Grab a spot in the shade of the hanging tree and learn something new about American history

Amazon Link

So you thought the Godfather movies showed how organized crime "really" was.  You believed that the "mob" came from families with Sicilian roots.  Well, say hello to my little friend, Philip Alston.  Never heard of Alston?  Then you might not know as much about organized crime as you think.

One thing that all criminals look for is opportunity.  The new world that was to be known as the United States of America would have been like a light to a moth.  Alston began counterfeiting before the American Revolution - laying down the groundwork for counterfeiters, horse thieves, prison escape artists, and those who hunting them for more than a century after him.

"Counterfeit Justice" by Eric Alli may have the distinction of being the definitive book when it comes to the origins of organized crime in America. Don't believe me - look at the appendix and you will find a lengthy list of characters who were involved in giving Al Capone a blueprint on how to operate. 

How did Alli become interested in such an eclectic topic?  Well - you could say he is "family".  As in a blood relative of one Gregor McDougall - whose execution at the hands of a mob of "Regulators" may have been the start of the downfall of the Blacklegs.  

What is a Blackleg, you ask?  That depends - he could be a horse thief, a counterfeiter, a person with a double life and multiple identities, a snitcher of fellow Blacklegs once a noose was placed around his neck, or just a cold blooded murderer.  One thing that they did all have in common was the shared fear that turned into hatred by everyone not associated with them.  Having to sleep in a barn with a shotgun just to make sure you still have horses in the morning will eventually do that to you.

Fortunately for you, instead of living through the terror of pioneer organized crime syndicates, you can choose to read about them instead. I am a fan of history, and I thought I had a pretty good handle of US History.  A book like "Counterfeit Justice" is an exciting reminder that there is always something interesting to learn.

Amazon Link

A journey through the hell of teenage mental illness.

Amazon Link

Cutting the Soul:  A journey into the mental illness of a teenager through the eyes of his mother by Theresa Larsen was a difficult book to get through.  I don't mean writing style, grammar, or something mundane like that.  I mean the subject matter.  Theresa writes of her year's long battle against her son's mental illness that manifested in cutting and suicidal thoughts.

I could feel how taxed, exasperated, and at wit's end this mother was through the pages.  I kept having to check how much was left in the e-book because I was getting to the point where I wasn't sure I could keep going back for more - and I didn't have to live it.  How Larsen was able to sit down and relive the darkest of days to actually finish this book is a testament to how devoted she is to helping others who are going through this.

Having been a high school teacher, I am familiar with the different ways kids can "self-harm" - reading this gave me an insight as to just how horrific a cost it is to the entire family.  The amount of doctors, facilities, high schools, and medications that had to be juggled were enough to break down even the strongest willed person.

Throughout the book, Larsen refers back to her son's journal, giving everyone a glimpse into the mind of the person who is suffering.  These were by far the hardest passages for me to read. 
As an outsider, it is easy to look at these kinds of situations and think - "that person just needs to snap out of it" - or - "why don't the parents do something to stop this?"  Unfortunately, the answer is neither that simple or logical.

I applaud Larsen for putting her story out there for others who might have to travel down this road.  If you have a teenager who is depressed or self-harms, this book will  let you know that you are not alone.  Larsen could literally save you a small fortune by her insights as to what to look for in a facility.  

More importantly, this book should give you hope.  I am not going to call this a "spoiler," because a happy ending should not "spoil" anyone's day.  In the end, Matthew seems to have gotten to a point where things were looking much brighter.  There were parts of me preparing to read an end to this story that I really did not want to imagine.  To Matthew's credit, along with the Larsen family who supported him along the way, that is a plot line that can hopefully stay forever in the "delete" file.  

To Theresa, Matthew, and the rest of your family - my hope is that you may have many more good days than bumps in the road in your future.

Amazon Link

Goodreads Link

(This author purchased an ad package.  This does not affect the review in any way - it only moves the book to the "head of the line.  This review is my honest opinion and thoughts of the book.)

More Inspiration From Ray White! Read "Alexia's Legacy"

Amazon Link

On June 15^th, 2014, Father’s Day, the unthinkable happened - that moment in your life that you can never imagine, except in your worst nightmares. Alexia Ardeleanu, a beautiful young lady with unlimited potential was suddenly and tragically taken from us by a drunk driver. The drunk driver who killed her was driving 82 miles an hour when she plowed into Alexia’s car and others that were stopped at a stoplight in Houston, Texas.

