Author: Allen Cheng

We feel constantly pressed for time. We try to do too much, yet when someone makes a request, we say yes without thinking. We feel we have to do it all. But because we’re going in so many directions, we make little progress in any of them. Yet most of these activities are trivial. As Greg McKeown, author of _Essentialism_ puts it, we’re majoring in minor activities.

The way out of this trap is to practice essentialism: “do less but better.” McKeown explains how you can distinguish the vital few from the trivial, then eliminate the nonessentials and make your optimum contribution in your life and work.

There isn’t enough time in the day to meet all of the work and personal responsibilities you’re swamped with, let alone keep up with email, social media, and all the things you’ve been meaning to read. In _Eat That Frog_, business consultant Brian Tracy says the answer is to identify your most important task—the one with the greatest consequences—and do that first each day. It’s like eating a frog: when you have a big challenge, or frog to eat, it’s best to get it out of the way first; everything after that will be easier by comparison. Based on this insight, Tracy offers a list of practical tips for improved productivity and success.

Poorly handling crucial conversations — discussions with high stakes, different opinions, and strong emotions — is the cause of many of our most painful problems in work and home life. These stressful conversations can rapidly go awry, with people behaving at their worst – yelling at each other and sniping sarcastically, or on the other side going silent and withdrawing. When this happens, little progress is made, and resentment builds. Moreover, we often deliberately avoid having these conversations because we’re afraid we’ll make matters worse.

_Crucial Conversations_ teaches you an array of dialogue principles and practical skills, explained and demonstrated through numerous examples. After this book, you’ll be able to talk to anyone about virtually any topic, no matter how sensitive. When you learn to handle crucial conversations effectively, the quality of your relationships and your effectiveness in your career will improve dramatically, and you’ll be able to help get everybody what they want.

_Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Catch Predators_ is journalist Ronan Farrow’s memoir of his experiences uncovering one of Hollywood’s biggest scandals—the decades of sexual abuse and assault by entertainment industry power broker Harvey Weinstein. Farrow overcame surveillance, intimidation, blackmail, and even the resistance of his employers at NBC to break this story. He and the women who came forward to share their experiences exposed how Weinstein was able to use his power, wealth, and influence to intimidate and silence his victims, and how the media and legal systems allowed him to operate with impunity for decades.

Are there things you wish you could do but don’t know how to begin? Do you struggle to understand how to break bad habits and start good ones? Do you wonder why you behave in certain ways even when you know you shouldn’t? Are you the person you want to be?

The knowledge and techniques provided in _Atomic Habits_ are geared toward helping you discover who you currently are by looking at what you currently do. By detailing the 4 Stages of Habit Formation, James Clear breaks down the psychology of behaviors, describing how actions become habits, why some habits stick and some don’t, and how to reframe your life to create new habits and maintain them over time.

_A Warning_ is an inside look at the chaotic Trump administration by a senior Trump administration official writing anonymously. It’s a follow-up to the author’s September 5, 2018, New York Times op-ed piece describing internal efforts to control Trump’s impulses. This is no longer working, “Anonymous” writes. **The book depicts an impulsive and corrupt president, who puts his self-interest above the country’s interest, in the process undermining the foundations of democracy and putting national security at grave risk.**

“Anonymous” describes the increasingly futile efforts of a handful of principled White House officials to stave off disastrous, often illegal actions. The author warns that the “guard rails” have come off—the principled staffers have mostly been driven away and Trump is uncontrollable. If he wins another four years, he may sink the ship of democracy.

Want to learn the ideas in The Secret better than ever? Read the world’s #1 book summary of The Secret by Rhonda Byrne here. Read a brief 1-Page Summary or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Note: this book guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher or author, and we always encourage you to purchase and read the full book. Video Summaries of The Secret We’ve scoured the Internet for the very best videos on The Secret, from high-quality videos summaries to interviews or commentary by Rhonda Byrne. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21C_tX3_v6Y 1-Page Summary of The Secret Overview

In our hyper-connected society, important messages often fail to gain traction, while bad ideas and falsehoods, such as urban legends, go viral and seem to stick around forever. _Made to Stick_ by brothers Chip and Dan Heath explores what makes some messages “stick” in the public’s consciousness while others go unremembered and explains how to create an idea that sticks.

Based on a wide-ranging examination of psychology research, popular culture, and news headlines, they identify six criteria that anyone can apply for shaping a message so it resonates: Make it simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional, and make it a story.

Do you want to learn to get more out of the novels you read? Are you interested in learning how authors communicate through literary devices like symbols, archetypes, and allusions?

_How to Read Literature Like a Professor_ is a crash course in the art of reading intelligently. In this book, you’ll learn how to identify common literary conventions and gain the skills necessary to analyze them like a professor would. You’ll discover why Goose had to die in _Top Gun _and why sex scenes aren’t always about sex in literature.

_Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal_ shows how the fast food industry has reshaped the American economic system and imprinted itself on the nation’s culture since the 1950s. The industry has profoundly reshaped how American food is produced, marketed, and consumed. The book explores fast food’s exploitative marketing and labor practices, destruction of the nation’s independent farmers, responsibility for the spread of deadly foodborne pathogens like _E. coli_, and creation of a national obesity epidemic. _Fast Food Nation_ shows us how fast food has exerted a decidedly negative influence on American life.