BOOK REVIEW- The Secret – “Monotonous, Overhyped”

It is said that you should never have high expectation about anything. We are human beings, not programmed machines, and hence forget this very logic many a time. Resulting in a broken expectation and a dull day.  

That exactly was my condition after reading “The Secret.”

Stop reading this blog post at this point, if you intend to read the book. I am going to reveal the “secret” from “The Secret.”

As you have decided to continue reading, here you go.

 Do you want to become famous?

Think, feel, of becoming famous. You feel it as if you already have become famous. Act as though everyone around and media (both national and international) is speaking about you. Feel it. Believe it. Realize it. 

Bingo! 

You have become famous. The “law of attraction” will make you famous.

Do you want to become a millionaire?

Think, feel, of becoming rich. You feel it as if you already have billions of money in our bank account. Feel it. Believe it. Realize it.

Bingo!

You have become famous. The “law of attraction” will make you rich.

Do you want to achieve something?

Think, feel, of becoming achieving that particular thing. Feel it. Believe it. Realize it.

Bingo!

You have achieved that unachievable thing. The “law of attraction” will make achieve it.

This is what is said in the 198 page long book. One thing, “the law of attraction” is repeated in every other sentence. As though you sit dreaming about it and everything will happen by itself.

I am neither saying the theory is wrong, nor apprehensive about the power of subconscious mind. On the other hand, I am a firm believer of the power this universe possesses. Of course, it can “make” things happen. 

I am of the opinion that “if we don’t know or believe about a thing, doesn’t mean that the particular things does not exist. But we have not yet developed the apparatus to identify or prove the existence/ non-existence of that particular thing.” 

Forget about the universe, we have not yet made any progress in studies with respect to our own “unconscious mind,” and has not fully understood “subconscious mind,” which are presumably inside us. 

I am not denying anything said in the book. But, the way things are described in the book are too boring to read. Repeating same sentences until you feel sleepy, until you start asking yourself, “What’s the requirement of 198 pages to repeat the same thing?”

It was too tedious a task for me to complete the book. 

Maybe Oprah Winfrey show was the real reason for the huge sale of the book, not the quality. The thought, “how can I say the book is bad, if a personality like Oprah Winfrey is endorsing it?” may be the reason for the sale of the book.  

Or perhaps the real reason is “Law of Attraction.”

I am not recommending it.

By the way, who am I to recommend, once Oprah had recommended it?

Pros:   Timely delivery by Amazon. 

Cons:  Too monotonous. 

Rating:     2/5

Public Speaking - You CAN do

Effective Public Speaking is an art, which could be mastered through thorough preparation and practice only. And those who master the art turns into a leader (not definitely political, but in their own fields). Since conveying your message effectively is the first step in creating your followers. Not only politicians, but people from various fields, including spiritual leaders, also use it to gain more followers.

There are many, who want to speak in public. However, they fail due to various reasons, some known and some unknown. They keep on attempting, but in vain. Some dream of addressing the public, some think of going to the podium and start speaking, and a few reach up to the stage and stammer there, resulting in a failed show. Still, they will have the eager want burning inside their heart. Here are a few tips, which I feel would help you in overcoming the anxiety, tension and low self confidence; main reasons for  the failure.

The first step in becoming a good public speaker is forget what you are.  

Yes, that’s the first step towards preparing yourself to address public. You may be weak in studies, bad at sports, worse at imagination. 


Nobody bothers about it. 

They are there to listen to you, waiting for your opinion, your thought, your view about a particular thing. I agree that it is not easy to master the art of public speaking. It requires days (and months) of preparation and practice. Nobody has ever turned a successful public speaker in an eyes blink. It was always a result of meticulous planning and preparation.

I can give you a few tips, which can help you in developing into a public speaker:

(1)  Read, read and read. Read a lot. Read whatever comes your way. Read everything, but absorb only the thing you feel right. Read across genres, fiction and non-fiction, journals and newspapers. Concentrate on wide-reading, not in in-depth reading, unless you are trying to specialize in particular field.

(2)  Observe, everything around. It is not that you will stare at people and things much to their inconvenience. No, don’t do that. BTW, your observation skill will improve by itself through reading, without you realizing that.

(3)  Learn looking into eyes of the people during conversation. Because it shows your confidence. Don’t keep on checking your grammar and other things inwardly. Nobody cares whether your grammar is correct or not. They are interested in the information/idea/knowledge you have got. And that makes my next point…preparation.

(4)  Prepare as much as possible for the talk you are about to give. None can have 100% knowledge about anything, but we can, at least, try for that. Don’t mix-up the things, arrange the things you have prepared in an orderly manner.

(5)  Don’t vomit everything you prepared at once. Audience also require time to think, to understand the things you say. So, pause in between, let silence speak to them, let the idea sink in. You need to understand where to raise your voice, where to lower, where to stop, where to pause. Learn voice modulation. 

  *If you don’t know anything about it, listen to Julian Treasure's    TED Talk here.

(6)  Practice the speech with modulation, as much as you can, in front of a mirror. Practice also will improve your confidence level.

(7)  Believe that the audience have come to listen only you (you don’t have to think about the other speakers on the list). Just simply say to yourself that the audience is YOURS.

