ABOUT A COUPLE OF BOOKS !

“That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly. It is dearness only which gives everything its value.”

My last week was a very eventful one for me. I moved to a place closer to my office. It just takes me 5 minutes of travel from office to reach my room. I was saving a lot of time and energy. I utilized it effectively to read and to contemplate.

Usually I go with one book at a time, complete it, and then move on to the next. But I tried something new this time around. I was reading two books in parallel. One was ‘Emotional Intelligence’ (EI) by Daniel Goleman and the other was ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ (RDPD) by Robert T. Kiyosaki. It made for an interesting recipe and I must say that the content of both the books have been real eye openers for me. It was very draining as I was learning so many new things in such a small time frame.

Both the books spoke about becoming ‘rich’ in life. While Emotional Intelligence talked about the importance of growing rich emotionally, RDPD was about becoming rich financially. Though there may be feeling that both the books are on entirely diverse topics, I found that there was a lot in common. Both the books had the onus on ‘learning’. Both of them made me realize some of the fallacies in my thought process.

EI (I am yet to complete few chapters of this book) has added a new dimension to my thinking. After reading this I have started to look at people around me differently. It compels us to think more about what we feel and in the process helps us to be more honest with emotions. How does the author do it? By explaining scientifically which parts of the brain are responsible for which emotions and by listing out and explaining various life experiences which we can easily relate to. The book aims at explaining how Emotional Intelligence is more important than the conventional IQ to succeed personally and professionally in our lives.

The book helps us understand the rationale behind various emotions and the root causes of many of the ills in our families and society. What goes through the brain when we are in a fit of rage and when our performance is at its peak, why are usually girls more vocal about their emotions, why do some people connect easily with people, why some people are so emotionally nourishing, why are sincere empathizing and listening skills so important for any relationship to flourish are few of the many things which are elucidated in the book. No, he doesn’t generalize but definitely brings out a perspective with intuitive scientific and social facts to support the ideas expressed.

It was a little boring for me at places when the author went into the technical details of the functioning of the brain but it was worth persisting for it gave me an exhilarating experience of understanding ourselves, our relationships, people and society. I hope to put to use what I have learnt!

"I have never met people who have fallen in love who have never had their heart broken and I have never met someone rich who has never lost money."

The other book ‘RDPD’ has also been a quite a revelation for me. One of the best books I have ever read. I never thought about Money the way it is explained in the book, may be that is partially due to the background I have come from. Some of ideas came to me as a total surprise.
The book is primarily about having us realize the importance of strong financial knowledge which as the author points out is never taught in our schools. What is an asset and what is a liability, how to have money work for you instead of you working for money, why are the skills of marketing and selling so important to acquire? - These are few of the ideas conveyed using simple but motivating words and examples.

It talks about having a ‘rich’ life but without ever becoming a slave to money. The author says that the education given in schools is inadequate because handling finances, investing and risk taking are never part of the teaching menu. He recommends people to seek work for what they learn and not for what they earn. It made a lot of sense to me and forced me to think altogether differently about job and money. As I read the book, I felt, for a moment, handicapped and hallow for all the things I didn’t know and understand.

There were quite a few times when I felt the content is repeated but it didn’t bother me so much. The book was truly inspiring and enlightening.

As always happens with every book I read, these books also instilled new thoughts and new ideas in me and reminded me of the innumerable things that I am ignorant of. It requires practice and implementation of the ideas and thoughts very consciously every minute and every day till they become a way of life.

I feel at times intimidated by the amount of the effort I need to put in and some other times motivated by the results it will fetch.

After reading the two books, I watched the movie ‘In Pursuit of Happyness’ for the nth time. It was a satisfying experience as I could easily relate to the content in both books to the movie.

I strongly recommend reading both these books.

“Education is more valuable than money, in the long run”