We spent a lot of time crying and still want to cry every time we think about it. But we have chosen instead to honor her memory. We want to share the lessons she taught us and we feel she would have taught others, if she had been given the time. Alexia was special in what she accomplished and in how she lived her life.

She had a perfect 4.0 Grade Point Average in a double major of Accounting and Finance at the University of North Texas. She had taken her GMAT and was working on her LSAT so she could get double graduate degrees in Law and an MBA. She was successful in her job and was a campus leader. She was a Resident Assistant, had won multiple scholarships, and was President of the University of North Texas Professional Leadership Program. 

But most importantly she was a wonderful friend, daughter, and servant leader. She was special because of her daily focus on the important things in her life and how she unconditionally gave to others.

We want to emphasize that she was not perfect and that was what made her special. The leadership lessons we learned from Alexia are techniques anyone can learn and apply. She was not successful because of natural gifts; she was successful because she made choices every day that led her to be successful and a true servant leader. 

Our goal in this book is to share her real life examples and choices so you can learn how to make these lessons work for you. We hope that you can see the obstacles and challenges all successful people face and can learn how to persevere and live a life of happiness, success, and servant leadership.

 

Note from co-author Ray White:

 

I was lucky enough to be a mentor for Alexia; and as in most of my Mentor/Mentee relationships, I definitely learned as much from her as she did from me. In this book you will see a lot of emails addressed to me from Alexia. Our relationship included daily updates about how she was doing and whether she was on track for reaching the goals in her life and more importantly being happy and successful. We focused a lot on making sure she made taking care of herself a priority and took time for the actions necessary to keep her healthy and happy so she would have the energy be a successful servant leader for others. These emails are a great way to capture what she was thinking and what was really going on in her life. They give us the opportunity to not only see the important characteristics of a good leader but also to observe the concerns, challenges and imperfections as well.

 

We have structured this book to show real life examples from Alexia or people she interacted with, a summary of the lesson, and then an opportunity to help you reflect and improve on your related leadership skills.

We hope you enjoy the book and learn the reality about how you can be a servant leader who is both successful and happy.

Amazon Link

Goodreads Link

You can feel the love and anxiety come through the pages

Amazon Link

Book Description

Ever feel your life spinning out of control? You hang on for dear life and hope you end up face forward, and all intact when the storm ends. Situations and circumstances out of your control will come your way. We found ourselves in such a storm after giving birth to our second child, perfectly formed, or so we thought.

You grab onto trust and faith in the Lord as you find out your core essence- how you will withstand the next waves of life that will wash over you.

The amazing realization that if only our eyes could have seen all that was happening around our dear baby as he grew. As events were revealed, we saw the extent of God walking by our side, preparing the way, extending His love and comfort. We are utterly convinced that ‘Every Breath’ has been given and we are to be living each day with purpose.

--------------------

Every Breath by Tracy Burkhart is a read that will take you through all the anxiety, tears, love and hope that parents go through when faced with uncertainty.  Often, we can deal with this uncertainty and crisis when we are the ones going through it, but when it involves a child the ability to cope as we normally would doesn't seem to be an option.

This short book is packed with emotions from cover to cover.  Burkhart does an excellent job putting feelings and emotions into words.  She also describes all of the steps that many parents go through along the way when faced with these kinds of events.  One that I feel many of us can relate to is "bargaining" with God.  While we might know on the inside that this isn't something to be done, I can certainly relate to the feeling of "needing to do something."

It was also a testament to the family to see how everyone pulled together and did whatever little things that they could offer to help out.  I believe that this experience is one of the reasons that led them to decide to "pay it forward" through mission trips.

Each of us must make our way in this world on our own journey.  Each person we pass by during the day has a journey and a story that we often have no idea about.  If we knew these stories, maybe we would be just a little nicer and more understanding to everyone we touch throughout the day.  Maybe we would realize that we really aren't "alone" in what is making us tired, depressed, anxious, or ready to give up.  While it is important to understand that each of us reacts differently when faced with these events, it is just as important to remember that a small act of kindness or supportive words can make all the difference in the world.

Amazon Link

A book that took a lot of courage to write - "It's Like Here Only Better" by Robin Landry

Amazon Link

Sometimes you come across a book and you can feel the emotion that the author poured into it.  When it is fiction, that quality really makes the characters seem to leap from the page.  When it is non-fiction - the effect is to pull the reader into to pages instead.  When it is non-fiction that deals with a tragic event involving a mother's loss - it really makes the reader wonder how Landry was able to put into words what she went through.

