended.

Outlines of the book:
Reasons why the “expert industry” should be chosen:
1. Work is based on your passion and knowledge.
2. Activities center on “relating and creating.”
3. You work anywhere and anytime, starting now.
4. You work with who you want.
5. Your promotions are based on your promotions.
6. Your pay equals the value you deliver, not the hours your work.
7. You don’t need a big team.
8. The tools for success are simple and cheap.
9. Financial income can beat that of other industries.

Three pillars of expertise:
1. The results expert giving advises like motivation, leadership, financial, business, marketing, relationship, spiritual, style, and productivity. “You have come further than some others on the highway of life, and the lessons you have learned are helpful and valuable to others.”
2. The research expert who chooses a topic that people fine valuable, research it, interview others on it, synthesize what he/she learns, and then offer findings for sales so others can learn and improve their lives. “Experts are students first and that you can go research any topic and become an expert in that area, starting now.”
3. The Role Model. “People listen to those they trust, respect, admire, and follow – they listen to role models.”

10 Steps to an Expert Empire:
1. Claim and master your topic.
2. Pick your audience.
3. Discover your audience’s problems.
4. Define your story.
5. Create a solution.
6. Put up a website.
7. Campaign your products and programs.
8. Post free contents.
9. Get promotional partners.
10. Repeat and build a business based on distinction (unique value), excellence (360 degrees: ourselves, staffs, and customers), and service (serving others and provide valuable information).

Money Map – Six Profit Pillars:
1. Writing
2. speaking
3. Giving seminars
4. Coaching
5. Consulting
6. Online marketing

Mindsets:
1. My life experience, message, and voice are valuable.
2. If I don’t know it or have it, I will go learn it or create it.
3. I will not let my small business make me small-minded.
4. Student first, teacher second, servant always.
5. Mastery is a way of life.

Mandates:
1. Positioning: develop a good sense of a) what your audience wants, b) what it takes to ensure that your customers and other experts in your community hold you and your content in high regard.
2. Packaging: package the information in a way that their customers can easily understand and implement. Next, package their products and themselves well.
3. Promoting: 8 elements: 1. claim (promise of how your product helps), 2. challenge (problems they’re facing), 3. commonality (your own struggle), 4. credibility (why you’re qualified), 5.Choice (obviously different and better than anyone else), 6. comparison shopping (a good deal), 7. concern (objections to obliterate, try out on your friends), 8. Close and call to action (Click this button now)
4. Partnering.
5. Serving with purpose.

The Messenger Manifesto: The great industry reset.
Reset #1: From silos to sharing
Reset #2: Renewed focus on innovation and distinction
Reset #3: Better branding
Reset #4: Transition from sales communication to value communication
Reset #5: Achieving customer service excellence
Reset #6: Honor (your customers) more, expect more

Warren Buffer is one of people I admire. He’s got excellent business sense with integrity. With one track mind of acquiring money, he became one of the richest men of the world. And now, he stands ready to give away his money to good causes just like the steel tycoon, Andrew Carnegie. I admire his talents and good sense of life purposes.

I often wondered how he could acquire so much weather just by managing a good stock portfolio. This book gave a good account of his rise from being a trader working for Ben Graham, his mentor and teacher, to his huge, current holding of Berkshire Hathaway. It was through the “snowballing” or compounding the assets and the “float” of the assets he owns that the snowball got as big as it is now.

Some of Warren Buffet’s winning traits: 1. stay focused: he doesn’t own too many stocks – just enough for him to pay his full attention. This applies to friendships too. 2. Buy with caution and sufficient margin of safety – like American Express when under stress. 3. Do your homework; reads a lot. He likes to read the annual reports from cover to cover and Wall Street Journal. 4. Only buy stocks he understands the business models. 5. See the big picture: for every $1 he spent now, he thinks it’s like spending $10 in the future so he takes care not to waste money.

His other quirks: 1. doesn’t like confrontations because of his fear of his irate, bipoloar Mom, 2. doesn’t like letting go – like the relationship with his estranged wife, 3. applying his one-track focus on relationship like the ones with Kay Graham. 4. drinks Pepsi early in his life and Cherry Coke after buying big chunk of Coca Cola.

Have read an earlier biography of Warren Buffet by Roger Lowenstein, I believe this book goes into more details about his relationship with his loved ones – his wife, his mistress – Astrid, his children. It also goes into more details about each deal. The audiobook is wonderful as the narrator mimics Warren Buffet’s voice really well, giving the audiobook some vividness. The printed book has many photographs that connect the characters to their real faces.

Overall, I can say with certainty that Warren Buffet lives his life to fullest potential and yet he judges his own success by how much he’s loved by the people he wants to love him. The bonus is that he’s loved by many people who need not love him. Now, how many people can claim that kind of success in their life times?!

There are many Lincoln autobiographies out there. This book goes into the detailed working of the his cabinet members during his presidency overseeing the biggest crisis of this young country – the Civil War over slavery. As a good lawyer, Lincoln realized there are always many perspectives to an argument. He brought together many of political foes (William Seward, Salmon Chase, Montgomery Blair, Edward Bates, his Republican nomination opposition) into one place so that the best solutions can be produced by the rigorous debates and proposals. Ultimately, Lincoln has the final say and took responsibilities for his decision. That’s the genius of Abraham Lincoln.

During the Civil War, he had to make many tough decisions on the selection of generals and strategy. He often had to push his generals, especially the self-serving McClellan, to move their troops with a sense of urgency. At the same time, he needed to maneuver around the meddling by the Congress. It took lots of patience and political smartness to maintain a sense of normalcy.

The Proclamation of Emancipation was a stroke of genius that kill two birds with one stone. Ultimately, it’s Lincoln’s act and the underlying intentions that won the hearts of the people as shown in his Gettysburg’s address.

