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The Invisible Mentor Weekly Newsletter: Brain Food Wednesdays Number 107: How to Choose the Right Books to Read in 2022?
Dear Reader,
I mentioned that I took time off over the holidays. And I was forced to take three days off because of a reaction to the booster vaccine. This set me back with actions that I wanted to take. And that’s okay because it’s very easy for me to get back on track. You never know what life will throw your way, and you have to respond the best way you can. Anyone who has been reading this newsletter for a while knows that I read a lot, so I can get caught up with my reading.
Next week will be a full week for me to write content for my blog. The question this week is “How to Choose the Right Books to Read in 2022?” I have content buckets for The Invisible Mentor blog. And as far as books are concerned, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, I’ll post book summaries. On Wednesdays, I want to post summaries of biographies and memoirs. And starting in February, on Thursdays, I want to focus on fiction.
I have close to 33,000 books in the Kindle app, so a constraint for me is to read books I already own. Many of the books in my Kindle app, I’ll never read, but I downloaded them for free. The books I choose to read in 2022 will align with the content buckets I selected for my blog. In addition, I offer a variety of Knowledge Accelerator programs on my website for sale, so I’ll be reading the books mentioned in the programs. I own the majority of those books.
And finally, I offer Bookish Notes on the Art of Learning Membership Site. To create a Bookish Note, I have to read the related books. On the membership site, I curate Bookish Notes based on themes to create a course. I aim to be relevant to prospective subscribers. Therefore, I have to include courses on topics that matter to people. Topics include diversity, equity and inclusion, psychological safety, self-care, re-skilling, and building community.
The membership fee for the Art of Learning is low right now as I build out the content, and as I identify more benefits to add to support your success. Give the gift of a membership to yourself. You’re worth it.
Therefore, my book choices will reflect the goals that I want to accomplish in 2022. In the ASK AVIL section, I’ll explore more deeply how you can choose the right books to read in 2022. I also wanted to add that I’ll be hosting reading challenges in my Facebook group. Please click on the link below to become a member of the group.
Join my Facebook group Reading Rocks: Read a Book, Discover Solutions, Change the World.
In the News
Here are some podcasts I appeared on. They’re packed with a lot of information.
208: Have You Been Reading Books Wrong? https://elkinsconsulting.com/sarahs-blog-podcast/2021/12/21/208
Ellevate Network: http://ow.ly/s8pR50GCBTy
Envision2BWell: https://blog.envision2bwell.io/post/1157/envisionwell-podcast-invisible-mentors
313 Challenge with Ryan Foland: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/avil-beckford-read-and-get-new-ideas/id1484382840?i=1000523572323
I would appreciate your support in growing my YouTube channel.
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Ask Avil
How to Choose the Right Books to Read in 2022?
I mentioned earlier in this newsletter that the books I’ll choose to read this year will align with the specific goals I want to accomplish. One thing that’s important to me is that I read several books off the beaten path, so I can get some alternative worldviews and perspectives.
Before you can choose the right books to read in 2022, you have to be very clear about what you’re trying to accomplish this year. After you become clear, you’ll know the topics to read up on, then it will become easier for you to choose the right books.
- What are your personal and professional goals?
- Actual and practical problems to solve at work.
- Urgent questions you need answered. The questions should be based on current needs.
If you list the responses to the above problems, you’ll have topics you need to become knowledgeable about. Now, it’s easy for you to fall into the trap of choosing only the bestselling books to read. Don’t do that though. Because a book is a bestseller doesn’t mean it’s any good. It could be. But it could be a bestseller because of the promotion engine behind it.
To find the right books to read, you can ask colleagues, family, and friends for book recommendations. You could even talk to a librarian. You can search the internet. However, a fun way to come up with books off the beaten path is something I learned from reading Turn the Page by Chris Brady. Start with a well-known book, then try variations of the title to see what you come up with.
For example, if you want to focus and accomplish more each day, a popular book is The One Thing by Gary Keller. A variation is One Big Thing, which was actually published before The One Thing. This is a fun game to play to come up with different book choices that could be right for you.
