A&B #88

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👋 Hey everyone,

Here are a few popular posts you may have missed:

• 10 Visuals that will make you a better reader.

• 20 Speeches that will inspire you to achieve greatness.

• 20 Key lessons from "How To Stop Worrying & Start Living."

PS: My friend Andrew Barry is hosting a free online learning summit on May 19-20th.

It will feature several course creators who will host free workshops on writing, storytelling, productivity, and other valuable skills. It's 100% free,

you can learn more and sign up for it here

.

📚 Book Lessons:

This week's book is The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.This book draws on 3,000+ years of history and powerful leaders to share 48 universal laws of power. You'll learn from Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, Henry Kissinger, and many more powerful figures. Here are three lessons from it:1) Never Outshine The MasterYou always want to excel at your job, but avoid outshining your boss.Doing so can make your boss insecure about their position and they may subtly sabotage your career to avoid you making them look bad.Instead, you want to make your master seem more brilliant and better than they are. If you are smarter or more creative than your boss, give your boss credit for the ideas you come up with to make them look good in front of others.This way, when they get promoted, your boss will give you their old job and it will be a win-win situation. 

2) Always Say Less Than NecessaryWhen you're trying to impress people, there's a high chance that the more you talk, the more likely you're to say something foolish.Greene tells the story of a great military hero of ancient Rome named Gnaeus Marcius. Marcius' battlefield accomplishments made him a beloved figure among the Roman people.But then he decided to enter politics and started giving speeches where he acted as if he had already won, bragged about himself, and made terrible jokes. His opinions were hugely unpopular among the Roman people and resulted in him losing the election and even getting banished from Rome. 

3) When Asking For Help, Appeal To People's Self-Interest

If you need help, don't bother reminding a person about your past assistance or good deeds. Instead, find something in your request that will benefit them.Here's the harsh truth, most people just care about their own self-interests (majority of the time). So rather than hope the person is in a giving mood, show them how you can help them or advance their cause. Real-life example: I needed some visuals for my reading course, but instead of hiring a designer and spending hundreds of dollars, I went a different route. I asked Janis and Ash if they'd be willing to create some book visuals for me, and in exchange, I'd shout them out on social media. The result? I got dozens of awesome book visuals for free and they gained thousands of new followers. So turn your requests for help into win-win situations and you'll get a lot more people saying yes to you.

✅ Actionable Advice:  1) Never outshine the master:  Do a great job but never do so well that your boss gets insecure or envious of you. Instead, make them look good and they'll take you with them as they move up the success hierarchy because they'll need you.2) Always say less than necessary.  3) Appeal to people's self-interest when asking for help: If you need help from someone, tell them how they'll benefit from the situation. If you can make it a win-win situation, they're more likely to say yes. PS: If you want to learn more, here are 12 Key lessons from "The 48 Laws of Power."

🎧 Podcast Update:No new pod, but here are 3 new book recommendations:

• 5 Books Solve Your Money Problems

• 5 Books To Master The Art of Influence

• 5 Books That Will Change Your Life Forever

📖 Reading Lesson:Speed reading programs and coaches lied to you.When it comes to reading, you can only pick two traits at a time (Speed, Retention, or Enjoyment).Here's why and how it works. ^this is one of my favorite new reading tips so highly recommend you read it!

⭐️ Weekly Quote:There are two kinds of fools:• Those who never read books• Those who only read books

Thank you for your support everyone, I'll see you next Sunday!Read on,Alex W.