I particularly like his quote, “… I have no other [ambition] so great that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men, by rending myself worthy of their esteem.” With that goal in mind, he overcame many failures, personal tragedies, and constant state of depression. I think his genius lies in his love of people, his good understanding of human natures and his ability to communicate effectively.

This is a good leadership book for those who want to lead and advance a great cause or a great company. Building up a team of rivals is essential that difficult issues are properly debated and the right people are selected to execute the mission. It’s not easy as it takes a person of a big heart to foster that kind of environment. Lincoln showed the world why he will be remembered as one the best leaders this country and the world ever had.

This is a relatively short book about cultivating a positive work culture. The central theme is simple: no complaining, negativity or the “cancer” in the work environment as insinuated by the author, who uses a fictional story to drill down the point effectively though seems corny at times.

The tools given by the authors are:
1. No complaining days
2. Use “but” phrase at the end of a complaint to turn around the negativity. Give thanks, show gratitude every time you think of complaining.
3. Focus on “get to” instead of “have to.” Focused on being blessed instead of stressed. Focus on gratitude.
4. Turn complaints into solutions. Every complaint represents a opportunity to turn a negative into a positive.

Five things to do instead of complaining.
1. Practice gratitude.
2. Praise others. Focus on what they’re doing right.
3. Focus on success: start a success journal. Before you go to bed, write down the one great thing about your day.
4. Let go. Let go of the things that are beyond your control.
5. Pray and meditate.

The fictional character, Hope, divorced and was faced with two problem teenagers, crisis at work, and personal health problem. She was down and negative. Of course, the heroes of the day were: 1. the gardener who argued the best way to drive away weed (negativity) is to foster a healthy environment for the grass, leaving no room for weed. 2. the nurse who taught her how to stay positive, 3. the children who responded to Hope’s no-complaining rule. Corny, isn’t it? But it’s effective in driving home the essence of the story in people’s mind. Hard to forget stories.

This is a beginner’s book on asset allocation. “Uncle Frank” the investment wizard sprinkled lots of investment wisdom throughout the book. There is not a lot of breakthrough ideas in this book. I listened to the audiobook and I can honestly say I didn’t learn anything new from the author’s advises. Maybe I’m too advanced for this book but if you are a neophyte in the investment, this book and Uncle Frank’s advises may be for you.

The Key is all about the Law of Attraction. By “clearing” oneself and opening yourself to the possibilities you desire, you will get what you want, eventually. More of the book include insights from the book author and other authors. The audiobook has a much more comprehensive direct recording of these inputs and Q&A’s.

I particularly like the method of driving away the guilt feeling of wanting more: just say “I am completely satisfied; I just want more.” Why not? The world is abundant. Why set a limit of yourself? Of course, many of the mortgage traders who contributed to the 2008 mortgage debacle probably said the same thing. But it’s better to start out with a good intention and give gratitude to what you already have.

I’m not so sure that everything that happened to us was because we’re attracted to it. Is it called accident? But I do agree that many things happened because we’re attracted to them or they’re attracted to us. Planting the seeds of desires are the key.

This book is better than I expected. I watched the Secret video and found it to be very fluffy – not substantive. At least this book taught you several technique to clear the blocks to the Law of Attraction. The audiobook is well worth listening to.

More summary below:

10 clearing methods from the book:
I. Be grateful.
II. Opting to change beliefs. Ask yourself:
1. What are you unhappy about?
2. Why are you unhappy about that?
3. What are you concerned would happen if you were not unhappy about that?
4. Do you believe in that?
5. Why do you believe in that?
6. What are you concerned would happen if you did not believe that?

III. Unraveling your thoughts – hidden thoughts that are attracting what you don’t want.
1. Identify your intrusive, upsetting, or disruptive thoughts.
2. Approach your thoughts like an impartial jury would evaluate evidence.
3. Conduct some behavioral experiments to further test out the truth of the thoughts.
4. Decide how true your original thought is based on the evidence you gathered and the results of your behavioral experiments.
5. Realize that your troubling or limiting thoughts are not necessary.

IV. Read books for hypnotic storytelling by others.

V. Say “I Love you” to the Devine before tackling a big task. This is author’s secret weapon to show his entrusting his fate with the Devine.

VI. Use TFT (Thought Field Therapy) or EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), which are like acupressure technique to relief stress.

VII. Nevillize it – create your reality through imagination. Feel what it would be to (have a mansion and etc.) Or script yourself to success.

VIII. Forgive yourself and others and thank them (radical forgiveness) for teaching you a lesson.

IX. Healing your body that holds blocks as thoughts and emotions. Have a conversation with your body. This one is a little out there. But it works, more power to it.

X. Feel the vital message:
1. Welcome the feeling.
2. Sit with the feeling.
3. Describe the feeling.
4. Ask the feeling what it’s trying to tell you. There is a lesson to be learned.

Insights on manifesting money: Money, by itself, if nothing but paper and metal. It’s us who apply meaning to it. Start thinking money like monopoly money. It does’t determine whether you are happy or not. Focused on the a passion, fun and sharing, doing good things. Don’t send out a feeling of need, attachment and addiction. Focus on on what you love.

Emotional freedom 101:
1. Welcome the feeling.
2. Dive into the feeling.
3. Increase it mentally (double it).
4. Let go of wanting it to go away.
5. Feel love.
6. Appreciate the unwanted feelings away.
7. Just drop the feeling.
8. Do conscious comparison.
9. Be the sky (not cloud).
10. Float it away.
11. Let go of disapproving yourself or your feeling.
12. Give yourself approval.
13. Float a red ballon.
14. Allow it to evaporate.
15. Use a water valve to control the flow.
16. Let go of just 1 percent (incrementally).
17. Embrace it with passion.