A colleague asked me today for a recommended reading list, I thought I’d share it with you, too. Here are my favs; what are yours?

On getting smarter

Getting Things Done, David Allen (buy it)

Bit Literacy, Mark Hurst (buy it)

Stumbling Upon Happiness, Daniel Gilbert (buy it)

Upgrade Your Life, Gina Trapani (buy it)

Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell (buy it)

On grammar

Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss (buy it)

On social media

Trusts Agents, Chris Brogan/Julien Smith (buy it)

On humanity

Night, by Elie Wiesel (buy it)

Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden (buy it)

For the kid in you

Harry Potter, by J.K. Rowling (buy it)

*don’t laugh – it’s the best book EVER.

I’m fortunate to have been raised by a very close, thoughtful family; the “I love you’s” and “Great job’s” flowed from the lips of adults and teachers in my life like a river. Lord knows every little move I made and accomplishment I achieved was recorded, lauded and recounted at family meals. I realize this is not the case for a great deal of folks; I can honestly say I’ve never taken it for granted.

The same is true today: I have a INCREDIBLY kind and encouraging base of family, husband, friends, bosses (past, current and future) and mentors. Even clients and strangers.

The power of  kind gestures, complements and encouragement is truly amazing — and I experience these things from someone every. single. day. Do you? Read More…

Just finished reading the new Malcolm Gladwell book, Outliers: The Story of Success. And OMG. You need to read it. Like now.

With its steady cadence of take a closer look beyond the individual to the social norm and culture, it is no surprise Gladwell’s book was a real page-turner for me.

I was fully hooked on page 10. The intro. Not even Chapter One!

“They had to understand the culture he or she was a part of, and who their friends and families were, and what town their families came from,” writes Gladwell. “They had to appreciate the idea that the values of the world we inhabit and the people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on who we are.”

I’m fortunate to work closely with The Urban Child Institute in Memphis. I do a great deal of early childhood brain development writing for them, so I’m sensitive to research based articles that tout the undeniably important role family, community, culture and environment play in your development as a child and potential as an adult.

Weekly, we beat the drum of nature WITH nurture. That none of us are just born knowing how to learn, behave or react to the world, or how to be a good parent for that matter. These are things we are taught through and by our community. And these lessons are handed down from generation to generation.

This “it takes a village” message is mostly applauded by pediatricians and non-profit leaders, which is why it is refreshing to read a “business success book” with the same mantra.

Now, I understand that these change-the-way-you-think-about-life-and-business books aren’t for everyone, so if you are only going to give it a good skim at least read Chapter Seven. You’ll never look at an airplane the same way and you’ll learn a great communications lesson.

I would give you my copy but Dave’s gotta get it back to the library tomorrow. Sorry. If you have read it – what was your take-away? Was it the same as mine? Did you like the book? Was it a pager-turner for you, too?

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