Landry recounts the tragic accident that took her son too quickly from the world and some of the events that have occurred afterwards to give her signs that  her son, Tim, was trying to communicate with her and his friends.  

I know some people might dismiss this as "seeing what you want to see" and making connections that aren't there.  Having lost a younger brother much too early, I can say that I went through a period where I thought I was going crazy with some of the "signs" that I was coming across.  At first, I tried to rationalize that I was looking for things and making connections.  But after things kept happening, I have opened myself up to other possibilities.  

Landry has given tribute to not only her son's memory in this book, but has given a gift to all of Tim's family and friends by documenting ways and signs that her son has given them to let them know that "It's Like Here Only Better" where he is at.  It is obvious from the pages that this book was a labor of love, and I feel that it delivers a message and story that hopefully the readers can just read about and never have to experience.

For those of us who have experienced a sudden loss of a significant person in our lives, this book will have you walking through all of the different stages of the experience again.  In some ways, it was difficult - but in many more ways, this book let me know that what I went through and some of the experiences I have had afterwards might be more of the rule instead of the exception.

I would like to personally thank Robin Landry for sharing her experiences with others so that they may know that they aren't alone in what they are going through.

Amazon Link

Goodreads Link

(This book was given to Movies and Manuscripts as a gift to review.  This does not affect the review that was provided in any manner.)

Everyone's a Genius - so get to ideating now!

"Everyone's a Genius:  Simple Tips to Boost Your Brilliance Now" by Jen Fraser is a gem of a book.  Although the book is short, the results and effects of the book can have rewards long into the future.  Lot's of tips thrown at you in an organized way, but at machine gun rate - are mixed in with quotes and challenges from the author.  I did try one of her techniques, because I just "knew" that I had another book in me.  I woke up in the morning with the entire outline of the book plotted out in my head and wrote it down as quickly as I could.

There is a saying that if reading motivational books were effective, then why are there so many.  Shouldn't people be able to read just one and then be good?  They point to that as if it were a failure of self help books.  Well, I guarantee those people take showers every day.  Why?  because the benefits of the last shower they took eventually wear off. 

Everyone needs to have some words of wisdom occasionally to help guide them, or better yet expand their horizons.  "Everyone's a Genius" does just that.

This book should be in everyone's library who has run into obstacles from time to time.  In other words - it needs to be in everyone's library!

Thank you Jen Fraser for putting together this wonderful resource!

Amazon Link

Keeping it "simple" keeps your customers coming back

Amazon Link

Doug Lescoe makes a strong case for making things easy in a short book titled "Will a Rival's Better Quality UI (User Interface) Suddenly Destroy Your Business?"

Lescoe is obviously a KISS fan.  No, not the rock band (that may be true, however), but the "Keep It Simple Stupid" acronym.  You see, Lescoe has finally validated my pent up frustration all these years.  It's not that I am stupid.  The issue is that User Interface (the screen on webpages that customers see) makes total sense to the people who create it.  This then goes to other like minded people for review - and all of sudden you could have a Havard Social Sciences experiment in "Group Think".

The book is a short, one-sitting read - but when your argument is as sensible and logical as "make it easy and they will come", there isn't a need for a long drawn out diatribe trying to impress the reader.  In fact, Lescoe practices what he preaches and "Keeps it Simple" through the entire read.  Don't get me wrong, the idea is powerful, but delivered in a way that is understandable.  It is backed up by 35 sources for his information - making Lescoe's argument even more convincing.

One example of a great insight.  Apple's original decision to make the first iPod to it hitting the market took a mere 8 months.  By the time the other 50 companies that made mp3 players figured out what hit them - Apple owned 65% of the market.  The others couldn't react.  The main difference?  Style and ease of use.

Don't believe me?  Well, everyone with a Zune mp3 player - please raise your hand.  I think I hear the crickets chirping.

And how much simpler can you get than Google search engine?  How does a webpage that features a logo, a search box, and the majority of the page is white background come to become a "verb"?  The answer - it's simple.  I don't have ads trying to take over my screen and I have to battle to find the "hidden close" button.  This is a great example of "less is more".

If you are a business owner, computer programmer, or student looking to break into the industry - this is a book that may be more valuable than many of your college courses.