And another place to find the right books is to use LibraryThing. In the search bar, search for your topic and you find both bestsellers and books off the beaten path. When I want to read the world, one of the first places I go to is LibraryThing.
Reading List
I’m ready to get back on track with this reading list. I’ll be reading books from the list below.
- The Forever Transaction: How to Build a Subscription Model So Compelling, Your Customers Will Never Want to Leave by Robbie Kellman Baxter
- The Subscription Boom: Why an Old Business Model is the Future of Commerce by Adam Levinter
- Retention Point: The Single Biggest Secret to Membership and Subscription Growth for Associations, SAAS, Publishers, Digital Access, Subscription Boxes and all Membership and Subscription Businesses by Robert Skrob
- Never Lose a Customer Again: Turn Any Sale into Lifelong Loyalty in 100 Days by Joey Coleman
- Membership Recruitment: How to Grow Recurring Revenue, Reach New Markets, and Advance Your Mission by Tony Rossell
- The Leadership Gap by Lolly Daskal
- Brave Leadership, Kimberly Davis
- How Women Rise, Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith
- Business Model Shifts by Patrick van der Pijl, Justin Lokitz
- The Invincible Company by Alexander Osterwalder , Yves Pigneur
- Love-Based Business Models by Shawn Driscoll
- Why Leadership Sucks by Miles Anthony Smith, Book 1
- Why Leadership Sucks by Miles Anthony Smith, Book 2
- Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo
- The Airbnb Story: How Three Ordinary Guys Disrupted an Industry, Made Billions . . . and Created Plenty of Controversy by Leigh Gallagher
- Hatching Twitter: A True Story of Money, Power, Friendship, and Betrayal by Nick Bilton
- Levers: The Framework for Building Repeatability into Your Business by Amos Schwartzfarb
- Five Stars: The Communication Secrets to Get from Good to Great by Carmine Gallo
- I Got There: How a Mixed-Race Kid Overcame Racism, Poverty, and Abuse to Arrive at the American Dream by JT McCormick
- One Big Thing: Discovering What You Were Born to Do by Phil Howard Cooke
The Invisible Mentor Blog
Blog Posts
Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles, Summary
Turn the Page by Chris Brady, Book Summary
The One Problem
I’ve published 44 podcast episodes already. How time flies. You can also find these on my YouTube channel.
- Debbie McKiver, Founder of the Strong and Healthy Temple
- Hedieh Safiyari, Founder, Prompt Health, Healthcare Solutions
- Benita Lee, Trade Consultant, Founder, Benita Lee Professional Corporation
- Jenny Siede, Chief Design Thinker, Green Neurons
- Pamela Jeffery, Founder, The Prosperity Project & Women’s Executive Network
- Alta Odendaal, Financial Coach and Consultant
- Larissa Russell, Founder and CEO Queer Voicez and Creative U Business
- Glain Roberts-McCabe, Founder, the Roundtable, Group Coach Academy
- Dr Marsha Carr, Professor, University of North Carolina, Wilmington
- Gabriella O’Rourke, Business Consultant, Borden Ladner Gervais
- Stefanie Booker Atchison, Wisdom Coach & Motivational Speaker
- Michelle Griffin, Founder Brandthority, Building Your Personal Brand
- Donna Knutson, Founder of Write Journeys
- Sophie Gray, Founder of DiveThru: Being Disconnected from Yourself
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Product Alert
7 Day Reading Makeover Challenge
This is an affordable program to get started on leadership reading. Leaders read to learn what they need to know. You’ll also learn how to synthesize information.
Art of Learning Membership Site
How would you like to access the best, most useful information I have, that’s better than book summaries? Buy monthly access to the Bookish Note that’s behind my paywall. I group Bookish Notes together by a common theme, turning them into a course. Imagine reading themed Bookish Notes and starting to lay the foundation for a new skill.
Until Next Week,
Avil Beckford, Founder, The Invisible Mentor!