I recently purchased and read “The Fragrance of God” after listening to an interview with the author Vigen Guroian on NPR.

“The Fragrance of God” is an excellent little book that highlights the importance of returning to the garden. One point that Guroian raises is the sense of smell as a better descriptor of our relationship with God. Of all the senses, smell is the most elusive and the most real.

The book reads like a garden, earthy, real, beautiful and worth taking a walk in.

For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life And who isadequate for these things? ( 2 Cor 2:15-16)

The tag line states: “Escape 9-5, live anywhere, and join the new rich” and if you write a bestseller you TOO could do that

Tim Ferris shares excitement filled tales of his life free of the daily grind of work. It’s fluffy, it’s the latest pop business book, it’s an entertaining read but it’s not that revolutionary.

Spoiler alert! I will now sum up the entire book so you don’t have to read it (unless you want to)

First Step (this is the hardest part)
Define what you really really want in life and figure out how much it really costs.

Second Step
Simplify your life so you’re not wasting your time doing things you don’t really want to do.

Third Step
Automize your job or business to free you up to do what you really want to do. Outsource everything, customer service to a customer service company, order fulfillment, etc.

Fourth Step
Check your email and voice mail once a week and make sure everything is running smoothly then go back to surfing or whatever it is you really really want to do.

The hardest part of all this is figuring our what you really really want to do with your life. This is a subject most people struggle with their entire lives, and what you really really want to do may change tomorrow.

I did like two points Ferris made in the book. You will notice in the tag line the phrase, “The New Rich” rather than put a dollar value on what “Rich” is Ferris rightly changes the definition, if your goal in life is to surf in Hawaii then it’s not really that expensive, however if you want a house, a car, 2 kids and spend your time surfing in Hawaii then it becomes more expensive.

Being rich is nothing more than having enough money to follow your dreams.

The other thing I liked was Ferris’ emphasis on totally eliminating non essential and non important tasks from everyday life. Freeing up 3 hours a week to follow your dream isn’t that hard and very rewarding.

All in all I enjoyed the book as it stimulated my thinking but there wasn’t really anything revolutionary in the book.

Score – 3 of 5 watermelons

I recently finished a great book and had to share it with you.

“My Grandfather’s Son” The memoirs of Clarence Thomas.

Real, is the best descriptive word for this book. Thomas writes of his growing up, coming to age, political activism and journey to the supreme court with a brutal honesty and reality that takes you along on the journey of his life.

He expresses his faults, joys and sorrows as well as his thoughts so well that you can actually see his progression of belief and what events caused him to see different sides to each story.

The book is the best book I’ve read this year and highly recommend you go beg, borrow, buy a copy and read it yourself. It also makes a great Christmas gift

I’m giving copy away FREE!
read on for details.

How I discovered this life-changing book. It all began back in my college days (man I’m getting old), as I was sitting in my favorite class at Bryan College (bryan.edu) studiously taking notes (well jotting interesting stuff down). The class was Personal Leadership with Dr. Jeff Myers (inspiredleadership.com). During class, I argued that trying to achieve the “win win” in business would always work better than the every-man for himself business model, (I had recently read “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” so I thought I knew everything. After arguing with my classmates for a while, Dr. Myers ended class and recommended I read “Love is the Killer App” written by a friend of his–Tim Sanders (timsanders.com). I wrote the title down and promptly forgot about it.

Two years later, after graduating, I was browsing our quaint library in Quarryville, PA. In the non-fiction section I randomly picked up an orange book with the title “Love is the Killer App.” Remembering the recommendation I checked it out, read it, and it deeply impacted the way I think and operate. I promptly bought it, gave several copies away and recommended it to just about everyone I know.

Here is why…

“Love is A Killer App,” by Tim Sanders. The title says it all, the basic premise of this book is, “Nice guys don’t finish last. They rule!” If you treat other people with love (i.e. the way you would love to be treated), not only will they succeed in life but as a by-product, you will succeed as well. Sanders calls this the “Lovecat way” and in the book he will teach and show you exactly how it works.

Step One: Knowledge - Read books, talk to people, be curious, be a lifelong learner.

Step Two: Network - talk to people, ask them what they do, discover what they are passionate about.

Step Three: Compassion – Use your knowledge and your network to invest in the lives of everyone you meet.

You’ve heard it said, “give and it shall be given unto you,” well it’s true! If you love people, they will love you back. If you give knowledge to people they will give it back. If you connect people in your network with other people who will benefit them, they will do the same.

The key is, don’t look out for number one.

The question is, “How many people do YOU want looking out for you? One or one hundred?

The answer is love, pure and simple, nothing more nothing less.

Buy the book (amazon.com)
Read the book
Become a Lovecat

Just for fun and to let you practice what you have just learned I will give away a free copy of “Love is the Killer App” to the 10th unique comment. In other words someone can only get a free copy if YOU love them and comment first

If you don’t win, click here to buy your own copy.

What did you think about it?