Amazon Link 

 

(This book review was part of a paid advertising package, 

which only moved the book up in line and does not have any impact on the review)

If you are resting on your laurels - you are a prime target for being passed by!

By Doug Lescoe    Amazon Link

After producing superb software, most companies fail to give adequate attention to making a User Interface (UI) of equal quality for their products, leaving the end-users to play annoying guessing games. Thus, a competitor with a similar product but with a higher quality UI can quickly decimate its rivals before they can react.

When Google was incorporated in September 1998, it was operating from a two-car garage; four months later, PC Magazine named Google as the best search engine. In the US, Google is used about 67 percent of the time for on-line searches.

Within two months after its release, Apple sold 125,000 iPods, in less than two years one million, and by Christmas season 2005 a million units a week. The iPod seized 65 percent of the market and became the generic name for a MP3 player. Among the most important reasons for Google’s and Apple’s impressive surge to the status of market leaders was their better quality UI.

Good to GREAT by Jim Collins contains case studies about good companies that became great. He said those companies that achieved the “great” status put the right people “on the bus and in the right seats.” By following his advice, other companies can possibly reach the status of “great.” A company in each market could create high quality UI and capture most of that market. Will it be yours or someone else’s?

Amazon Link

(Not a review - Paid Advertisement)

Don't Worry - Be Happy AND Successful!

"Connecting Happiness and Success:  A Guide to Creating Success through Happiness" by Ray White is one of those books you wish you would have read when you were a freshman in high school.  Not that I would have understood the importance of the wisdom that was being shared, but even if I could have picked up a few of the golden nuggets shared by White it could have possibly changed many different paths I found myself taking to get me to where I am today.

"Connecting Happiness and Success" is broken down into seven concepts - any one of which probably deserve a book on their own:  Pleasure vs Happiness (my favorite!), Take Control of Your Life (next favorite!), Positive Relationships, Higher Purpose and Meaning, Defining Success, Clarify and Prioritize, and Implement with Discipline.

If none of those chapters would have any use to you in your present life - congratulations.  Buy the book and give it to someone less fortunate.  In all seriousness, buy two books and keep one for yourself because you aren't being completely honest with yourself.

I have read quite a few books this past year for this blog - and none have been covered in highlight even half as much as this one.  I lost count of the times that I thought "That's really good!  I  need to write that down!"  Some examples:

     -  "(Don't miss) positive moments in life because (you) are busy trying to build a life that will be full of positive moments."

     -  "Think about work and vacation.  How many people plan and think about their vacations while they are at work, then go on the vacations and think about work?'

     -  "Another part of the problem is not loving or appreciating ourselves.  We know all our flaws.  We see the same flaws in other people; and because we hate them in ourselves, we judge and hate them in others."

If I put all of the highlighted quotes - I would probably get in trouble for reprinting a quarter of the book.  It's just that good.

I appreciate that White kept the book very readable.  Books like this many times can get so technical to the point that they are useless, but this book does not have that affliction.

White also does a tremendous job supporting his book with a "Happiness App" that can be downloaded for free, a very nice website (http://connectinghappinessandsuccess.com/), and backs up his credentials by serving on the board of www.pursuit-of-happiness.org.  Seeing all of this makes me want to quit my job and work with all of these happy people instead!

In conclusion, I would like to thank Ray White for the effort and work that went into this book.  You created something that you can be proud of, that has changed the way that I look at some situations, and is truly a gift that you have given to anyone who invests the time to read it.

Amazon Link                                                Goodreads

Go back in time, without having to invest in a Tesla Time Machine.

Amazon Link

Jokers and Dandies by Sharon Schuler Kreps is a book that you could expect to find if you opened up a time capsule and made it past the Atari game console and eight track tapes.  It is Kreps' collection of memories about her family as she grew up in that decade, complete with crazy relatives and great grandmothers which adjectives can't describe.

Kreps goes into what life was like with a whole menagerie of animals - from pigs to parrots.  Add to that an older sister whose mission in life is to torture her younger sister, and two younger brothers, and there is a recipe for mayhem.

The book comes off as if Kreps is sitting next to you with a glass of wine from a box at your first family reunion and sharing stories that no one wants told about them.  You will learn and remember things about the seventies that you may have forgot (or which you could!) along with many things about her family that you may not want to know (I can never think of the term "dinner bells" in quite the same way anymore).

