Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins

Emphasising on the power of the individual to make a change on oneself is the main theme of Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins. In the more than 500 pages, Anthony Robbins literally talks to you as a reader.

More than just a motivational book, Anthony Robbins show readers how to better manage relationships, health, concerns from how to reduce crime rates to global warming. What's marvellous is that Anthony Robbins draw all the reference from the first part of the book, in which he explained how the human mindset worked.

Awaken the Giant Within gives a clear scope of how the brain works, how emotions work and how we can take control of them instead of the other way round.

Overall Rating: 10/10

How to Talk to Anyone - 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships by Leil Lowndes

The 92 Tricks for Big Success in Relationships are categorised into the following 9 parts:

• How to intrigue everyone without saying a word?
• How to know what to say after you say "Hi"
• Hot to talk like a VIP
• How to be an insider in every crowd: what are they all talking about
• How to sound like you are peas in a pod: "Why, we are just alike!"
• How to differentiate the power of praise from the folly of flattery
• How to direct dial their hearts
• How to work a party like a politician work a room
• How to break the most treacherous glass ceiling of all: sometimes people are tigers

Leil Lowndes, in her book, not only covered on how to talk to anyone, but it also revised and inspected some old methods and critically offered an updated alternative to them.

I really learnt a lot from her book. Every little thing count. You never know when you are going to be in a situation and you are not equipped with these tricks. Never waste your interviews or lose a prospect client ever again!

Overall Rating: 10/10

I Can Make You Rich by Paul McKenna

I Can Make You Rich consists of two parts - The Psychology of Wealth & Let's Go Make Money!

In the first half of the book, The Pyschology of Wealth includes methods of revamping your financial blueprint. McKenna adapted some concepts from Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich as well as Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad. The book is equipped with a free hypnosis CD to be used in conjunction with the various book exercises. Part I of the book seeks to unravel all the negative thoughts about money that one could have, so that one is ready for the next part of the book...

Part II, Let's Go Make Money! consists of the following chapters:

• How to Make Money
• Assembling your Wealth Team
• A Proven Formula for Success
• The Simplest Business Plan in the World
• The Three Skills that Lead to Riches
• The Secrets of Living Rich

I Can Make You Rich is a very simple book to read. It is centred around the psychology of the human mind and how influencing the mind could lead you to a richer (not necessarily in the money sense) and happier life.

Overall Rating: 9/10

The Secret by Rhonda Brynes

The Secret, according to the author Rhonda Brynes, lies in the Law of Attraction. Originally casted as a film in 2006, the Secret brought together various academics and motivational speakers to bring insights to the darkest Secret. Rhonda Brynes also supported the Law of Attraction with quotes from Great people from history.

According to the Law of Attraction, "People's feelings and thoughts attract real events in the world into their lives; from the workings of the cosmos to interactions among individuals in their physical, emotional, and professional affairs."

While there are many fans behind The Secret, it also attracted much controversies over the acclamations made. I, for one, felt that The Secret makes a good read for people facing adversities. It gives one a reason to think positive and stay optimistic. However, for the general reader, The Secret seems to be over-exaggerated and simplified reality. The Author attempts to draw on quotes to strategically add credence to the Law of Attraction.

Overall Rating: 6/10

Our Iceberg Is Melting by John Kotter and Holger Rathegeber

Learn some fundamental principles of leadership by reading this humorous fable story.

Through narrating how a group of penguins went ahead to convince the entire herd to react to the melting iceberg, the authors bring across the Eight Step Process of Successful Change.

1) Create a sense of urgency in the colony to deal with a difficult problem
2) put a carefully selected group in charge of guiding the change
3) found the sensible vision of a better future
4) communicated that vision so others would understand and accept it
5) removed as many obstacles to action as was practical
6) created some sort of success quickly
7) never let up until the new way of life was firmly established
8) ensured that the changes would not be overcomed by stubborn, hard-to-die traditions

Rating: 9.5/10

This is your Life, not a Dress Rehearsal by Jim Donovan

I borrowed this meaningful book from Andrew and completed in one day.

This is a very easy and simple to read book but it brings out much meanings to the ordinary man. For example, the author mentioned that all the people featured in the orbituaries thought they could live another day.

The author applied much of his concepts based on Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill but in a much direct manner and simplified basis. Over just slightly more than a hundred pages, the author managed to cast many important lessons deep into the mind.

Rating: 9/10

The Anthony Robbins Life Story by Michael Bolduc

Michael Bolduc was the Vice-President of Anthony Robbins & Associates, before becoming the CEO of Guaranteed Success Strategies. He was living in poverty, but with the help of Anthony Robbins, he moved from poverty to financial independence.

Anthony Robins, affectionately called "Tony", is currently rated top ten speakers in the world by Toastmasters. The sales of his recordings exceeds those of Michael Jackson's. He charges millions for individual coaching.

The book traces from Tony's childhood to present. When he was young, he already had in mind what he wanted in life. He was popular among girls as he always provided solutions for them. While his peers were into alcohols and drugs, he abstained from them.

He was greatly inspired by Jim Rohn at one point. He joined Jim Rohn's company as a salesman to sell his tickets so as to get other people to benefit from his speech. Soon, he was the best salesmen and then given a position as Area Sales Director.

He later started up giving speech himself. He went through numerous sets of ups-and-downs, getting into loans or being cheated. But he rose again and become this powerful speaker.

Sneak peek: Summary of Secrets to Success

Secret #1 : Ask good questions
Secret #2 : Intelligently ask for what you want
Secret #3: If you want to become a success, care deeply about what you want -- enough to do whatever it takes
Secret #4: Never be interested in achieving success. Instead, find compelling reasons that motivate you
Secret #5: Develop passion in your life
Secret #6: Learn from other people
Secret #7: Create value for people
Secret #8: Believe in the impossible and it will happen
Secret #9: Associate yourself with successful people
Secret #10: Take responsiblity and make things happen
Secret #11: Always look for ways to make things work
Secret #12: Master the secrets
Secret #13: Make the habit of making decisions more often

Overall Rating: 8.5/10