Book Review: Delivering Happiness

Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion and Purpose
Author: Tony Hsieh
Publisher: Business Plus

Summary: #1 New York Times Best Sellers List!   In his first book, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh shares the different lessons he has learned in business and life, from starting a worm farm to running a pizza business; through LinkExchange (acquired by Microsoft for $265 million), Zappos, and more.

Tony shows how a very different kind of corporate culture is a powerful model for achieving success — and how by concentrating on the happiness of those around you, you can dramatically increase your own.

It was a great book with amazing insight into starting up business.  The development of the Zappos culture and personal stories were nicely mixed with practical suggestions to transform business philosophy and company culture.

Not only is it a good book but a movement as well.  The team at Zappos now hosts events on how companies and their employees can deliver a little more happiness. Through their Facebook Group several groups have formed in communities to come together to discuss the ideas in the book.  Check them out on their website Delivering Happiness.

Book Review: Life's Little Rituals, by Alexandria

 

Life's Little Rituals: Celebrations for Everyday Living

Author: Alexandria

Publisher: Citadel Press

Page Count: 206

Summary: (from back of book) Bring extraordinary depth to each ordinary day by adding rituals to your lifestyle. High Priestess Alexandria draws on ancient ideas to help you celebrate the events and changes that color your journey through life. Whether you want to make a child feel special or add awesome motivation to starting a diet, you'll find the means within these pages.  Along the way, you'll discover a wealth of rituals for:

• Morning, evening, and bedtime routines
• Seasonal changes
• Relationships
• Parenting
• Work and career
• Personal finance
• Home and food
• Physical fitness
• Firsts ... and lasts
• Thoughtful descisions
• Fateful happenings
• Love and loss

This book is filled with all sorts of ideas on how to make life more meaningful and magical.  There is a power in rituals and this book is filled with many.  But it is also filled with really good ideas that aren't really rituals at all. The book is organized into areas that pertain to many areas of life.  Family and friends, career and work, health and finance many areas are covered with great effort made to incorporate all the milestones of life.

First word, first tooth, first day of school, decision to have (and to not have children), loss of a pet, divorce, even paying off your mortgage. All sorts of little things we take for granted in life can be made into magical moments. This book is filled with ideas.

My favourites would have to be.

• Mealtime: Give gratitude, the act of saying grace or a prayer each meal is a ritual that will put you in the flow of being thankful. We often rush through eating and do not take the time to really appreciate what we are putting into our bodies. If we did take our time more with this we might be able to listen to our body and make the right decisions of what we should be eating. 
• Birthday: Make a list of goals, and what you want to accomplish for the next 10 years. Then on a separate sheet of paper write out your past successes. Then on another page write out your regrets. On your birthday read your lists as you light your candles toasting your past successes and looking towards your goals. Before you blow out your candles light your Regrets list from your candles. Make sure you have a firedish or somewhere safe to let it burn. That way your goals can extinguish your regrets. Make your wishes (goals) and blow out your candles. 
• First Day of School: Before school starts make a treasure map of different items needed for school. (Pencils, lunchbag, notebooks etc.) Hide the items throughout the house and give the map which will lead them to each item and then to the final greatest treasure of them all the School itself.

The book is written by Alexandria a Wiccan High Priestess however the book does not follow any specific set of "ritual rules".  The nice thing about the book is anyone can do these "rituals" and they don't even really feel like a "ritual" in the religious sense.

I recommend the book for anyone who wants to make the little things in life special and magical.

Choosing To Be (Lessons in Living from a Feline Zen master) 
Author: Kat Tansey
Publisher: iUniverse Star
Page Count: 143

"I have lived with several Zen Masters -- all of them cats." - Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now

Summary: Kat journeys through her depression with the wisdom of her Zen Master teachers. (her cats)

This book takes Buddist wisdom from the point of view of the cats that live with the author. Written as a true account of the authors trials through her personal depression the book outlines meditation and how to deal with hindrances such as Clinging, Anger, Sleepiness, Restlessness and Doubt.

I most identified with this book because I too have several cats that are always teaching me. (patience in their case) Anyone who has a love for cats will be able to understand much of what the book says. No previous knowledge of Buddism is required for this book which is nice. Each chapter begins with a picture of a cat and some sort of quote to set up the next chapter.

The book is written as a story with the spiritual nuggets thrown in. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on what kind of person you are. One can get lost in the story and have to really re-read and think about the message, while others may enjoy the subtlety.

The book also includes suggestions for further reading bibliography, and the sources for all the quotes that appear in the book.

Now I am off for a cat nap myself!