If you like light hearted stories and want to take a trip back in time without having to rig up your own DeLorean time machine and go back to the future, then Jokers and Dandies might be the most economical way to make the journey! 

Gain insights from masters in their field in “Destiny Defining Decisions: 11 Best-Selling Entrepreneurs Reveal their Greatest Success Secrets”

“Destiny Defining Decisions:  11 Best-Selling Entrepreneurs Reveal their Greatest Success Secrets” by Aleks George Srbinoski is a wonderful collection of insights from 11 Entrepreneurs – each one that highlights a different skill or thought.  The book is made up of interviews that Srbinoski conducted as part of a radio show, as well as insights, activities to follow, and even virtual “gifts under your chair!”  (You’ll have to read to discover what they are!)  Each interview follows the same pattern, which I found to be a very nice way to section off the book as well as a very logical approach. 

What I found interesting is that Srbinoski chose one question and asked all of the people he interviewed the same question.  This approach made it very easy to compare and contrast the responses, which I think was excellent because you didn’t have to wade through a huge narrative to get right to the “meat” of the book – the author sets it up, and then slams it home. 

The question he asked was “what was the thought process behind the best life-changing decision you've have ever made?”

Srbinoski also finds a common theme that he discovered was found in all of his interviews – and that was that each person mentioned that they had to overcome fear to be successful.  The “fear” that they had to overcome presented itself in many different ways, but each one had their own method of conquering it.

Srbinoski is kind and thoughtful enough to include an extra interview at the end of the book.  This interview doesn’t ask the question that was asked in the other ones.  Srbinoski explains that this interview happened before his started gathering his material.  However, he felt that the interview was so powerful and touching that it just had to be included.  I think this was definitely the correct call, and I would like to personally like to thank the author for sharing the extra interview with the audience.

I know I didn’t get into specifics in this review about the material, but that is honestly because I don’t feel that I can relate in a short review what Srbinoski so poignantly presents. 

While this book’s title would make you think that the audience is for Entrepreneurs only – there is wisdom and golden nuggets spread all throughout this book.  What I really appreciate is that the author doesn’t try to hide them by coming across as overly professorial and talking over the reader’s head.   

I highly recommend this book for everyone!

Amazon link

This story is too crazy to be true - but I know for a fact that it is

"1,001 Nights in Iraq" by Shant Kenderian is one of those stories that gives new meaning to the phrase "truth is stranger than fiction." 

Who would believe that a person with a United States permanent resident status could wind up as a Prisoner of War guarded by Americans who don't believe him?  On top of that, this same person was happy to be a POW, since he put himself in harms way just to have the opportunity to be captured.  And to put a cherry on top, that he falls in love with one of the female soldiers at one of the prison camps.

Yes, truth is stranger than fiction - but I can assure you that Shant's story is true.  How do I know?  Because he was one of the tens of thousands of Iraqi Enemy Prisoners of War that came through the camp that I was a guard in.  Woah.... this just got a little weirder!

Shant came to the United States with his mother after she left  her husband and spent a few years in the US as a permanent resident.  While in high school, Shant made the journey back to Iraq to make peace with his father.  This is when Shant's impeccable sense of being in the absolute wrong place at the wrong time started.  Iraq invaded Iran, and if you were over 18 and a male, you were forced into the Iraqi Army.  How would they convince everyone to do this?  Well they would execute males who refused as traitors, but Saddam didn't stop there - he would execute the entire family as well.

After that experience, which lasted years, Shant was finally weeks away from being able to return to his family in the United States.  His bad luck held up when Saddam decided to invade Iraq and he was drafted again - this time to fight against the country that he desperately wanted to get back to.

I don't want to give too much away, because I can't do the story anywhere near the justice it deserves and was presented in Shant's book.  I can tell you that this is one book that you will have to read to believe, and even then you might question it's authenticity.  But you can rest assured that it is all true.

I give this book a 10 out of 10.  It is a very easy read and will make you want to say "just one more chapter, then I can put it down."  This book also give a very unique insight as to what is was like for an Iraqi soldier in Saddam's army in their everyday life.  When you get the glimpse of Shant's description of his treatment as a "free" Iraqi soldier, you will begin to understand why he wanted to be a POW under American control so desperately.

There are so many different take away's from this book that this post would risk becoming longer that the book it is reviewing.  Do yourself a favor - find it, buy it, and read it.  You won't be sorry you did.