Get back to me, if you are unable to became a successful public speaker even after following the above-mentioned steps :) 
(authorshines@gmail.com)

Where should I start?

Many want to start reading English books, but they don’t know where to start. They try to read, push through two or three pages, get confused, and drop the mission. This is what happens most of the time. At least, it had happened with me, back in late 90s. My repeated attempts to read English books failed miserably. 

I used to get books issued from library, try reading it for 2-3 days, then return with a saddened heart. The process repeated for at least a dozen times. 

I failed to understand what the real problem with me was. 

Then one fine day (it had to be a fine day!!), one of my friends advised me to try Sidney Sheldon. I was considering him BIG and never had the courage to attempt his books. Without much hope, I issued his book THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT (you guessed it right, sequel to MEMORIES OF MIDNIGHT). 

What can I say more? 

The book was simply, wow! It changed my reading habits. I got all the books of Sheldon issued back to back. 

It was as if Chicken Tandoori to a person, who was hungry for months!

From Sidney Sheldon, I moved on to Ken Follet, to Mario Puzo, to Arundhati Roy, to Vikram Seth, to Vikas Swarup, to John Grisham, to Paulo Coelho, to Jeffrey Archer, to VS Naipaul, to Orhan Pamuk, to Aravind Adiga, to Gillian Flynn, to Paula Hawkins....

and the journey continues.....

Hence, I will advice (rather, request) you to try Sidney Sheldon or his kind of thriller (presently, Tilly Bagshawe has copied his writing style). Those will be pacey and real entertainer. Once you are habituated with English books, you can read any book. And each book will nourish you in some or other way. 

So, don't hesitate. Just jump into it. 

Because, you have to enter the pool to learn swimming.

THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN – “THREE WOMEN, ONE STORY”

From “Breath becomes air” by Paul Kalanithi, I landed on “The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins. It was a deliberate attempt to shed the melancholy that filled in me after reading the former. I felt that a thriller would do the trick.

I was not wrong, completely. 

“The girl on the train” is a psycho-thriller narrated through the eyes of three women; Rachel, Megan and Anna. Rachel is a daily commuter, who observes the life of Megan, through the windows her train, is the protagonist. However, Rachel and Megan are strangers to each other. Anna, who lives a few houses away from Megan, is wife of Rachel’s ex Tom. 

Rachel is an alcoholic and psycho, who imagine more things than she actually sees. Her character is described perfectly in the first chapter itself, wherein she finds a pair of discarded dresses beside railway track. 

Even she weaves a story out of that dirty bundle of cloth.  

Anna is afraid of Rachel. For that matter, Rachel had once attempted to abduct their daughter. Her appearance at their street scares her. Tom has a soft corner for his ex and he stops Anna from registering a complaint with police.

Rachel had named Megan and her husband, Scott, as Jess and Jason as she didn’t know their real names. She just saw them whilst passing through by morning train towards London, to her work place. It turns out to be her habit, to observe them, each time the train slows down at signals near their house. Rachel’s is a broken marriage (broken heart) and surprisingly, watching their love and caring from a distance has a soothing effect on her. 

The story takes a turn when Megan goes missing. 

The story of Jess and Jason was very different from what Rachel had imagined. A Part of her wanted to help Jason (Scott) to find his wife. Eventually, she also becomes the part of their life. 

The revelation that follows shocks her. Even one’s own eyes could be so deceptive!

To find out more, grab a copy of “The girl on the train.” 

Pros: A carefully crafted thrilling read. Once it sinks in, you will not keep the book down.

Cons: The narration felt monotonous initially. I felt that all the three female characters had same voice. And I had to turn to chapter heading to find out who is speaking. 

Rating: 4/5

Shine Syamaladevi

Which philosophy should one follow in life?

 

"One is never be satisfied with what you have." By this, one feel motivated to work hard and earn more. Buy luxuries, travel the world, stay in luxurious hotels etc. 

The Other philosophy is "be happy with what you have." If I'm happy with what I have, why should I work hard? Rather I should stay in peace!!

Tricky, isn’t it??

Of course, both cannot be followed simultaneously. To derive the right path, you need to define life first.

What is life?

It is definitely not breathing, eating, sleeping and dying one day. It has more meaning to it. If you follow the latter (being content with what you have), your life turns idle. A standstill. There is no growth. No moving forward. No change in routine. Nothing to look forward.

The only change you encounter would be the physical changes due to aging. 

Will you call it life? Definitely, not.

Let us consider the former part.

We must move forward in life. It is not about competing with one another and winning. It's about broadening our perspectives, seeing the world around, trying to instill the soul of the universe.

It's not about earning more money, but achieving a wealthy soul. The soul that understands the rhythm of the universe.

We may not understand, but the society, the world around, has performed their part in developing us into what we are today.

Would you like to leave the world with that debt in pocket?

You should not.

When the society has played their part in constructing us, we must also do something for them. Something that they would ever remember. Something that can have a positive effect. Something that would etch our name in the hearts of people. 

Therefore, you should never be content with what you have, but strive for excellence in whatever field you are. You should never compete with anyone. Competing with others is WRONG. 

You compete with your inner-self. And you would turn into a great achiever eventually. 

It is not about defeating others, but winning our soul.

It is not about earning more wealth, but putting that wealth for the right cause.  

It’s about living your LIFE.